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I screwed up

I have a pretty good HiFi. I use Usher Dancer Mini 2 DMDs, powered by a Harman Kardon HK990 integrated amp playing Flac files and HD material downloaded from HDTracks and Tidal music streaming. My speakers, subs and listening seats are meticulously placed and my room is acoustically treated and is a terrific environment for audio playback. But, often at night I like to lay in bed and listen to music, so to keep from disturbing my wife I use headphones. I've had AKG-K701s for about 5 years and they have served me well.

My trouble started about a month ago when I happen to see a Beyerdynamic T1 Tesla headphone for a very good price, so I bought it. Now I am spoiled. My main rig just doesn't thrill me like it did. Instead of basking in the music I complain to myself about the lack of speed and detail. Other than shear musical scale, the headphone outperforms the room system in every way. Is it going to take some expensive new speakers like small Vivids or Raidho C1 to get that T1 sound quality? I feel like an old pothead that discovered crack cocaine and now rue the day that I put the pipe to my lips. Maybe the answer is to listen to my buddy's car radio in his 1999 Chevy pickup for a while and that might make my main rig sound great again! Is this scenario typical of an obsessed audiophile/music lover, or is something just wrong with me? LOL.
danoroo
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
10,902 posts
 
Give yourself some time to see if you fatigue from the headphones. You're listening to the mix of a good sound engineer which is nothing like a real event. All of that detail just isn't in a live performance. It's addicting for sure but you just may tire of it. I did. I haven't used my headphones in over a year now and I used to love them.

All the best,
Nonoise
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"09-13-15: Coli
You just discovered the truth about audiophile setups. Look into active monitors, they are just so much better."

That's a matter of opinion. I've tried many different powered speakers in all price ranges. You end up spending a lot more money for less sound quality.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
Someone's bound to read my last post and say there's no way that I could have heard every active speaker on the market. That would be a true statement. I haven't heard every speaker in production.
danoroo OP
239 posts
 
Thanks for the feedback guys. I think I will take Nonoise's advise first (since it is free....LOL) and see if my love affair with the T1 Tesla is a fleeting thing. But, since my listening habits already include a lot of late night headphone use I'm inclined to believe that it isn't. A quality preamp in front of the HK power section sounds intriguing though. Can I get a good pre for $1200 to $1500? If so, what?
russ69's avatar
russ69
3,521 posts
 
You already figured it out. Your system just isn't up to snuff. When you upgrade your system it should blow headphones away. If it doesn't, you need a bigger upgrade.
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