I learned I only have two ears but I keeping buying more than one set of headphones and iems! Happens way too often, I just never learn…
Also learned that I have really bad impulse control.
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You’re not alone on that… 
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I haven’t completed a full year in this hobby yet so I have learned a whole heckuva lot. Also I’m taking advantage of the holiday break to do some experiments so I’m hoping to learn even more before this year is done.
The biggest things I’ve learned so far:
- You can research all you like, but you have to experience it to understand it
- What the Harman target is and that I like it
- EQ is your friend, not your enemy
- Accuracy is overrated and ultimately subjective anyway
- My opinion of what sounds good is the only one that should matter to me
- This is a very interesting time to be in this hobby
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Learned in 2020…
If it makes you happy and you can afford it, go get it. Shit happens and life can be cut short pretty quick so enjoy it best you can.
Quit mucking about in reviews and minutia and go listen.
Upgrades, not sidegrades.
Trust your own ears and learn who has them as well as there are a lot of prominent folks on various forums/YT who talk out of their asses. If you like what you are listening with, then what else is there?
Rectifiers matter.
Happy Holidays folks!
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Not to hijack…but how do you think they would work with Campfire Cascades? Too thin of a band possibly? I think my Flow 2s are excellent comfort wise, but the Cascades are a bit on the heavy side.
I’ll add my thoughts on this in a bit!
The greater the extent to which you can stay true to your own tastes, preferences, feelings, inclinations and not be swayed by hype, fads, orthodoxy or group think…then the greater will be your happiness and satisfaction in this hobby.
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I’m not sure if these are new learnings, but at a minimum they’re things that have been confirmed or cemented given the various happenings this year …
- Owning gear that I don’t regularly use is an active detriment to my enjoyment of the hobby.
- I have a tendency to hang on to gear I like, but no longer use, for far too long.
- I really do not miss doing reviews at all.
- I enjoy my listening, and gear, a lot more when not actively engaged in the online aspects of the overall “hobby”.
- There are times when I definitely do not want to use the best gear I have for casual/background listening - particularly when it applies to getting things accomplished.
Hold my beer …
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Get your ears on gear. Trust your ears. Train your ears. Know your ears if you hope for your gear to please them.
Everything matters. Not everything is consequential or causes material impact.
Seek to build synergistic systems and chains, rather than discrete gear selections in a vacuum.
Team R2R/ladder/Multibit, tubes, dynamic biocellulose paper cone drivers, wooden cups, modular cables.
Reviews, videos, top 10 lists are all information. Some is more valuable/accurate than others. Sniff the non-credible, flawed, gaps.
Made in USA is different from assembled in USA. Or is it, truly.
Fidelity and forgiveness are inversely related.
Frequency response matters a lot to certain people.
I don’t care for analytical or clinical or sterile. Transparency, accuracy, neutrality, warmth mean different things to different people.
If someone tells you they know what the artist or sound engineer intended, run.
Music genre and mood matter.
Do people really mean euphoric or euphonic?
Sometimes your ears need a palate cleanser, like a Magni Heresy, or a sabbatical.
I’m bass sensitive.
Make it count.
Music is art. Audio is science.
We each have different goals and means. Such has limited relevance to the enjoyment of the music or validity of views offered.
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+1 I can totally relate to this
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I don’t own that headphone, but it looks like a similar headband style to the Focals. It doesn’t work great for that if you wanted to permanently affix it… You could manually insert it below the headband and remove after using. That’s what I do with the HD800s.
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I wish I had written this list. Well done. 
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Personal preference trumps what others consider to be the best.
Good warranty and reliability gives me ease of mind.
ZMF suede headstrap is super comfy.
I can’t tell the difference in sound qulity between good enough cables.
It is probably a good idea to consolidate my gear towards higher quality.
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Ok, a few from me:
- You can never judge if you’ll actually like a product by just looking at graphs. You have to experience it for yourself, whether it’s a demo or straight up buying it and flipping it.
- It’s O.K. if you don’t like something everyone likes, and vica versa like something everything hates.
- One’s budget should never have a minimum.
- Your sound preferences change over time.
