My one headphone to rule them all (LCD2, 007MKII, ED8, T1, JH-16)? - Page 3

Its hard to find but once upon a time I found the freq res curve for the O2 and it was a perfect flat line on a slight downward slope.  Nothing I've heard or "seen" comes close to that neutral a response.  And I do mean slight, think it was -6db at 20K compared to 50Hz and flat, no jumps up or down expect for dropping towards 20Hz but then what else is new.

^^ Is it the one shown in this link :

http://www.geocities.jp/ryumatsuba/sr-007srm-717.html

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solude 

Its hard to find but once upon a time I found the freq res curve for the O2 and it was a perfect flat line on a slight downward slope.  Nothing I've heard or "seen" comes close to that neutral a response.  And I do mean slight, think it was -6db at 20K compared to 50Hz and flat, no jumps up or down expect for dropping towards 20Hz but then what else is new.

So it didn't follow any "standard" HRTF contour?  The headphone would have sounded "funny" then because it would be very unnatural. 

You may have see a "compensated" FR plot which had the correction built in.

Just to make the point clearer...  Here is a plot from the Stax mentioned above;

Here's a FR plot for the LCD-2;  The violet and red traces are FR, the yellow and grey are phase response.

You'll notice that first of all, the Stax response is anything but flat, but more significantly, the test seems to have been done at a much lower volume level with the Stax than with the LCD-2.  For any meaningful comparison to be done both plots should be done at 90dB as the LCD-2 plot was done.  I'm way more impressed with the graph from the LCD-2.

Most importantly, when I listen to both cans, one sounds better to me than the other.  That's more important than any graph in the world.

Thats the one and also goes to show that joy that is non 20/20 hindsight.  Would love to see it run through the HeadRoom dummy head.  All I know is I tried nearly every top dynamic and when I tried the O2 it was a no contest and I've pretty much been gone since.  Now its cable is damaged... so I'm in the hunt again.

Karth guessing you like the LCD2?

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwkarth 

You'll notice that first of all, the Stax response is anything but flat, but more significantly, the test seems to have been done at a much lower volume level with the Stax than with the LCD-2.  

There is no way to tell what the SPL the STAX headphones were tested at from that graph. -40db (@1khz)) does not look like a measure of SPL to me, except perhaps for absurdly sensitive measurement purposes. Perhaps it is listed elsewhere on the website where that graph came from.

On that note, the 2 headphones really should be measured on the same head/microphone/system if the measurements are to be compared.

my recent experimentashun with equalizing headphones has gotten me ADDING those dips. your ears may vary.

A rep from Sennheiser was quoted (here I think, but it was ages ago) as saying that the FR of the HD650 was designed with this in mind, to compensate for some funky headphone/ear resonances.

There is no one headphone to rule them all. There are many flavors at each level, and you won't know what your taste is by hearing other people's opinions. 

Also, hype comes and goes. New stuff gets talked about a lot, old stuff doesn't since it's already been discussed and stuff gets released all the time which takes over as the new thing. 

There's no short cut. Listen to what you can or buy with the option to resell, go to meets. You at least have a place to start. 

The SR-007 also has to be fitted to the dummy head due to it's unique headband design and care has to be taken to get the proper fit with the earpads.  I'm certain this is what happend with Doug's Orthodome as getting a good fit is rather tricky. The SRM-717 is also far from neutral (Stax altered the design to make it sound like that) so that has to be taken into account as well.  The plan was to measure 'stat's at CJ but given their different needs Tyll wanted to do it at a later date.  I'll be there when ever he's up for it to make sure they are properly powered and setup correctly. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solude 

....

Karth guessing you like the LCD2?

'Fraid so.  The Stax do sound lovely with the right amp, but to these ears, the LCD-2 is actually better in more than one area, and lesser in none.

Quote:

Originally Posted by robm321 

There is no one headphone to rule them all. There are many flavors at each level, and you won't know what your taste is by hearing other people's opinions. 

 

Also, hype comes and goes. New stuff gets talked about a lot, old stuff doesn't since it's already been discussed and stuff gets released all the time which takes over as the new thing. 

 

There's no short cut. Listen to what you can or buy with the option to resell, go to meets. You at least have a place to start. 

You know most people here just want to find a guru and stop thinking/listening for themselves....

"Well, that is that," says Baba Fats, sitting back down on his stone, Facing another thousand years of talking to God, alone. "Yes, Lord, it's always the same...old men or bright-eyed youth... It's always easier to sell 'em some **** than it is to tell them the truth." 

Shel Silverstein

Quote:

Originally Posted by nikongod 

 

There is no way to tell what the SPL the STAX headphones were tested at from that graph. -40db (@1khz)) does not look like a measure of SPL to me, except perhaps for absurdly sensitive measurement purposes. Perhaps it is listed elsewhere on the website where that graph came from.

 

On that note, the 2 headphones really should be measured on the same head/microphone/system if the measurements are to be compared.

True, the Stax graph, in this context, is another of the many unqualified graphs floating 'round here, although an educated guess would put their 0dB reference at rated output max of the Stax.  In any case, -40dB from any reference point probably puts it well below the 90dB reference point of the LCD-2.  As we all know, dynamic range is one of the areas where estats are challenged,

Yes, of course, for these graphs to have any relative legitimacy, they should be run on the same test jig, however, the fact that one is dynamic and the other estat, it is impossible to use the same setup entirely.  (the headphone amp used is very much a part of the test system and affects the outcome.)