Zanth
SHAman who knew of Head-Fi ten years prior to its existence
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2001
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Quote:
Yes for instance...the HD580/6x0 family of phones. I have always found them to be grainy in comparison to other top performers from Grado, Sony and Beyer (sticking with dynamics for now). Even though the 600's have a "smoother" frequency response than most Grados, there is no way one would describe a Grado as "grainy" but the HD600's can become grainy particularly in the top end. However, the HD650's pretty much take care of this and this was one of the biggest "wow!" factors for me upon first listen. I believe I wrote about that very fact, something akin to "the grain is pretty much gone."
I don't know why or how it appears in the sound at all (I would agree with Jazz that in the case of PS-1's they may be too liquid, buit that is the main reason I bought them...for that element) but I prefer a more liquid sound than a grainy sound. I feel grain adds disjointedness to the music, almost like the music is "parsed" into quanta of sound -form and function.
Originally Posted by bigshot OK. I know what grainy sounds like, and I've heard that as an element of groove wear on records, but I've never heard that on a well recorded and mastered CD. I've heard distortion caused by hot mastering, which is similar, but I don't think that's what you're talking about. If something already has a very smooth frequency response and no distortion, are you saying that it can still sound grainy? And is the graininess you hear an "all over" thing, or does it appear just in particular parts of the music? Is it part of all CDs or just certain ones? See ya Steve |
Yes for instance...the HD580/6x0 family of phones. I have always found them to be grainy in comparison to other top performers from Grado, Sony and Beyer (sticking with dynamics for now). Even though the 600's have a "smoother" frequency response than most Grados, there is no way one would describe a Grado as "grainy" but the HD600's can become grainy particularly in the top end. However, the HD650's pretty much take care of this and this was one of the biggest "wow!" factors for me upon first listen. I believe I wrote about that very fact, something akin to "the grain is pretty much gone."
I don't know why or how it appears in the sound at all (I would agree with Jazz that in the case of PS-1's they may be too liquid, buit that is the main reason I bought them...for that element) but I prefer a more liquid sound than a grainy sound. I feel grain adds disjointedness to the music, almost like the music is "parsed" into quanta of sound -form and function.