MDR-Z1R has been my daily driver for 2 years. I bought an Aeon Closed X for the office. I like them both a lot and each one still dazzles me with some regularity.

I like to see what new gear comes up, and the discourse around it. But nothing has made me pull the trigger. I think part of this may be my relative distaste for open backs (I don't like hearing my room, traffic, A/C vents, etc.) and the fact that closed backs that interest me tend to cost even more than the Z1R (e.g. Focal Stellia, DCA Stealth, Meze Liric).

I buy way more music than I should, most likely (I am a FLAC dinosaur).

I actually did. Once I got the RME, the Soloist 3x Performance, the Valhalla, and the LCD-5/HD800S/Focal Clear MG/Celestee/Elex/6xx, I stopped. I know, this is pretty high-end stuff, but I just didn’t feel compelled to keep going. I felt like I peaked and the LCD-5 is just too good.

When I first showed my AKG to my cousin, I showed him a demo and he said the sound quality is better, but when he listed to his own music he didn't like them. It was a bit odd feeling due to the lack in bass because they are open back, but when listening to most hip hop tracks the loss of bass brought out other instruments and sounds I didn't notice before. So I just kinda got used to the sound. A benifit is how open they sound, if they didn't sound as open and the sound was unfamiliar, then I might not like them. But because they are so open and give an experience like no other, I love using them.

What kind of time horizon do you want? I just bought my first headphone in about 4 years ($50 zero x crin iem) but just to use at work. Based on what I've listened to it's not worth upgrading my main setup until I decide it's worth a stax 007mk2 or I need different features (rme dac with it's in-built EQ)

To me, my stax l300 limited are peak audio. My lcd2c are source-forgiving and sound good everywhere. My 58x fill the same gap. Audeze isine20 with BT for basically a lcd2 on the go, and a massdrop+ for isolation.

I previously was happy with my hd580/hd650 for a long time until disposable income and my curiosity of different driver types caught my interest. A $200 58xj and a $50 zero x crin would probably satisfy me if I didn't already buy the rest

My first headphones were AKG Q701 and they are the best headphones I have heard, nothing else sounds as clear as them. I have been looking at the Arya Stealth for a while because basically everyone in this hobby says they are the best headphones you can get. I plan on getting them and then not buying anything after.

Audeze LCD-X, Dunu SA6 Ultra, and Apple APP. All I really ever need, thinking about selling the rest of my collection or gifting them to my friends because the lower end stuff doesn't really get used any more and none of my auditioning since has brought me anything I like better than the LCD-X.

The biggest things that impact the sound other than frequency response would be soundtsage, timbre, distortion, and comfort.

Soundstage and timbre are both things that are described as being felt more than being heard. That's why just a frequency response graph can't describe the experience of a headphone.

Distortion is an obvious example of a difference of an expensive and cheap headphone. Very cheap headphones will have distortion on some notes even when the frequency response looks not bad.

Comfort might not seem like an aspect that will change a headphone's sound, but it can drastically change the listening experience. An open headphone which barely puts weight on your head can make you feel like you aren't even wearing headphones and getting incredible sound.

I have also wondered what makes headphones hood for a while. I have been in this hobby to know a lot about it, but I am still curious about why some headphone share better. I once made an interesting post where I posted a few frequency response graphs and gave a list of the headphones and wanted to see how well people can match the headphone to the graph. It was to prove that frequency response and tests alone can't give the full story on what a headphone is like. More recently I asked physically what makes a expensive headphone better than a cheap headphone? What are these companies spending r&d on that makes them better? I got a few responses that answered the question, saying it's mainly the driver housing and earcup design which impacts the sound greatly, and they basically use trial and error to find what shape produces the best sound.

Eh I wouldn't call it spicy, but something like that is easily solved by changing tips.

Why is this disliked? People can't accept their $20 iem can't sound like a $1000 one?

Why can't I just paint my Toyota Corolla red and have it drive like a Ferrari?

I got a pair of Grado 325x's when they came out, upgraded the headband, rodblocks, gimbals, and I won't be looking for a new pair until they break.

Whatever i buy is endgame for me. I try like 5 most common, or what i prefer after research. Keep and pay for 1. And only replace if needed.

Atm i have what i need, and should stop reading and watching this topic. Because its like nonstop consuming endless advertising. 100% there will pop up new stuff, and 100% it will be praised as the new better thing.

Nobody need this to live, like water or bread. So the industry need to sell us the ilusion, to keep us buy their stuff.

This kind of doesn't count but I guess it goes to show something...

Back in 2014 I blagged a set of Ultimate Ears UE900s through work. The included cable was tangly and diffiult to seat over my ears and I found them uncomfortable. After a few months the left bud kept cutting out unless I unplugged it and plugged it back in. I put them in their shiny little box and shoved them in a drawer.

Cut to early 2022 my son (now 14) was complaining about his new phone not having an audio jack. We got him some cheaper Sennheiser TWs and they quickly crumbled under "teen conditions". I remembered the UE900s and ordered him a FiiO BTR5, and a FiiO cable.

He's been using them ever since, rock solid with that new cable. Not bad for nine year old earbuds!

Me here... My last temptation as we speak is the Sony IER-M9

Right now I use HD 660s and Sundaras. Both are great but I like the Sundaras a tad better.

What about the somewhat spicy treble?

Well when I move on from my DT1990s, I'll make sure to check out what hifiman is up to.

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More or less, but I think it's because I got more into other hobbies lol.

Shelf filters are generally ok but if you’re tuning the treble then good luck…

I would like to say yes .... But I can't!

A lot of the "turd" headphones require pretty serious boosts and cuts to hit your response target, and the stronger the adjustments are the more distortion you'll get. In addition there is also physics to account for so if the driver is rattling at high volume there isn't really any way to compensate for that.

For an extreme example try processing a set of free/cheap airline earbuds. You'll soon realize that if you crank the bass, all you'll get is mud as the driver simply can't reproduce those sounds. Ditto for the highs, all you'll get are harmonics on lower frequencies. And even if the midrange by design already hits your target curve, it'll still sound horrible as the driver distorts the original signal. Flat frequency response does not equal faithful reproduction!

I bought two pairs of headphones, one for the bag and one for the desk. They're good headphones on the $200 range, I've felt the itch to grab something new every once in a while, but I do the "try and buy" only for a few months before moving on to the next thing to mess with. I have solid but not-terribly-expensive options in keyboards, fountain pens, headphones, casios, knives, and, most recently, pencils. it doesn't help that the distance the money goes just keeps getting shorter of late.

Yggy, Stratus & Atrium. Stopped for now.

I think I have purchased 1 set of headphones in the last 10 years or so, I am very happy with my collection

I used to buy a ton of headphones but then I found what I liked and have been happy