A while ago, thanks to advice received on this forum, I purchased some Philips Fidelio X2 headphones. I use them mainly with a Cambridge Audio Dacmagic XS dongle/dac thing and listen to music files and stuff on the net from my laptop. Have to say the headphones sounded amazing to me on first listen, and still are a bit of a wow, leading to me listening to a lot more music than I used to. They cost me about £150 on Amazon (seem to be around £200 or more now, but I'm not sure they are still being made).
But (if it is a but) as part of the process of choosing the headphones, I seem to have got into the habit of watching several headphone reviewer channels on Youtube, and this has put the thought of spending even more dosh into my head. Maybe something like the Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro, at just under £400, or one of the planar magnetic models that are getting raved about. And probably I'd have to invest in a better headphone amp/dac setup.
So, should I talk myself out of the idea? - I do like an awful lot about the sound the X2's make I have to say, and it's still significantly better than anything I had previously hifi-wise, so perhaps why change what works? On the other hand, sometimes one doesn't know what one is missing. So interested if anyone with experience has thoughts on this, especially those with experience of the serious, audiophile, hi-end headphone stuff, cheers.
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So....are they £1k better sounding then yours....well probably not as sadly the outlay is not directly relative to the uplift in quality...though Im sure you would notice a difference...if its better or not is a personal choice.
I went to a high end audio shop and tried another pair of Focal at more than twice the price for comparison, and honestly I could not tell the difference...and I use headphones a lot.
I did demo the Focals to some folks at work and most of them didi actually say they sounded pretty amazing, but then most of them have been using earbuds generally.
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Indeed, I agree, I'm sure at the £150 to £200-ish point I'm already in the territory where diminishing returns is very much a thing, and it would be easy with a bad choice to spend significantly more and not get the gains hoped for.
The output on most devices is generally either a dual opamp or in the case of laptops \ phones a small class D chip. Neither will show any expensive headphones in their best light. Especially in the bass region. I've designed and built a lot of headphone amps for myself to improve this. If using a decent USB DAC with integral headphone output though this should be less of a a problem
But in the end, maybe I'll stick with the X2's - some of the options being suggested above are out of my price range - I guess I was thinking if I could find something clearly better for up to £400ish I might jump, but perhaps to get a significant improvement I'd need to spend more - diminishing returns and all that.
I have looked at the various AKG's with interest, especially the K712 pro, which some say is similar to the X2 - perhaps a bit more detail resolution, and a little less bass. Also there is the older K612 which I've seen for less than £100 lately. But these may be a bit of a sideways move, though I'm sure they have their strengths.
Fair do's - I know the hd600 are a classic, but I suspect they wouldn't be my personal cup of tea somehow, from what I read and hear. For studio use, I'm sure you're spot on re the monitors, but I'm really talking home listening, primarily to enjoy music.
But to return to the question posed by the OP, some years ago I coined the phrase "AudioBliss" to describe a listening experience when the sound seems perfect. Cost is not a factor here, everything you hear sounds perfect. Change some component in the system and you upset the delicate balance that is AudioBliss. So if the OP is happy with the sound of his system, leave it as it is and listen to and enjoy as much music as he wants. If it sounds good, it is good. Trust your own judgement and enjoy what you have.
If the OP grows dissatisfied with the sound, the only course of action is to put together a new system from the ground up and attempt to create AudioBliss 11. Never easy second time around and it will cost more. A lot more.
Nil Satis Nisi Optimum
FWIW I've never felt the need to replace mine and I've had them about 5 years.
@Winny_Pooh I'm sure the Neumann monitors must be lovely - headphones is what I'm thinking about at the moment though, so that's one for another time I reckon. Cheers for mentioning them though, always useful to learn about such things.
Well, not sure Grimsby has anything corresponding to the description of "hi-fi shop" but I take your point. I would be interested to compare the Fidelios with the Beyerdynamic dt1990s some time, just to see. But there is a certain something about the sound from the Fidelios that I would be loath to loose - I guess we both know what that certain something is, even if hard to describe. I am more than ever grateful for your original recommendation for these cans, having had them for a while now, and especially since they seem harder to come by lately - they may not be what some people consider "proper hi-fi", being tuned for listening enjoyment, rather than a flat response, but they do seem to suit me very well. So I guess I don't really sound like someone who is very desperate to "upgrade" after all.
And remember, it will only ever be as good as the recording. So , what ever you do , dont google ''TAS list''
Smaller sized files are compressed with a computer algorithm 'decision' to remove what it deems as unnecessary information in the WAV files. When these files are played, they cannot give you the full WAV sound as some or a lot of information has been stripped out. Permanently. Generally though highly compressed music files [small size] sound more vivid and more in your face when listened to on the in-ear buds which have a very limited dynamic range and usable frequency response [the things supplied with mobile phones, iPods etc.] but if the music is compared to the uncompressed version on good headphones and/or a good hi-fi system, the limitations of the highly compressed files become glaringly obvious. High levels of compression music files have their uses though, in a noisy environment as in a car, the reduced dynamic range helps the music sound overcome the car/road noise.
Nil Satis Nisi Optimum