Damn, I wish there was something like that here, would love to try out some higher end stuff to compare to the graces.
Sounds good, those are both IEMs that interest me too.
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I need people like these. Iâm down to cross demo in the L.A county 
Iâm glad that I did find the people who you can converse with vs showing the $$$$ spent
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For me the first game changing gear were tape recorders and CD burners which allowed my music collection to start to grow. Then being able to listen to it anywhere using early DAPs such as a Creative Nomad and iPod (3rd generation) were a giant leap forward.
Following on from that a Grado SR325e showed me what was missing in the music and started me to jump down this rabbit hole experimenting with various transducer types, sound signatures and source gear.
Going a step higher with Stax and LCD-X then showed me even more detail in the music and headphones such as ZMF Auteur connected to a tube amp like the Tor Roger skewed the conversation into an overall tonal sound rather than chasing more resolution.
I predict that in the future if I get to trial some high end gear such as a Diana Phi on some good source gear that it will steer me towards that and then I guess all my money will be gone. 
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Funnily enough I had the LP for quite sometime and I never tube rolled! Only discovered it recently with the bottle head crack
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I spent most of my life in the world of typical, non audiophile folk. The apple earbuds that came with my phone, or super cheap on ear âearphonesâ that came with my walkman back in the '80s, and pretty much the same thing that came with my diskman, well, these were what personal listening were. That was it. I was marginally aware that over ear headphones were a thing, but they were always for musicians. A lot of men of my fatherâs generation seemed to have some obsession with these big furniture grade stereo systems, but I never really paid any attention to them. Now I wish I had that Kenwood system my dad was super impressed by in '89 with like 7 bigass shiny black boxes each on its own shelf in the purpose-made cabinet, and the speakers that were almost as tall as I was.
âGame changingâ came when I bumped into a video on youtube titled âwhy your gaming headset is crapâ or somesuch - it was basically a sales pitch for Antlionâs Modmic line. Nonetheless, this video made no bones about the superior sound quality of an âexternal sound cardâ (dac, or dac/amp combo) paired with a set of ârealâ headphones.
After a short research, I settled on a pair of ATH-M40X (most seemed to agree that this was a much better sound than the M50, while also being cheaper), and a Fiio E-10.
That was the game changer! Oh. My⌠Music came ALIVE! Games suddenly had DEPTH and POSITION! I never knew what I had been missing all these years. I mean, I thought I liked my music, and I sure do love a good live performance, but I just didnât knowâŚ
I live in these things now, usually 8-10 hours a day, and much longer some days, and have for over 3 years. Thatâs right, it took me three+ years to get over what a difference these made, and get the itch to upgrade, bringing me to today.
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And once you discover that a âsmallâ change can make so much difference in your
enjoyment thereâs no turning back, lol.
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As I am beginning to discover⌠My initial budget constraints seem to have been blown completely out of the water, and my current theory on my next step is pushing three times what I had originally set out to limit myself to. In another month or two I am getting ready to make some purchases, and the current theory ls starting to look like an entirely new chain; PC â Soekris 2451 (assuming I can find one) â Vioelectric V280 (unless I can find a 281 used for a similar price) â Focal Radiance.
Still looking to skip a lot of middle ground between my cute little E10 and the M40Xâs I got used for under a C note, while hopefully getting that âwowâ moment all over again.
Considering I started with the idea that I was going to budget around $1200, I seem to have talked myself up and up until this upgrade project doesnât much resemble where I was just a couple of weeks agoâŚ
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unfortunate, it really elevates the amp. at least for me helped literally fix my problems with the ampâs tonality.
could not have related harder to a statement
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I feel like that is most of us here hahaha
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This is exactly what I feel about LCD-R and mesk Mk2. I am completely satisfied with these two and feel like any upgrades past here are just gravy
For me, when i got the 1266tc, was expecting that to be endgame and everything would be gravy as youâve said. I knew once I invested in the source get for it, I would also get the susvara, so I suppose that was bound to happen. But the pleasant surprise was sr1a. And then even more of a surprise was the mysphere which to me has been taking the sr1a (which I wasnât sure how it could get much better) and then making it much better nonetheless.
Iâve been going through other gear mostly out of curiosity (stellia, lcd4, he-r10p, shangri la jr, lcd 4z, lcd r, d8000, fourte noir, etc) just in case I find another unexpected surprise like the Mysphere. I still would like to try 009/009s, he1000se (to a lesser extent), ADX5000, and I suppose the new stealth and CRBN (and the new Raal, Abyss closed back, LCD 5 whenever they come out). And I guess the Shangri la SR is there in the back of the mind, maybe one dayâŚ
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Wait, you had R10P? Thoughts? That one is pretty hugh on my interest list but Iâve been hesitant over the possibly wonky tonality. Any chance youâve tried the rognir as well?
