Submitted by Djee-f t3_zyynrn in headphones
I am not a big headphones collector myself, but I (will) own 5 pairs (soon) not counting my Airpods Max or my IEMs.
I was wondering how you selected your pair for a listening session. Do you go by music style, by amp? Do you instead just stick to the pair that you prefer at the moment letting the others catch dust? Do you have another "method" or habit?
Cockatiels awake = closed back Cockatiels in bed = open back
lol sounds like your Cockatiels know how to sing
I generally use my Meze 99 Neos most of the time, but when it's warm and I need something a little more open and breathable, I'll use my Sennheiser HD 599 SEs.
When I'm out and about, it's IEM time.
I typically spend a week with one headphone, then change it to another for another week. I mostly work from home so I can cycle them but I think that after listening to one set of cans for some time you need a bit of time to adjust to the new sound so giving them a week seems fair. Also, I can appreciate sound differences more as well as other nuances like build or comfort. I do not have any order specified, I just pick one at the beginning of the week, usually one that I haven't used for a while and also something different enough from the one I was using prior.
for me it depends on the mood. While I use the HD800 the most, when I wanna listen to rock I go for the Atriums and when I wanna listen to EDM etc I go for the Verite. For gaming the HD800 is king and is just the most comfortable out of the bunch when all I am doing is chat on discord with friends.
I run them all from the same source. When I am gaming I mainly use the headphone output on the RME, when I am "actually listening to music" I swap to the tubes :D
Exquisite setup indeed!
I use one for some time, then I miss the other sound signature and switch to other headphones. Then after some more time I miss the previous sound signature, I switch back to previous headphone. The cycle goes on like this for me.
K702 for most of the time, K701 when watching anime with cute girls/listening to music with more strings.
How do you amp yours? I have the same pair, run through an old VCan headphone amp. They are terribly inefficient but the sound is magnificent.
Good headphones I keep for Sundays, the rest of the week I'm on Grados
lol I sense something between the lines
Over 30 in my collection. I have about 5 or 6 I really rotate through. Just depends on my mood or need at the time.
I just sold most of my headphones, but ideally the Beyer T1.2 are married to the DarkVoice by the night stand for night sessions. And whatever headphone I'm feeling like using is used during the day to edit and listen to music.
Right now it's the T1.2 doing double duty, but might get an Aeon Noire to have a closed pair. I have IEMs, but I don't think I want to own more than 2-3 headphones at a time. Feels like a waste.
My amps are basically stations. DarkVoice = bedside, Lyr = Desk, MCTH = living room for gaming
Location, location, location... I have 3 desks, 2 of them have 1 pair... The other desk has 3 pairs and that's in the office... So mostly how i feel that day and how warm it is or isn't if i swap... Or how loud it is also.
I usually box up my headphones and wear one for a few months.
then swap out of the blue to get that instant change in sound without being used to it.
I needed some comfortable passive sound isolation so wanted some closed backs and picked up Dan Clark Noires for a good deal. Packed up my other headphones and am gonna use these for a month. I've never used planars before but now I understand why people love them now (and these arent even the most sought after planars).
I just keep my KSC75's on hand for when im around the house doing things and need beats to kill time with.
Nice. This is one good way to really appreciate each and every pair at a time. I should receive my Massdrop Dan Clark closed very soon. Can't wait to see what planars are.
Hope you can appreciate them, they are really well built and the most comfortable headphones I've tried yet
Most days, it starts off with what is nearby, but throughout the course of the day, as the playlist rolls on, curiosity could strike in wondering "how this song sounds on 'XYZ' pair". Other times, I just stick with whatever is on my head.
Lately, with the frigid cold weather in the Northeast these past few weeks, it has been a bit fortuitous to have a hot running Class A tube amp warm up the room, so that has also contributed to enjoying the high impedance Sennheisers more often, as well.
So really, there is no consistent rhyme or reason - just what is appealing for the moment.
I like that. Do you find yourself using more hours on the Utopia or the HD800?
Sadly, I have a lot more headphones than what shows on my flair, and I end up using many of the unlisted ones a lot more frequently, overall. Even as I type this now, I'm listening to an HD600 through the aforementioned tube amp.
