Asklemmy

Any sufficiently high quality audio stream from my Plex or Tidal, always set to max volume in app/OS settings -> Topping D30 -> JDS Atom -> Sennheiser HD6XX.

Good enough for me.

The best quality that is convenient.

On the go? Bluetooth headphones from Spotify.
At my desk? Open back sennheisers from the FLAC from the NAS, or Spotify.

PC (MPD with Ario frontend) -> SMSL DO100 -> Rotel A11 Tribute -> KEF Q150. I'm upgrading to KEF LS50 Metas next week, can't wait.

in silence.

Pixel 6, Apple dongle and Truthear Hexa in the streets, Shiit Magni+Modi and Hifiman Sundara in the sheets.

Openback neutral headphones. Listen to music the way it was mixed. Obviously higher bitrate is better, but I cave in to the convenience of streaming and am content with minimum 320kbps for casual listening. Definitely lossless for critical listening.

At home mainly records. Rega P6 as a player, marantz amp and totem speakers or koss esp/95x headphones.

On the go Qobuz on my phone to cayin ru7 dac and campfire Andromeda iems.

Dynaco ST-70 (stereo tube amp, mine is maybe 1960s?), 8Ω tap to either Klipsch Heresy II or Vandersteen 1c speakers.

I've had the Klipschs for 20+ years, so to me they're sort of reference/completely neutral speakers. (I know Klipschs aren't everyone's cup of tea though.)

I buy it if I can find it on a platform where the money is actually going to the musician. Then, I upload it in CD quality FLAC format to FunkWhale, and also add it to the SD card in my DAC (a Shanling Q1). Where it's convenient I listen on the DAC, where it's not I stream through FunkWhale.

TIDAL, K3/K7 (the K7 isn't portable), Sennheiser HD600s, and a pair of Hifiman HE1000s that I just bought. Both DACs work on all of my devices.

Plex -> Android -> Synfonium (use internal decoder) -> Meizu Hii+ DAC -> IEMs

I lose some information because of the Android resampler however most of my library is 16/44.1 flac. Although my collection of 24/96.2 is growing.

Bluetooth Xiaomi headphones because convenience is king (and I can't afford to pay more than $200 for audio equipment lol)

Not sure if I count as an audiophile but here’s my list o’ stuff I’ve acquired over the years and like the best:

My house had speakers built into the ceiling when I moved in so I have a Denon AVR-S760H amp and play audio through the surround sound with an AppleTV, record player, or whatever other source. (I forget the record player model but it’s just one of the mid-tier Sony ones.) I also have some Sennheiser HD 598 headphones that I love the sound on. They’re open back so not appropriate for travel but if I’m alone and not in the living room, that’s my go-to.

I really like Sennheisers and I eventually splurged on a pair of 4.50 SE over the ear ones for travel. They have noise cancellation and a closed back so they work great on flights or trains. I like them a lot.

I also have some Beats Fit Pros that I use a lot. Most earbuds don’t stay in my ears very well so the little nubbin hook on the Beats Fits is really what prompted that decision but the audio quality ended up being perfectly fine for the form factor. Sometimes, you’re exercising or just listening to a podcast or a work call. They ended up being a good purchase.

Buy albums on Bandcamp, Stream from Tidal, get a USB DAC + either vintage amp/speakers (almost anything pre 80 is good) or modern amplified speakers.