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headphone position on ear

post #1 of 15
8/28/07 at 3:25pm
Thread Starter 
i was adjusting my grados last night whilst listening to an album in bed, in the course of doing this i inadvertantly noticed how the sound differed as to the 'bowls' position on the ear, dead center which is how i normally have them, was all of a sudden, a lot duller and sealed sounding, than to when i purposely placed them virtually half off the back end of my ear, this sounded more open and soundstagey, as if it was taking advantage of natures ergonomics on the pinner (outer ear) and driving the sound down into the ear drum more efficiently - with all of its folds and channels, horrible to describe i realize, lol - but it made me think with open backed phones, cans, how positioning can be a lot more crucial than people think.

for the rest of that session i had them half off toward the back of my ear and was impressed with the free upgrade that half an inch could offer.

how do you wear yours?
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post #2 of 15
8/28/07 at 3:30pm
I almost always wear mine forward and down. So the bowl-rim rests on top of the top-rear of my outer-ear. IMHO it helps to open up the soundstage. If I slide them back, such that the bowl rim encompasses my ear it collapses the soundstage and makes the mids very congested. IMHO of course.

I also wear my A250 forward and down. I didn't notice much difference with my HD580, so I wear them centered for comfort.
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post #3 of 15
8/28/07 at 3:30pm
I wear my SR60's slightly forward (very slightly, it's almost on the middle) on the ear, I find that best in both sound and comfort.
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post #4 of 15
8/28/07 at 3:33pm
i adjust my headphones so that they are comfortable. whatever sound that prroduces is what i go with.
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post #5 of 15
8/29/07 at 10:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by vcoheda View Post
i adjust my headphones so that they are comfortable. whatever sound that prroduces is what i go with.
X2 here.
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post #6 of 15
8/29/07 at 10:27am
Grado GS-1000s with stock pads were the most sensitive to positioning out of any of the other headphones I have ever owned. I wore them forward of center, with the tops and the rears of the inside of the pads just barely touching the top and back of my ears.

Followed closely by the AKG K-1000s, with their 'toe in' and 'toe out' adjustments and varying head positioning make them quite susceptible to some pretty dramatic changes in sound. I wear them with the earspeakers tilted out far enough so that they just barely clear my ears without touching them. I use the temple pads extended to the furthest position. I position them on my head such that the drivers in the earspeakers are pretty much lined up 'dead center' with my ears.

For the rest of my phones, I tend to wear them however they are most comfortable, which normally ends up with the drivers being 'dead center' with my ears.
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post #7 of 15
8/29/07 at 10:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lmilhan View Post
Grado GS-1000s with stock pads were the most sensitive to positioning out of any of the other headphones I have ever owned. I wore them forward of center, with the tops and the rears of the inside of the pads just barely touching the top and back of my ears.
Agreed. They are extremely sensitive. Minor repositioning gives a completely different sound.

I usually position the headphones the way they are most comfortable. And usually, that's the position they sound best with.
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post #8 of 15
8/29/07 at 11:41am
specifically re Grado .........I'm in 100% accord with Kramer5150. Actually, I first did it as he said in a post some time ago. Up until that post - I was not a happy Grado wearer. Now,

Wearers of every other brand might do well to read http://www.meier-audio.homepage.t-online.de/ ............go to Jans' "tips and tricks" page.
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post #9 of 15
8/29/07 at 11:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by vcoheda View Post
i adjust my headphones so that they are comfortable. whatever sound that prroduces is what i go with.
x3
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post #10 of 15
8/29/07 at 12:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lmilhan View Post
Grado GS-1000s with stock pads were the most sensitive to positioning out of any of the other headphones I have ever owned. I wore them forward of center, with the tops and the rears of the inside of the pads just barely touching the top and back of my ears.
Totally agree. What I hate about them is that because I have larger than average ears, the most comfortable position for me is also the one with the most (relatively) collapsed soundstage. They are easily the most position-sensitive phones I've worn.
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post #11 of 15
8/29/07 at 12:33pm
The Ergo AMT is very sensitive to position horizontally. Moving them forward on the head tickles more bass out of them at the equal loss of perceived detail until all of a sudden *bumf* everything above the midrange just vanishes and the sound collapses.
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post #12 of 15
8/29/07 at 3:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by vcoheda View Post
i adjust my headphones so that they are comfortable. whatever sound that prroduces is what i go with.
x4, I position my Grados for the most comfort. Usually that would mean dead center to slightly foward.
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post #13 of 15
1/26/08 at 9:32pm
I've come to find that I have pretty small ears and that it's hard to find the correct way to position any headphone correctly for its intended effect.

I was especially wondering how people optimally wear their HD650s? Is it over the whole ear or positioned forward with the flap of your ears pinned slightly?
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post #14 of 15
1/26/08 at 10:10pm
I agree with the above some of the above posts. The GS1ks are very sensitive to position on the head.

I wear my GS1000s slightly forward of center. That is where I find them the most comfortable and I also find the soundstage optimal. With the AT W5000s I use those forward and a bit down, again for comfort as well as for SQ reasons.

cheers
Simon
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post #15 of 15
1/27/08 at 12:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by b0dhi View Post
Totally agree. What I hate about them is that because I have larger than average ears, the most comfortable position for me is also the one with the most (relatively) collapsed soundstage. They are easily the most position-sensitive phones I've worn.
More than coincidence your username is b0dhi and you have one of the characteristics of the enlightened one?
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