Some get darned close. And since we're not 100% objective, it's also just as much about the method of delivery being an occasion as anything else in terms of measurable results.
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The perfect headphones - do they exist?
- Thread starter engbren
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Some get darned close. And since we're not 100% objective, it's also just as much about the method of delivery being an occasion as anything else in terms of measurable results.
It depends entirely on what you are listening to. I have a Philips SBC-HP140 and I also have an Audio Technica ATH-M50.
There is also a game like Subnautica.
When listening with the ATH-M50 and Adam T8V, the sound of the nuclear power plant in that game starts to get on your nerves pretty quickly. But with the SBC-HP140 headphones, it is tolearable .
I hadn't thought about gaming as part of the mission to find the ultimate cans, but that would throw a whole new wrench in this never-ending audiophile conversation.
I mostly lost any drive to keep experimenting when I found myself mostly listening to budget Koss Porta Pros after buying a bunch of much more expensive mid-tier cans.
Same here.My home studio also includes Tannoy near-fields and Sony 7506's!
But for in ears I really like what Shure offers, although you need to jump to the $300+ range to get really good sounding ones. The absolute top of the line ones have 3 drivers which is pretty insane for an in-ear device.
But see now we're into the realms of, well is it a flaw if a pair of headphones or speakers are not reproducing that sound in annoying manner? Because we don't know what 'truth' is.
We would get closer to the truth if we looked at where in the studio the sound effects were created and who was sitting at the sound console. Some people buy their records based on that.
www.fmod.com
this is what those sound effects were made with.
There are other things to note from the same game.
that krk-krk sound when a stalker breaks a teeth, I don't remember noticing that sound before buying the Adam T8V... Before the Adams I had a pair of Pioneer S-DJ60X
FMOD Studio
There are other things to note from the same game.
that krk-krk sound when a stalker breaks a teeth, I don't remember noticing that sound before buying the Adam T8V... Before the Adams I had a pair of Pioneer S-DJ60X
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I have an OLD pair of Sony MDR-7506 that I replaced the pads on a couple of years ago but to me they always sounded like the mids were scooped out significantly. I really like my Beyerdynamic DT880 Pro set.
Please see the rest of my commentary... If you are arguing that "consumer listening" is uncritical and demands the least accurate representation of the source, then I would agree with you that other headphones, e.g. the M50 or HD280 (I've owned each; currently using Beyerdynamic DT770 280Ω for monitoring during recording) will suffice.
However, my point isn't at all that you should listen to headphones in the first place for tasks more demanding than monitoring... we don't use them for critical engineering tasks at all. That's explicitly what near fields, mid fields, and mains are for.
NO headphone is as flat as a good pair of Tannoy, Westlake or Augspurger desk monitors/mains.
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For me, the Marshall Major headphones were the best in terms of sound quality that I’ve used. They deliver rich, clear sound with a nice balance of bass, mids, and treble. However, in terms of comfort, they fall a bit short. They do need some break-in time to become more comfortable, but once you’ve worn them a bit, they get better.
I use Kawai stereo headphones, they have good audio quality. I made two sound recordings.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/16NsFea_BD8y1xhTyS34xlDCW6EJ8whaP/view
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WjN_GHRi-1VWCTDY1VEOp1JoBUybttQw/view
https://drive.google.com/file/d/16NsFea_BD8y1xhTyS34xlDCW6EJ8whaP/view
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WjN_GHRi-1VWCTDY1VEOp1JoBUybttQw/view
They are detailed recordings of the headphones.
If you listen to the recordings in bitperfect mode on neutral headphones meant for studio work, you're going to know reasonably well (+- 75%) how the headphone is going to sound in real life.
OpenBSD demo #3 with Kawai stereo headphones.wav
drive.google.com
OpenBSD demo #4 with Kawai stereo headphones.wav
drive.google.com
You just have to click on the links above and you will hear the recording in the browser you are using.
This literally cannot work for dozens of reasons. How is any pair of headphones, especially if they sound better than those I own, going to sound anything like their true self through my headphones.If you listen to the recordings in bitperfect mode on neutral headphones meant for studio work, you're going to know reasonably well (+- 75%) how the headphone is going to sound in real life.
That isn't even the start of the questions, lol
Hence my question leading to how it was recorded in the first place, which I was hoping OP would pick up on
I'm not sure of the point you're tying to get across.
I did initially read your commentary (which. tbh, seemed like reminiscences than current information) and I'm not sure that has much to do with the point that the 7506 etc is a studio standard as playback / sometimes monitoring phones due to... tradition, more then their currently relevent performance?
No. It's not tradition, unless what you actually mean is reputation. The reputation is earned because the 7506s have, for headphones, a very flat response in the low midrange to low treble frequencies where the majority of intelligible speech/singing resides, sufficient enough for voice over and singers to hear themselves over the instrument playback, and at relatively low cost. Why pay $200 or $400 or $1200 for a pair of headphones that don't reproduce any more accurately than a $90 pair?
Mixing engineers don't really use headphones because none of them are sufficiently flat across the spectrum and they do not have a wide enough soundstage for fine adjustment. That is where near fields, mid fields and mains come in.
mids and highs. bass is quite non-existent on those cans. But good for vocals, all radio DJs use them. I prefer Audio Technica btw
Glad this thread got bumped, although these are of no help to the OP as they are wired and have no mic (and would not be good for commuting). Last week I took delivery of a pair of HifiMan Edition XS cans:
They were hailed as a good way to "taste true audiophile" when they came out, at the "inexpensive" price of $499. My other cans (the afore-mentioned Sonys, AKG K240, Denon AH D650, and some Shure in-ears that I used onstage) are all sealed, dynamic phones, while these HifiMans are open-back, planar magnetic; and when the price dropped to $269 I decided to try them. They sound impressive although so far I've only plugged them into my laptop; have a separate DAC/headphone amp en-route and can do come critical listening/comparing then.
What really amazes me is how comfortable they are. They completely surround my ears, don't touch or pinch at all, clamping pressure is very light, and even though I've got a big noggin I don't have to extend the band at all. Worth a look.
They were hailed as a good way to "taste true audiophile" when they came out, at the "inexpensive" price of $499. My other cans (the afore-mentioned Sonys, AKG K240, Denon AH D650, and some Shure in-ears that I used onstage) are all sealed, dynamic phones, while these HifiMans are open-back, planar magnetic; and when the price dropped to $269 I decided to try them. They sound impressive although so far I've only plugged them into my laptop; have a separate DAC/headphone amp en-route and can do come critical listening/comparing then.
What really amazes me is how comfortable they are. They completely surround my ears, don't touch or pinch at all, clamping pressure is very light, and even though I've got a big noggin I don't have to extend the band at all. Worth a look.
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It's the opposite.
Presence frequencies (4-6 kHz, above midrange) and brilliance (6-20kHz) frequencies are overpronounced on Beyerdynamic DT's and plenty of other cans. I have both. The 7506s have an objectively flatter response than most headphones, and are actually slightly more pronounced than the Beyerdynamics in the Sub-bass/Bass range (20-250Hz).
The 7506 isn't a standard monitoring headphone by accident.
Sony MDR-7506 vs Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO Side-by-Side Headphones Comparison
The Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO are better headphones for neutral sound than the Sony MDR-7506. The Beyerdynamic have a better build quality and a more comfortable, stable fit, along with a more open sound. However, the Sony leak much less audio and have a more prominent bass range, which will...
www.rtings.com