Yes, probably not too many people that ended up where they thought they would when they first started.
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Spotify vs everything else is very much about content.
Qobuz covers the vast majority of what I listen to (a minus some old esoteric stuff no streaming service covers) but if it didn’t, I’d take the quality hit for the content.
I’ve done the MP3 test by accident a number of times, played a local compressed copy (that I ripped years ago) vs a streaming hires one, and it’s quite noticeable, my first thought is what’s wrong with this, or I don’t remember this sounding this bad.
But I’d rather be able to play the music I want to listen to than limit myself to high quality content, it is after all about the music first and foremost.
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Those are good points. I stream mostly on Qobuz. I canceled Amazon HD because I didn’t care for the interface and search function. Spotify has a wider selection of content and still allows for better search and discovery than Qobuz for me.
So last Thursday I was just finishing a 3-week loaner stint with the MEST, an IEM I liked about as much as I could like an IEM without it making me want to sell off my gear to purchase one. That same day I received a Vision Ears Canadian tour kit in the mail. To be honest I wasn’t feeling that excited about it-- I’ve already bought and sold a VE8 earlier in the year and while I was curious about Elysium I’d pretty much resigned myself to the thought that it probably wouldn’t wow me. What I really wanted was to just sink in and spend some QT with my newly acquired Andromeda MW10 and I vainly imagined that after going through the motions the VE kit would languish in a corner as I focused on the Andromeda. Suffice to say that’s not how it went down. After a couple hours with the Elysium, by the time my brain actually wrapped itself around what it was hearing, the effect it had on me was little short of cathartic and the net result was that my idea of what was possible with IEMs-- the degree of intimacy and connection they could achieve-- was so broadened and came as such a liberating shock that it feels like something of a re-birth of enthusiasm for this hobby. Suffice to say the more I listened to the Elysium the more I realized I had to have one. Presently my MW10 is on its way to its new owner in Europe and my Elysium, the first IEM I’ve purchased new in over a year, arrived yesterday thanks to the magic of DHL.
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The conventional wisdom is spend more on the headphones, the transducer, than the amp and dac. This conventional wisdom doesn’t work well for me because I don’t think it scales well past entry level. I don’t know what the conventional wisdom means past the 6xx, when there are so few jumps in headphone land between $220 and $1k+ (Sundara, Elegia, Ananda, and…uh…you get the point, and I’d argue the 6xx > Elegia), and I can scale these mid tier headphones using great gear.
So yeah starting out, 6xx/sundara, vali/Asgard, modi. But when wanting to grow after that, leave the conventional wisdom behind and improve where you want. Imho.
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You’ve been getting excellent advice here and I’ll just add it’s fine to take some time to get used to your gear. There can be a sense of urgency to get the best system as quickly as possible, and that’s fine if you can afford it and know what you want. But there’s also something to be said for taking your time and enjoying the process. It’s like learning a new skill. Taking your time can also help you get used to the ways in which specific upgrades can improve your overall experience (or not).
Most importantly, beware of changing too many variables too quickly; it’s easy to get confused about which element among these variables, or which combination of them, is advancing or limiting your enjoyment of music.
Also, pay attention to synergies. If you’re starting with the Sundara, look around to see what amps and DACs people recommend specifically for that headphone. A tube amp that would be great for an HD 6XX might be awful for a Sundara.
FWIW, here's my upgrade path over the first 3 1/2 yrs in the hobby
- getting a decent pair of entry-level headphones ($175), straight out of my laptop using iTunes
- a year later, upgrading the DAC and amp with a Fulla 2 ($99)
- a year after that, upgrading headphones ($200, selling the old ones for $130)
- gradually adding better quality downloads and ripping CDs as ALAC files for playback on iTunes
- a few months later, adding a standalone amp ($250) while keeping the Fulla 2 for service as a DAC
- finally, adding a separate, standalone DAC ($350)
At each of these steps, I could readily appreciate the improvements. Note that I gradually invested more in each component - that’s why I’m listing prices - and that each of them has proved more enduring for me, by which I mean that I’ve not felt the need to upgrade it quickly. The amp, for instance, will be upgraded next March or thereabouts, i.e. after three years.
(Since getting the DAC I’ve gone hog wild and have purchased higher-tier equipment while also moving on to Audirvana and Qobuz, but that’s another story). I’ve still got this first system, though, and still use it, and I’m still using the same DAC.
