Of the many earthly possessions I fill my life with to inject into it some level of enjoyment, headphones stand out as one of the most expensive, and possibly most controversial. Early on headphones were something my dad and I shared when we'd make long trips away from home, visiting relatives for what would be weeks of pushing on our threshold of boredom. We'd find a moment to slip out from their company and make a stop by a department store of some sort, what substituted at the time for a fun getaway. Often we found ourselves looking at headphones, sometimes out of a need for a new set or just as a passing interest. We'd pick up a pair or two and bring them home, eagerly anticipating what the fruits our discoveries might bring. Armed with portable CD players (remember those?), we'd compare and contrast between old and new, different models, different styles. "This has more bass," I'd comment, "but that has more loudness." My father might concur, adding, "you can hear the guitar strings better with that one." It would be a fun moment sitting on the couch, trading opinions, enjoying music, and bonding. Unfortunately my father and I don't share a lot of interests, and such occasions are dear in my memory.
So it seemed only natural that my interests in headphones would grow beyond the sparse excursions away from home, into something all its own, a fascination into the quality of audio derived from headsets of unknown characteristics, a sort of treasure hunt within the vast array of choices hanging from the walls and racks of various retailers. Those were all fairly inexpensive though, and it wasn't long before I found myself unsatisfied with what was available at those prices. I wanted to know what lay beyond, what you could really achieve with the headphone form factor. That inevitably led me to the internet, and searches there uncovered a vast wealth of brands and price ranges, and huge communities sprung up around them. I soon came to know the name Sennhesier, and soon after I spent some hard-saved money on a model costing nearly $100. Quite an expensive initial entry into the world of boutique audio headgear, considering my then fledgling enthusiasm. Upon their arrival, I knew instantly there were more to headphones than I had ever known, and my fascination was greatly spurred.
Sadly, my dad's interest in headphones mostly subsided when the trips were over, and by that point I had greatly surpassed any budget he'd ever be willing to meet. From then on my interest was one-sided, and it no longer provided the kind of emotional fulfillment it once had, but nevertheless it persevered. The pursuit of the next level of audio fidelity was reason enough to keep going, and by the time I finished high school, I spent my graduation money not towards a car, or a vacation overseas, or a deposit into savings...but on headphones. A pair of Beyerdynamic DT990s, costing over $300, along with a dedicated portable headphone amp to power them. They were my first truly highend headphones, and many thought I was crazy. A part of me still thinks I was crazy, but I loved those headphones. Enough so that I was content for a long time to never buy anything headphone-related again.
Well, eventually I reentered the furor, knowing my little portable headphone amp wasn't really enough to do my DT990s justice, and after giving my computer an overhaul, one of the last details I added to it was a sound card, and I decided to get one that would solve two problems in one. The Asus Xonar Essence STX did it all: a great DAC, good headphone amp section built-in, and PCI Express for futureproofing. The sound was cleaner, more controlled, punchier, more detailed, and just all around better in every category. A good upgrade is when there's no aspect that takes a step backwards, and the Essence STX did that. Again, I was content with that setup for a while.
But then the ball got rolling again, and this time it seems it's gone out of control. In the span of several weeks I bought a pair of Sony MDR-XB700s, a highend amp, and most recently an AKG K702. I can't stop myself, not necessarily out of an inability to, but a lack of desire to. One can spend a ridiculous amount of money on any hobby related to audio, and even though headphones are by far the more price-efficient of the audio equipment types, they're also the most collectible, and instead of settling on just one pair of really nice speakers, you might have several pairs of upper-tier headphones to satisfy different moods. And forget the rest of the hardware. That amp I bought alone cost more than any one of the headphones it powers.
Such is the way of things though, usually. Headphones are made by larger companies in highly competitive fields, and their prices are known to sometimes drop dramatically. When at one point a DT990 might have cost somebody $300, now it's quite common to find them for a bit over $200. AKG K701 headphones were another really popular option, and I remember when you could only buy those for $400. Now they're found for about $250. There are a few other headphones in that price range, all of them very highend, requiring investments in all other areas of your audio setup to get the most out of them, but the bright side is, you'll hear the improvement the more you put into them. Headphones costing much more don't have quite the dramatic leap in quality compared to if you came from a $50 or $80 headphone to a $200 one. The $200-300 point is the sweetspot in the headphone world, beyond which you start to see diminishing returns.
Headphone amps are even worse in that regard. They don't have the large companies with deep pockets, highly publicized and aggressively competitive landscapes that headphones do. Instead you have to contend with smaller companies, sometimes consisting of people running it out of their garages, and higher prices for smaller improvements. The differences going from a $200 sound card with a built-in headphone amp to a discreet dedicated headphone amp worth $400 isn't as large as the price delta may suggest. On top of that you have to deal with some really obscure stuff here. Most of it you won't hear about except from the occasional thread in an enthusiast forum, and competent reviews and comparisons between models is scarce and hard to rely on. Most of it requires a leap of faith, since, although there are community meetings all over the country where people can test equipment, and some online stores might be willing to loan out products before you buy, or at least return within a decent amount of time for a full refund, odds on favor you won't know or be able to find out how something sounds before you take the plunge. It's a very expensive gamble, and often the only way you can get your money back is to resell it at a loss.
But it's that search that keeps people going. That sense of discovery and exploration, looking for what's around the corner, delving into all the deep facets of your music, uncovering that last bit of immersion factor. All it takes is the first bite. The first $80 headphones you buy will be such a huge jump over the iBuds or cheap Walkman headphones you got at Radioshack or Wal-Mart. Suddenly you're hearing things you never knew were there, you're hearing detail and clarity you didn't know was possible, and just when your mouth is starting to froth, you realize this is just the beginning. There's a whole other world of even more highend headphones, ready to show you that what you thought was "good enough" before, was really the deprivation of enjoyment you've never known, and couldn't imagine. Unless you know somebody, or have been around someone with some really high quality audio equipment, it's impossible to know what you're missing out on. And no, those Boss demo kiosks and cool surround sound movie rooms at your local electronics stores don't count. If you thought those sound good, you ain't heard nothing yet.
It's one of the most exciting and engrossing hobbies there are (albeit an often lonely one), and while some may balk at the prices you pay, they might understand better if they knew what you're getting out of it. Few things move you to the emotional core like music, and when music sounds really good, you feel a strong and visceral connection to the sound hardware that creates that sensation, on a level that goes beyond most other hobbies. It's one I'm glad to experience for myself, and one I wish I could share with others more. For now, I think I'm going to focus more on the actual music.
