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.
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.
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.
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- 17 posts total
Yupp....that is true for my system as well. I have a dedicated amp for my Sennheiser 650's which are much better than my big system. I think that a good earphone system is better than any speaker system. You don't have room resonances, easier to drive, etc. Earphones do have a shut in image, that speakers don't have...other than that.... |
Danoroo, I didn't know you do a lot of late night listening. That changes things. If that's the case and you really like what you hear, then a dedicated headphone amp (and all that goes with it) may just be your ticket to audio nirvana. If you haven't already, check out: http://headfonics.com/ http://www.innerfidelity.com/frontpage http://audio-head.com/ http://headphone.guru/9 http://www.6moons.com/ There are more sites but these would be a good start. All the best, Nonoise |
- 17 posts total