[tuahogary]

Hi there, I notice that how we listen to our music greatly affects what we think of our headphones. For example, some people like to feel that they're on stage performing the music themselves, others prefer to sit back and enjoy the performance. Personally, I've always loved to think that I'm the one singing / playing the instruments. I enjoy my music that way 

 Because of that, I love headphones with intimate mids which place the vocals as centrally as possible with the instruments revolving around me. 
 
This preference of listening affect what we think of soundstage, imaging and to some extent tonality. I personally need pinpoint accuracy in imaging and tonality, unlike others who look for that "speaker like" sound prefer a soundstage that extends to the front with less accuracy in imaging.
 
So here's a poll for all of you. I'd like to know how most Head-Fiers listen to their music. That way, I can understand better your impressions and reviews. You can vote more than one answer but please don't spam votes. For example, answer 1 and 5 applies to me. As you can see I like to be close to the band and am not a fan of big halls or concerts.
 
Thanks for contributing and happy listening! 

 

[deadlylover]

I like to pretend that I'm hiding in their closet.

 
So I prefer headphones that are laid back and calm, because something too intimate and treble happy will bring the vocals too close/in my head which doesn't mesh well with my shy personality.

 

[Lurkumaural]

I don't tend to actively imagine myself somewhere, but the way the music is mixed tends to put me on stage surrounded by the performers, or otherwise watching the performance in a small intimate venue.

 

[RexAeterna]

i don't really think about it much really to be honest. i do play some instruments i had experience since i was little but never once tried to imagine myself on stage or in the studio. i just enjoy playing and listening to music really. i also tend to use my imagination more wildly compared to most people who has only direct/strict imagination of either ''studio'' or ''stage''. i find that in a way very boring and not creative personally. i mean it's nice to hear live performance that sound ''accurate'' on stage but most of the time i like to enjoy and use my imagination in different ways. i find the who point of music is enjoyment and imagination personally.

 

[Parall3l]

I want the vocals to be "in my face" and everything else should surround me.

 

[tuahogary]

Thanks for the feedback guys 

 keep em coming!

 

[Brooko]

It really does depend on the music for me.  It's probably also why I'll always have a t least 2 sets of cans.
 
Classical - I want to be in the audience - in a largish hall.  I want to clearly hear the nusic around me, and identify the instruments - positioning is important.  Opera very similar - as long as the vocals are front and center, and not too distant.
 
Jazz - I want to be in a small room / bar - singer is at the piano (center), instruments around him/her.  I guess I'm no more than 20ft or so away.  Intimate - but still clear space and separation.
 
Rock/Blues - Front row or on-stage.  I want to feel the energy.  Singer up close.
 
Haven't really thought about other genres.  Electronic would involve some serious thought - I like singer (female) to be close, and music to engulf/encircle me.  Country depends on pace - fast with a beat = similar to rock/blues.  Slower might be similar to jazz setting.
 
Prog Rock very much depends on pace.
 
Indie / Folk / Female Vocals - definitely like vocals forward - small bar setting again.

 

[Gatepc]

Interesting, Well I always like to pretend I'm sitting in a very large thousand year old cathedral or something in Europe listening to the performance from far back.

This is not always the case though. If I'm not pretending to be in a cathedral I pretend I'm floating through space with the music all around me and penetrating my every fiber of being. Very hard to explain.

I also have a very good imagination and will actually just let my mind drift I'll see a shape, it will shift into a object and then shift back into something else I can imagine entire worlds around me vividly.

So I guess really it depends on both the song and my mood.

 

[TexasBuck]

I typically follow the lyrics or the mood of the music and try and visualize what the song is about, or what it means to me.  If I'm listening to older music, I'll think back to the days of old of when/where I listened to it in the past.  Sometimes certain songs remind me of people I've known or places I've been.  The only time I would really picture the artist playing the music is if I saw them in concert.  Then I would just be remembering the performance.  

 

[RexAeterna]

Interesting, Well I always like to pretend I'm sitting in a very large thousand year old cathedral or something in Europe listening to the performance from far back.
This is not always the case though. If I'm not pretending to be in a cathedral I pretend I'm floating through space with the music all around me and penetrating my every fiber of being. Very hard to explain.
I also have a very good imagination and will actually just let my mind drift I'll see a shape, it will shift into a object and then shift back into something else I can imagine entire worlds around me vividly.
So I guess really it depends on both the song and my mood.

finally! someone else without a boring imagination. i thought i was the only one that used my imagination beyond your typical audio enthusiast(you know, the whole on stage or studio stuff)

 

[Gatepc]

finally! someone else without a boring imagination. i thought i was the only one that used my imagination beyond your typical audio enthusiast(you know, the whole on stage or studio stuff)

Yeah, I just let my mind drift and it sort of forms its own images based on what I'm hearing or what mood I'm in. I mean I don't do drugs or anything but the stuff I can see in my head when I listen is what I would assume an acid trip would be like for most people. Like Alice in Wonder Land meets Pink Floyd the wall (the artistic parts). I can just drift and one shape morphs to another, sometimes I even enter sort of another state of mind. Sort of like I'm out of it, drifting away in emotion as I listen. Is it like this for you?

 

[ecclesand]

Shaken, not stirred.

 

[sidel]

Quote:

I like to pretend that I'm hiding in their closet.

 

 
Because you don't want to actually imagine yourself as the loli, right?  Right?

 

[deadlylover]

Quote:

 
Because you don't want to actually imagine yourself as the loli, right?  Right?

I prefer the act of observation....besides, my current rig doesn't have nearly enough resolution to become one with the loli. Yet.

 

[Gatepc]

I prefer the act of observation....besides, my current rig doesn't have nearly enough resolution to become one with the loli. Yet.

Yet? Well maybe the LCD 3s will fix that for you, haha. Become one with your inner loli.