I’m sure this topic could potentially be offensive to true audiophiles, but as the headline states… I want my first pair of headphones to be all I need. For month’s now I’ve become obsessed with closely following this community, and have spent dozens of hours watching every review possible of all the high-end headphones favored by this Sub… What I have narrowed it down to, essentially, is the HE1000SE, Focal Clear MG, Arya Stealth Magnet… If I purchase one of these, will I ever be truly satisfied with just the one pair? Or will I long for an experience that other pair’s of headphones have to offer?
There is zero chance you know your preferences without actually listening to any headphones. What are you using now? What do you like/not like about them?
it is you who has to decide what you call endgame! some stop at the hd600 and some stop at the he1000 or susvara
No. I have the lcd-5, utopia, and recently susvara, and they all sound very different to each other. There is no perfect headphone, only a perfect headphone for you. And if you don’t know your tastes, you’re basically gambling. The secret is that true endgame is an hd600 or similar imo. If only I knew to stop there.
Expensive headphones are like crack. Once you know what you’re missing, it’s hard to go back, and the saddest part is, your enjoyment doesn’t even go up the same proportion. At least crack gets you above orgasm-level pleasure. Best to stay at around the $300 level.
Do you have a preference already? If so go for it. You don‘t? Buy one and never listen to something different or find a way to listen as much different sounding headphones you can be that at Hifi-show like Can-Jam, a retailer (as example Hi-fi im Hinterhof like or any other HiFi-shop that has headphones), find the sound that suits you best and go for the endgames
Companies continually making and improving the audio tech industry which makes it hard not to be tempted to crave for something new, innovative or maybe even better audio than the one we have, that is just part of the business
I have a HD 800S, an HE-1000 Stealth, and have owned maybe a dozen other headphones, and plenty of different DACs and Amps at various price points. Honestly, I was just as satisfied with an HD 650 and the good ol’ Schiit stack as I was with anything else I’ve bought.
Really, you’ll never be satisfied until you decide to be satisfied. There’s always something new and different to try. I find myself identifying more and more with that meme of people who sell all their audio stuff and just keep something basic to listen to music with.
Looking at all the previous comments, I’d imagine it must be super confusing to get an answer, because there’s vastly different opinions across the board.
Personally, I’m happy with my Meze Elites, and don’t feel the need to get anything else. After a few weeks, my ears just adjust to whatever I’m listening to anyways and that becomes my new “normal”. So it really doesn’t matter what you use, it’s all about the music!
So… I am a hifi dealer, and me and a competitor of mine have different tastes, and would recommend different headphones to you when you ask for “that one endgame with allrounder-capabilities”.
He never liked the Focal Utopia, would take the Susvara any day, and I think that Susvara would be a specialist to me because I don’t listen to the type of music that it is good at often enough.
But: I have found that there is a pretty good middle ground in the Audeze MM-500, so if you ever only want one headphone, I would recommend that one.
But that is just what I would do… it all just depends on the type of music that you listen to, and if you want to stay in that lane or explore other genres in the future. For that, I would at least consider a second one down the road.
No such thing as Endgame is you truly like audio, you just want to try the difference between gears. It’s an ongoing hobby…,