General Headphone Advice

A very significant portion of my library is jazz/blues/swing era stuff from 50's and earlier, so I know where you're coming from.

Trying to bootleg a fix with different headphones isn't going to work; it's simply going to make the small box feel like a slightly wider box. DSP solutions like TB Isone work very well if you have the option to run VST plugins.

An odd option is to also just downmix into mono. It seems funny, but on headphones sometimes the mono feed is better than the forced stereo feed.

 

@Noodlz

Sorry. Dolby Headphone was the name of it. Not surround.

 

ah thanks for the additional advice guys. Hm. i mainly listen to music using roon or via tidal on my mac / iphone. any VST options there or will i just need to switch to my PC and run foobar2000 there instead.

also tried googling AKG k501s but didnt see any for sale, any recommended price range / places to look?

 

There this on head-fi
http://www.head-fi.org/t/801537/akg-k501-mint

Again, I never heard of them other a few people saying it they had an even bigger wider soundstage than the K701.

 

If you're even considering AKG's, then get the K612. In my opinion it's better than the 7## family and much cheaper.

 

Canjam this year was my first chance to hear a wide range of headphones, from the HD800 to the LCD-4 to the Stax line, etc. Nothing I heard made me think that I should get rid of my HD600 or that I was missing out by not having something else. Granted, I'll still likely try and even get other headphones over time, but the HD600 is the gold standard I'm measuring them all by. The only transducer that gets nearly as much head time as the HD600 for me is the PM-3 and that's only because they're my portable cans, so they get used everywhere that isn't home.

 

No, it's simply question of personal preference, which we should separate technical merits from. HD800 is miles ahead in all technical aspects, well except tonality which can be easily corrected and the result it still miles ahead. I sold my HD600 and choose EQd HD800 any day. If one doesn't care about bass, resolution, breaking apart at louder volumes etc, then HD600 is a fine choice.

 

That's actually very wrong. No amount of EQ whatsoever can eliminate a resonance peak at 6.5khz. That's just the nature of the headphones. You can EQ the upper mids up a little (or do the inverse and reduce all other frequencies a little) but the peak can NOT be fixed by EQ. You can EQ the HD800 all day long and it will NEVER match the smoothness of the HD600. Sure, bass, resolution and soundstage are much better from the HD800 but breaking apart at louder volumes, seriously? Most people can't stand listening to the HD800 at high volumes so what's the point? In the end, tonality is still one of the deciding factors for a lot of people and the HD6x0s offer that in spades while still keeping up well in microdetail.

 

@Ash1412

I would beg to differ.

http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/the-hd800-eq-ing-thread.1735/

I agree that some people might still prefer the HD600 though, it is the more forgiving headphone. And it does do a lot better with poor recordings.

 

Your thread was what I was referring to when I mentioned upper mid EQ-ing. This is a step in the right direction but still not enough to solve the HD800's problems. The peak itself, although not that big of a problem to you, is really the worst one since it can't be EQ-ed away. Many mods have been found to increase the upper mids already, perhaps not to the extent of EQ but still rather effective for DIY-ed mods. The peak, however, even with Senn's own resonator or the Superdupont mod, will always be present. Not bashing on the HD800s, they're still the most unique headphones out there in terms of detail and soundstage, but they are also the largest gripe I have with Sennheiser (besides the HD700): Why have their best (and supposed to be second best) dynamic headphones not sound neutral after 15 years of success with the HD6x0? That's a short-sightedness that I can't forgive

 

I am just wondering when will there be a reference curve vs a preference curve for headphone EQ, as I assume most guys are doing it by ear?

 

Many comments from people complaining about the HD800 frequency response and always mainly that. Again, it's easily fixable with EQ.

Personally I'm looking for very capable drivers (dare I say one of the best) in a comfortable enclosure that can be tuned to my preferences, I don't give a crap whether it sounds the "original headphone" or not. For example you can use the flat Sonarworks curve with HD800 and it sounds nothing like HD800. Some people claim it's too dark for them and loses "HD800 qualities". Well I claim it still retains all the qualities needed and even adds new ones (actual bass hello). One can even claim the original qualities are too much - people do say it's like looking over-sharpened pictures, too big stage etc. I laugh when people make HD800 and HD800S differences sound like night and day, try actually EQing stuff radically, that makes a difference. HD600 can not be tuned as well, the driver simply starts distorting from any decend bass and/or louder volumes etc. HD800 is special and I'd buy it any day over and over again, until something technically better comes along at similar price which I find very well justified.

Perhaps I sound like one certain trollish guy here, but I'm too kinda sick of the HD6x0 "TOTL" praising. There's nothing wrong with them, but it's messages after messages of subjective brain washing. People listen to different music, nothing wrong with that. It's nice that someone finds vocals or some other aspects on some headphone great. Personally I look for a package that works with everything and plays all sound extremes with headroom to spare. Pretty sure no one can seriously argue that HD800 drivers don't deliver, ignoring the usual tired "it has a peak" rants.

There are many ways in this hobby, I guess I'm just not the traditional audiophile type looking for specific things like über vocals or piano tuned with a hundred tubes to absolute perfection. I simply want all aspects of the sound to be atleast "excellent", reproduced cleanly. I'm more of a home theatre / audiovideo type guy without the video part (still happy with a PLV-Z5), I think they share a similar mindset..

 

@Ash1412

Still not agreeing with you that the HD800 peak can't be fixed with EQ, but I am agreeing with you that as impressive as the HD800 is it's far from perfect.

I'd love to see Sennheiser step up their game and deliver a "baby-orpheus 2". I recently heard the Hifiman Edition-X and out of the box with no mods or EQ it has a much better tonal response than the HD800 or even HD800S. So the competition is gearing up.

 

Pretty bold statement. Since listening to my HD800 against my HD600 (even tuned with Sonarworks etc) simply made me laugh at the resolving gap. Of course it's subjective etc, but when one actually hears more layers, texture and stuff in the music, what's that if not "performance"? I believe I've heard many other people call HD600 a bit grainy etc. Honestly I've not been dabbling in audio decades, but I've had enough gear for years to not care about such ridiculous statements really. I hear a serious gap and that's it.

 

I don't really care about the price stuff. Anything in the $300-$1500 range is peanuts to people who have regular work, well atleast in IT or something trendy. Sennheiser makes good reliable stuff and the prices are very justifiable (let's not get into Hifiman et al).

It's not rocket science to experiment with EQ. It's quite obvious what frequencies affect different things, yes sometimes you might lose air or whatnot, but other aspects make up for it, or it even just sounds more natural. If you have not used Sonarworks with HD800 etc, then we have no reference point to discuss.