How do you explain your headphone obsession?

[dylan43270]

I would not say that I am obsessed with buying headphones, but I have a strong desire to try out and have many different headphones. I have gotten by with the money spending to my girlfriend by saying that they are cheaper than her shoes, and that they have more use. However my friend just simply does not understand that you cannot just have one pair of headphones for everything. I tried to explain to him that you use different headphones for different things, but he then got it in his head that I am going to buy a pair of headphones for every genre of music.

 

Here is my headphones:

 

ATH-M50 (Modded to have detachable cable) = got them from trading my HyperX Clouds. They are the headphones that I have found that I use most often since they sound good for being a closed headphone, but the pads are underwhelming.

 

CHC SIlverados = my newest pair of headphones. Got them to get them before they are gone for good, as they are awesome build quality. Going to use them as my headphones for passively isolating sound.

 

Pioneer SE-A1000 = My overall favorite pair of headphones. Would wear them all of the time if I was not constantly in a noisy environment. They are the most comfy, and the best sound quality in my opinion.

 

Panasonic HTF600 = I generally use these for gaming as they are semi open and produce pretty decent sound quality and bass. they are almost as big of workhorses as my M50s.

 

SoundMAGIC E10 with Comply Tips = I use these for taking into to work as they are my IEMs.

 

These seem justified to me but he is the kind of person that uses a cheap gaming headset as his only pair of headphones. How could I explain this in a way that he would understand?

 

[BrianPena]

Headphones have more use than shoes? Haha.

[dylan43270]

Headphones have more use than shoes? Haha.

It is more reasonable to have 5 pairs of headphones compared to 20 pairs of shoes.

[DigitalHermit]

Tell him you use a different pair depending on your mood... It's something to maintain the emotions... (I have 3 earphones, 1 headphones, and I'm saving up for a second pair of headphones... Each with its own unique sound signature...)

[Theo]

As long as he doesnt try them, he wont understand. And maybe even then he wont get it, somethings arent not meant for everyone.

That being said, when i've a job ill buy several headphones just cause

[GloriousPain]

simple I don't have a headphone obsession

[BoredErica]

Easy peasy.

People spend thousands on gaming PCs that have the be replaced every few years. Here I can get top of the line stuff for like 1k and I don't have to replace it. Get a job and stop being poor.

 

Still, at the end of the day, I don't care if other people find my opinions to be unjustified.

[burningfyra]

_{Really no sennheiser's}

[BoredErica]

_{Really no sennheiser's}

What?

[ShearMe]

Don't explain it at all to him. It's your hobby and he can piss off. 

[Silent_Xaxal]

Different headphones from different manufacturers will usually show differences in sound signature, comfort, weight and size (Pretty important for people on the go), and usability (It's usually not recommended to use an HD600 in the train). So there's one way to justify multiple cans/buds (IEMs can be surprisingly different when comparing differing types). This also means that headphones will perform better or worse in certain scenarios in differing ways to others in those same scenarios (Quick Example: An AD700X won't sound as punchy as an Urbanite, but the Urbanite will have better bass. Similarly, the Urbanite will not have as wide a soundstage as an AD700X, which would give the AD700X an edge in gaming or sound identification use cases.)

 

In this case, Headphones become akin to wine and liquor. Different tastes and characteristics will serve different scenarios better than the others.

[GamerDude]

I have two headphones and one headset (Senn HD555, a recently acquired ATH-AD700X and a HX Cloud) and I am pretty happy with the choices I've made. Have also added to my IEM collection by getting a JVC HA-FXZ100 (have an Ety ER-6 and a Shure SE215) as well as scoring a Klipsch M40 (already have a Klipsch Image One BT) which I'll be getting in a day or two. 

 

As for this cans obsession you have, well, there are worse obsessions to have so in the grand scheme of things, yours is nothing to worry about. No need to explain or justify your obsession (wouldn't even call it that, it's more to do with 'appreciation' than 'obsession').

[creatip123]

Explaining a hobby,  or worse, an obsession, to someone who doesn't share the same thing is kinda hard, so you might want to save your breath, actually. Most of my friends still can comprehend the need to spend more than $100 for a headphone. 

 

I used to want to have and collect multiple headphones. But after a while (and judging by my wallet's size), I thought it's better to keep (and use) 1 better headphone, than a few of mediocre headphones. What I meant is, it's better for me to have, for example, 1 good $500 headphone, then 5 mediocre $100 headphones. That's just me though, and I do understand if somebody like to have multiple headphones for collection. 

[BoredErica]

My original ideas were to get one better headphone instead of a few cheaper ones or getting a cheap one to start out only to upgrade later on. It still makes perfect sense, but of course once you've already hit TOTL stuff, there's not much left apart from getting other headphones or just sticking with one. I don't really collect headphones for the sake of it.

[Lauen]

I would like to try stuff, but I don't see myself collecting headphones. I have M50's, SRH440's, CHC Silverado's, Pioneer SE-A1000's, Sennheiser PC360's and a pair of JBL J33 IEM's. I want to try planars, high end AKG things like the Q701, and better IEM's, my first thought is anything with a cable that goes around the ear. but I do believe I have what I want to have right now, now if only I had more Comply tips for my J33's. been broke for a month or two, so can't order any yet.

[GamerDude]

At TS, let me say this again, what you have is a hobby or an appreciation of headphones, not an obsession at all. Wanna talk about obsession? Check out the pic below and thank your lucky stars you ain't got an obsession.

[ShearMe]

At TS, let me say this again, what you have is a hobby or an appreciation of headphones, not an obsession at all. Wanna talk about obsession? Check out the pic below and thank your lucky stars you ain't got an obsession.

 

Took this before the peak of my collection, though I've sold off/gifted away all in this pic but the 650's.

 

[BoredErica]

Personally I prefer to own one higher end headphone than many headphones.

[ShearMe]

Personally I prefer to own one higher end headphone than many headphones.

 

Lol noob. <3

[Lays]

 

Took this before the peak of my collection, though I've sold off/gifted away all in this pic but the 650's.

 

 

 

U got rid of ur 612?

[ShearMe]

U got rid of ur 612?

 

612 isn't in the pic, and no.