Even the games themselves were much simpler. We had a SNES controller and that was it. I said all that simply because having an Audioengine D1 as a Gaming rig makes me hearken back to simpler times when it wasn’t possible to use a headset to listen to music and the gaming environment. Rare (or Rareware) was the company responsible for making the early versions of Donkey Kong for the Super Nintendo. That’s not to say no one goes outside anymore, but it’s definitely becoming increasingly rarer. More often than not, kids are turning to technology to appease their fun appetites, and I believe it’s dangerous and will only get worse. Whereas technology might have accounted for 15-20% of our existence in the ’90s, I think it’s more like 80-90% for children growing up in this era of what I like to call “ready-made fun.” We weren’t so wrapped up in technology as to forget the beauty around us. Of course, Gaming headphones, Amps, DACs, and anything studio-related didn’t exist to us. I feel very blessed to have experienced those moments and will cherish them forever. If you were a youngster in this time period, life was truly special. When we came inside from playing all day, dinner was ready and we watched the Braves on TBS for the nightcap before going to bed. We went swimming at the neighborhood pool. Our parents took us to the lake and we rode Jet Skis. Like most kids growing up in the ’90s, I was raised on Super Mario, Donkey Kong, Nickelodeon, and the Atlanta Braves. Now without further ado, let’s get rolling!! Article/link cleanup and added shootout link at the end.īefore we get into the Audioengine D1 Review, grab a snack, sit back and relax because… You’ve come to the right place!! Thanks for reading and looking forward to suggestions and ultimately my next set of headphones. My list currently includes Sennheiser HD660S and Beyerdyanamics DT 1990 Pros. I'm not sure I have a budget per se, but I'm probably not going to go into four figure territory, so let's call my budget $600 or less. So what else should I be looking at? I listen to most genres of music, game, and watch movies, so I probably want something all-around/general purpose. The review here seemed to indicate it would be sufficient, and I would rather spend more on cans than a new DAC so I'm happy staying on the lower end there.
I realize my K3 isn't going to power most of these higher end cans, so I was planning to upgrade to a K5 Pro. And I've seen enough references to DT1990s that I want to demo a pair of those too. I have the most experience with Sennheiser (own HD485 and HD559 in addition to my HD598s) so naturally I want to look at what they have the HD600 and HD650 war seems to have been solved with the HD660S (but let me know if you disagree and think I need to look at one of those other 6- models). Those are the two sets I've keyed in on just from doing research. So given that the GS1000e is not what most people would probably recommend to me as a next step, I am even more excited to see what else is out there, because if those $1000 headphones are garbage, imagine what $400 HD660S or $600 DT1990 Pros sound like. I didn't know what I was missing until I heard it. I made the crucial error of not bringing my cans with me, because when I got home and sat down with my setup, I now realize the GS1000es sounded much better. While I was there, I thought the GS1000e didn't sound any better than my Sennheisers. And yes I have done a search here and elsewhere and realize that the entire Internet thinks Grado is trash. I'm going to focus on the GS1000e, as I wouldn't consider the RS1e due to their weird design that claims to be over-ear but isn't really. The demo setup was Tidal FLAC through a Dragonfly Cobalt. They must have been talking about their selection of vinyl because they only seemed to carry Grado headphones. I visited a well-reviewed audio store which claimed to have a really good selection. Interested in over-ear, wired, open headphones. Until today these were the best/most expensive headphones I had tried I've always really enjoyed this setup, but was just curious what the next level sounded like. My current setup is Spotify Premium through a Fiio K3 DAC powering Sennheiser HD598s. I now realize I am way on the low end of what is out there and I'm interested in taking the next step. Been lurking here for the last couple weeks as search results keep sending me to the excellent reviews as I rediscover my interest in high(er) end audio.