- The best music to test a product with is the music you listen to. Don’t limit yourself to the classic reference tracks, rather what you’re actually going to be listening to on the day today!
- Never solely rely on reviews to purchase a product, always go into reading reviews with an asterisk knowing this person has different experiences, different musical taste, and different opinions than you do.
I could go on and on, hope these major points helps someone!
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A couple more things that came to mind (I threw in a couple non-hobby related lessons as well):
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I think fundamentally I’m a one IEM guy…maybe two…but more than that it stresses me out trying to figure out which one to take out on a given day.
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I’ve completely transitioned from preferring a “bass heavy” sound to preferring a more balanced sound where the bass remains in the background…or at least isn’t stealing the show.
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An ounce of good synergy can add a kilobuck or two to the perceived value of your setup.
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If it’s not working for you, let it go.
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Much of the corruption in our current society can be discerned by the analysis of the bad guys from a judicious selection of 80s action movies.
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Sometimes in life things work a geometric ratio like where a single episode of a Star Wars TV show can negate, or at least make you forget, much of the darkness of an entire year.
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Without human contact, human goals and human conscience it’s hard to find value in anything else.
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At the same time I prefer the company of my audio gear to many if not most people much of the time.
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I would not want to be in Nacho Vargas’ shoes.
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Not universal truths but for myself, I learned:
- That I really reach for just one headphone when I’m at my desk at home.
- That I don’t really listen to serious audiophile music as much as I thought.
- That I should take a break from the community or from various forums once in a while for my sanity.
- How to better tune a headphone acoustically, and how much time, money, and headache that takes (with Peerless 50mm drivers).
- That tuning > oooh exotic diaphragm material/coating
Mistakes:
- Reading too much into drama and taking things too personally.
- Thinking that headphones is life.
- Defending/trashing a headphone I like/dislike to hell and back. Joking, but I feel it sometimes.
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This
Corollary: It takes far more of my time and effort getting rid of stuff I no longer use than getting new stuff.
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Thank you Jsim, and fconway for your observations!
My lessons are that the pursuit of “endgame” anything is ultimately in vain. It leads to frustration, envy, and dis-satisfaction with what you have. It is a chimera. It is also an illustration of the law of diminishing returns…
I also have too many headphones. But they are like children, you love them in their different ways (or not!)
I am really enjoying my modded Argon Mk 2s right now! Just got them back from Ryan, I finally got around to sending in my Massdrop TX-0s, which I never liked much.
Schiit definitely does not make shit, I’m really enjoying my Bifrost 2/Lyr 3 combo!
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This has been kind of whirlwind for me in the hobby, making my first purchases I since 2018 and upgrading from a sub $300 system to system I don’t wanna calculate how much it costs.
Some things I learned along the way is that
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I hate having too many headphones. I really use only 3-4 of them, so trying to make sure I keep the number I have to under that keeps my space clean but also helps with me feeling bad for having so many headphones that I don’t even use.
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I realize the differences R2R and Tubes make. I came from a lower end D/S and SS setup to a high end Tube/R2R setup and its a world of difference.
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I learned alot about how tube amps work, and am continuously learning how to build them.
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I learned that I have a problem with always trying to upgrade. Once I get my setup, I start to look for the next piece of gear I can upgrade in the chain. I really need to get to a point where I sit down and am just happy with what I have.
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Getting too many loaners of gear really just detracts from my time with gear I actually like. i don’t think I will participate in loaners for budget gear anymore. Really isn’t worth the time nor shipping costs for the lower end stuff.
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I learned I really create attachment to my stuff I have. Once I get a piece of gear, it really is difficult for me to part with that gear. But I am learning to be able to let the stuff go if its not in use. Better to put that money toward something else I would enjoy a bit more.
I am sure I got a couple more stuff I learned or mistakes made but I can’t think of them right now.
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Thats a similar story to me, started recently and went in pretty whole hog. I have roughly calculated how much I spent this year and Im OK with it; but, I dont feel any more need to “upgrade” unless I go for true TOTL stuff.
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I would say that I felt the same way, but I recently have turned my eyes to another TOTL amp that might be replacing my Starlett… Lets just say it has the same DNA… 
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