Tell me what you wish you would have known when you started this hobby.
1·10 months ago- Comfort is a core requirement, and there is no need to suffer for good sound (i.e. headphones/IEMs that are both comfortable and sound good exist)
- 20 USD already gets you a good-sounding IEM (e.g. 7hz Salnotes Zero, Moondrop Chu 2/Jiu, Truthear Hola).
- Diminishing returns kick in early and not everybody needs the best possible sound reproduction (e.g. depending on use case, music listened to)
- More expensive is not always better, but better is almost always more expensive
- Most reviewers out there are shills and should be disregarded. If a reviewer likes everything their opinions are worthless. The more flowery and vague the language of a review the more skeptical you should be.
- Frequency response is the number one determinant for perceived sound quality. Frequency response measurements alone can often tell you that a headphone is bad, but they can’t necessarily tell you whether a headphone is good.
- EQ is always worth trying (but can’t fix a truly shitty headphone)
- DACs and amps are a solved problem. Get something that measures well (no need to go for the best possible measurements), has the features you want and, for the amp, the power you need. The real gains are with better headphones (and custom EQ)
- The HD600 is a classic for a reason.