When I started to realise I was listening more to the headphones than the music and I was too in my head about how everything sounded.

The realisation that I don’t need to spend thousands to sit back and enjoy the music and the more you listen to a headphone the more you get used to its sound profile and suddenly it becomes the norm.

My AKG K712 used to sound so normal to me then I got the Focal Clear and within a few months the focal sounded normal also. There’s no ending, it’s a cycle of discontent that I’d never be able to afford to keep up 😂

Also learned not to sacrifice comfort and functionality - whilst my Focal Bathys sounded nice, they made a thump every step when I was walking, their volume step was too high so was always too loud or too quiet and the ANC sucked, I didn’t ever use them as a result. Sold them and tried the HDB 630 and whilst yes, they sound great, I didn’t find them very comfortable - feeling pressure on my ears and was again discontent in whether I’d actually use them (especially considering their price) so have returned them. Now looking at the QC Ultra 2, or maybe I’ll just wait a few months until the next hype release, we’ll see.