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I’ll agree with that, Amps become more important as the headphones improve and become more resolving and at some point the whole thing inverts, but before DAC’s become important you need good enough in Headphones and Amps.
At the end of the day the headphone can only resolve the signal it gets, all the way back to the source.
But at entry level, and to a point mid tier, the headphone is by far the most critical component.
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Thanks for all the tips! I understand what many of you are saying. The Hel settings in Windows are actually set to 24/96. I had it at 32/196 for a bit, I think that’s just overkill at this point. The lowest quality setting on the Hel is 16/48.
I DO love switching between the SHP9500’s and the KPH30i with Grado 1000 pads. Of all the different things I try, that’s what seem to make the most difference in the sound right now for me. If I want good bass response without the detail/clarity/(resolution?), I can tell the KPH30i’s are easier to listen to. They sound “full” but more “compact”, is that what you all mean when you say “intimate”? The 9500’s also sound full, but like MORE full, airy, wider, more like speakers in a room would sound I guess. So I’m going to wait for the Sundara’s to come in, play around switching between the three and find out if I can hear big differences. Once I figure all that out, then maybe I’ll revisit the amp/DAC situation, but at least I have two sets to switch between for that. Thanks again everyone for your great input.
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That is a nice set of complementary cans. I started with Superlux HD681 for bass emphasis and then Koss KSC75 with Yaxi pads and Parts Express headband for everything else. I’ve also tried the KPH30i, which I bought for my wife. My current choice is the Porta-Pros with mic, which have the most bass of these 3 Koss models. Enjoy.
Sigh.
Honestly? It was a pair of Grado 60s. I was shocked that a pair of $60 headphones could meet and exceed my 2 channel setup performance.
This was at least 20 years ago. I started looking to replace those Grados, and found out about… uhh… “developments” in headphones in the last 20 years.
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Well the Grado 60e was hardly the first headphone, but when I got mine to replace some broken Senn PX-100 (Which I also like) they just made me smile for hours.
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The amount of Grado hate I found when I started researching replacements was kind of shocking. Reminded me of why I fled audiophiles the first time.
If you can’t be happy that someone is enjoying music, you did your hobby wrong.
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I know that some people find the Grado high end too much for their delicate sensibilities. And then a subset of these people assume that their ears should rule yours.
I did find I like L pads better than stock pads, and that L pads with the tape mod make the cheap Grados sound considerably better. I have L pads and tape mod on my 60e. But not on my RS-1e.
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Well. Now I gotta try that!
Try searching on it here. I posted some pics, and some others experimented with different kinds of tape. I just used some plastic electrical tape that was handy. Slightly compressing the L pad by wrapping some tape around the outside smooths the treble and improves bass. I was surprised.
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So way back in June of 2020, my kids were complaining that I was playing my music too loud. So I decided I needed to get some nice Headphones and something to play them through. That started this obsession. Grado SR125e’s, Asgard 3 and Modi3. Those Grados were my holy sh*t! This is incredible.
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I actually had this “Holy Crap” feeling twice in my “audiophile career”.
For the first time in 1993 with these headphones (exotic at the time in Germany):
And I am still in love with some GRADO’s
And herewith in December 2016:
The first time I’f heard them, it felt as if I had been listening to music behind a thick curtain all these years.
The Utopia’s are fascinating, but at times, FOR ME, too unemotional.
In the long run, I like emotionalized rendering much more than analytical ones 
.
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+1 I am decidedly in this camp as well.
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A pair of Audeze LCD-X alternating between a Oppo HA-1 and a Chord Hugo to drive them, this was in 2017. That was the first time I had a Holy Crap! moment with headphones. I was corrupted by those headphones in to a hobby that is bad for the bank balance but rewarding to the ears and soul.
I owned my first pair of X’s in 2019 and let them go in 2020 after building up a stable of other headphones and deciding that I now appreciated different qualities (in a headphone) compared to 2017.
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For me, it was a pair of Sennheiser headphones I got to listen to back in 2007 when interning as a sound mixer for the local theater. I wish I could remember exactly what model they were, but it was like I was transported onto the stage for a showing of The Sound of Music - already one of my favorite musicals at the time - and it blew my mind. I remember looking them up afterward and being very disappointed that I’d “never” be able to afford them.
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