I currently have the he-r10p. I have not given it much listening time yet but first impression were that it has a surprisingly open stage (although a bit unique/odd in presentation/shape), fun bass, surprisingly good technicalities. Overall I was impressed. I intend to listen to the fourte noir, lcd4 and/or he-r10p more soon, so will let you know if/when my impressions change or get more nuanced.
I have not heard the rognir, I suppose I have some kennertons I should ad to my âshould tryâ list. 
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Iâve been meaning to post in this thread but was cautious. I have some really nice pieces, some good value pieces and some so-so pieces. Talking about game changing gear can be difficult because I fall in love with everything that comes in until I donât any more. It doesnât make things bad, itâs just that I stop being enthralled and get into a ânew normalââŚ.
Anyway, after some thought I think I can honestly say the one piece of gear I consider a âgame changerâ was my Innuos Zentith MK3 streamer. Here are my thoughts on a good âfront endâ.
Just like a good turntable, reel to reel, CD player etc. your primary source needs to give you good abilities or else you will never get as much as you can from the downstream. With digital playback I initially assumed there would be no difference and the actual source would not matter. Well, I was wrong, a good source in digital can play an important role.
The Innous is basically an audiophile grade computer of sorts, it only has one basic function and that is to store music and allow for a clean source for your streaming software. It will integrate via Ethernet with your hardware but will NOT allow for any kind of interference or noise from it. A good streamer and storage device will not induce any noise and minimize the funny little idiosyncrasies that digital sources have, jitter, clocking, delays, and a miriad of other peculiarities I had no idea existed nor am I intimately familiar with.
I based my purchasing decision solely and blindly on the trust I have for my audio dealer and his many years of experience and intimate familiarity with various pieces of source gear. I forked over what to me was a ridiculous amount of money on a piece of equipment I did not understand and honestly felt I had no need for or desire to purchase. What i did have a desire for was a nice chain overall and his explanations made sense to me so I finally succumbed and purchased a piece on his recommendation.
As my laptop starts to show its age, as my tablets show me their limitations, as I develop a desire for higher quality recordings and my tastes in music change, I finally begin to appreciate my Innous piece more and derive more perceived value for my purchase.
It has taken me 2 years or more to reach this point but I am finally willing to admit that my streamer was both a good value and has allowed me a basically headache free and reference level piece of mind as far as my source is concerned. I do not question its performance and although by no means is it perfect, I know that whatever I add upstream is building on its own merits and for the most part not held back by my the initial source. The recording or song may be of poor quality but I know the initial digital playback is strong.
So this is my shout-out to a good source, mine has been my Innous Zenith MK3. Can I say that it is head and shoulders better than my 2015 MacBook or my 2018 surface pro, MAYBE, itâs been a long while since I have had to do a head to head comparison or any sort of detailed listening from anything but my Innous, but I bet if i took the time to set up a proper test with some of my better gear in a controlled environment I think there would be enough difference to properly justify the cost.
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Thank you for your impressions. I greatly enjoyed reading them and gave me a better idea about my demo. I am about to write some impressions that are along the same vein.
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Started off chasing gear in the lowest price ranges to see what I can get for the least money but most enjoyment back when i started chasing gear. Its mainly why I watched Z in his early years. I considered him the low fi king, best bang for the buck, and the âwhy spend more cult.â
Im more for mobile gear for on the go but eventually established my desktop setup and was very happy. Not much in terms of a dac in that initial setup and mainly paired with my turntable.
Moved on to topping e30 and asgard 3 for the desktop and grabbed a micro BL for mobile.
Comparing the e30 to the micro bl was the turning point for me. I wanted another better dac so I hoped on an Ares II. I wanted to hear different amps which led me to the bottlehead crack and more.
These upgrades made me want to experience the next step up to elevate the listening experience.
The biggest negative is the curiosity of $3-5k dac amps. Those would cost more than the last car I owned. I hate driving and owning a car. I walk for miles and the improvements in audio gear has made transportation the greatest joy.
TLDR: hfg and Mon gear reviews were the gate way drug and now im chasing the dragon over here. Many thanks to @M0N for the detailed reviews and impressions! Very much appreciated. Also many thanks to the whole community for everyones thoughts and experiences!
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pretty sure we all miss that z . cause honestly " DACS donât matter" Z was a more fun person to watch than current Z
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Iâve been coming back to the idea of upgrading my Pi, as Iâm running an RPi 3 with a HiFiBerry Digi+ and a phone charger. Iâm guessing you got the pi2aes and power supply at the same time, but Iâve been wondering if a linear power supply really makes a difference for the Pi.
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World of difference, thereâs a writeup or two here about it. They even scale with the quality of the PS and thereâs a variety of ways to power them.
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