[roadcykler]

Quite a while back, noted producer and member of Garbage, Butch Vig, said something along the lines of, recording and mastering pop/rock music that is firewalled or bricked is the way things are and they will continue to be. I say, screw him. 

 

[firev1]

Its really sad that some groups that I loved went from okay to really bad in terms of DR. I still listen to them though. I think more can be done to get consumers to be educated like major bands endorsing high DR and audio companies teaching kids how to protect their ears and noise pollution etc. 

 

[LizardKing1]

Does anyone know what happened to Voldemort? The blog hasn't been updated in 4 months. Sorry for being completely off-topic, but it does concern objetivity.

 

[stv014]

Quote:

Does anyone know what happened to Voldemort? The blog hasn't been updated in 4 months.

 
I do not know, but there is indeed not much activity on the blog recently. I posted some comments two weeks ago, and they are still not approved (nor have any others appeared since then).

 

[firev1]

He was no doubt put to rest by Harry, or is planning for his comeback right after Harry's exams Last time he said he had a Timex vs Rolex article on, maybe one of the latest product releases has got to do with him? 

 

[proton007]

Quote:

 
I do not know, but there is indeed not much activity on the blog recently. I posted some comments two weeks ago, and they are still not approved (nor have any others appeared since then).

 
I think he's busy doing his full time work...But yeah, even a small post would do.

 

[xnor]

I guess everyone with a scientific background / who's into measurements knew that already, but thanks for re-posting.
 
I strongly disagree with the purists that pay high prices for a particular signature, although like quoted above the headphone technically doesn't necessarily measure better technically. Instead I just pick a decent headphone that fits my needs and equalize em to the signature I like, or just "flat".
Now even crazier are those looking for particular signatures in DACs and amps. X_X

 

[manveru]

Yeah. I don't know what I'd do with headphones without access to EQ.

 

[bigshot]

When I bought headphones the last time, I made an effort to find ones that were as flat as possible. Sometimes you just want to plug into a player directly and EQ isn't available.

 

[manveru]

Indeed. That's why I made sure to get a portable player with at least some kind of customizable EQ, even though it's limited. When I'm at home of course I have a computer. All the headphones I've had so far possessed what I consider flaws in the FR, most commonly treble peaks which needed taming.

 

[bigshot]

That 100Hz bass bump is all too common too.

 

[manveru]

Quote:

That 100Hz bass bump is all too common too.

 
That too. I've experienced lower mid dips and upper mid humps more often than I'd like as well, sometimes in combination with each other which is pretty nasty.

 

[xnor]

Do you mean a dip around 200 Hz like, for example, the MDR-V6 has or overall recessed mids?
 
While mids are important I think that on most headphones they are fine. What annoys me more is nasty treble (narrow peaks, sibilance, or even an overall boost) and a bump in the bass. Treble has to gradually roll off, bass has to be flat, mids too. IMO.

 

[manveru]

Quote:

Do you mean a dip around 200 Hz like, for example, the MDR-V6 has or overall recessed mids?
 
While mids are important I think that on most headphones they are fine. What annoys me more is nasty treble (narrow peaks, sibilance, or even an overall boost) and a bump in the bass. Treble has to gradually roll off, bass has to be flat, mids too. IMO.

 
I mean like the V6, though I don't care for overall recessed mids either. The V6 is an especially bad example. It has that dip and then a stronger than typical upper mids presence giving it that tinny, honky sort of sound. The pair of rev1 HE-300s I had were the same way. It's not all headphones of course, but by coincidence roughly half the headphones I've listened to (11) had dips, humps, or both in the mids. Treble peaks and the like are generally the most bothersome for me as well though.

 

[roadcykler]

That's a great post about the science of headphones and it can be applied to just about anything. The problem lies with the "audiophiles" who say they can hear this or that when the measurements don't bear that out. In an issue of Stereophile a few months ago, Michael Fremer was talking about some speakers (I think) he was reviewing and he said something along the lines of, "These sound great to me but I haven't seen the measurements yet so maybe I'm off-base". Who cares what the measurements are if you like how it sounds?