EhmSzi
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2016
- Posts
- 16
- Likes
- 13
Howdy folks,
Longtime stalker here, stumped at somewhat of an impasse and keen to hear people's thoughts. The short of it is, the better part of a decade ago, I picked up a pair of cans, Audio Technica WS99BT. Fast forward years past a current pair of IO-6, experiments with Audeze, another couple of ATH models, endless reading and research to make a mind melt... and I can't find anything quite like the buggers.
Is it possible to have defective ears?
Been trying my damndest to figure out why as much is the case, and the conclusion I keep arriving at is that I've come to enjoy a very warped/askew sound signature. Goes something like: with the WS99BT(nevermind, as the legend @Giogio pointed out in his mega-thread oh so many years ago, EQing the buggers- I'm talking just stock here)- with the WS99BT you are placed *within* the sound/music/movie. It surrounds, encompasses you, and hits with power, ferocity, and depth to make mountains tremble. I'm talking forward bass presence, for certain- but, or so I had thought, not at the cost of the mids nor the highs. Audible is amazing to test with this. Queue up a higher quality recording, and the richness of a narrator's voice is a thing to behold with the 99's. Slap on the IO-6, DSR9BT's, or the Mobius, and there's just so much... "missing". Sound becomes almost.. tinny, to be honest. Somewhat certain these aren't a string of defective cans, either.
With the IO-6 and DSR9BT, I knew what I was getting into, but coming off of the Mobius- hell even the ATH WS990BT(meant to be an ANC version of the original WS99BTs, why do they sound any bloody different??) I can't help but feel there's a trend here. These headphones, other headphones in general, seem to instead give you the distinct impression of listening to sound, *via* or *through* speakers. The imaging is significantly more distant, as some users have commented on- almost as if listening to a (albeit good) pair of monitors *outside* your cans. For a time I thought that would be a-ok with me. Hell, the mains in the cinema aren't mashed up 2 inches from my eardrums and they sound just fine. But I'm beginning to realise, no matter how much time for break-in and willingness to keep on keeping on I can cough up, it just isn't the same.
So cheers for reading through this, if you've an idea what might be the case presently I'd love to hear it, along with any suggestions you might have. About to return the IO-6 and give... dunno, the Lagoons a try? Wondering if I might just have to call it quits and waltz on back to the WS99BT's for another few years.
Much obliged reader,
Z
Clarification: I'm not trying to find something that sounds exactly like the WS99BT's. I recognize that's a pipe dream. I am instead trying to find something, a pair of cans, which are as impressing a listening experience- as the WS99BT. Ideally made in the latter half of this decade, with some newer technology to boot! Cheers again.
Longtime stalker here, stumped at somewhat of an impasse and keen to hear people's thoughts. The short of it is, the better part of a decade ago, I picked up a pair of cans, Audio Technica WS99BT. Fast forward years past a current pair of IO-6, experiments with Audeze, another couple of ATH models, endless reading and research to make a mind melt... and I can't find anything quite like the buggers.
Is it possible to have defective ears?
Been trying my damndest to figure out why as much is the case, and the conclusion I keep arriving at is that I've come to enjoy a very warped/askew sound signature. Goes something like: with the WS99BT(nevermind, as the legend @Giogio pointed out in his mega-thread oh so many years ago, EQing the buggers- I'm talking just stock here)- with the WS99BT you are placed *within* the sound/music/movie. It surrounds, encompasses you, and hits with power, ferocity, and depth to make mountains tremble. I'm talking forward bass presence, for certain- but, or so I had thought, not at the cost of the mids nor the highs. Audible is amazing to test with this. Queue up a higher quality recording, and the richness of a narrator's voice is a thing to behold with the 99's. Slap on the IO-6, DSR9BT's, or the Mobius, and there's just so much... "missing". Sound becomes almost.. tinny, to be honest. Somewhat certain these aren't a string of defective cans, either.
With the IO-6 and DSR9BT, I knew what I was getting into, but coming off of the Mobius- hell even the ATH WS990BT(meant to be an ANC version of the original WS99BTs, why do they sound any bloody different??) I can't help but feel there's a trend here. These headphones, other headphones in general, seem to instead give you the distinct impression of listening to sound, *via* or *through* speakers. The imaging is significantly more distant, as some users have commented on- almost as if listening to a (albeit good) pair of monitors *outside* your cans. For a time I thought that would be a-ok with me. Hell, the mains in the cinema aren't mashed up 2 inches from my eardrums and they sound just fine. But I'm beginning to realise, no matter how much time for break-in and willingness to keep on keeping on I can cough up, it just isn't the same.
So cheers for reading through this, if you've an idea what might be the case presently I'd love to hear it, along with any suggestions you might have. About to return the IO-6 and give... dunno, the Lagoons a try? Wondering if I might just have to call it quits and waltz on back to the WS99BT's for another few years.
Much obliged reader,
Z
Clarification: I'm not trying to find something that sounds exactly like the WS99BT's. I recognize that's a pipe dream. I am instead trying to find something, a pair of cans, which are as impressing a listening experience- as the WS99BT. Ideally made in the latter half of this decade, with some newer technology to boot! Cheers again.
