Wisp1971

I was pretty active on Head-Fi at the time and snatched up this deal when someone posted it. I think the HD800 was still $1500 at the time.

Though that is probably not even my greatest "steal", which could be loosely seen at actually stealing. I bought the Fostex TH-900 from a relatively new online vendor, and they accidentally sent me 2 of them. I checked and legally in the US when a merchant sends you something you didn't order, you aren't required to send it back. I held onto it for a bit and that company never contacted me about it and I sold it new in box for $900. I guess they were too disorganized to notice.

I'm not all entirely lucky or wise with money. I bought the Hifiman Edition X on release for $1400 and similar tier headphones like Edition XS are less than $500 now. But I still like them enough for it to be a permanent part of my collection.

I also still own the HD800 but I sold off my amps that could drive it properly. I had the Questyle CMA800R and Bottlehead Crack, but I think I ended up deciding to just keep a more lightweight setup. I regret selling the Crack because I remembered the tube amp paired nicely with the HD800.

I originally got the Edition X because it was easier to drive and could be used directly with my phone (this was before the headphone jack got phased out). I remember I got the Bakoon amp because it had an unique current driven topography that worked well with planar magnetics.

I was comparing the sound from the Edition X through the Bakoon vs. directly through the Roland, and it's crazy the difference it makes. Through the Bakoon, everything sounds more 3 dimensional with distinct layers for each instrument and vocals, with the background being blacker as well. I'm actually quite surprised how much the amp improves things. They sound like two different headphones or at least a higher grade of headphones in the same line.

I'm glad I kept something decent for myself. Next I'll need to look into picking up something that can properly drive my HD800.