This all started several weeks ago when a set of trusty earbuds broke on me. When I thought about it, there were things I didn’t love about them (Cambridge Audio ones), so I got some Pixel Buds Pro as I liked the functionality. I was under no illusions about sound quality. They would sound good enough.

Then I started researching.

Then I kept going. And going. Now I’m sitting here with a Mojo Chord 2 DAC and some Sennheiser HD 6XX and Grado SR80s.

I’m now waiting on some Hifiman Anandas arriving today.

Can someone please tell me to stop, because now I’m browsing Aryas. And the Anandas haven’t even arrived.

I know that I get addicted to deep dives on tech. And this is swallowing me.

I’m fully aware of diminishing returns, and I can tell from how you guys talk about listening to music that I don’t have nearly the same sophistication or vocabulary. That said, I hear a clear difference between my Grados and 6XXs.

I expect I’ll hear *some* difference between Ananda and Arya.

But should I spend a few extra hundred to get there? Will Anandas get me a solid upgrade from the HD 6XX (which I like fine). I can’t help chasing better. Or am I just chasing different at this point?

  • adrenn11OPBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Reading these comments has been eyeopening. If one person tells you you’re drunk, they might be wrong. When several tell you you’re drunk? You’re probably drunk.

    Re-reading my post, I can kind of see this weird sense of ‘but but there must be something better!’ And as others have pointed out, the reason for doing any of this is to listen to the music we love.

    The fact that this behaviour isn’t limited to just headphones (my deep dives on technical outdoor clothing, eg) is clearly a sign I need to just STOP SHOPPING for a while.

    I don’t *need* all these things.

    For context, I grew up in a well-off house, then we lost everything (long story), and I grew up basically actually hungry for a lot of my teens.

    I’m now earning a significant amount as a published author on Amazon, and felt I finally have free capital to spend some money and finally enjoy things in life.

    But I can see now that I’m going in the wrong direction with this. I’m trying to patch up and heal all that stuff from years ago with stuff. If I accumulate enough stuff it will shore me up emotionally. Convince me that I’ve ‘made it’ or something.

    OK, I’ll stop now. This isn’t really what this sub is for, but sincerely thank you to everyone for helping me figure some stuff out.