Headphones

I sold all my headphones and have one pair of IEMs and 5 DAC/amps, and they all sound different. It's actually more fun than when I had a bunch of different headphones.

Most of them were for trying different things. Like I have the Sony's wisp 500 or the linkbuds or the aeropex because I was looking for a good sports headphones.

I've bought the same exact iems and the sound is completely different. Second set isn't as loud and the same Bluetooth adapter is worse as well. Moved out of an apartment and left most of my shit there. My iems being a part of that. Ordered the same exact ones along with the same Bluetooth adapter and quality is worse and when using the phone for calls people can barely hear me. My first set was perfectly fine and never had any audio issues on the phone. Not everything is made the same even if it's the same exact product.

You can't eq closed backs to sound open, and you can't eq dynamics to sound electrostatic.

Honestly... this is kind of why I started selling off most of my collection. While I still cycle through headphones and IEMs, there seems to be a handful that I always come back to, and others spend most of their time on a shelf, only coming down once in a while

Mainly because I don't use EQ much and I really like to observe different sound signatures as they come originally.

That and I have problems with my collecting habit

Can you show me on this headphone amp where our collections hurt you?

You have no idea what you're talking about whatsoever.

That may sound harsh - but that's just it.

"I just think they're neat!"

I agree. Having different kinds is good but you don't need 5+ closed/open back headphones. Same goes for IEMs or wireless earbuds.

shopping spree I guess.The step are usually like: something hype-buy it-first listen-didn't impress-change tip/eq-feel better-later on comback to non eq-feel sound better, cycle repeat and other are set to collect dust

I have one of each type of headphone, and I sell one when I replace it. It just naturally happened that way and I'm happy with it. I have a planar, a dynamic driver, a closed back, and an IEM. And I haven't felt the need to upgrade or get something else.

I have 2 and I'm fine with that

Iems are nice on the go with good isolation , openbacks are great for soundstage.

Can't eq that, they just provide different experiences

Practicality.

Earbuds that are 12 years old.

Headphones that leak sound, low ohm.

New IEMs, for house. Better isolation.

New IEMs, cheaper, for biking and gaming.

New planar IEMs for home sound quality. Too expensive to bike with.

New headphones that sound better, high ohm.

Cause they have different things they excel at that eq can't just solve. I've got a paid if fairly neutral cans I use most of the time, and when I feel like destroying my ears with edm bass I've got a pair that are very bass heavy without being just eq distortion

Sometimes I wanna buy something nice, because I got a bunch of extra disposable income and a chunk of that already added to my savings. So I wanna treat myself for once, but then I don't know what to buy except headphones lol.

Headphones is like clothes to me. Today's not the same as tomorrow.

Why do people have so many pairs of sneakers or watches or handbags or cars

Not even EQ andies like Resolve or DMS would tell you that EQ = every headphone lol.

So I can give it to people I care for just in case they want to try alternatives other that what we've been used to all our lives which are audio devices worth less than $10. Although nowadays I'm seeing more and more cheaper alternatives with similar audio quality for a fraction of the price.

You can't EQ a bass shelf into a 6XX, you can't EQ the timbre of a 6x0 series headphone into a planar, you can't EQ the treble extension of iems into a headphone reliably. That's the reason.

I can only speak for myself but I just have one headphone. xD
Well within this week a second one because I got a good black friday deal but it will replace my 13 year old Audio Technica ATH-M30 and I think that I won't use them anymore.

I would like to know the answer too.

I have like 5 pairs of Porta Pros in different colors and variations. :D What if they sometime go out of market, then I need a stock of them. :D

Two wireless: one consumer level with active noise cancelling, one that's heavy with shit battery life but uses tech to sound closer to wired. They legit sound amazing over Bluetooth but whatever tech it uses only has line a 5 ft range and nerfs the battery from about 5 hours play time to like 30 minutes to an hour.

Three open backs: one bassy, one flat, one high grade (but too heavy to move around with much)

Two closed backs: one planar for a bit of separation, one "fun" that works great with EQ but is objectively a mediocre headphone. Really great to use for games.

