[pro1137]

Hey Head-Fi.

Even though I'm not truly a novice so to speak, I never really grasped what people meant when they say that a headphone sounds 'veiled'. Would someome care to explain what that is, and possibly list some headphones that are supposed to have this 'veil'?

 

[NA Blur]

To me "veiled" means slightly attenuated as if the sound is coming through a thick pillow.  The HD-650 suffers from this effect at low volumes and remains the reason why many users end up not liking its sound signature.
 
It is as if the drivers have a threshold and unless this threshold is surpassed the headphones does not sound as good.

 

[GREQ]

I've always understood it to mean a quieter treble response relative to the entire sound. 
Try putting a thick curtain (or pillow as NA Blur put it) over a loudspeaker and you'll get the general idea, just ignore the diminished details. 

 

[extrabigmehdi]

Put some reverb with a very small amount so that it remains subtle, I think it gives an idea of veiled.

 

[DrikTheTroll]

Fairly extensive thread on the subject below.
 
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/219721/the-sennheiser-veil

 

[DrikTheTroll]

Forgot to add - my definition of "veiled sound" is muted highs that lack sparkle.

 

[pro1137]

Quote:

Forgot to add - my definition of "veiled sound" is muted highs that lack sparkle.

In what frequency range normally does a veiled sound apply to? 2KHz - 4KHz?

 

[Wildstar]

Good luck with that. It means different things to different people, you can't change it into an objective metric. For example, some people find the HD600 veiled, others don't. And the HD600 is not lacking in the under 5k range, in fact is has a slight emphasis at 3-4k.
 
Also, lack of speed and microdynamics probably plays a lot into it, and that doesn't show in a FR measurement. Ringing too.
 
For example, the Momentum doesn't feel veiled to me, despite being slowish and having subdued treble, because it has excellent dynamics. People who prefer treble peaks and/or speed will disagree.
 
And people who are used to the Grado "Swiss Alps" treble will find everything else veiled.

 

[Delirious Lab]

A "veiled" sound is something my ears get used to within the first 15 minutes of listening to my HD-600s, after which I can sit through a whole Wagner opera, shrieking Birgit Nilsson and all, with no ear fatigue whatsoever. Bring on the Ring Cycle.

 

[kalbee]

A veiled sound is a sound that lacks openness and clarity. Namely the latter.
Might mostly be due to a lack of treble, but not necessarily.

 

[DrikTheTroll]

[size=medium] veiled  past participle, past tense of veil (Verb)[/size]

[size=small]

Verb Cover with or as though with a veil. Partially conceal, disguise, or obscure: "a thinly veiled threat"

[/size]

 

[ziixtreme]

A Veiled sound is what you hear on most Shure iem. SE215 SE315 SE425 SE535 all suffer from this.

 

[sonyfan501]

A Veiled sound is what you hear on most Shure iem. SE215 SE315 SE425 SE535 all suffer from this.

Lol it's almost as if all the Shures in the SE line from the SE215 to SE535 have this weird barrier blocking it from extending to the higher frequencies.

 

[Matez]

To my subjective pair of ears, veiled sound occurs when highs are truncated, but that’s one factor. When upper bass is overextended, midrange has its clarity decreased. The outcome is veiled sound. YMMV, just my two cents.

 

[Alizz]

Veiled is not recessed highs, but less clarity and detail in all frequincies.