Headphone crew

217 Replies, 110837 Views

HeadRoom is a wicked site, but I never realised they have this funky graph thing there - it's sweeet!

http://www.headphone.com/technical/produ...d-a-graph/

Of course, be sure to read this as well...

Quote:A "natural sounding" headphone should have a gentle hump in the bass (about 3 or 4 dB) between 40Hz and 500Hz. This compensates for the fact that headphones don’t give you the physical punch or 'impact' that the sound waves from a room speaker have; so a slight compensation for increased bass response is needed for natural sound. Headphones also need to be rolled-off in the highs to compensate for the drivers being so close to the ear; a gently sloping flat line from 1kHz to about 8-10dB down at 20kHz is about right.

You’ll notice all headphone measurements have a lot of jagged ups & downs (peaks & valleys) in the high frequencies; this is normal and mostly due to reflection cancellations in the folds and ridges in the outer part of the ear. Ideally however, the ups and downs of the frequency response should average out to a flat line. Large peaks or valleys over 3kHz in width usually indicate poor headphone response, and should be viewed as a coloring of the sound. Some small dips in the highs may actually be desirable and should exist in the 2kHz to 8kHz region.


I was interested after Scope and I mentioned it the other day, so stuck the 280's (same as 270's I have used for a billion years), the 600's (which I just bought) and the 650's (which Scope has) on the same graph Smile

http://graphs.headphone.com/graphCompare...=0&graphID[]=213&graphID[]=249&graphID[]=255

The 600/650 are very close - the graph supports the general feeling that they are perhaps tuned to sound a bit nicer, but there's not much to choose between em. Grin

The 280's look rubbish on that graph though Hahaha But it does show that there's more than graphs at work - god knows I still love those cans...

BTW My headphone amp should be waiting for me when I get home next week - wooohooo! Grin
[Image: protabl3.gif]
Don Cherry Wrote:Every human is blessed in her or his life with one love (passion), no matter how long it may last. This Absolute love will last in one's heart and soul forever.
Linky not worky.

I got some lower end Audio Technica AD300 Air for Christmas. Rather too laid back and quiet but a nice un-fatiguing sound for producing on I find. Wide Open Barn Door Back headphones would describe them.

Lovely for listening on though.
I will need some new cans soon...my 270s are hanging on with elastic bands at the mo Lol
270's, 280's are sennheisers i suppose?
if so

270 <3
nice website Smile
the link in mine is fixed - won't work in here cos of all the[][][][][ bizzle.

@ amon - Yes
[Image: protabl3.gif]
Don Cherry Wrote:Every human is blessed in her or his life with one love (passion), no matter how long it may last. This Absolute love will last in one's heart and soul forever.
Going back to something you said about you're leaving your cans at home, playing in a box in a box. Are headphones really needed to be "run in".

In all fairness I think I'm pretty hot with noticing differences in sound with speakers, headphones etc. But my B&W 601 speakers sound the same now as they did when I bought them new in 2006. All Sennheisers I've had (or my dad, spending over £300 on one pair last year) and I've never noticed any change in the sound.

In a box, in a box as well. Why the need?

Just interested, as I've never run in a pair of speakers or headphones. Yet I read so much about it in the premium hifi mags.
loosens up the drivers innit. with things like amps, cd players etc the usefulness of burn-in is a bit more debatable, but generally anything with mechanical parts should benefit from it. Whether you can tell a difference or not is a different matter entirely. Smile
bare
WiLSHY Wrote:Going back to something you said about you're leaving your cans at home, playing in a box in a box. Are headphones really needed to be "run in".

In all fairness I think I'm pretty hot with noticing differences in sound with speakers, headphones etc. But my B&W 601 speakers sound the same now as they did when I bought them new in 2006. All Sennheisers I've had (or my dad, spending over £300 on one pair last year) and I've never noticed any change in the sound.

And you probably wouldn't.

The best analogy I can think of is yourself. You look in the mirror every day, innit, but you don't think you look any different until you see a picture of yourself 5 years ago.

At which point you go JEDIcrying and the analogy breaks down Hahaha

But I can certainly say that buying HD 270's after HD 270's - the same damn cans! - I remember being really thrown when I put on my new pair and they sounded different. I'd never considered break in etc, but having a pair I'd battered for three years on and then switching over over to the brand new ones was quite annoying. They sounded so shit! Now I understand why.

Quote:In a box, in a box as well. Why the need?

So it doesn't keep us awake at night!!
[Image: protabl3.gif]
Don Cherry Wrote:Every human is blessed in her or his life with one love (passion), no matter how long it may last. This Absolute love will last in one's heart and soul forever.
Yeah that site is dope. Used it to research tons of headphones. I finally went with the Beyer Dynamic DT 770s because I tried them on at the store and the velvet pads and awesome bass brought a smile to my face Smile

It does add a bit of bass though, so you have to be careful. But sounds so nice...


Have fun with the 600s, I'm thinking of getting those soon as well. Need some open cans.
Oh they're open alright. You can almost hear my 650s in the next room.
Turn them down then Icon_exclaim Watch yer ears ghuy!

