A rekindled love affair

[shaitan667]

I wasn't working all of last year due to some mental health issues, and as such had sold all my audio gear.
Most of it was portable centric - I don't drive, so spend a lot of time walking and on public transport.

Previous kit was -
Fiio X5iii DAP
AudioEngine D1 DAC/AMP
Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro Over Ears
Sennheiser Momentum Over ear wired
Sony WH1000XM3 Overear

Have been working fulltime since January again, and have been slowly buying stuff again.
So far -
Sennheiser Momentum wired in ears
Fiio M11 DAP
KZ ZS10 Pro, with New Bee foam tips and a tripowin C8 4.4mm cable
Topping A50s amp
Hifiman HE400i 2020 with Cardas Parsec 2.5mm balanced cable (have a 4.4mm to 2.5mm adapter on the way)
Fostex TR60P - have a 4.4mm balanced cable on the way

I got the KZ because I found the Sennheiser's a bit lacking in clarity and detail.
Got the HE400i and A50s to use at my PC. A50s was purchased based on Amir's review.
Then got the Fostex because the KZ just weren't cutting it after spending time with the HE400i haha.

I've really been enjoying the sound from both the HE400i and Fostex. The HE400i were my first planar magnetic and first open back.
The Fostex are semi open, but don't leak much sound, so are proving to be pretty good on the train.

I'm really sold on Planar headphones. I think if I get a set of IEMs again, I'll be looking at the Tin Hifi P2.

Soundcard in my PC is a Creative X-Fi Elite Pro with the external IO Console. Currently debating internally if I need to bother with a USB DAC or just stick with the soundcard - I lusted after this card ever since it first came out, and got it complete, perfect condition last year for $100, so I want to hold on to it.

No real purpose to the post, just wanted to share
(Feel free to weigh in on the X-Fi vs External DAC debate, the Topping D50 is what I had in mind, to match the A50s)

 

[Beershaun]

Welcome. It really is the golden age of headphone listening (at our desks anyway). I encourage you to check out the dac and headphone amp measurements indexes. Then take a look at the headphone reviews amir has recently started Performing. There is an excellent selection now of desktop dac and amplifier components that are audibly transparent giving world class audio sound quality for wired headphones under $500. It’s a good time to be a headphone listener

 

[shaitan667]

Welcome. It really is the golden age of headphone listening (at our desks anyway). I encourage you to check out the dac and headphone amp measurements indexes. Then take a look at the headphone reviews amir has recently started Performing. There is an excellent selection now of desktop dac and amplifier components that are audibly transparent giving world class audio sound quality for wired headphones under $500. It’s a good time to be a headphone listener

Cheers for the welcome. I've been looking through a heap of stuff on the site over the last month or so.

I've been using the Fiio M11 as a DAC from the PC sometimes and honestly don't know if there is much of difference quality wise between it and the soundcard.

I will be holding onto the soundcard for use with movies and gaming - mostly due to the excellent virtual surround provided by CMSS-3D.