That may seem like a lot to spend, but consider my living situation. I have neighbors to the sides and above. So I could buy a powerful speaker system and never find out what it could do. Oh, it was worth it. These headphones sound better than any others I've heard. The $1800 was for a balanced amplifier, balanced cables, built in DAC, and Sennheiser HD650 headphones. I also ordered a balanced Cardas cable, which brings the total up to $2100.

This is the situation I now face: every vgm album I have is brand new. From Zuntata's Rayforce to Capcom's Mega Man, it's all new. The detail is insane. Movies benefit greatly as well.

After a session with these I feel as if I've gotten away with something, like I didn't deserve that. I guess this is my reward for existence. Hehe.

Explanation of balanced headphones:

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/bala … s/one.html

I know the feeling...I got into high-end headphones two years ago. My splurge was a set of Future Sonics FS1's and a pair of Grado SR-80's. Recently though, the FS1's broke and I splurged on these beauties:

http://reviews.cnet.com/headphones/futu … ag=box4505

It was either these or the ones from Etymotic, but I heard these were better with rock music (much like the FS1's, as the Atrio's are basically the second generation of those). I haven't finished getting my jaw off the ground yet. It's amazing how much these suckers pick up. Totally worth the price and they even came in my favorite color.

The Grado SR-80's are amazing as well, but it depends what they're hooked into. The sound from the iPod is kinda good, but through my PC's sound card, they're mind-blowing. The Atrios, on the other hand, have killer sound just coming from the iPod.

On a seperate note, they also help point out the difference between 128 kbps files and 320 kbps with alarming ease.

Some headphones go for more than $1800 by themselves.  Among the top-priced phones:

Sennheiser Orpheus:
http://www.funponsel.com/blog/archives/ … s-headset/

Audio-Technica ATH-L3000 (and L3000G):
http://www.audio-technica.co.jp/atj/ath … index.html

Sony MDR-R10:
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR-R10-Home … B000096B3G

The L3000s tend to go for around $2,500 for the brown versions, and more for the green ones (only 50 of the greens were ever made).  The R10s were around $4,000 when new, but now go over $6,000 on the used market.  And the Orpheus...well, if the link I provided is correct, it was $17,000 when it was sold.

I have heard of the Orpheus, but the others are new to me. I had no idea Sony made such a high end set of headphones. They're more than double the price of my complete set-up. I imagine you'd need to spend another $5,000 or so getting an appropriate amp and cables.

   I plan on keeping my set-up for several years and I bought additional ear pads, in the event they stop manufacturing my specific model.

I have tried Grado headphones (SR225 model) and they hurt my ears (outside) every time. I never did use them properly (never bought an amp for them). Basically, they were very uncomfortable and I didn't want to spend any extra on an amp at the time. So I sold them. I bought some high end Denons earlier this year and they were very comfortable, but I wasn't sure what type of amp to buy. Researching them only confused me. So I decided to return them as well, since I wasn't using them properly. Finally, I found a package deal with headphones and the amp, which made my life much easier. And this newfangled balanced technology is everything it's advertised to be. It sounds like you're in a room with speakers. In fact, when I listen to music in my car, it somehow sounds 'smaller'. I guess that's what they mean by a wide sound stage; it is evident on balanced headphones.

  I've never tried ear-plug headphones. They might exacerbate my compacted ear wax. No one should stick things in their ears, but it is even more important for those with ear wax that hardens and sticks to the skin. It hurts, umm, severely, when I get it removed.

  My headphone amp was designed to be used with almost any source and is recommended for use with a PC. So I just have it hooked up via USB and drag files into Winamp. There was nothing to install; it knew what to do.

So, could you name them? I'm really starting to consider getting a set like that.

This is the one I got:

  http://www.headphone.com/products/packa … -hd650.php

  It took nearly 5 weeks for it to arrive after placing an order, so I imagine they build these things as people order them.

  This is all their packaged systems:

  http://www.headphone.com/products/packaged-systems/

So Jodo, where is it made? I know some people say just because it's made in China doesn't mean it's bad quality... but my experience with Chinese goods has been less than adequate. I remember I once bought a BOSE speaker system (that I have to this day) that was fabulous! It turns out, it's made in the USA. I figured it's a little pricier, but worth it. I then purchased a headphone, from Bose, which ended up being made in China. A little more than a year later (after the warranty expired) it died. Oh, and I have numerous stories like this... so, I try to avoid Chinese goods as much as possible.

cheers,

-avatar!

The package came from Bozeman, Montana. I would suspect that the headphones were made in Germany and the amp was assembled in Montana. The included cables were made in China. I'm not going to dismantle the amp to see where the parts were actually made, but you should know this better than I - it was all forged in stars. To say that a product is bad because a Chinese person made it is like saying an atom is bad because it came from a foreign star. That doesn't hold water because almost all stars are foreign, like almost all people. Heck, I know my neighbors as well as I know the average Chinese citizen. (A simple wall is enough to make someone foreign, in my opinion.)

  ...........

Well, I just checked the Sennheiser package and the headphones were made in Ireland. That was a surprise. I checked the power supply and it was made in Taiwan. The amp itself doesn't have MADE IN written anywhere on it, although there is a warning about turning off the power before removing the headphones.

  I'd be more worried about products made on other planets, since their gravities may differ from ours and their products may be too durable or too fragile. They may add chemicals that we don't have, which could be toxic. It would all have to be able to survive intense gamma radiation, to kill off any harmful alien bacteria.

haha! amusing
but your argument doesn't hold water I'm afraid, for you should know that it's not just the atoms that matter, but how they're arranged! In other words, the molecules! Lots of molecules in your headphones, and bad arrangement of molecules = bad product! Now guess where the molecules are arranged...?

-avatar!

I got the $300 headphone cable (made by Cardas) a few days ago and it sounded worse at first. I read the instructions after trying out the product, which is my usual order of events. These cables need a break-in time of 10-15 minutes before playing to sound better. And they need another break-in time of months or years to sound their best.

By sounding worse I'm not referring to anything inherent in the music. I actually heard static and occasionally one side would turn off. From the Cable Break-in Guide:

When new, these cables tend to glare and lack focus for the first few hours of play. All cables need a break-in and warm-up period. Better cables require longer break-in.....

  Discharging the Teflon dielectric is another reason our cables require a warm up period, even after a proper break-in.

I knew that cars needed a break-in time. But this is not so obvious about headphones and their cables.

To speed that up I'd guess you just leave them running 24-7 when you're doing other things like sleeping and working.

I've read that's not necessary. It will also marginally increase my electric bill. I've used them for about 20 hours and I no longer hear the static. Movies have the deepest bass of any recorded material I'm aware of, since they have to reproduce engine noises and explosions. I think a few gunshots here and there will speed up the process as well.