Do you use a headphone amp? Smile
[Image: protabl3.gif]
Don Cherry Wrote:Every human is blessed in her or his life with one love (passion), no matter how long it may last. This Absolute love will last in one's heart and soul forever.
Im actually very surprised how our 600s/650s beat out the grado RS2s in those measurements.
Cool

They do look like they sound nice, if you get me... Considerable harmonic distortion and so on.
[Image: protabl3.gif]
Don Cherry Wrote:Every human is blessed in her or his life with one love (passion), no matter how long it may last. This Absolute love will last in one's heart and soul forever.
Macc Wrote:At which point you go JEDIcrying

minus 10 kilo crew anyone :/
10? Hahaha You're doing well.
[Image: protabl3.gif]
Don Cherry Wrote:Every human is blessed in her or his life with one love (passion), no matter how long it may last. This Absolute love will last in one's heart and soul forever.
Macc Wrote:Turn them down then Icon_exclaim Watch yer ears ghuy!
I meant more like at 2 am when everyone else is trying to sleep. But you raise a good point.

Macc Wrote:Do you use a headphone amp? Smile
No, so far I've just gone straight out of the Audio Kontrol 1 headphone out. Thinking about it, though.
it's 100 ohms out of the ak1, 300 for the 600/650's... fwiw :d Smile

btw, on another note, i really like the ak1. very happy with that little thing. great for my live shows from a physical performance point of view, and has a nice-but-definitely-clinical sound to it. not sure if i'd like to make tunes all the time with it, something about it doesn't seem as natural as the rme or even the old 1212m. but it's a wicked little thing Yes phantom power, all the ins and outs and all bus powered through a single usb cable - magic!

aaaaanyway.... Oops
[Image: protabl3.gif]
Don Cherry Wrote:Every human is blessed in her or his life with one love (passion), no matter how long it may last. This Absolute love will last in one's heart and soul forever.
i just replaced my senn. hd280pro cans, and noticed that they do sound different (but not that different) but after breaking them in, like any loudspeaker will sound just fine.. i really really like how the sennheisers break up at just the right level, exactly short of when your hearing is in danger.
Easy Bob, hope all is well.

What made you choose the 600s above the 650s (or any other pair of headphones for that matter)? I'm about to shelve out for a pair of open cans myself.
dennis! Icon_yippee Wave

i chose the 600's as after extensive reading, the general sentiment was that they are *slightly* more 'honest' than the 650's, that is, better geared towards mixing duties, whereas the 650's are more straight listening oriented. even the sennheiser blurb on their site sort of suggest this;

Quote:the audiophile hd 650 is the ultimate in open, dynamic headphone design. ... they captivate the listener with their expressiveness and emotion while maintaining absolute precision and lifelike reproduction. enjoy sound in perfection!

Quote:the hd 600 avantgarde are audiophile-quality, open dynamic hi-fi/professionalstereo headphones. the advanced diaphragm design eliminates standing waves in the diaphragm material... these headphones are an ideal choice for the professional recording engineer recording classical music.

either way, going by the charts posted above, there's not an awful lot to choose between them Smile the 650's seem a little warmer sounding, but if that means i'm cramming more bass into my mixes cos i'm on 600's then i'm a happy man Teef
[Image: protabl3.gif]
Don Cherry Wrote:Every human is blessed in her or his life with one love (passion), no matter how long it may last. This Absolute love will last in one's heart and soul forever.
cheers bob! Wave Kisskiss

spent all morning reading up various sites and what not. i will have to find a shop which has them all in stock so i can a/b the lot. my local ones only carry the low end models and shops that do carry them are internet based only.

to make things worse, i've read rumours of a new product sennheiser is dropping this year which apparently replaces the hd650s. this doesn't make decision making any easier.
Yeah, I'd read about that as well, but fuck it... they're still well good headphones, and I've been using old models for ages anyway Smile

My headphone amp will be waiting for me at work on Monday, break that and the cans in together for 50 hours or something and we are away Grin the headphone amp dude (read: GEEK) gave me some advice on how best to do it all... I can't wait! Grin
[Image: protabl3.gif]
Don Cherry Wrote:Every human is blessed in her or his life with one love (passion), no matter how long it may last. This Absolute love will last in one's heart and soul forever.
Bob how much did you pay for your new cans mate? Might get some next week as mine have now had it Icon_sad !!
Errrr, £130 I think.... Plus £150 for the headphone amp Oops

EDIT: In a hasty attempt to justify this, I'd say that that's getting on for what some people pay for monitors. That works as justification... no? Teef
[Image: protabl3.gif]
Don Cherry Wrote:Every human is blessed in her or his life with one love (passion), no matter how long it may last. This Absolute love will last in one's heart and soul forever.

Possibly Related Threads…
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Audio Interfaces / Headphone Amps Code 7 6,549 9th January 2013, 03:06
Last Post: Code
  headphone amps impact_ 16 7,590 20th February 2011, 00:16
Last Post: Ashtonron
  what's the website that generates headphone comparission charts? InfiniteSloth 2 3,207 29th September 2010, 20:09
Last Post: InfiniteSloth
  valve headphone amp dsp 6 5,052 27th December 2009, 13:49
Last Post: denaris
  Headphone Monitoring Abend 16 8,118 2nd April 2007, 01:59
Last Post: Abend