[ColdWolfSong]

I've listened to enough pairs of headphones and earphones to have a general idea of what I like and don't like. And I have to say that right now, I actually prefer the smaller, in your head soundstage of an earphone over the "Around me in the room" feeling of a large soundstage. I much prefer using my Shure earphones or even my AT closed back cans for listening to anything over my Sennheiser HD 598. Sad to say the Senns have been relegated to exclusively gaming and video watching (Because they are still so comfy to wear for hours on end). Does anyone else share my preference?

 

[Berdine]

I wonder if you would prefer the headphones with larger soundstage if you used crossfeed.  I find that using a crossfeed plugin (such as canopener, which has a free trial) can produce a subjectively narrower image in the sense that the extreme left vs right panning doesn't go as far, but the whole space from left-to-right is filled.  Maybe worth a try for you.

 

[ColdWolfSong]

  I wonder if you would prefer the headphones with larger soundstage if you used crossfeed.  I find that using a crossfeed plugin (such as canopener, which has a free trial) can produce a subjectively narrower image in the sense that the extreme left vs right panning doesn't go as far, but the whole space from left-to-right is filled.  Maybe worth a try for you.

I might try that. I think my personal preference comes from just having grown up with more earphones than headphones, not to mention my propensity to want to pick out every detail as much as possible. I find having all the sounds more inside my head rather than outside my ears makes that easier.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Anyone Like a Narrow Soundstage?

 

If it's between what people think is a wide soundstage that basically puts the cymbals right by your ears along with some of the other instruments, I'd take an HD600 with Crossfeed. Cymbals are pushed back and toward the center along with the percussion, which makes for what some think is a 'narrower' soundstage, but actually just makes it more proportional as opposed to presenting an image that suggests Reed Richards has left the Fantastic Four to play drums while showing off his stretchy arms. It also stretches out to the back more, which some people don't like because they like an eye-opening hit of every percussion. which is great for casual listening on most genres but headphones that do the sound like this sound like they're just throwing everything at you.

 

[Smugsie]

I always liked beyer for their average soundstage and crazy accurate imaging (for their price). To me they sound like a headphone, and not headphones trying to replicate speakers. Etymotic Research definitely has a similar trait with small soundstage and accurate imaging.

Simply having a narrow soundstage drives me nuts since all the jumbled sounds makes me cross-eyed.

 

[Music Alchemist]

Even the most spacious headphones (like the HD 800 and Abyss) sound small and narrow to me. I'm used to having real instruments around me on stage. (As well as the frontal rendering of concerts and loudspeakers.) However, I actually prefer the more intimate presentation of headphones because it makes me feel more "at one" with the music. I favor headphones that have stronger impact across the spectrum, which tends to involve a smaller soundstage. All in all, soundstage size is one of the least important factors for me. Instrument separation and imaging are more essential, but not nearly as crucial as overall naturalness.