[spaceman]

Quote:

Originally posted by Hiker Thanks everyone for your imput. I don't think i will be going with a "vintage amp" right now because they are a little larger than what I was looking for. I don't really have that much space currently. Unfortunately, the HAP-03 is now sold so I can't look into that. I am not really considering any headroom amps, because the ones that I would be interested in cost too much, soooo ultimately I think I will go with the HA-1. Thanks again everyone.

I think you will really appreciate your new aquisition

 

[Solude]

Geek you might want to look at a Headroom amp again

The crossfeed does affect bass, hence the filter labeled BRIGHT/BRIGHTER to correct it.

That said crossfeed is utterly useless on all but old recordings and even then only the heavily panned(L/R) ones. On modern recordings the headphones will take care of the blobs. Granted this is from Senn 600, Grado 325 and Beyer 880 with soundcard and/or meta42. I'd imagine it only gets better with a better source and amp.

That is all, back to your regular program

 

[David Mitchell]

Seems that the three groups Geek described are represented in this thread by me, him, and Solude!

Tonight I did an informal (unmeasured) test of the Airhead's frequency response. I used tracks 17, 18, and 19 from Stereophile's Test CD 3, which consist of monaural one-third-octave warble tones in the bass, midrange, and treble ranges. I simply switched the crossfeed circuit on and off to check which way the tone was louder. I was able to hear the 20KHz tone, by the way.

I found that the circuit both boosts frequencies at around 500Hz and below, and cuts frequencies from 1 to 10KHz. Above that I couldn't tell a difference. Of course, most treble energy falls in the cut range.

 

[Geek]

Solude,

You are misinterpreting both what HeadRoom's filter is intended for and what I actually said.

Each person hears the HeadRoom crossfeed differently as I stated previously. Due to the added bass boost to correct for the illusion that balanced-channel bass is lesser than one-channel bass, some people will not need a brightness boost.

Thus, there is a "normal" or "default" setting.

However, some people perceive this effect as a rolloff of the upper frequencies. Thus, a "bright" and a "brighter" setting.

I tried the filters with and without crossfeed on high end headroom amps and they really do add lots of high end energy. However I feel it to be unneccessary with most recordings and the headroom crossfeed is startlingly realistic on their higher end amps for some reason. ;p

Also, I believe that crossfeed on even the best recordings (audiophile accoustic instruments, by the way) is an obvious and powerful tool which I definitely find greatly improves headphone imaging, period. The HD600s do a good job without crossfeed but they still exhibit channel separation and fatigue just as all of the headphones I have heard on good equipment with disabled crossfeed.

Crossfeed is definitely not just for older recordings; the effect is especially obvious on really well recorded modern rock music (RATM's self titled CD is an excellent example, ok recording quality but the separation is totally different with crossfeed on, and for the better).

Cheers,
Geek

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

Originally posted by Solude Geek you might want to look at a Headroom amp again The crossfeed does affect bass, hence the filter labeled BRIGHT/BRIGHTER to correct it.

The crossfeed filter affects the treble the most, hence the bright/brighter option for those that prefer.

I should also point out that the crossfeed processor on the Total AirHead is NOTHING like the processor on HeadRoom's higher-end amps.


Quote:

That said crossfeed is utterly useless on all but old recordings and even then only the heavily panned(L/R) ones. On modern recordings the headphones will take care of the blobs.

Um... in your opinion? I think a significant number of people on this forum will strongly disagree with that statement. I don't think you really understand what a crossfeed processor does if you think that it's useless on all but "heavily-panned old recordings."

 

[JaZZ]

http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...threadid=37212

http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...threadid=35332

http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...threadid=37795

It also has Crossfeed. Unfortunately it's slightly out of your budget.

 

[Hiker]

Damnit. This is just what I was afraid of. I guess I'll just have to get a bigger budget!

 

[Solude]

Originally posted by MacDEF
The crossfeed filter affects the treble the most, hence the bright/brighter option for those that prefer.

Whether the crossfeed boosts the lows or reduces the highs, the result is the same. The lows are higher than they are in the recording. Whether you prefer that is another topic, the fact remains that the signal has been molested. Audio design rule number one, DO NO HARM

I don't think you really understand what a crossfeed processor does if you think that it's useless on all but "heavily-panned old recordings."

Simple fact of the matter is I have played with headphones on mid-fi equipment and found no reason to use crossfeed. The soundstage on my system does not gravitate towards left/right/centre. Playing DMB, Crash track 6, the opening drums are clearly placed both in width and depth correctly by the headphones. When I engage crossfeed the image falls apart overlapping drums onto each other. Those of us that play drums will recognise that we rarely overlap our drums, just makes rolls a little hard to pound out if your toms are layered instead of being inline

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

Originally posted by Solude Whether the crossfeed boosts the lows or reduces the highs, the result is the same.

No, not even close to being the same. You're forgetting about the midrange, the upper mids, the lower treble, the upper bass, etc., etc., etc. There's a very big difference between "boosting lows" and "reducing highs."


Quote:

The lows are higher than they are in the recording. Whether you prefer that is another topic, the fact remains that the signal has been molested. Audio design rule number one, DO NO HARM

How do you define "harm?" Again, I don't think you understand what crossfeed does. The goal of a good crossfeed circuit is to make headphones sound more like a live performance or more like listening through speakers. In a live performance, or when listening to speakers, the treble response is reduced due to many factors. Unless a recording was specifically mixed for headphones, headphones rarely provide the correct treble balance. In other words, what you may see as "treble reduction" can just as accurately be called "true to life treble." Some people don't like this tiny reduction in treble, and that's fine.



Quote:

Quote: I don't think you really understand what a crossfeed processor does if you think that it's useless on all but "heavily-panned old recordings." Simple fact of the matter is I have played with headphones on mid-fi equipment and found no reason to use crossfeed.

Some people don't like crossfeed, that's fine. But your assertion that it's "useless on all buy heavily-panned old recordings" makes no sense and is clearly not true.


Quote:

The soundstage on my system does not gravitate towards left/right/centre. Playing DMB, Crash track 6, the opening drums are clearly placed both in width and depth correctly by the headphones. When I engage crossfeed the image falls apart overlapping drums onto each other. Those of us that play drums will recognise that we rarely overlap our drums, just makes rolls a little hard to pound out if your toms are layered instead of being inline

This also shows how one's preference for crossfeed depends on one's preference for "soundstage." If you're standing on stage, right in front of the drum kit, the drum's soundstage is much wider than if you're sitting in front of the band. Personally, if I'm listening to a jazz drummer, I'm not on stage with him/her; I'm in the audience, taking in the whole band. With a good crossfeed circuit, to me the soundstage is much more realistic and convincing. If you like extreme separation, crossfeed is not for you.