But between those two though, I do prefer the Utopia more than the HD800. The punchiness and dynamism of the Utopia is more appealing to me (at least, right now) over the larger sensation of a headstage from the HD800, but there are times when those urges do flair up.
I guess it's a long drawn out way of saying I'm a giant pain in the ass, and need the freedom of change always at a moments notice. :P
I hear you! Thanks for contributing to this discussion. I like where this post and the comments are going.
At the moment it's my new Denon AD-H7200 most of the time at home.
When out and about it's my Open-heart Resin iems at the moment after getting my new balanced cable for them.
The Sony MDR-1a get out, when it's Metallica time and will get out a lot more, when their balanced cable arrives later next month.
When I like something different and have time for my tubes or wanna game, it's Grado SR60 most of the time.
The V-Moda M100 are my nostalgic pair and get out least often now adays but sometimes when I'm in a dark jazz mood, they are unmatched still.
My Bluetooth cans (Sony WF 1000XM3 and B&W PX) are mostly used for gracery shopping and have been my work headphones before getting my external mic shortly before Christmas.
Interesting choices you got there. Good to know the MDR-1a is good for metal. I was eye-ing the 7200 but decided to get a good used pair of Fostex TH-X00 instead. Loving it for rock and metal too.
I love the Denon. Yet to find a genre, that they don't sound great on!
For Metallica it's a tie at the moment between it and the Sony but I think the Sony will get a little ahead when balanced...
The base though on the Denon is unbelievable pleasing without sacrificing the highs or bleeding into the treble.
I absolutely stoked about them at the moment...
When on the couch, iems (for YouTube/tv, AirPods; for gaming, chu; for music, dioko); when working at the desk at home, headphones (for videocalls, ksc75x; for music akg k240 vintage or kph30i modded); when in the office, HD58x for both videocalls and music
Per function, nice! I read more and more about AKG. Keep it coming!
Each of my headphones or IEMs have different characteristics and are suitable for different things so I pick up whatever headphone is suited to what I'm using it for. Sometimes I just feel in the mood for a change.
Cool. To the point of changing in between 2 songs or playlists?
Purely by mood and whim.
Whenever I'm at my computer I will use my R70x unless my roommate is sleeping or being loud then I'll switch to my dt770. If I'm anywhere away from my pc I'll use my dunu Talos and I keep my moondrop arias with fiio utws5 in my car in case I need headphones when I go out.
I generally allocate my headphones to different rooms, with that allocation occasionally changing. I find that moving headphones between rooms is too much of a hassle, so I just have different setups in each room, and choose which room I want to be in. It works both ways: if I want to listen in the living room where my wife usually is, then I'm listening to either the Hifiman R7DX or the Sennheiser HD6xx, because that's where they live, and if I want to listen to a specific headphone, then I'll go to where that headphone is. In the home office, I have my SR-L700mk2, Aeon 2 Closed, and Sundara. In my computer room, I have the Shangri-La Jr and a second R7DX.
As for picking which headphone in a room to use, it's sometimes based on practicality (like how much noise is there in the background), often it's based on preference (my SGL Jr gets the vast majority of listening time at my computer desk because I like it the best), and sometimes it's based on laziness, like sometimes I'll use my R7DX simply because I don't feel like waiting for my estat amp to warm up. And other times it's just for variety, like I want to feel a different flavor today. I don't divide up my time based on music or genre, all of my music is played on all of my headphones, and I enjoy the different flavors that each headphone imparts upon the music. As an analogy, I love eggs, and fried eggs are my favorite, but sometimes I like them poached, and occasionally I'll have them scrambled; I usually season them with salt and pepper, but sometimes I like them with soy sauce or hot sauce too.
I wish I could do this! Choosing a room instead of choosing a headphone :) But I get the idea. You probably have different ambiance set in each room. It seems that you go a lot with the feeling of the moment. I like that. Thanks for sharing!
Great comments so far. Interesting to read about your different habits. Thanks! How many pairs do you get to choose from?
PolarBearSequence t1_j28h9n3 wrote
I don’t really have a system. I just switch when I feel like it, and sometimes I’ll listen to music that works well with the headphones.