This is defiantly going to be my strategy for purchasing items that haven’t had QC issues. I have purchased lots of used pro audio equipment over the years and it hasn’t netted me a poor experience once. And you know what, if @TylersEclectic is to be trusted I may very well just end up with the porta-pros with some purple yaxi pads in the end lol.
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The open-back dynamic recommendation is easy:
- ZMF Verite Open (~$2400 for stock wood)
- ZMF Aeolus (~$1600 for stock wood)
I own both; love both. I recommend stock silkwood for the VO & the hardest/densest wood you can get for the Aeolus (long story why that is).
An open-back planar is a different story–not easy at all. I’ve gone through quite a few here, including Empyrean, pre-fazor LCD-3, and pre-fazor LCD-2 (all sold); and Hifiman Edition X v2 (F.S. currently). In many ways the last is the best of the group & I’ve having 2nd thoughts about selling it.
I just took delivery of a brand-new Kennerton Odin “Thridi” open-back planar. It’s not quite 1/2-way through burn-in. Preliminary impressions are good. It’s a handsome, sturdy headphone. I got it with the alternate set of pads (Kennerton No. 02) described as somewhat warmer & bassier than the stock No. 01 pads (currently on the HP). I no doubt will gravitate toward the 02 pads… So this Odin may be one of the open back planars I can recommend.
There are a couple other open-back planars that interest me, but I rejected both for different reasons: the Rosson because of the very uncomfortable headband; and the original Final D8000 because even used, it’s tough to get one for under $3K.
All of the headphones I mentioned are in the somewhat warm & bassy category; all are musical and ear-friendly, above all else.
The VO is IMO a wonderful/rare paradox: while it’s one of the fastest, highest resolution headphones I ever heard, it exacts none of the usual penalties for all that resolution (brightness, edginess, an insistent quality, etc). The sound of this thing is just lovely. It’s worth every single penny (actually, all of them are).
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Lol, open a bank account? Are you implying this guy has been saving up 6K cash in a shoebox or
something? 
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I think the more operative part of @mfadio’s statement related to PayPal. There are not many lines of credit giving 12, or even 24 months zero interest on purchases. That’s a lot of time to try out headphones, sell them and pay the bill, get something else with little penalty if bought well. I’ve been doing the same revolving door all during Covid and more inclined to try stuff out that way. And the separate account keeps it as a “hobby” account that can be helpful maintaining marital bliss.
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No. Mine is in a small ceramic vessel shaped like a pig.
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How are you getting 12 to 24 months of zero interest? I’ve been using PayPal credit to some degree as well, but it’s strictly 6 months zero interest for me.
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I’ve only seen those financing deals when using PayPal Credit on eBay. 12-month financing for purchases $300+ and 24-month on $600+. They offer me zero-interest financing every month or two. That’s when I start shopping hard! Normal interest rate is 5.99%. I never use PayPal Credit unless I’m getting zero-interest financing.
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I haven’t had time to browse through this whole thread, so my apologies if I missed some important context, but my recommendation is to worry about headphones first, dac/amps later if you can reasonably drive your headphones with what you have (a THX 789 will drive almost anything). Your headphone and your source (music file - please don’t stream lossy Spotify music into $3K headphones - you’re wasting their abilities) are the two most important pieces (by impact on sound quality) of the audio chain. Don’t get me wrong - amps and DACs (and, eventually, other stuff, like power management) do matter - a lot - but just not as much as the first two. I’m sure there are those that will disagree with me - and for perfectly good reasons - and definitely take every piece of advice (mine included) with a grain of salt - but I think it’s nice to know that the thing pushing the music directly into your ears is the best it can be (for your budget and preferences), and you slowly tailor and upgrade the middle part to that chain rather than having fantastic DACs and amps, and not getting the best out of them. For context, I started my “true” hi-fi journey with a Focal Utopia and a chord mojo (a puny amp/DAC pairing by that headphone’s standards), and that was friggin awesome. I’ve come a very long way since that, but have been super pumped to hear how new gear ups the game of my headphones rather than ever once wishing my headphones could keep up with my gear. In terms of specific recommendations, I’ll generally leave that alone. However, I will add that you may want to start with one headphone, learn what you love (and don’t) about it, and make your second purchase after you’ve realized a bit more about your preferences. Enjoy the rabbit hole, and welcome to the club!
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Heartily second this. My headphones, I bought new (at a steep CanJam discount), and literally everything else is second-hand. Audiophiles are the type of people who usually take really good care of their gear, and you can generally just buy and resell stuff with minimal loss, thereby getting to try a ton of different things out. I can’t tell you how often I’ve been ready to love something that was reviewed really well and just wasn’t my jam - and vice versa. However, I’m also currently tearing my hair out trying to decide between two amps, and keep promising myself I’ll decide which to sell next week. Always “next week”…
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I have no idea, the specific offers always vary when I go to check out and choose PayPal Credit. Sometimes it is 12 Easy Payments, and last year on multiple occasions I was offered 24 months. I do not know if it is related to my credit rating, my open balance, or what, but I have three balances now at equal payments no interest for 24 months…and a two at 12 months.
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Death battle!! Have you posted?
Not yet. Been pretty slammed at work, for one, but also have been spending a lot of time going back-and-forth getting to know the differences and doing some tube rolling. Unlike the Feliks Euforia AE, which just wasn’t my jam (and I knew it pretty quickly), the Woo WA5 vs ZMF Pendant is a doozy. Very different, but I like both a lot.
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LSA HP1 or HP2. I will be getting the HP2 from underwood audio as soon as we stop playing phone tag.
@andris, I can’t wait to hear about your tube rolling experience with the Pendant, especially the “Zach special” vs “Prof special” tubes.
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Sneak peek. I ended up preferring a mix between those two sets.
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I simply prefer not to use credit, or to keep my use of it as low as possible. If you can’t afford it in cash on the budget you had 2 years ago, wait until you can.
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Plus, with PP, they warn you ahead of time when your payment schedule is coming to an end. They do this by item.
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I was MIA and am late to this thread. Great advice already offered.
I view this as how best to spend $7k on audio, when considering the price of the BF2 and 789.
I’ll start by saying that variety is overrated, based on my personal experience. Optimization and specialization are paramount.
Assuming you’ve determined your desired sound signature, max out 1 headphone, amp, DAC, streaming device (including Raspberry Pi), and tube roll if applicable. Then allocate an amount to power, cables, pads. Then furniture and storage/stand.
If you have leftover budget, get a secondary headphone. If you still have leftover, buy concert tickets when the time comes (or vinyl/CD, stereo, car audio, portable/mobile).
I value touching the highest ceiling with one hand, than a lower ceiling with multiple hands. That said, there are alternative approaches. Good luck.
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Ok, so just assuming you have sources figured out, a susvara for 3500 and utopia for 2500 aren’t undoable. I would prrsonaly be worried about that combo being too similar to eachother though. Something like susvara/D8000P and a VC would seem like a much more flushed out combo as far as I know. That said, those are very much so sumitfi and you said you didn’t want sumit fi. If you want to experience different things, imo, get several cans. 6k can easily get you into clears, LCD-X, mest, hd800s and VC all in one go for a wide range of experiences
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