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The 'house sounds' of various headphone manufacturers?

post #1 of 14
2/12/08 at 8:03am
Thread Starter 
I have heard a little on this subject and am interested if people could list and describe the characteristics of the type of sound each manufacturers tends to produce headphones tuned to...

I have heard, for example, that Sennheisers generally produce a 'warm' and 'laid back' sound and Grado's are the opposite and produce a 'forward' sound...

You know, stuff like that, but if you could be more descriptive than me that would be great(!)
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post #2 of 14
2/12/08 at 8:24am
With Senn & Grado you've already mentioned the most prominent companies with "house sound", but even here, you find exceptions. AKGs tends to put emphasis on a fone's mids, many AT fons have (over-?)prominent upper mids (but there's also the A9** series), and Beyer is uncategorizable and diversified IMO.

Things ain't that simple, it's just a tendency thing, sometimes coupled with prefudices.
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post #3 of 14
2/12/08 at 6:36pm
Somebody said, somewhere, and I agree, as far as it goes, that:

Sennheiser is wood.

Beyerdynamic is metal.

AKG is plastic.

And Grado is a marching band in your head.

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post #4 of 14
2/12/08 at 6:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by nickchen View Post
prefudices.
...prejudices...
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post #5 of 14
2/12/08 at 7:12pm
Grado - fast, forward, dynamic, intimate, involving, and slightly to very bright - the downside for most of their headphones is a lack of soundstage... it's basically on the stage or in the first row
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post #6 of 14
2/13/08 at 6:27pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by greggf View Post
Somebody said, somewhere, and I agree, as far as it goes, that:

Sennheiser is wood.

Beyerdynamic is metal.

AKG is plastic.

And Grado is a marching band in your head.
haha, umm... so is the implication that sennheisers are earthy and warm sounding... beyerdynamics are cold and unforgiving... akg's are sterile and artificial and grado's are...loud?

Man, obviously this is going to be a bit of a generalization, particularly as beyerdynamics seem to be all over the place...

oh yeah, i read somewhere that the dt990's have a somewhat sennheiser-like sound - can anyone clarify this? And also, relative to sennheisers, are the K701's more 'forward' or 'bright'?
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post #7 of 14
2/13/08 at 6:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cactus_farmer View Post
haha, umm... so is the implication that sennheisers are earthy and warm sounding... beyerdynamics are cold and unforgiving... akg's are sterile and artificial and grado's are...loud?

Man, obviously this is going to be a bit of a generalization, particularly as beyerdynamics seem to be all over the place...

oh yeah, i read somewhere that the dt990's have a somewhat sennheiser-like sound - can anyone clarify this? And also, relative to sennheisers, are the K701's more 'forward' or 'bright'?
K701s have a massive soundstage, coupled with emphasis in mid-highs.
It would be around 30 bass, 35 mids, 35 highs - but more balanced and neutral than most headphones out there along with great detail IMO
Hd600s had 40 bass, 35 mids, 25 highs, producing warm, smooth sound but too much bass for my taste.
DT880s may be the most detailed headphone I have tried and perhaps as neutral as K701s - but with emphasis on the highs. 30 bass, 30 mids, 40 treble.

Beyers are really ALL over the place, with DT770s sounding completely different than Dt880s or DT990s.
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post #8 of 14
2/14/08 at 3:13am
This topic seems familiar. Is there another thread on the house sounds? I'd much like to learn more about the general differences between the major headphone makers.
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post #9 of 14
2/14/08 at 3:27am
It'll be very hard to generalize "house sounds" of each makers... considering that each maker tries to make diverse type of headphones that suit all different tastes..
Now if we were talking about performance between "reference" headphones (HD650 vs K701 vs DT880 vs A5000) or Flagship headphones (HE90 vs L3000 vs Stax Omega) it would make more sense - I think there are several comparative reviews like these already
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post #10 of 14
2/14/08 at 4:30am
What about the Bose house sound?
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post #11 of 14
2/14/08 at 4:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Erik View Post
What about the Bose house sound?
Is Yuppie a sound?
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post #12 of 14
2/14/08 at 4:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Erik View Post
What about the Bose house sound?
Great competitors for Skullcandys with totally different sonic signitures!

oops, that was my bose bashing reflex - can't help myself
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post #13 of 14
2/14/08 at 7:56am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rednamalas1 View Post
It'll be very hard to generalize "house sounds" of each makers... considering that each maker tries to make diverse type of headphones that suit all different tastes..
Now if we were talking about performance between "reference" headphones (HD650 vs K701 vs DT880 vs A5000) or Flagship headphones (HE90 vs L3000 vs Stax Omega) it would make more sense - I think there are several comparative reviews like these already
Do you mind directing me to any of these reviews? (I've tried the search function...)
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post #14 of 14
2/14/08 at 9:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by cactus_farmer View Post
akg's are sterile and artificial
Vintage AKGs sound nothing like that.
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