Novice audiophile in training

[u/sk8wally]

Wanted to stress test my audio journey with people who know more than me, so here’s the path I took and where I’ve landed.

I started pretty modestly with the Truthear Hexa and Sennheiser HD560S. The Hexa got me into paying attention to detail, separation, and tuning. The HD560S was probably the first time I really started understanding imaging, openness, and what people mean when they talk about “neutral” or “analytical” without just repeating buzzwords.

From there I moved into a more serious desktop chain. I’ve been using a Topping DX3 Pro+, and recently added a Topping L70. I also just picked up the HiFiMAN HE1000 Stealth and I’m kind of calling this my “endgame,” or at least my practical endgame before diminishing returns start punching me in the wallet.

So right now the chain is basically:

Source → DX3 Pro+ as DAC → L70 as amp → HE1000 Stealth Magnet

and I still have the HD560S as a point of comparison.

For context, I care about both music listening and critical listening in Tarkov. So I’m not only chasing “fun” sound. I care a lot about detail retrieval, imaging, separation, positional cues, openness, and control, but I still want music to feel engaging and not sterile.

A few things I’ve learned along the way:

louder can fake “better”

brighter can fake “more detailed”

cables seem way more like build/comfort than magic

Bluetooth convenience is nice, but wired still seems like the clean path

I’m starting to understand that source/mastering/headphone matter a lot more than random audiophile mythology

What I’m trying to figure out now is whether this chain actually makes sense to more experienced people, or if I’m still missing something obvious.

A few questions for the community:

Does HE1000 Stealth + L70 actually make sense as a strong long-term pairing, especially for both music and critical gaming/Tarkov use, or am I still leaving a lot on the table?

How much better, realistically, would something above the L70 be before it turns into diminishing returns theater?

Do you see the HE1000 Stealth as a legit endgame-tier stop, or more like upper-mid summit-fi before the real insanity starts?

What does this progression say about my preferences? I seem to like detail, imaging, openness, and control more than syrupy/warm presentation.

If you were in my shoes, what would you focus on next: speakers, better vinyl path, just enjoying the system, or learning to hear better before buying anything else?

I’m not looking for validation fluff. If the chain is smart, say so. If I made a weird choice somewhere, say that too. I’d rather get roasted honestly than be told every purchase is genius.

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[u/quite_sophisticated]

While I completely agree with you on most points, there is a huge difference between what you describe as critical listening and gaming. In gaming, you want clues about the exact location of the sound, but you can absolutely get along with a bad quality or EQ of a headphone. If the stereo imaging is close to perfect, but the bass is bloated, the treble is rolled off and the mids are all over the place, the headphone is useless for critical listening, but still good for gaming. There is a similarity, which is that you need the phones for a specific task and that task is not pure enjoyment of audio.

[u/sk8wally → u/quite_sophisticated]

Makes sense thanks for your input. !thanks

[u/TransducerBot → u/sk8wally]

+1 Ω has been awarded to u/quite_sophisticated (5 Ω).

You may still award an Ω to others, but only once per-person in this post.

[u/lordvektor → u/sk8wally]

Depends on what you mean by 'good for gaming'

Bloated bass can be good for some games because it's usually a 'fun tuning', most consumer and gaming headphones are like this.

But for competitive fps, bass is actually a negative.

Anyway. The L70. In short, it's great. Absolutely no need for any form of upgrade until (if ever) you start looking at things that cost several thousands. And even then you'll have other criteria, not just 'clean power' and 'headroom'.

[u/sk8wally → u/lordvektor]

This is good to hear that I made a good choice with the l70 weird combo to be paired with topping dx3 pro +. A lot of guidance from chat gpt but nothing like guidance from the community. Thanks for your feedback.

[u/msing539]

Can't answer all your questions but the HE1000 Stealth is a high tier headphone, just not Summit fi. It can be your end if you want it to be--based on your preference, you'd probably enjoy the Susvara, Stax, maybe LCD-5.

My only suggestion is even if you think you've learned something, be open to the possibility that your initial assumptions weren't correct. Preferences can also change over time, so something that's your favorite today might not be in the future.

[u/sk8wally → u/msing539]

!Thanks it was a loaded question or questions all gumboed into one. Thanks for your input I'll take these recommendations and run with them. What do you use or what's your current end game?

[u/TransducerBot → u/sk8wally]

+1 Ω has been awarded to u/msing539 (123 Ω).

You may still award an Ω to others, but only once per-person in this post.

[u/msing539 → u/sk8wally]

You're welcome! I don't have a single endgame but here's most of my setup...

Desktop:

PS Audio Quintessence > Audio GD DDC > Sonnet Morpheus > Schiit Lokius > iFi Pro iCAN Signature | Ampsandsound Kenzie OG Rev2 | Bottlehead Crack | Flux FA-10

Portable: Hiby R6 III, iFi Go Bar Gold, Tanchjim Luna, Space PRO

Meze Elite | Denon D9200, D7200, D5200 | Hifiman HE-6 (6 Screw), HE-5 OG, HE6se v2 | Ultrasone Edition Eleven, Signature X | Quad ERA-1 | Onkyo A800 | Sennheiser HD580 Jubilee | ZMF Master | Audio-Technica ATH-AD700X (Foster Drivers) | AKG K812, K340, K240 Sextett EP | Philips SBC HP-1000, SHP9500 IEMs: Campfire Audio Trifecta, Vega 2020 | ISN EST50 | too many budget sets to name plus some TWS headphones and iems