[maler23]

I was wondering if there's ever been a central set of "reference" tunes or programs to help folks when comparing cans on this forum.

As evidenced by the CD3k vs. HD600 epic drama, it is hard enough to compare phones when there are so many different variables, one of the most critical(in my opinion) being what you're actually listening to (the other one being actually owning both sets of headphones so you're not just talking out of your ass)

Would it be against the moderator's rules to link to a database of even partial tunes and sounds to help give a common experience for those looking to compare cans?

I'm not even sure if that's realistic(how do you choose the songs, who would host them, is it even legal to rip half of a song to mp3 and host it, etc..)

What brought this about was i just got my HD280pros and I found some programs to test 3d sound(i had bought them for gaming) and I thought to myself, wouldn't it be great if everyone could use this little proggy to test the HD280 vs. the V6(or whatever) and then post their results.

If you're curious, this is what i was checking out:

http://www.sensauradeveloper.com/uti...e=player3d.htm

Also, there's this great track on the Fight Club soundtrack, and I'll be damned if every headphone/speaker I've ever tested it on sounds like it's distorting under the bass. But i can't tell if that distortion is built into the music or it's the drivers..and i thought it would be great to be able to post that little snippet for other folks to compare.


I also thought "ow, these things press on my jaw line muscles" but that's another thread

any thoughts, pot shots, debunkings, comments, etc.. would be appreciated.

 

[wallijonn]

even if there was, would one have a first pressing and another have the 200,000th pressing?

at best you could compare pink or white noise. any music compared comes with built in problems (like the source, cables, amp, ear (individual hearing), humidity, elevation, temperature...)

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Sorry, we can't be associated with ripped music like that. Besides, the population of Head-Fi is too large and too diverse to pick music that everyone will enjoy and with which one is familiar, and one of the frequent recommendations (used to be universal until Tomcat posted that controversial recommendation) was to pick something (a) that you enjoy, and (b) with which you are familiar.

 

[jessica00]

the fight club thing applies tho. find out where the weak spots are in certain things...and share that

 

[Lando]

What about music that's in the public domain or made freely available by the artist? Mp3.com comes to mind, as there's thousands of songs in every genre that can either be freely streamed or downloaded. They're all 128kbps mp3s, but at least the quality is consistent.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally posted by Lando What about music that's in the public domain or made freely available by the artist? Mp3.com comes to mind, as there's thousands of songs in every genre that can either be freely streamed or downloaded. They're all 128kbps mp3s, but at least the quality is consistent.

Quality?

I can listen to a well-encoded 128k MP3 from time to time, but most of the time they sound so bad that all I hear is the artifacts. The public domain idea is a good one tho...

 

[Lando]

Yes, I know 128kbps is bad, but all the stuff I've heard on mp3.com has been competently encoded, so it could be a lot worse.

 

[blessingx]

I thought clips were legal. 30 second FLAC files could be used couldn't they? Like HydrogenAudio uses for problematic files for compression, 12-15 songs across the musical spectrum could be used for a base zero point. Biggest problem I see is preventing the results from being given too much weight. I can see people saying it's been proven, etc. Then again we posts graphs showing bass extention, etc. so guess we've already somewhat crossed that line. It would be interesting to see how some of those longtime rivals (say the V6's v. 280's fight, etc.) handle real, but extreme, tests.

 

[maler23]

Blessingx, I agree. As long as you stick to high quality(what is it alt preset high quality or whatever) and just created snippits. Heck, that's what Amazon and other places do.

DustyChalk, I understand your concerns, but I don't think in this case that liking the music is necessarily important. A violin is a violin no matter whether or not you like classical music. And I'm not usually a big fan of "noisy" music: death metal, etc., but I *do* think it's important to notice how well a headphone can keep the sounds seperate. This is a problem I'm noticing with the HD280's. Sounds seem smeared together along with this treble-y edge to everything.

I think I will post that section of the Fight Club song when I get home tonight. I'm hoping that's ok. It's just like a 30 second snip that always seems to distort whatever I'm listening to.

So, there's no good (free) software programs out there to test a consistent range of frequency for headphones? I remember that one dude testing a whole crapload of phones, but I think he had a pretty sweet set up. I'm just looking for something like that 3D Spatial Player except for with frequency.

On a side note, the 280's are a bit more comfortable, but I'm not happy with the sound at all.. they are currently burning in at home. I wonder what my room mates will say if they see my Shakespeare Volumes 1-6 listening to some trip-hop drum and bass.

Books are not people.

 

[jessica00]

Quote:

Originally posted by maler23 they are currently burning in at home. I wonder what my room mates will say if they see my Shakespeare Volumes 1-6 listening to some trip-hop drum and bass. Books are not people.

*snickers*