Grog or bust.

Btw, this is how I feel every day here

Captain Morgan!!!

Btw, this is how I feel every day here

I like you.

I did read the copy in both your links. You have a disciplined, literate style (with perhaps just a bit too much restating of key points). Welcome aboard. Your unashamed emphasis on bargain or cost-effective products that meet your needs is refreshing. I'm sure you already know this: there is a good deal of high-rolling on Changstar. Think you can resist the slippery slope of high-end escalation? (I never can.) Could be an interesting, albeit public experiment.

I would disagree with only one of your statements. I think that tripling the retail price of a new pair of HD-650s, spent on a different set of headphones, might well exceed the performance you can get from equivalent desktop monitors. Or not. 

Just saw this post. I've actually been thinking more about what distinguishes my interests in audio and participation in forums and why I bother. Like a lot of things, I probably take my posting too seriously and take more time on it than I can afford. Speaking of "unashamed," I do enjoy tracking audio product development for the sake of it, as an extension of researching my own purchases, as opposed to an ideologically pure pursuit of audio nirvana and music appreciation. I like to think this resembles the perspective of a product manager, which is distinct from that of an engineer, and certainly from a mere fanboy. For instance, the entry-level DAC market is just really interesting right now from a product development and marketing perspective.

Whether my propensity for taking things seriously or extracting value wins out in subsequent audio investments (another purposeful term) remains to be seen. I guess they're not mutually exclusive. I've no quarrel with high rolling, but keen value near the entry level provides a cheaper thrill. Spending 20% of the money to get 80% of the performance is at least as alluring to me as the satisfaction of ponying up for all of it. After I nail down the ultimate 2013 entry-level desktop rig, I'll have to spread out horizontally or move up to stick with it. Or just buy more music. Or move on to another pursuit (you can certainly find my tracks on other forums). Spring is coming, after all.

The horizontal itch has already struck—a used set of K702s caught my eye. Not because they're potentially superior to the HD-650, or even a superior value proposition, but because they're distinct from the HD-650 but otherwise in nearly the same class, and could provide a useful complement. So rather than spend 3x to outperform the HD-650, I spend 1.5x and get nearly as much versatility as a better set of 'phones, if not singularly supreme performance. The concept of having a quiver of headphones for different applications distinguishes head-fi from the rest of audiophillia, and it's something I'm just now getting my head around. Yesterday I was listening to string quartets (not my go-to genre by any means) and thinking, huh, I wonder if these would sound better on different headphones, and turns out the K702 might fit that bill, even if it's unremarkable as an all-around headphone.

With horizontal interest well underway, vertical interest is quite plausible. Just yesterday I looked up what an "S7" was based on chatter here. Might not be long before two grand starts to look like a great amp value rather than 2x a total desktop budget. Collecting aside, at some point it does make more sense to concentrate investment on fewer, better products than an assemblage of entry-level ones. Besides, you need a versatile amp to accommodate t hat expanding transducer collection. Which is why there's a trade in used gear, which fuels further engagement, and so forth.

Maybe I'll take it to the next level by getting out to a meet. But I'll probably just go fishing and then earnestly post about it somewhere.