4 Likes
28 head phones! 5 is my limit, otherwise I’d spend more time deciding on which to grab for a session than listening.
4 Likes
26 of them are Koss Porta Pros.
7 Likes
LOL! 
1 Like
My new addiction… now I want a set of every color way!!!
2 Likes
The Porta Pro? Did you get your Yaxi pads yet?
1 Like
Awesome! Pretty amazing what some $30 headphones with a pad swap can do, huh?
1 Like
Yeah I’m still blown away by them I was having a fun conversation with metal571 on Instagram about mods…
3 Likes
No Porta Pro thread. This should be remedied. 
8 Likes
Headphones are far less expensive than exes. Continue adding to your headphone collection.
You make some excellent points.
I listen to at least 3 different headphones every day. Nuraphone for its ANC at Starbucks first thing in the am. Fiio FH7 in the library (chord mojo) and at home I alternate weekly between the Hifiman Edition X and the Audeze LCD XC with a Schiit Lyr 3.
Alternating weekly between the HiFiman and the Audeze has been interesting, and I’ve learned over time to be able to sort out more of the differences in sound quality from the psychoacoustic difference between open and closed back. At first I preferred the Hifiman for its more open transparency, but now I’ve come to prefer the Audeze and the Hifiman now sounds just a bit “plastic”.
Each time I switch, particularly from the Nuraphone and Fiio, because it’s typically only a couple of minutes between Starbucks and the library, I really notice, for the first short while, the difference, and by a short time the difference has evaporated for reasons you note.
My wife has a pair of Bose 700’s and occasionally I’ll take them to Starbucks for a change, i always notice, for that first split second when they come on that they do not sound as good as the Nuraphones, but after a few minutes I settle in and think they are fine.
Most of my listening is to the classical streaming service, IDAGIO, which has an uncompressed Redbook option. Every now and then I listen at the lowest resolution, AAC 160 and then switch through the 320 to the flac to remind myself the difference. Even at 160, after a few minutes the impact of the lower resolution mostly (but not completely) fades until I get a bit of a jolt when I up the resolution.
5 Likes
I strongly agree, the perfect phone is unobtainium and those seeking it will find themselves sucked to the neck into a money pit, I should know. The reason I became a headphone collector is that I had purchased about 20 phones over the course of about 4 years chasing after the Holy Can starting circa 1992 when I had decent enough income to afford the pricey high-end phones and amps my quest was requiring (wife did not agree and she was right). They were ranging in price from about $500 USD (Senn) up to $2,999 USD (Stax) and I was always hauling loaded cc’s, trying to convince myself the latest acquisition was “it”, and that all it needed was a decent (read pricey) lamp amp or such. Results were mitigating: I was saying it sounded "kinda nice, neutral and natural (“kinda nice” was me being in denial again). Wife said it sounded “godawful horrific, if not worse”. Looking back I certainly agree, though I can’t imagine how the sound of a low-impedance phone plugged into a high output impedance valve amp could get any worse. I suppose that, perhaps in Hell…
I learned the costly way that there is no perfect phone, especially among TOTL flagships which are often more or less experimental prototypes still in development pushed on people who think the higher the price tag the better the sound. Oh ye fools we are sometimes. 
8 Likes
I love having multiple headphones!! Lol but who honestly doesn’t!?
3 Likes
My experience is similar and not just with headphones but all audio components. The relentless pursuit of the next component that will make everything sound better is really an obsession. I have fought against this urge for years. There have been many points in my quest where I’ve said “Ah this sounds great and I can’t see why I need anything better.” But then I read about new components and the urge to upgrade begins anew. I’ve also found that this continuous pursuit and constant comparison of equipment gets in the way of my primary objective. Enjoying music. There was one phase of my obsession where I was spending more time listening to the hardware (components) than the software (music). I’m not completely cured but I am more cognizant of my obsession and am better able to resist. I think back to the mid 80s when I had a system that had a Linn Turntable, Moving Coil Cartridge, a NY Audio Lab Tube PreAmp and Amp and small B&W midrange Speakers. At the time and in my memory that was a very enjoyable system to listen to. Then I upgraded and in some ways never found a more pleasant alternative. Not all upgrades improve over what you have. I think at least in my specific case I have reached the point of diminishing returns in upgrading. Maybe I can find something better. Maybe not. Maybe it will have sound character I don’t like. So I’m focusing on buying and listening to more music as there is nothing in my current main setup or head phone setup that I don’t like. In fact I really like it. I just have to suppress that urge, voice, or whatever that says “Maybe I can get more treble clarity or a more solid bass or better separation and sound staging”. I’m a work in progress where this is concerned.
3 Likes
You just haven’t gotten the setup right. You need a set of Magico Ultimates as your front and rear speakers, and Wilson Audio WAMMs for your side speakers. While, with adequate electronics, these should play well enough that you might not need a sub, you might consider this as after Maria, it might be available for repurposing.
2 Likes
Personally I think having 2 headphones for dedicated, at home listening is perfect. More and I’ll often find myself not using the third/fourth/fifth/whatever pair and if you only have one you can quickly end up getting too used to the sound. I realize I might be different from a lot of people here but my tonal preferences barely vary between genres. I don’t need more bass or less mid for certain genres, to me they either sound right or they don’t.
2 Likes
This is not as easy a call as it may seem at first glance. You know you have a problem when you get home to find your cat hopelessly entangled in the cables of 17 headphones, then trip on another pair while rushing to help only to land on and squash the 4 cans you had been comparing the night before.
Seriously, when you have so many units that space becomes an issue you may have developed Headphonicae Gizmocis Collectorum. If this happens to be the case you only have two options, really.You can either become a collector, or obtain a prescription for proper EQ. Horrific dilemma but life entails grueling decisions be made when crisis calls for it. 
3 Likes
Lol yeah, but odd stuff like that happens for real, I kid you not! The part about the cat was made up (cat real, incident is fiction), but if you knew my cat you’d believe it’s entirely possible that it could happen. That being said, I have actually stumbled on cans more often than I’d care to count but fortunately no serious damage ever ensued. I care too much about my collection items to leave any of them lying on the floor but my daily drivers well, let’s just say it’s statistically more prone to happen. Good thing Focal carries an excellent warranty that could come in handy, ya never know what with clumsy old cats and all