sadre
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2008
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I was thinking about something today, and when next I am at my home that has my main system, I am going to have to try this out.
Headphones give a lot of pleasure, and there is a reason why recording engineers use headphones to dial in their mixes. I have read it, on this forum and other places, that this is due to the fact that headphones eliminate the room variable: the only acoustic space that has to be managed by the designer of a headphone is that little space in the cup of the headphones. Of course, this is different for different styles: open backed headphones have certain conditions to deal with, closed have others, etc. And from this reasoning, IEM's only have to reckon with the acoustic space of that teeny little cabin of acoustic space between the end of the iem and the ear drum!
But I digress. Here is what I was wondering.
The strengths of headphones notwithstanding, often people observe that you just can't get that same bodily feeling of powerful bass, the visceral purr of a Fender Jazz, the actual gut feeling of those timpani strikes in the middle of the marcia funebre 2nd movement of Beethoven's Eroica... you all know what I mean.
So, then, what if one were to listen via one's usual headphones, but, have one's subwoofer, suitably tuned, also on line and playing?
Granted, the subwoofer could never be as "fast" as the headphones, but I am really piqued by this experimental idea.
Sadly, I will not be home with my main rig (which has a Martin-Logan Descent sub) for a few weeks.
I am speaking here of a true subwoofer, btw, not something that booms around. I believe I have mine set to roll off above 35hz, if I recall correctly. I never really "hear" that sub, it merely adds that almost intangible "body" under the music, as a proper sub should.
Anyway, food for thought, eh?
sadre
Headphones give a lot of pleasure, and there is a reason why recording engineers use headphones to dial in their mixes. I have read it, on this forum and other places, that this is due to the fact that headphones eliminate the room variable: the only acoustic space that has to be managed by the designer of a headphone is that little space in the cup of the headphones. Of course, this is different for different styles: open backed headphones have certain conditions to deal with, closed have others, etc. And from this reasoning, IEM's only have to reckon with the acoustic space of that teeny little cabin of acoustic space between the end of the iem and the ear drum!
But I digress. Here is what I was wondering.
The strengths of headphones notwithstanding, often people observe that you just can't get that same bodily feeling of powerful bass, the visceral purr of a Fender Jazz, the actual gut feeling of those timpani strikes in the middle of the marcia funebre 2nd movement of Beethoven's Eroica... you all know what I mean.
So, then, what if one were to listen via one's usual headphones, but, have one's subwoofer, suitably tuned, also on line and playing?
Granted, the subwoofer could never be as "fast" as the headphones, but I am really piqued by this experimental idea.
Sadly, I will not be home with my main rig (which has a Martin-Logan Descent sub) for a few weeks.
I am speaking here of a true subwoofer, btw, not something that booms around. I believe I have mine set to roll off above 35hz, if I recall correctly. I never really "hear" that sub, it merely adds that almost intangible "body" under the music, as a proper sub should.
Anyway, food for thought, eh?
sadre
