Zaubertuba
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2009
- Posts
- 449
- Likes
- 23
Quote:
Quote:
The HD 555/595 have angled drivers. I just purchased the HD 580, and although they're a generally better headphone, I still prefer my 555's for TV/movies. The more foward and narrower soundstage on the 555's becomes a strength, because dialogue and foley sounds are more realistically presented (seemingly) in front of me--more "tied-in" with what's happening on the video display. The 580's resolve more reverberation/microdetails in the hall, and the presentation is further back to my ears (brain), which works great for classical music.
All of this to say, it seems to me that there isn't necessarily a "one-size-fits-all" solution to soundstage (or "headstage") on headphones. It really depends on what kind of experience you're trying to recreate--and may even be genre-specific.
Originally Posted by ear8dmg /img/forum/go_quote.gif Angled drivers do create a more speaker like headstage. The trouble is - that's exactly what Dolby Headphone does. It's designed to sound like speakers placed ideally in a 'perfect room' when using headphones with a completely neutral headstage (i.e l+r drivers at 90 degrees, just next to your ears). If you add angled drivers it's a bit like moving the two front side speakers closer together. This may still sound acceptable for 5.1 but for stereo it destroys the 3d imaging intended when the record was mixed in a studio using monitors placed in a triangle with the sound engineer. For stereo recordings with headphones with angled drivers, you'd be better just using crossfeed, rather than Dolby Headphone. Live recordings are a bit different but usually have quite strong 3d cues if well recorded. |
Quote:
Originally Posted by sfxjames /img/forum/go_quote.gif What headphone would you be refering to? (HD555, HD595s, HD580s or HD600?) |
The HD 555/595 have angled drivers. I just purchased the HD 580, and although they're a generally better headphone, I still prefer my 555's for TV/movies. The more foward and narrower soundstage on the 555's becomes a strength, because dialogue and foley sounds are more realistically presented (seemingly) in front of me--more "tied-in" with what's happening on the video display. The 580's resolve more reverberation/microdetails in the hall, and the presentation is further back to my ears (brain), which works great for classical music.
All of this to say, it seems to me that there isn't necessarily a "one-size-fits-all" solution to soundstage (or "headstage") on headphones. It really depends on what kind of experience you're trying to recreate--and may even be genre-specific.