Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › I guess I just can't recognize quality when I hear it!
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

I guess I just can't recognize quality when I hear it!

post #1 of 6
11/23/11 at 11:02am
Thread Starter 

Over the years, I have heard many headphones at a lot of different price points.

I can certainly hear that there are differences in the sound, but I have to admit that I cannot really tell when one is inherently "better" than another (unless one has severe problems, like no bass or obvious distortion.) My curiosity about more expensive gear has usually led to disappointment and the feeling of having wasted money.

 

For example, I really do not prefer the higher-end Sennheisers (eg HD650s) to their entry-level counterparts (eg HD280s.)

 

I have often listened to headphones that are popular and highly recommended (such as ATH-A700) without being able to tell what all the fuss is about.

Conversely, I really enjoy my Bose QC15s, which are often described as "terrible" on this site.

I also like my Yuin PK3s almost as well as any full-sized cans I have heard.

 

Is this common, or do I have issues with my hearing that I am not aware of? Can most people appreciate great head-fi gear, or is it the purview of golden-eared audiophiles that make up only a tiny percentage of the population (apparently not including me)?

 

Oh well, I guess I should feel lucky. After all, it means I don't have to spend a lot to be satisfied.

Reply
post #2 of 6
11/23/11 at 11:07am

Don't feel peer pressured from the community to like gear that always gets cited as top-tier.  You'll get tunnel visioned if you let other people color your impressions.  There is good advice here to help as data points, but don't take them as gospel.

 

Chain is very important, though.  I'm getting to the mind now that (with the high-end), amp is actually more important than headphones, within reasonable expectations.  Fwiw, I've had good experience with Grados in subpar setups, but not so good experience with Senns in subpar setups.

Reply
post #3 of 6
11/23/11 at 11:08am

Well there are a couple problems with this statement.

 

The common misconception that a higher price equals a better sounding headphone which is simply not true. Recently marketing has shown that a higher price sells more headphones to the targeted market of audiophiles where cognitive illusion plays an important role.

 

Also I would likely prefer a HD280 to a HD650 if powered by an iPod, the HD650 needs a powerful amp.

 

The Yuin PK3s are my favorite earbud/IEM which I prefer over others costing over $100. Furthermore the PK3 reminds me of a HD600, perhaps you would like that full-size phone, again on a good amp.

Reply
post #4 of 6
11/23/11 at 11:09am

I think you will recognize it when a pair of headphones sound good or bad if you listen to them for longer periods (weeks, months?) I also can't hear a big difference between the fake pair of beats tour of a friend of mine and my IE8's. When I bought a fake pair, just to try and when I listened to it for a week, I realized how great my IE8's are... Just a thought...

Reply
post #5 of 6
11/23/11 at 11:09am

-Do you listen to lossless files? Nothing can be bad music files sound good. Well not to an extreme degree anyway.

-Do you listen to badly produced music? Some non mainstream stuff can be great music but are just badly produced (happens with Cynic, one of my favorite bands).

-Do you always use a bad DAC (i.e. an onboard sound card)? Listening to a Senn HD800 on an on board sound card would actually make the headphones sound worse than iBuds.

-Did you listen to the HD650 directly out of a computer (they can be disappointing when unamped)?

 

Do you just have bad hearing or don't care or just can't listen critically? Cause if the former, I don't think it's something a forum can solve, if the latter, your wallet thanks you a great deal.

Reply
post #6 of 6
11/23/11 at 12:24pm
Thread Starter 

I have several sources, but the one I listen from the most often is a Tascam CD player.
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by NinjaSquirt View Post

-Do you listen to lossless files? Nothing can be bad music files sound good. Well not to an extreme degree anyway.

-Do you listen to badly produced music? Some non mainstream stuff can be great music but are just badly produced (happens with Cynic, one of my favorite bands).

-Do you always use a bad DAC (i.e. an onboard sound card)? Listening to a Senn HD800 on an on board sound card would actually make the headphones sound worse than iBuds.

-Did you listen to the HD650 directly out of a computer (they can be disappointing when unamped)?

 

Do you just have bad hearing or don't care or just can't listen critically? Cause if the former, I don't think it's something a forum can solve, if the latter, your wallet thanks you a great deal.



 

 

Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Headphones (full-size)
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › I guess I just can't recognize quality when I hear it!