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I came to a stunning realization today when I heard a live acoustic performance at church today - my headphones don't even provide a semblance of natural. The richness of the vocals, the sound of a guitar, the liquid tones that are created when I aimlessly pluck my violin - I know that headphones are about sound reproduction, that will never be as good as the real thing, which is further compromised by all the aspects of recording, but should I expect more out of my HE-500s and UM Miracle? They can't even begin to create the atmosphere of a live event. Maybe I need an amp/source upgrade? An HM-601 maybe just doesn't do these headphones justice?
Do I need a 5 digit rig to create a good illusion of natural? Or maybe headphones just can't do it - only speakers?
I doubt it that you will get the exact same experience out of a pair of headphone, think about it for a second, you are positioned in the centre of everything when using headphones, and the drivers are so close to your ears.
However, if what you are after is the richness of the vocals, the sound of a guitar, you might just get away with a really good setup of DACs and AMPs for your HE500.
I've never heard both of the headphones you mentioned in the thread, but I don't think you want IEMs, ba drivers just don't move air the same way as dynamics, I can enjoy my triple fis on the road, but when I'm at home, rs2 or 701 it is.. I think this really matters when you want the guitar to shine, which I found out the other day that triple fis failed catastrophically in that department, again, I've never owned or listened to a good sets of customs, I might be wrong.
oh, about messing up with your head, faking the feeling of a real concert, try some binaural recordings, they are quite rare to come across, but hell, they presented you with some amazing experience. Moreover, cross feed might make things sound better to you as well, although, no matter how good the integration is, you still can feel the driver being awfully close to you. I've heard phonitor and loved it, though I think I appreciated it more as a very nice amp than a sophisticated cross feed processor.