The entire audiophile journey started with phrase "Its crazy to spend so much on earphones". Back in 2010 while looking for a new earphone I went to Jaben as they were known to have the best price. Having zero knowledge earphones/ headphone I felt that spending big bucks on a pair of listening device was totally absurd. Knowing my budget the salesperson offered me to try out the Shure SE215 was pretty impress with its clarity. Presentation of vocals were very smooth. Bought it without much consideration as it was the best sounding pair within my budget. Before leaving the store I asked. "What's the price for a next better one in line?" The salesperson then showed me the SE535 which he told me cost 700+. Right away I replied that it was crazy to spend so much. With that it all began.
"Why don't you try to better understand" was what the salesperson replied. So I took a seat once again. Put on the SE535. Suddenly voices sound so life like. Everything was crystal clear. It wasn't like anything I've ever heard. It made created this connection with the music. So that they I left with a burning curiosity in my heart. How much more quality can be achieved? Soon I found myself in this hobby of mine. My first big item was the AK100 which was a demo set. Soon it was SE535 with the goVibe Portatube which came as a bundle. Very soon it got to the level of AK120 and SE846. I later sold of the SE846 to get a pair of custom IEMs.
I use to condemn Sennheiser products having tried so many various brand they were usually over priced for a given performance level. I always thought it was just branded. However while doing research on what is the best sounding headphones, one headphone that was constantly mentioned was the HD800. In my mind I was think just a hype due to brand recognition.
One day at an audio fest I happen to walk pass the Sennheiser booth. There laid the HD800 and HD700. As the HD800 was being auditioned I decided to give the HD700 a shot. Placed the headphone on my head and started the music. Soon I felt like I was transported into another dimension. It felt like the music was live. As if I was in a live set. It literally blew my mind. Way more than the first time I had the SE535 on. I didn't get to try the HD800 that day but that day had totally changed my impression of Sennheiser. Furthermore the cost of the HD700 was that of my custom IEM which made me wonder if the IEMs were a bad investment. (Obviously it wasn't a waste. IEMs compromises on soundstage but it gives you the portability)
So if the HD700 was that good I had to try out the highly praised HD800. So not long after the event I went to try out the HD800 at various places. Was totally impressed once again. However one thing I realized was that the performance of the HD800 varies greatly with different amplification pairing. Even ambient noise in the room will affect the sound you hear as it an open headphone. This led to a new chapter of my journey which was to built a system that I can use HD800 with. And of course within my budget. For 2 years intensive research on amplifiers that goes well with HD800 plus a source.
The end result of this 2 years is a PC which stores all my music and acts as interface for me to feed the digital files which will then be decoded by Matrix X-Sabre an external digital to analog converter (DAC). The analog sound is then fed to the Bottlehead Crack Amplifier and into the HD800. Total damage on my wallet - 400USD on amplifier, 1299SGD for DAC, approx. $1500 for the desktop PC and last but not least 1288SGD for the HD800 which was second hand.
Was the money? Well definitely with no regrets. It has brought my appreciation for music to a much greater level. I now listen to a very wide range of genre.Rock, Jazz, Pop, Latin and many more. Its like a personal escape from the chaotic world we live in.
One day at an audio fest I happen to walk pass the Sennheiser booth. There laid the HD800 and HD700. As the HD800 was being auditioned I decided to give the HD700 a shot. Placed the headphone on my head and started the music. Soon I felt like I was transported into another dimension. It felt like the music was live. As if I was in a live set. It literally blew my mind. Way more than the first time I had the SE535 on. I didn't get to try the HD800 that day but that day had totally changed my impression of Sennheiser. Furthermore the cost of the HD700 was that of my custom IEM which made me wonder if the IEMs were a bad investment. (Obviously it wasn't a waste. IEMs compromises on soundstage but it gives you the portability)
So if the HD700 was that good I had to try out the highly praised HD800. So not long after the event I went to try out the HD800 at various places. Was totally impressed once again. However one thing I realized was that the performance of the HD800 varies greatly with different amplification pairing. Even ambient noise in the room will affect the sound you hear as it an open headphone. This led to a new chapter of my journey which was to built a system that I can use HD800 with. And of course within my budget. For 2 years intensive research on amplifiers that goes well with HD800 plus a source.
The end result of this 2 years is a PC which stores all my music and acts as interface for me to feed the digital files which will then be decoded by Matrix X-Sabre an external digital to analog converter (DAC). The analog sound is then fed to the Bottlehead Crack Amplifier and into the HD800. Total damage on my wallet - 400USD on amplifier, 1299SGD for DAC, approx. $1500 for the desktop PC and last but not least 1288SGD for the HD800 which was second hand.
Was the money? Well definitely with no regrets. It has brought my appreciation for music to a much greater level. I now listen to a very wide range of genre.Rock, Jazz, Pop, Latin and many more. Its like a personal escape from the chaotic world we live in.
