An Honest Question

[Supercronopio]

I see in many of the Headphone forums that many enthusiasts have multiple headphones. Not just headphones for different situations (IEM, noise canceling, reference) but several headphones of each type. I'm reluctant to sell headphones like I might amps or other electronic equipment, but how does one justify owning multiple headphones. Is it the ability to tailor headphones to specific types of music?

I'd really love to know your thoughts. Why do you have as man headphones as you do? Do you listen to all of them?

[radio times]

I use a studio monitor pair for realism, a modest Senn for color on my netbook and portable DVD player, a reference in ear for my mp3, and a Sony xb90ex for my Dab walkman for volume and to reduce wear and tear on my reference, as it's good enough for the Dab.

Don't really get the notion of multiple top end CIEM's, people just get obsessed I guess.

[greekgod]

A friend of mine has a dozens of pairs. He just likes to collect them like some people collect stamps or comic books. Personally, I prefer just to put all my money into owning one really great pair.

[The Attorney]

+1 to greekgod's comment.

Furthermore, some do use different headphones to suit specific albums or music types.
One for rock, another for jazz etc.

I'm perfectly happy for people to take whatever path suits them, but personally I don't get that approach. Different 'phones for different music by definition means that each 'phone must be flawed in some way. I'd rather focus my time and money on building up a single best overall compromise that sounds great on any type of music.

So I've got one great headphone (Stax SR007 Mk1 driven by BHSE), and one backup (Sen HD600) and one cheapo portable.

[Supercronopio]

Thanks for the responses. Anyone here obsessed with collecting headphones? ..........

[Antonmb]

I'm not exactly a collector, but I have 5 different pairs of headphones and 3 amps, partly for different locations and uses (e.g. in the listening room for late nights, by the computer, by the record cleaning station, IEMs for travel, etc), but also because headphones and headphone amps are just fun, and you can collect them and experiment with different things for a lot less money than speakers or system components.

[mulveling]

With the rare out-of-print, never to be produced again elite models, there's an element of hoarding and the desire to have spares on hand in case of fault (when price is no object, but supply is extremely limited). Even with current production models, the duplicate ownership may be driven by fear of them going out of production (especially due to parts supplier issues). All of the elite models appreciated hugely in price after production stopped, so there can even be an element of speculation.

Some models were extremely limited in production, which makes the used market go crazy (especially overseas). For example, the L3000 was limited to 500 pairs, and the Qualia 010 probably had under 200. The Sony MDR-R10 drivers parts command a large price on the market, because owners want to protect their $7K+ investment, and Sony stopped providing replacement parts years ago.

[Yamaki]

I think also that folks have different sets from the perspective of what headphones pair best with what system.

I have three pairs. One works best with my main system, another works best with my A&K100 portable hi-res music player and the third sounds best with my second system upstairs.

[G8YU]

For me it began with the need to listen to music without disturbing other people. I decided I would get one decent headphone and, after much research, I bought a popular well reviewed headphone. I found it's sound quality unacceptable, especially considering it's price, and started looking for another headphone. I felt that the next headphone I purchased sounded decent but needed a headphone amp, so I got one. All the reviews I had read lead to interest in other headphones and equipment, so it kept snowballing until I had spent thousands of dollars on my headphone system. I kept telling myself that it would be cheaper to build a great sounding headphone system than a great sounding stereo.

Somewhere in the madness I decided that I would seek to create a well rounded system that would offer whatever "flavor" of sound I wanted. So I have headphones for anything from neutral/detailed to fun/bassy to smooth/romantic and a selection of interconnects and power cords to complement the headphone selection.

I think the reasoning behind the well rounded system was that each headphone would suit a different type of music; but I found I like any of my headphones with any music. Yes, one headphone will excel where the others just sound good with one type of music; but headphone choice is more dependent on my mood than the type of music.

Part of the reason I didn't just get one flagship headphone in the first place was that I never intended on spending that much money. If I had just bought a popular flagship first I would have probably stopped there. All the experience I've now had with headphones would never let me live with just one flagship.

[Masterlu]

Originally Posted by Supercronopio

Thanks for the responses. Anyone here obsessed with collecting headphones? ..........