A quick question about soundstage...

Quote:

Originally Posted by AzraelDarkangel 

Alot of people talk about this or that headphone having better or bigger or wider soundstage. My question is what headphones often startle or surprise you with sounds that sound like they are coming from the room around you and not the headphones. Which headphones sound most holographic to you in the sense of not sounding like most headphones ?

Open cans are better than closed cans for big soundstage.
The soundstage I  get from the hd595 is great, I  can forget that I'm wearing headphones.
But I  see commendations for the hd598, and hd800 too.
The soundstage of k701 is big, but people find it artificial.

Finally a little reverb as a dsp, can helps the sensation of a bigger soundstage (well, my personal experience). Also, there is some special binaural recordings , that can give an impressive "3D" feeling with headphones.

First experience with this was on the AD700 listening to Black and White Night on Blu-Ray by Roy Orbison. When the music started I actually had to yank off my headphone to make sure the sound wasn't coming from my surround speakers.

I enjoy akg k701 and when I put them on I have feeling that I am in amfitheather, very wide and good in depth too with excelent stereo imaging. However they will scale good with "powerful" amp and "detailed" dac. 

There is a word around here that DT990 has big stage too, don't now did not try them yet. Most people here don't care about soundstage too much, but for me it is very important, probably because if I had better room shape and no one to disturb in 2am I would go for speakers without second thoughts.

AKG K702 sound stage is great. I've also heard that AKG K1000, when well placed do an awesome job at replicating speakers.

It also depends on the recording. One time I was listening to my HE-6 then the next song was a live Joey Ramone's "What a wonderful world", when he said the title it came from my back. I actually took it off and turned around. I guess it was the position of the mic. Also there's a girl screaming on my right. Its like I'm in the same venue.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wuwhere 

It also depends on the recording.

Exactly, but you can yourself help the 3d effect, by playing with some dsp , just like reverb.

Best soundstaging I've heard on any headphone yet would be the Sony MDR-F1; absolutely scary what they can do with environmental audio/binaural recordings. They don't just get the point-source right, they get the reflections and echoes right (if the media has it). The AKG K701 would be a good candidate for second place. Between the two overall, that's a tougher debate (so don't take this to mean that the MDR-F1 is an out and out better headphone).

K501 for sure..maybe the K702 and AD700.

Q701 maybe, but I find it's soundstage smaller and more accurate than the K702. IMO the slightly smaller soundstage is better.

K400 also has a larger soundstage, but smaller than the K501.

Can't forget the HD-598 also..I don't know if it's in the same category, but at least it's larger than that of the HD-600/650.

K501 with my amp has the largest soundstage I've heard. Haven't compared it to the Ad700 really though.

I think the q701 gets it just right for me.

The recording is always the primary determinant in answering this question ~ my best experience would be with

the HD800 and a variety of entry level reference sources and amplifiers.

Crucial ~ if the ancillary gear is not up to scratch, the sound stage collapses very easily on the big Senns ~ they're

more or less a jewel or a complete waste of money depending on your matching and willingness to spend big

here.