I wish I could so I could buy the comfiest headphones out there.

Even with oratory's EQ presets as in all profiles from the same source all my headphones sound quite noticeably different. HD598, DT1990, Hifiman Arya SE and the samsung galaxy buds+ after EQ.

They're closer to each other with EQ but every time I swap to the Beyer DT1990 from the Arya and vice versa I notice that the DT1990 has more micro details in bass instead of being this big slam. In addition the DT1990's electric guitars sound a bit muffled in comparison and with some specific music the soundstage just isn't there. The HD598 really lacks in micro details in bass. The Arya not nearly as much.

These aren't huge differences but noticeable enough for me to swap between both every once in a while to spice things up.

I lean pretty hard to the objective side and I've listened to people who are more extreme and I have literally never heard anyone disagree with what you said.

The only gear that I'd want and is an actual upgrade over what I own, all costs far too much for me to actually buy. So yeah I'm not buying anything else lol.

The Hifiman Edition XS and 6XX are perfect for my usage. I think they sound great and haven't needed to upgrade in over a year. However, I instead shifted my focus to IEMs, more as a hobby and less about seeking perfect sound, just because I find the market and tech fascinating.

On the one hand there's this, on the other there's the usual avalanche of downvotes if you mention that spotify is lossy

Not sure why you are down-voted. With low-impedance headphones, sonic changes between cables can be more audible. Even headphone show confirmed it lately and it's not first time I see Andromedas mentioned in that context.

I bought some H560S a year or so ago and I'm pretty sure I won't be spending a dime on another open-back pair any time soon. (I have my eyes on the k371 tho)

Got my open backs, got my closed backs, got my wireless buds and multiple IEM options I rarely use (my latest purchase was a Khadas Tea, which gets used about twice a month). Don’t need anything else.

I will need to think about replacement ear pads for my HD800S soon though.

If I move somewhere I have space to spare I may well get a desktop headphone amp, but more speakers would be a priority over that.

There's more to sound than frequency response

What I still don’t get or know: how accurate are these curves, provided measurements are beyond the threshold for what is considered “okay”? The are smoothed to a portion of an octave, does that introduce small inaccuracies or not? Or is that the reason why people tell you to adjust to a curve and than modify to taste?

I stop and start with large gaps of time in-between. For me, I buy the best gear I can afford at any given time, with consideration for very long enjoyment. My previous last update to my gear was between 2016 - 2017:

• Focal Elear
• Meze Audio 99 Classics (will never sell)
• Onkyo DP-X1 DAP
• 2x NuForce HA-200 monoblock class A balanced headphone amps
• Double Helix Cables silver balanced cables
• NuForce Icon amp
• JohnBlue AudioArt JB3 speakers

However, late last year I considered that now is the right time to upgrade, and create a new best I can afford end-game setup, whilst also condensing what I needed. As part of a trade-in, got rid of three cans* towards the FiiO M17 DAP (which I got last week!) (*Focal Elear, Audeze EL8 Ti, and AKG K 712 Pro). After much saving, in December started buying my new equipment:

• Asus Zenbook 14x UX5401ZAS laptop (Dec '22)
• T+A Solitaire T in white/silver (digital wireless and balanced passive headphones) (Dec '22)
• FiiO M17 DAP (Feb '23)
• SanDisk MicroSD XC Extreme 1Tb card (Feb '23)

I only require small bits to add, such as an upgraded DC power for the FiiO M17 (likely the FiiO PL50), and perhaps an aftermarket balanced cable for the T+A Solitaire T cans. I'm also considering to purchase the Meze Audio 109 Pro's too. Whether I get these or not, I'm essentially set now for many years!

R70x was my endgame. I got them on their release date 6 years ago and haven't bought another pair, except some Koss KPH30i because I needed a phone headset, and that also happens to also be a great headphone.

Expense has so little to do with anything for me. I've owned multiple flagships and heard l many of them. They weren't as good for my tastes.

The K371 might just be your jam.

I found what I personally found acceptable between sound, comfort and cost.

The Focal Clear (now MG pro) covers all that for me, and even having 2 of them snap in the headband and trying to find a alternative, I always end up back to a version of the clear.

Thankfully I have good enough insurance that covers new ones, but I did spend like 3 months actively looking for alternatives before giving up, including hd800 (just didnt fit me).

But the bad headband design and the expensive pads (and no pad for headband) is the main reason I wouldn't recommend it to others, unless they know what they are getting into.

I like them a lot! Haven’t heard the 371 so can’t compare. They are somewhat warm but not rolled off or veiled, and they can also be easily EQed to meet whatever target you prefer. Decent bass extension for an open back.

That said, don’t sell your current cans short. Just because some headphones are relatively inexpensive doesn’t mean they are bad. A lot of people consider their Koss or $40 chifi iems perfectly good endgames.

I’m still looking for ‘that’ headphone that makes me feel like I’ve got all I need. I have a favourite headphone which is the AKG K371 due to its versatility and tonal balance, but it is still a ‘budget’ headphone and I sort of feel ‘bad’ that I haven’t found anything in the more expensive range that’s really worked for me.

How is the R70x in your opinion? I’ve been looking at those

Love the kato, stopped looking for more. Enjoying my music, games and movies now. I stopped chasing endgame/audio perfection at this point. I don’t think i’ll buy new gear unless this one breaks.

After i got the atrium from ZMF i kind of stopped looking into new headphones. For me its the perfect all around headphone i could have. Maybe at some point i would get a dac with more features but for now im pretty content. The trip so far was m50x->Sundaras->Celestee->Auteur->lcdx->edition xs some of these i still have to listen to sometimes

I think you meant treble measurements, not terrible measurements.

Try something sensitive like CA Andromeda or EE Zeus XIV and compare their stock cables with something like Tacables Obsidian / Rubine. I was a non believer until I tried cable swapping these IEMs.

I’ve lost count, but I have probably owned around 30 headphones and countless DAC/AMPs. I capped out at $1.5k for individual headphones and roughly the same for the DAC/AMPs.

At the end of it all, I realized I was never going to be happy with one. I got rid of everything except AirPods Pro 2s and the AirPods Max. I barely use the Max, but the Pros are excellent. I found that in the end, I personally do not miss the higher SQ and it just ends up being a giant money pit.

Speakers (if you have the space/place for it) are the answer in my case. I’ve owned a lot of speakers as well, with KEF LS50Ws being the peak. I ended up settling with Vanatoo T0 with a Monolith THX 8” sub, and it’s amazing for desktop use. I found that I enjoyed this more than any headphone I’ve used.

Stopped when I got the dt 1990 pro, I'm just perfectly satisfied with it, and don't want to spend 600+ for something slightly better

I just wanted something that could last, pretty good for the fit and comfortable and sounds good. So, I went and put my money down for the Sony Ier m9 after much research and consideration. I did consider true wireless or maybe headphones, but they aren't exactly portable (headphone) and need to pay attention to battery (tws), which I honestly cant be bothered. I'd want something that's durable so I could use it daily and just chug it in a small case and it's settled.

Just need to bring the iem and its adapters around and im done. $1.8K spent on it after the cable upgrade and adapters.

I did. Got myself a Fiio K5 Pro, a pair of Sundara, applied some EQ and never felt the need to buy anything else.

For me the sennheiser hd660s are the endgame. Of course there are better options but these offer what I like and every time I use them I enjoy the music so much

After getting a fiio m17, akg k712 and lcd xc, i can say im done on the headphones, speakers tho