This is not a review site. It is a record of one person's path through the hobby — the good purchases, the expensive lessons, and the unexpected ending.
The first serious purchase. Triple driver, balanced output. Good — good enough to make me want more.
KZ, TRN, Tin Audio and a dozen others. Forum hype, superb value for money, but ultimately a flavour carousel — each one different, none of them definitively better.
Wells Audio Milo amplifier, Chord Hugo 2, then Chord Dave. Audeze LCD-4, Abyss 1266 TC, ZMF Verite Closed, HiFiMAN, Dan Clark. Genuinely excellent gear. Also genuinely eye-watering prices.
A professional appeared briefly on an audiophile forum, saw the Chord Dave setup, and said: "You can hear more for a tenth of the price with studio gear." He was right.
Everything else sold. Less fun, more truth. The only regret: the ZMF Verite Closed — for sheer dynamic impact at high volume, nothing I have heard touches it.