What was your first pair of high-end headphones?

Also, do you truly believe in "endgame headphones"?

 

Stax SRD-4. I still have them somewhere.

 

Been listening to Sennheiser HD650 and AKG-701 headphones for a long time but recently bought a pair of Focal Clear Pro headphones. Definitely the best and first high end pair that I've personally owned and the last pair I buy. I'm primarily a headphone listener so the cost was worth it.

 

Sennheiser HD600. They're high end as far as my budget was at the time. Still use them, still love them.

 

Sennheiser HD580P bought in '95; still use them with my phone (they sound better than any earbuds I've had), but just this week I picked up a pair of HD800S 'phones. Love 'em!

 

AKG 240DF

 

Focal Clear (2nd hand).

 

Sennheiser HD650s; no plans to replace

 

I'm not a fan of headphone, but I've had some pretty expensive IEM for DAPs and phones. And I did buy a pair of HiFiMan HE-400s that replaced a pair of Grado SR-80e cans. This is about as far as I'll go.

 

Koss Pro4AA back in the 1970’s.

Heard them in Pittsburgh and was listening to a new album at the time Jethro Tull War Child.

At that time in the 1970’s I was truly impressed and since have always wanted to search for the best pair of headphones I can afford.

I listen exclusively at home with headphones.

 

Say Hey Penny24,

Here's my first "wow" headphone, the HD-424, circa 1974.

Wore out my first pair. This is the replacement pair I picked up a few years ago to have that sound again, which is pretty good even today. No, it doesn't go as low or as high as a modern high end headphone, but what it does, it does really well.

 

Same here. I bought a pair of Koss Pro 4AA back in the seventies. I was still in high school at the time and as I recall I paid $65 - $70. They sounded great at the time but they were really heavy on the head.

 

I had a pair of these way back when and wore them out. The foam pads finally disintegrated on them but they were great sounding headphones for their time.

 

Denon AH-D2000. I've been moving up the line with the Lawton modded AH-D5000 and now the AH-D7200.

 

As a poor 20 something I was pretty impressed with the Beyer Dynamic Dt770. My first good phones that had me feeling like I was hearing music differently. Now I have Sennheiser HD650 and I'm satisfied. There are better I know but I listen to phones in my home maybe a few times a year at most.

 

Back in 1969 I started working at a radio station in Montreal..one of the perks of the job was that I could order records at radio station prices...about $1.25 or less.
I could also get electronic equipment at cost...I was able to acquire a pair of AKG K60
headphones...I think I paid $35 for them...and I was making $125. a week back in the day....living with my folks at the time it really didn’t put a dent in my budget. They were my first headphones. I eventually sold them for $20 and bought a pair of Koss headphones...BIG mistake. These days I wear albeit rarely, a pair of Sony noise cancelling cans.

 

HD600 were my first pair of high end headphones. This led to a rabbit hole where I owned many different headphones all the way up to the TOTL Audeze LCD4. I have since dropped back down in price but not quality to the ZMF Aeolus. It's not cheap but it is a great value IMO when you consider the entire landscape of high end headphones. They might be endgame for me.

 

Yamaha HP-1

 

I went from these :

To these:

To these (with Grado amp):

 

LOL... I spent $149.00 on Beyerdynamic DT-770 PRO when I was going paycheck to paycheck. To me they were high end, and helped me kick ass in FPS games. ;-)

Oh, I liked them for music, too.

 

Sennheiser HD650, it was also the last, still have it.

 

I was going to say HD580 until I saw @Big T's post. It reminded me I had a pair of these Sennhieser HD420s way back when.


I now use a pair of Beyerdynamic DT880 Special Editions.

 

Sennheiser Momentum 2's. Not true "high-end" but above average, and they're pretty damn good. Still have and use them but one day will get some real higher-end ones, probably the Senn HD 650's.

 

LCD 2.2 (pre-Fazor, Caribbean Rosewood). Turns out to be something of a classic. I think of it as the Eames Lounger of headphones, excepting that it isn't especially comfortable . Nevertheless...the sound is unique and one I still come back to for a visceral listen. They were an unimaginable indulgence when I bought them, but now they're an old friend.

 

I guess I lost touch with Koss headphones. I had no idea they made 4AAA headphones. I guess they were just as heavy. Did they sound better than the 4AA?