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Originally Posted by ianmedium /img/forum/go_quote.gif
...i think the comments of the person [emailing] you speaks volumes of how terrible is ability is to hear quality sound reproduction, no matter how esoteric that is.
Not really sure that is the case here. FWIW, this is how I see it and will use an analogy to illustrate what I mean: I reside in a country whose food is regarded as some of the best in the planet (or so the experts say, and I happen to agree with said experts). Now, people here are simply not generally interested in trying food from other ('more exotic') countries. To them, given the choice, such food is "crap" or just not good enough. I, for instance, happen to appreciate some good curry, and I'm not talking about the 'English' variety, but curry Indian people themselves would have/enjoy (though I've never been to India) — I enjoy
very spicy food. There was an authentic Mexican restaurant (not Tex-Mex) here a while ago which was absolutely brilliant, with a real Mexican chef (not a cook, ie authentic quality Mexican food being served). The place closed after 2 years; when I asked the (Mexican) owner why, he said the locals were not interested in his food and it was mostly foreigners who appreciated it — apparently not enough foreigners to keep him going.
I suppose to this fellow experienced HF'er, the SR-009s / HD800s are the equivalent of fine French food, and the PF IXs perhaps more like some 'exotic' but wrong-tasting food, or for all you know, maybe worse, just a cheap burger and chips fried in recycled oil! I think his comments were far too harsh but I could understand where he was coming from. No biggie in my book. He loves fine French cuisine only. I love fine French, Spanish, Italian, Indian, Mexican,...and even some fine English cuisine (yes, there seems to be such thing as fine English food!)
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Originally Posted by ianmedium /img/forum/go_quote.gif
You post comes at an interesting time for a couple of reasons for me. One is that only today I was reading Sterophile and the reviewer of whom I have a lot of regard was bemoaning how peoples Idea of what good bass is nowadays is so far off what good bass is that it is almost painful. Like everything in this modern world it is extremes that matter more it seems rather than subtleties
I agree there's a tendency for extreme / enhanced bass in today's popular music, but I can't help feeling there's a bit of snobbery in comments like the one from Stereophile.
Now, I listen to plenty of classical music, but I generally don't enjoy the atmosphere around classical concerts and even the behaviour / attitude expected /demanded of classically trained musicians when performing in public. As much as I dislike most (popular) music I hear around me, there's still 'good' music even in such genres as hip hop or even your Pop Idol type of music. Also, let's not forget a lot of this is a cultural thing, or perhaps now, thanks to globalisation, a sign of the times. Take Punk rock, for instance; it's not my favourite type of music, either, but it was fresh at the time, a necessary shock to some of the music that had become a joke with bands like ELP and Yes, perhaps even The Stones or Led Zeppelin — to this day I find
Anarchy in the UK by the Sex Pistols a brilliant track. Unfortunately, the Punk movement kinda took over in Britain's popular music culture for a while, which then led to the so-called Indie type of music, and suddenly some very good music became maligned, buried, mocked, not allowed to surface. The English music press, very good in the past, started to become 'decadent', pretentious and...absolutely empty. Oh, all those egos...
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Originally Posted by ianmedium /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Personally in life I have found the subtle moments far more profound than the wiz bang moments. The PF's for me are in the subtle camp, just like a good horn speaker and low powered SET amp they will not wow with pyrotechnics but they will draw you in even though you may feel that is madness. The Norm now is that the population en masse has become so desensitized that only wiz bang will work!
On the whole, I'm with you on this one. The PFs for me, in a way, are rather unassuming yet very true, with a quality to them that simply draws me in unexpected and mysterious ways.
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Originally Posted by ianmedium /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Of late I have become somewhat despondent with this forum. This is in the main for me because it seems that what is normal now is the norm here and I swear a great many people simply have no idea what natural or realistic sound is anymore. If it is not pumping earth shattering bass or treble to cut glass with then a headphone is crap or it is rolled off or it is bass light and for me the article I read this morning really made me realize this here.
I share your sentiment here. Even though I have the HD600 & HD800 (and V200), I have no intention of posting in the full-sized headphones forum (or amps forum) — I don't like what I see there. Then again, I don't like a lot of what I see in this forum, either, but I still feel more at home here, even if I post on very few threads.
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Originally Posted by ianmedium /img/forum/go_quote.gif
The second part is that because the PF's for me have changed how I listen to music, how I appreciate it, brought me back to how i used to listen BCD (Before CD!) I sought out a closed back full sized headphone for the days when I needed isolation. After searching and listening I ended up the the Beyerdynamic T5P. A headphone that when I got it and exchanged PM's with a local member the response was, "Arn't they too bright and no bass?" A response I have seen all to often here and to my ears absolute nonsense!
On Sunday I decided to do back to back listening between the 5P's and the PF's. It confirmed what I had hoped, that I found in a closed headphone something almost the same in terms of musical engagement and emotion.
I have begun to realize that natural round here means extensions in the frequency ranges, almost to comical levels. Its like everyone is on MSG!
In my case, the HD800 is the #1 phone, followed by the K3003 — meaning that if forced to choose one or two, those would be my choices. None of these sound remotely close to the PF IXs, but it seems I
need my PF IXs, like I need orange marmalade and a double macchiato with my breakfast, something I can't do without (perhaps not the best analogy).
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Originally Posted by ianmedium /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Now, before the pitchforks come out let me say, if MSG is your thing hey, great more power to you but do not for one minute tell me MSG is good or the way all things should be. If we move to far away from a non exagerated sound we will end up as we have where people cannot hear a difference between compressed music and uncompressed music.
Headphones it seems have gone the way of reality TV round here, if its not in your face, if its not extreme or shocking then it ain't good.
Now, I think that's taking things a bit too far (the MSG thing), but I think I can see where you're coming from. I definitely agree many people don't recognise good sound, or even the sound of real instruments (!), but I think there are some pretty good phones out there that render music very adequately. Probably my first recommendation to someone seeking an excellent sounding IEM—and not spend a fortune in the process—would be the excellent Sony MDR-7550 (which can now be found somewhere in Europe for 150 euros — no "pyrotechnics" here, just brilliant sonics all round and a type of sound that's not very coloured at all, ie a very faithful sounding phone, in my view, and a completely ignored and neglected phone at that, at least here on HF.
![size]](http://files.head-fi.org/images/smilies/biggrin.gif[size=13px][/size])
for what it's worth I am not only a classic music buff. I was at one the first gig the pistols did in Devon popgoing my brains out, same with the undertones, clash and others.. Yes, I am that old! A permenant fixture in my collection is never mind the bollocks! I find the PF's capture Johnny's snarl nicely! 