Focal Clears are nothing to shake a stick at. I’m saving for a pair myself. 
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It was 1977. I was getting long-delayed dental work (4 crowns + a bridge) done by a local dentist who partied hard & often. I was numb from head to toe, getting as much nitrous as the regulator permits. He put headphones over my ears & put on Randy Newman. I don’t even like Randy Newman, but it sounded amazing.
But the first time I had a non-medicated, Holy Crap! headphone encounter was the Fidelio X2s I purchased off ebay during the raging debate du jour about Woox vs Gibson (a long story). I plugged them into my 1st DAC/amp, a FiiO e10K, cued up some Miles Davis, and that was IT. I’ve gotten many “better” headphones since, but that was the first time I realized how good headphone audio could be, how much sonic potential there was.
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Nitrous does wierd things to sound.
It does indeed. At high dose/rates, I get rather extreme “infinite echoing” effects. Some pretty vivid/weird experiences during longer/more painful dental procedures…
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Sennheiser HD 558. i still listen to it to this day, i have the hd800, sony mdr 7520 & cd900st.
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A Hifiman HE-6 with MrSpeakers (or Dan Clark Audio) Alpha pads at a local meet. I remember my eyes widening and then tearing up a little.
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My first nice headphones were the AT R70x. They broke me. I had never heard anything that sounded like that. Not sure why I sold them. Probably to fund something else. My problem is I’m always falling out of love with my headphones. Nothing seems to stay in my stable for more than a year. It’s been a frustrating chase ever since.
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I’ve always had Bose headphones. But 4 yrs ago I got B&W P7 and was like wow. They really started me in the hobby. I just got ZMF Auteurs and ready to give those P7s to my wife 
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Mine was the Edition X, It was my first HE Headphones and they truly made a difference to my listening experience.
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When I think back to my holy moment in the audio it was back in the late 80’s Martin Logan Statement. I am still seeking this type of experience.
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Focal Stellia and Utopia. Spooky detail retrieval level and overall resolution.
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This just happened but I got to audition the Abyss Diana V2 and Phi last week. Both made me feel this way
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Just remembered the Allessandro MSPro. It was a modified version of the Grado RS1e. Put them on and thought, gee these are uncomfortable with glasses on, but fsck me, this is rock and roll.
Sold them not long after due to comfort, didn’t realise at the time I could have got the big arse pads for them…aw well.
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I’ve been listening a lot to my stock Grado RS1e. They are becoming my go-to headphone. I find them quite comfortable, but my glasses are wire-rim with narrow temples, and they don’t seem to interfere much at all. While I would like to have interchangeable cables, Grado uses a relatively short cable which is fine for driving off of an iPhone with a Dragonfly Black, Red, or Cobalt, and provides an extension for when I want to plug it into less mobile chains, like when I use the iFi xDSD and Schiit Lyr3. It’s not power-hungry, so even on those rare occasions when I don’t bother with a DAC, it sounds fine.
Much as I like my Hifiman HS-560, and the Sennheiser HD-6xx in the above Lyr3 chain, I think of the Grado RS1e as more balanced overall. Light weight, not power hungry, great soundstage, comfort, plenty of bass due to the large drivers, and smoother high frequency than the typical Grado. They don’t replace the other headphones, and it’s not as fast as my old STAX (which needs its own chain…). 
But the Grado RS1e is the first headphone that makes me say “HOLY CRAP” not when I first got it, but after months of use. That gives it a unique honor in the “HOLY CRAP Hall of Fame”
– 030 –
Until I buy another DAC, the iFi xDSD gets moved to drive either the Lyr3 or the STAX SRM-T1S, neither of which is mobile.
The HD-6xx is almost another, but it is so power hungry - the Lyr3 takes it to a different level, but comfort isn’t as good due to cheaper construction and clamping force.
Topic yet to be implemented as of 4/26/2020
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LCD-4 by far. Pretty much saying “yeah it’s good but is $4k really worth it?” I eventually came to realize that I think so after listening to more headphones.
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I don’t wanna sound basic, but yeah, HD650’s for me too 
I was about to graduate high school, and had been saving up for some QC35’s from Bose. I was about to place my order when the HD650 appeared on my recommended section on Amazon. I was curious as to why they had “reference” in the tile, so I went for them over the QC’s… I have not been the same man since I first them…
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Don’t worry about championing lower priced gear. The HD650’s are a true classic IMHO. I love mine.
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Grado sr80e’s lol. I’m a metalhead so this definitely openend my eyes to some sense of soundstage and better instrumentation separation. I know people moan about the brightness but that didn’t really bother me much tbh. I’m sure I will feel that way again at some point.
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6XX triggering the high impedance mode on my humble LGV20 a few years back. I heard my phone could give them the juice leading me to get some of my first premium headphones. To me, they made everything sound fantastic. It’s mind boggling to think how that kick-started my upgrade chain obsession.
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For me it was the hd600 and hd650. After that it was the LCD-X and HD800S. Both in their own unique way.
Miss those wow moments… Like a high you can never get again. Close, but never the same first high.
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