[silence57]

I've never had musical ability (to play an instrument) but I can differentiate good music vs.bad as well as good components vs bad. But sometimes I find myself listening to the headphone rather than the music. In a way it's fun, comparing headphones.

But what I really like is good music. I think with decent components, listening to good songs is fun (e.g., almost, but not quite, like a good movie on my 27" CRT is better than a bad movie on a 50" HD plasma.) On crappy equipment, I do notice bad sound and missing sounds, but decent equipment (vs. great equipment) allows me to enjoy a good song, or at least one I like.

I think I've put too much emphasis on great equipment rather than great music lately. Is this blaspemy, or anyone else feel the same?

P.S. Comparing headphones does remain fun from time to time. Not for better or worse, but just for differences. But I'd rather listen to my favorite music than overly analyze the equipment --- which I had started to do.

 

[passerby999]

good thoughts. sometimes i also wonder, is it the music or the headphone i'm listening to? although i have to say IT IS fun once in a while to compare phones.

 

[kramer5150]

Its all about the tunes IMHO. Thats why I prefer groovy cans and setups over anylitical / technical setups.

 

[mrarroyo]

To me music comes first, then equipment. Yes, sometimes I get sidetracked and I have to re-align myself.

 

[warrior05]

i definitely understand where you're coming from. i think that's why i've been enjoying my DR150s so much. they are fabulous across many genres of music and they have been just about the only cans i've been listening to for the past several weeks. now that i'm so used to them i've just been listening and enjoying my music.

it's funny that you bring this up because i had some fun listening to a particular cd swapping between two very different cans just for the heck of it. but after awhile i just left one pair on and went back to plain ol' listenin'.

 

[Fitz]

Wait.. so that's what we're supposed to do with the headphones? Holy guacamole, I've been doing it soooo wrong.

 

[edstrelow]

Don't beat yourself up. It's a hobby with all kinds of ways to enjoy yourself.
Hopefully you are listening to the phones to see what if any improvments you need.

To me the great reward about new phones, or improvments of all kinds is that all or most of your old music will sound better.

I use that to justify the costs, eg. $1000.00 spread over 1000 cds is only $1.00 each. What a bargain!

 

[Sunr]

I have to agree on that, afterall the recording quality/production varies for each music! I find that there are a few songs that I love due to their exceptional recording quality vs. some others thats adequate enough.

In my opinion, headphones are just half the full experience [size=x-small] But for some hi-members, its a smaller fraction.[/size]

 

[CousCous]

I've been listening to more music, buying more music and revisiting old cd's I have since moving away from cheap-ass headphones.

I'm sure if I had a small home theater setup, I'd probably watch more movies - something I rarely do now. And it's not because I don't like movies.

 

[Kai Miller]

An extension to this - do you hear about someone using good equipment to listen to absolutely terrible music, and just think it's a bit of a waste? Or a bit futile?

I mean, you could have headphones that would bring tears to the eyes of the devil himself, and it's not going to make crummy music sound good.

 

[Ahriman4891]

I think about it like this: different headphones *may* help me discover new faces of the music and add another dimension to my appreciation of the tunes

OTOH, as long as it's already good, I don't feel a particularly itching desire to move on... that is, I don't get some people who live on ramen soup and buy 5 pairs of $300 cans in 3 months

(no offense to anyone!!) I admit that I get the urges occasionally, but I try to control them. Headphones are not video cards, they dont' get obsolete in 6 months, and I'll try them all in due time. I admit that I snatched one of the last few available A900LTDs on impulse, though...

Here you go, long and babbling answer to a simple question

 

[PeeeMeS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kai Miller An extension to this - do you hear about someone using good equipment to listen to absolutely terrible music, and just think it's a bit of a waste? Or a bit futile? I mean, you could have headphones that would bring tears to the eyes of the devil himself, and it's not going to make crummy music sound good.

Exactly! x2 x2 x2

I see people with their Beatles, LED Zephyr, Elvis, Jimmy Hedrix, Ken Burned, Robert Dylan, K.I.S.S., Neil 'The Diamond' Young, Bob Dylam, Charles Ming Dynasty, Jon Coldrain, David Miles, or whatever crap they're listening to

Come on! If you're going to be pretentious, listen to classical... not whatever 80s crap was yesterday's pop music.

 

[TheMarsVolta]

Great avatar Couscous! (So you're painting a chair, eh?)

sorry for the OT post

 

[stewgriff]

I've got to say that headphones have turned my ears into those of hippie black men's...

What I mean to say is, I listened to contemporary radio (utter crap, now) on iBuds; when I got better headphones like the 497 and 555, I began exploring new tastes, and ended up finding and loving the music of the likes of Crtis Mayfield's "Superfly" and Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On", as well as a bunch of classical.

And that "80's crap"? Some of them are bad, but I've got to stand up for Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis. Definitely not 80's, and (to my ears) definitely the opposite of crap.

 

[TheMarsVolta]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeeeMeS Exactly! x2 x2 x2 I see people with their Beatles, LED Zephyr, Elvis, Jimmy Hedrix, Ken Burned, Robert Dylan, K.I.S.S., Neil 'The Diamond' Young, Bob Dylam, Charles Ming Dynasty, Jon Coldrain, David Miles, or whatever crap they're listening to Come on! If you're going to be pretentious, listen to classical... not whatever 80s crap was yesterday's pop music.

Wow. You managed to list some of the most influential musicians of the last 40 years. Don't assume that older music is poorly recorded either, especially compared to some of the over-compressed stuff being released today.


Edit: ahh, now I get it. I should have read your profile

:

"Music Preferences:
Popular stuff that 14 year old schoolgirls like..."