[intlplby]

i understand what supra aural and circumaural are but what is the difference between them sonically?

or are they just chosen based on comfort for the user?

 

[commando]

supra aural = damned uncomfortable for me.
curcim aural = forgetting that you're wearing them.

I don't know about sonic differences, I wouldn't have thought there'd be much in it, but i've been wrong before...

 

[dj_mocok]

i think sonic difference differs between headphones, not between headphone types ?

 

[Langrath]

Circumaural often sounds better in my experience. The disadvantage is that your ears get very warm after wearing them for a while.

Georg

 

[commando]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Langrath Circumaural often sounds better in my experience. The disadvantage is that your ears get very warm after wearing them for a while.

You're describing closed circumaural - open ones don't make your ears warm, or at least not much. Some closed cans are worse than others too - beyers with their soft pads are probably better than Senn 280s which seal well with (p)leather pads.

 

[dj_mocok]

i think people with bigger ears or head will have more problem with supraaural phones.

 

[Langrath]

Quote:

Originally Posted by commando You're describing closed circumaural - open ones don't make your ears warm, or at least not much. Some closed cans are worse than others too - beyers with their soft pads are probably better than Senn 280s which seal well with (p)leather pads.

Perhaps I am sensitive to warmth. I describe HD595, which are circumaural and open. After about an hour they get too warm for me, and must take a break in listening. The breaks are perhaps good for my family life.

Georg

 

[intlplby]

is it possible then to make custom circumaural pads for grados? would it hurt the sound of them? could it help the sound?

any thoughts?

 

[spilner]

Why would you want that? If you do install circumaural pads on your Grados, the distance between your ears and the earcups is likely to change, which will affect the sonic balance, and I doubt it'll do any good to the sound.

BTW, about comfort - I'd say that well designed supraaurals can be as comfy, and much less annoying simply because they're smaller. You can wear them in bed without feeling the pressure of the pillow, they don't heat your ears, don't cause dandruff... the list goes on and on

[size=xx-small]edit: corrected one rather stupid mistake.[/size]

 

[edstrelow]

Circumaurals, go over the whole ear and thus project sound onto the whole external ear. They seem to me give a somewhat more realistic sense of listening to real sounds in space than supra aural phones which generally stimulate a smaller portion of the external ear. However I would say that the effect is slight.

 

[Spankypoo]

Could somebody define the difference between the two for the uninformed among us? Thanks!

 

[commando]

supraaural = the headphones rest on your ears
circumaural = the headphones go around your ears

I might have the spelling wrong, but you get the idea.

 

[intlplby]

well if one were to engineer the circumaural pads so the ear ends up the same distance from the driver then there should be very little difference sonically

and shouldn't it be possible to possibly improve the sound.... it doesn't necessarily have to be a negative effect, right?

 

[Kikkoman]

I think it would be a nice project if someone tried to experment with modding different Circumaural pads for use with Grados. One of the reasons I've been hesitant to buy a pair of Grados is that my ears aren't exactly shaped the best for supraaural cans, and I become uncomfortable wearing them after only about 20 minutes. While it might hurt the sound a little it would at least give me and the rest of the weird ear shaped people a way of using Grados comfortably.

 

[bobfa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by commando supraaural = the headphones rest on your ears circumaural = the headphones go around your ears I might have the spelling wrong, but you get the idea.

In-Canal or canal phones. Headphones that are inserted in your ear, like a hearing aid.

Open headphones where the outside of the headphone is "open" to the air
Closed headphones where the outside is isolated.

rjf