<![CDATA[The joy of saving for better gear.]]>I was for the most part someone who disliked waiting for things, I wanted everything right away and I’m more or less still like that, with some exceptions.

I learned that there are things you should wait and save enough money to buy, headphones and digital audio players belong to that group of things you shouldn’t hurry too much, at least in my experience.
I actually collect very cheap in-ears because I believe in good audio for a cheap price, but sometimes you really receive what you pay.

Brands often cut corners so they can save some money, this means in-ears, for example, won’t have crossovers, the accessories are of less quality and the quality control isn’t as tight as something more expensive.
A fair example of that are my Yinyoo HQ5 in-ears, that I bought for 130€ with the discounts I had on Aliexpress (None given to me btw). It’s a marvelous in-ear, well built and great sounding, well deserving the 200€ price tag it had when it was released on Aliexpress.

The quality difference for a 30€ in-ear is obvious for the better, on things like micro details and the dynamic of the balanced armatures.
A good comparison is having a top of the line BMW compared with an entry-level Ford, both are cars, both need a driver, both can reach the same top speed in a highway, but the BMW will curve better under rain and will give you all the power you need to overtake that very same Ford at top speed.

Gear is more or less the same, it gets better the higher you go.
Sadly sooner or later you will reach the true reality of the law of diminishing returns.
This means the sweet spot for audiophile quality headphones without entering the diminishing returns territory is more or less around the 500€ mark.

I’m not saying everyone should buy really expensive gear, but some patience goes a long way to help to fulfill your audiophile dreams.
If you really can’t buy better because your income doesn’t allow it, sure go for cheaper gear but my experience tells me you will sooner or later play the upgrade game.

In that regard, I believe it’s better to save some money and buy better gear but that’s me.
Waiting some months for a better audiophile experience can be very rewarding, just don’t overdo it.

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