None of my headphones were bought for over 500 dollars, and sure I could EQ some so sound similar, there's always something about each pair that another can't quite replicate, even with EQ. Like, you can't just add haptic bass like the Skullcandy crushers have. You can't increase sound stage well with EQ so open backs are always a bit better for that. Fostex T50RP Mk3 with Dekoni pads have a lot of planar positives, but can be EQd to basically be "planar bass cannons", or as close as planars can really be. AKG k712 are great for mixing music and things, but are basically objectively bland for actually listening for pleasure. They're basically work headphones. My "daily driver" headphones are closed back Hifiman Sundaras because I like their sound a lot for everything from games to music.

Not everyone needs multiple headphones, and not everyone wants multiple headphones. But to pretend like EQ makes all headphones perfectly equal is disingenuous, and all headphones do tend to serve different purposes.

Because I can afford it.

As others have said, there's more to the sound of headphones than just EQ.

As a small example, listening to digital music, I prefer headphones with better imaging and wide soundstage, whereas when I listen to vinyl, I prefer a warmer sound with a more intimate soundstage. These kind of properties are more inherent to the headphones themselves and can't be controlled in EQ.

There's also no one size fits all solution for a headphone that responds well to eq. On something like a dt770, you can crank up the bass and rattle your skull, but with something like an hd600, cranking up the bass like that just makes the music sound muddy and imprecise.

Fit is also a big one. On a hot summer day, I'd prefer to use something with a loose fit and more breathable pads, but some days, I'd rather have something with a tighter fit and velour pads.

Same reason I have had so many airsoft guns. Sure one can do the job, but it's fun buying and selling them and getting to try different ones out along the way

I'm good with three at max. (Two for daily driving (Tangzu Wan'er and Moondrop Chu II), and one for bed (Moondrop Quarks))

Sound, looks, comfort, different genres especially. I try not to own multiple from the same brand.

For me it was because I was trying to find my preferred sound signature, and chifi makes it much easier and less expensive 😂 For iems at least I found my end game in Hifiman RE2000 I got on sale. I also have Sundaras and focal elegia, open back vs closed back for obvious reasons.

I have a collection of vintage headphones. It's been fun discovering how the products evolved. For my favorite models, I've snagged spares whenever possible.

According to my spreadsheet, I might have about 60 pairs total.

That being said, I listen to podcasts through speakers most of the time, so maybe it's time to move on.

I get what your saying and honestly I mostly agree with you. For myself I have about 11 different headphones currently. I've owned about 20. However I did not do this intentionally as this happened naturally to me as all I wanted was to discover what sound signature truly resonates with myself. All these headphones collecting dust helped me along to find what I wanted.

Or in other words, chasing the sound. As a true person with the disease of audiophilia I use music to listen to my headphones!

Breaking into speakers now. Oh, and vintage amps!

It'll never end!

I only have 1 good set

The rest are spares and junk I'd never get my money back selling.

I do not know how I ended up with so many IEMs. I suspect there’s a virus in my phone that automatically adds them to my shopping cart and checks them out without my knowledge. Bad virus!

Some people really don't understand a simple concept of hobbies involving collections, don't they??

There’s two arguments to be made here:

1. EQ does not “completely change” your headphone. It’s not the same as having a separate pair. If you sometimes want to hear your music in multiple different ways you need to own multiple headphones.

2. While the first statement is true there is a moment when if you have too many pairs of headphones you can’t realistically use them all and some of them end up collecting dust and being useless.

How many headphones is too many headphones? Well that depends on the individual maybe. I personally can’t really use more than 3 pairs regularly.

I don't have too many, but its really nice to have different flavours. Also switching to a shitty headphone now and then helps me appreciate good music which will otherwise be taken for granted :)

my money has to go somewhere

EQ only does so much. Also .. I have 1 open back headphone and one iem that I use. One for the go one for at home. I do have some pairs that I just dont use nomore but I dont think that counts.

Perhaps because different sound signatures tend to be more suitable for specific music genres?