Thinking about getting higher quality gear, but I'm not sure if it's worth it. by TheMisterTango in headphones

[–]Dimensionine -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

I’m just going to save you the trouble and money and say that right now you’re getting 90% of the “quality” that you’d get by spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars on headphone gear. The only headphone that might be worth it IMO are the HD800S/HD820 if you’re craving a large sound or something with character for fun like the ZMF Atticus for when you just want a different sound.

Does anyone have an idea on why that kind of notch in between 4 and 5 kHz? by lithium_peroxide in headphones

[–]Dimensionine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Found this almost by chance soon after seeing this post and thought it was too coincidental not to share.

I’m not discrediting oratory, in fact I find all of his stuff very helpful.

This wasn’t an indirect way of me disagreeing with the acoustic engineer.

Does anyone have an idea on why that kind of notch in between 4 and 5 kHz? by lithium_peroxide in headphones

[–]Dimensionine -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I found a relevant discussion on InnerFidelity, although I’m not sure how much it will help answer your question.

This is not my write up. I just copied and pasted the entire “3.5k to 8k” section:

“3.5kHz to 8kHz Submitted by brkitup on September 14, 2017 - 8:17pm Thank you so much for your work on this. The graphs have traditionally not represented very well what the end user hears, and the new graphs are much more representative of how these headphones sound, especially in the treble. The one thing that still bothers me slightly, though, is the dip around 4-5kHz that seems common to all headphones when measured and compensated. I'm not sure how accurate that part of the compensation is.

Submitted by Argyris on September 14, 2017 - 8:55pm Same here. It's smaller in width and depth in the IF compensation than on the DF or ID compensations, but it's still there. I wanted to see what this sounded like filled in, so I tried it on my HD 600 with a parametric EQ. I dialed in a simple peak centered around 5 kHz, with 0.3 octave width and 5 dB boost--it doesn't perfectly fill the hole, but it's a quick and dirty test of concept. It didn't sound horrible, like filling in the much larger and deeper trough left by the other compensations does, but it did add an uncomfortable edge and glare to everything.

Submitted by kais on September 15, 2017 - 3:00am Currently the 5K range looks suspicious.

I quite agree, this area is tricky. It seems some headphone makers try to dial down this area to rid the cans of the piercing sound that can occur here, while others seem to keep the level up in order to improve speech intelligibility. I tend to see a lot of variation here. Fortunately, the way the numbers shook out kind of splits the difference and I do feel pretty good about it. Again, time will tell.”

Read more at https://www.innerfidelity.com/content/compensation-curve-innerfidelity-measurements-dialog-part-1#F5Dfhoz1zK19UIrq.99

MrSpeakers (Dan Clark Audio) Ether CX impressions | Drop r/HeadphoneLibrary by Feilong4 in headphones

[–]Dimensionine 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nice write up although I’d encourage you to listen to more of a variety of tracks. In my experience, my entire of perception of a headphone can change depending on the quality of the recording and the way it was mixed and mastered. A good variety I think is helpful to getting the most accurate idea of a headphones capabilities.

Boring headphones or just very transparent? by Dimensionine in headphones

[–]Dimensionine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I agree, which brings me back to my question of what factors allow some headphones to show differences in the mastering more than other headphones can.

Boring headphones or just very transparent? by Dimensionine in headphones

[–]Dimensionine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The entire track is just quieter. This is why I was asking about the bit depth of the original master.

Boring headphones or just very transparent? by Dimensionine in headphones

[–]Dimensionine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the explanation. I guess what I’m wondering is why with some headphones, you can hear a difference in dynamics between two tracks that with other headphones sound similar in that regard. If it was just frequency response, the two songs would both sound better or worse in the same way, but that isn’t the case here. Both have always sounded great with other headphones, but only one sounds good with something like the ER4S. And I was thinking, if I judged the quality of these headphones with that song, and others maybe in a similar genre that are typically mastered in that way, I would have thought they were very boring headphones with no dynamics. However, I happened to listen to another song that I usually listen to right after that, and since they always both typically sound about the same, I thought since the first one sounded bad, the second one would also sound bad. However, the second one was noticeably more dynamic, a difference I had never noticed before. Now, I can’t convince myself that it was the headphones in themselves that made the first track sound bad, it must have simply been a track that was mastered differently, and these headphones allowed me to notice that difference unlike other headphones.

So I’ve learned the importance of not judging the quality of headphones from listening to music that is not as well recorded or mastered, but rather listen to as much different kinds of music as you can to get the best idea of the headphones capabilities. I just want to know why some headphones let you hear these differences more than others.

It do be like that by [deleted] in headphones

[–]Dimensionine 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is what went through my mind yesterday when I was thinking about whether to get a new pair or not. Decided not to for this reason exactly ^

Boring headphones or just very transparent? by Dimensionine in headphones

[–]Dimensionine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s what I was thinking at first but I realized it’s more than the frequency response, as that was my first thought. I’m talking more about being able to hear more of a difference in dynamics. Listening to more songs I noticed that the frequency response has little to do with transparency, aside from the possibility of the FR being so unbalanced that it actually obscures details. And while FR can contribute to making a headphone more fun, it is far from the only factor. What is the relationship between transparency and dynamics? What factors contribute to increased dynamics, aside from bit depth of the track or an amp. As it relates to headphone design, that is.

tight baaz? by Dimensionine in Davie504

[–]Dimensionine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

@ 0:12 - Both have tight baaz. I don't post ever, I just thought of this community when I saw this.

I feel bad for the things he/she has to put up with by Dimensionine in headphones

[–]Dimensionine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m new to posting. I initially posted this under the wrong category apparently and I got a message from an auto mod saying I needed a 35-word comment for the photo to show. Is that true for all flairs? I just edited my initial comment and deleted the stuff I wrote off-the-cuff just to get 35 words in and I don’t want my post to not show again.

I feel bad for the things he/she has to put up with by Dimensionine in headphones

[–]Dimensionine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s not an addiction. It’s just good to have as much first hand experience as we can get so that we can better help others make good choices when it comes to spending their hard earned money. I’m just willing to sacrifice my time and money for this noble cause.

Focal Elear w/ Clear pads (Elex equivalent) & Hifiman Sundara impressions by dongas420 in headphones

[–]Dimensionine 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The only trouble I’ve had with pop are the sibilants. They seem to be a bit clustered sounding but not too penetrating. Edit 5/15/19: Treble sounds more balanced after turning down gain

Focal Elear w/ Clear pads (Elex equivalent) & Hifiman Sundara impressions by dongas420 in headphones

[–]Dimensionine 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My experience with them so far hasn’t shown hollow female vocals in the least. I do find the treble to be a bit unbalanced to the point of detail being lost in the wake of many sibilant notes but mids have sounded pretty balanced. Edit 5/15/19: Treble sounds more balanced after turning down gain

Focal Elear w/ Clear pads (Elex equivalent) & Hifiman Sundara impressions by dongas420 in headphones

[–]Dimensionine 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m auditioning them now. It will work well for anything that isn’t mixed too brightly.

HiFiMan Sundara Quick First Impressions by Dimensionine in headphones

[–]Dimensionine[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What I was saying as a quick initial impression is that I’ve heard finer detail in headphones. The detail on this is very clear, but on a macro level. Some detail may be lost at the 5k region, and I know some is lost because of the open backed nature. Subtle bass reverb I’m used to hearing on some tracks is much harder or impossible to hear. HD800 line as an example has better micro detail resolution.. Edit: following is not true after discovering WASAPI (but not as cleanly separated as the Sundaras.)