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Audiophiles = natural preferance towards "warm" IEMS?

post #1 of 9
12/7/08 at 2:39am
Thread Starter 
or so it seems...even though by definition, self-proclaimed audiophiles are supposed to lean towards a "flat" sound...my personal observation.
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post #2 of 9
12/7/08 at 2:44am
Audiophiles usually (or used to) have (though high-end) speakers, which IMO presents less highs to the listener. Not that the speakers (tweeters/horns) can't produce it, but high frequencies being directional, really anything other than "1-inch from the ear canal" (IEMS, headphones) will let in relatively less amount of high frequencies. Since the audiophiles are used to speakers, this sound signature becomes their reference.

Then when some IEMs/Headphones try to present the high frequencies, it seems harsh or fake to them.

That's my guess anyway.....

Now that you bring this observations, I think it explains why there are top-of-the-line IEMs such as the Shure SE530 that has so (IMO serverly) rolled-off highs....
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post #3 of 9
12/7/08 at 2:45am
Because not all recordings are recorded well. But I still prefer a flat/neutral sound
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post #4 of 9
12/7/08 at 5:04am
Audiophiles in the headphone world do not fellow the rules set by the loud speaker world - Neutral does not equal to natural here. I'll suggest a read on this article @ Headwize and you should know why most people are not looking for a flat sounding headphone, including IEM:
HeadWize - Article: Judging Headphones For Accuracy (A HeadWize Headphone Guide)
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post #5 of 9
12/7/08 at 5:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gothamm View Post
or so it seems...even though by definition, self-proclaimed audiophiles are supposed to lean towards a "flat" sound...my personal observation.
1. Most audiophiles will lean on a side of neutral - some prefer brighter sound (they like to call it 'analytical') and others prefer some warmth (and often refer to it as tube-like).
2. Show me an IEM that sounds like HD600 and we can discuss why people don't lean towards the neutral sound. Until then - people don't exactly have a choice between neutral and otherwise. I guess for portable listening, warm is the lesser of the two evils.
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post #6 of 9
12/7/08 at 5:23am
eh...the DT880's are 'cold' and 'analytical' in the sense they have lots of detail so it blows that theory out of the water.
That said, I have 'cold' cans and 'warm' cans.
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post #7 of 9
12/7/08 at 6:26pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by MaloS View Post
1. Most audiophiles will lean on a side of neutral - some prefer brighter sound (they like to call it 'analytical') and others prefer some warmth (and often refer to it as tube-like).
2. Show me an IEM that sounds like HD600 and we can discuss why people don't lean towards the neutral sound. Until then - people don't exactly have a choice between neutral and otherwise. I guess for portable listening, warm is the lesser of the two evils.
so what you are inferring is that there is not a single IEM on the market that has a flat sound?
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post #8 of 9
12/7/08 at 6:30pm
I agree about the neutral sound. As IEMs bypass the outer ear, they don't need to have a flat frequency response, but rather to be perceived as flat.

Right now, I know of no IEM that's really neutral, at least among universals.
I don't know if the UE10 was neutral, but a guy I rely on said it has rolled off treble.
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post #9 of 9
12/7/08 at 6:52pm
audiophiles are not attracted by the flatness of the sound, i consider myself an audiophile but like a nice bassline...

ill explain. aslong as the sound is quality, clear, musical and clean then this is what audiophiles look for. no distortion, no harmonics or unsettling resonance and pure crystalline sound.

it dont matter if your listening to worlds best bassline 7 or whatever, aslong as the quality of sound is top notch then it all goes down to what sound you prefer, in other words it does not matter if you like pure bassline or classical. audiophiles are concerned with the sound quality not frequency quantity.
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