Hey Guys,
So I am looking to jump into the headphone game, but I have 0 idea what kind so sound signature or ‘features’ I like to the sound. Anyone know of anywhere in socal (preferably orange county) where I can go try stuff like 880s/1990s, 650s/660s, etc?
Now? I doubt it. None of the places near me let you in the door, certainly not to try stuff on.
Lol. 100% the answer I expected. Just figured it was worth an ask. I mean hell, I cant even find a headphone store in OC at all, so one that will set up shopping times or the like would be even more of a stretch.
If you have a good relationship with Amazon and you don’t take the piss then you can order a few sets and return them if you don’t “like” them 
lol, not even sure what that means, but yah, buy and return was kinda my plan. Dont see much of another option with no way to know how long i’ll have to wait for sharing stuff liek headphones to be safe again
The shop near me was curbing that before the pandemic anyway. I think they were getting fed up with people just coming in to listen to cool shit.
Can’t blame a guy for trying.
I mean, that’s fair, but also, why have a store front if not for product demo?
There’s the SourceAV in Torrence (https://www.thesourceav.com/) that has a headphone listening area. They are a Sennheiser dealer. I don’t think they have Beyerdynamics in stock though, but I can be mistaken since I thought I saw some over a year ago. Mention your budget and the employees should help you out. The picture below is outdated, as they (and nobody else) are no longer ZMF dealers after ZMF pivoted to be strictly business-to-customer direct orders. Also, the current stay-at-home orders for a lot of locales in California may prevent anyone from simply walking in there without an appointment. Prior to the latest stay-at-home order, one could have arranged for a private listening session.
Interesting. Maybe I should give a visit when things get better. Are those STAX SR-009 in the pic? 
Working in retail when increases in cases is going through the roof sucks… I want to tear my hair out for how many customers have their masks not only below their nose but uncovering their mouths too.
Just had a look at their site. Their showroom looks dope, but tbh, I dont want to spend more the $500/pair or so and that kinda seems to be where their stuff starts. Maybe ill have to just call and see if they carry any lower end stuff that isnt on their site
I listened to a STAX SR-009 and SR-009S on a Blue Hawaii Special Edition over there, very ethereal.
Yeah, it it sucks when people don’t follow very simple health guidelines during the pandemic. I mean, is it really too much to ask to wear a mask and cover your mouth and nose while doing so?
When it comes to dealers, always haggle. Don’t pay the MSRP. Even Jason Lord, owner of the SourceAV, mentioned this in an interview: https://web.archive.org/web/20190124175017/https://www.headphone-earphone.reviews/2019/01/23/interview-with-jason-lord-of-source-av/
Jason: What I’ve learned is the young people, who go online and click the ‘Buy Now’ button, are foolish. If there’s one thing someone should learn from this interview, it’s this: DO NOT CLICK THE BUY NOW BUTTON. If you learn the US markets, and odds are if you are a dealer you already know the following. Every manufacturer requires that every dealer, unless it’s a factory authorized dealer, advertises and sells at full price. The federal law in the US says if you call me, or walk into my store, I no longer have to honor that pricing contact. This does NOT apply, if you email or text me, I’m still bound to the pricing contract if you contact me via those methods. You can only get a good deal if you ring me up or walk in my showroom. So that kid on the forum who pushes that ‘Buy Now’ button is the biggest fucking fool on the planet. And after talking with many of these guys on the forums, that’s how most of these guys are. They don’t want to talk to anybody, they don’t want to do anything, they just want that instant gratification of hitting the buy now button. If you buy a pair of Focal Utopias from the website, they retail for $4000. But if you call me, you can get the brand-new Utopias with a Questyle QP2R for a price so good, you’d probably pinch yourself. With full warranty by the way, but that’s only if you call. That ‘Buy Now’ button doesn’t allow the customer to get a better deal, you’re at the mercy of the pricing contract the manufacture has set in place. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want a fucking contract deciding my fate.
Also don’t be afraid to just walk out either if you aren’t getting a good deal
Exactly. Come in with a budget in mind and don’t deviate from it. If they cannot meet your budget and sound preference, then don’t be afraid to leave empty-handed. To the SourceAV’s credit, I didn’t feel like they were pushing me to buy anything. I brought along my daily-driver headphone at the time (HE-500), tried out several cans, and then left satisfied with my daily-driver was enough for me at the time.
Still, they’ve treated me very well during the few times that I visited them, such that I do want to purchase something from them (likely a nice amp) in the near future.
This is what smart brick and mortar places understand, it’s not about what you buy today, it’s about the relationship.
Generally if they are just really pushing for a sale too hard, it’s not a good dealer
I mean, from their site, the only headphones that retail under 1k are the 660 and 580. That kind of good deal?
EDIT: Genuine question btw.
Amazon actually has a blacklist if you return too much and take advantage of the policy
Huh, TIL. Maybe I’ll wait till after the holidays since I just had to return half a dozen head sets just yesterday because they wee uncomfortable as fuck…
That’s nice to know. Unfortunately my budget is too small for most of the stuff there, but that’s something to keep in mind if I itch for something to buy.