Fun Stuff
Here's some fun things to check out, not just for audio equipment, but music links as well.
I keep a playlist for YouTube music here for checking audio equipment, and you'll probably recognize most artists. It's got a variety of vocals and instruments and just about anyone could put it on all day and find things they really like. These are just the audio tracks, not the video version to conserve bandwidth if you're on a phone. I also have one just for instrumentals at this link.
The Great 78 Project is terrific for vinyl lovers and finding pre-1950's music that's been digitized professionally and available online. I'm not into it, but with 400,000 recordings going way back, it's a huge time saver hunting for old recordings.
If you're new to audio equipment, here's my personal picks that you can't go wrong with. I've heard most of what's on the market and value for money is all over the map. Technology has improved so much in the last five years, "Hi-Fi" doesn't mean expensive anymore. I'll just do it by category of things I would or do use personally every day.
IEMs: 7hz Salnotes Zero:2 for $24 and you don't need an amplifier or equalizing for them. Out of the box they're amazing, and put many $300 IEMs to shame (and most headphones). If you have a phone with just USB, get the Apple 3.5mm to USB adapter for $9 which sounds great and has a surprising amount of power. I keep both on hand for travel.
Truthear Zero Blue for music, vocals sound so good as well as violins or the lower notes of a piano. They're 10 ohm which means you need a source with an output impedance of 1.2 or less or it changes the sound profile, and not for the better. Again the Apple 3.5mm adapter (Firewire or USB versions) will do the job and sound great with these. The Red version is newer but sounds much more thin for vocals and acoustic instruments. It's got less bass distortion for gaming, but for music the Blue version is so much more enjoyable. I actually keep a pair of those too. When you hear Amy Lee from Evanescence or Adele on them, it's really hard to sell them.
Headphones:
Hifiman He5xx which will sound good on the Apple adapter as well. On eBay you can get a great price on them. I use a pair daily because they don't need equalizing, and so comfortable only the Sennheiser HD700 beats them as comfort kings. They're the Goldilocks of headphones, not lacking or too much of anything, just right. Also ear cups that will fit anyone, but they aren't cavernous huge like the Ananda.
Beyerdynamic DT900 Pro X is another really memorable one. More fun than the DT700 which are pretty tame/boring. They don't need an amplifier, anything you have will power these new generation headphones.
AKG K371 wired version. If you need closed back headphones for privacy, they don't need equalizing and also don't need an amplifier. The Bluetooth version doesn't sound as good, those are tuned for battery life.
Sennheiser HD600 which are the best overall model they make. Neutral tuning so you can easily add with an equalizer make it a breeze to customize. The HD6xx isn't as good, and the HD650 has different tuning some might prefer. The HD600 are so consistent you could use them for production work or just having fun with them out of the box.
Hifiman Arya Stealth version. If the budget allows, they are the best headphones I've heard out of the 300+ different ones I've gotten to use for the business. They do require an amplifier and a FLAC library of music or you'll notice everything that's wrong with a compressed MP3 file. A Topping E50/L50 combo will do an amazing job, you don't need to melt down a credit card to power them. They need no correction or equalizing out of the box, also the build quality is the best of all Hifiman headphones. Sturdy and comfortable, but when you use them a few hours and switch to anything else, you'll realize every other pair of headphones you have now sound lame.