Christmas is coming! Ok so I've saved up quite abit this year by hardly buying any new clothes and being more of a pirate. Pending the off-loading of my Space Echo I'll have comfortably enough to purchase something slightly more pricey. Unfortunately my wants eclipse my ability to finance them, so I'm forced to make a difficult choice...
1. New headphone amp. This wasn't really in the consideration until very recently cos the atrio i'm using now are pretty efficient; and IEMs in general don't benefit enough from amping to justify the cost. Id like sth that widens the soundstage, tightens the bass and brings out some of the recessed trebles, but most of the better amps start at $450 (i.e. RSA Hornet & Tomahawk) which is over twice the cost of my earphones. I'm using the .22 now (which admittedly is on the cheapo side) which just helps smoothen the bass-mids a little, and most of the time I can't be bothered carrying the extra bulk. Still, despite the Touch 2g's massively improved pre-amp, iPods are still pretty much the suck when it comes to source SQ, so might as well put that line-out to use. What renewed my interest was the new Corda 3move, which sounded terrific and surprisingly warm for something so dead neutral. Having a (supposedly, didn't try) top-notch DAC was a big bonus as well. At $400 its a big bargain compared to say the Predator which is about the same quality albeit prettier and smaller, and over 2x the price. Late last month though, Stereo brought in the even newer iBasso D3 Python; and initial reviews put it in the same league as the RSAs, Corda, and Pico. The DAC section has a pure line-out as well, a big plus over the 3move. I kinda like it's minimalist, Pico-esque design as well. All this at a mere $320!
2. Open-back headphones. Given the amount of time I've been spending listening to music at home, I've been seriously considering getting some quality cans - always the best SQ at any price point compared to IEMs and speakers. Strictly for home use, no way I'm wearing them while taking public transport..So a circumaural design is the natural choice. I've more or less settled on the Audio Technica AD900: between comfort, sound stage, clarity and neutrality nothing comes close at sub-$500. Problem is I never really liked the feeling of wearing headphones, even considering the AD900's light weight and ultra comfortable velour pads...maybe if i had a bigger head...
3. Desktop speakers. My Cambridgeworks are over 8years old. Back then they sounded pretty awesome for games and music (well even today they exude a certain charm, and do project a somewhat engaging sound especially in the lower mids) but my standards have kinda gone up =/ As much as I love my atrio and their subwoofey bass, nothing matches the tactile feeling of full-sized speakers displacing the air - that's bass, massaging your ears and not merely pushing straight into your ear canals. The usual benefits of unparalled soundstaging, crossfeed-independence, and imaging apply. And well, more than 1 person can enjoy the music. I don't really play games anymore, so stereo is the way to go. Haven't quite decided between the nEar 04 or the Aego M..Prices of both have fallen considerably to $300 odd. The former's practically a reference monitor, has balanced and XLR inputs, the latter sports a sub, emphasizes warm mids (colouration isnt necessarily bad..) and takes up less real estate...
Help! Can't decide haha. I know these sound abit extravagant, but imho they're all well-justified. If I'd decided to buy another delay/modulation pedal, on the other hand... Oh well, I might end up saving the moolah in the end, perhaps for a FreqShow..Or a new guitar =p

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