[tabness]

What causes different headphones to have different "clarity" or "transparency" or whatever term is used? Is it just distortion? Maybe something in the frequency response which allows different perceptions of clarity (in my experience clarity does seem correlated with brightness)?

For example, the STAX 009S and L500 seemed to have ultimate clarity even over the STAX Omega. Those are electrostats, but like the FOCAL Utopia and SONY SA5000/SA3000 also had great clarity on par with STAX.

 

[bigshot]

Clarity is a catch all phrase that encompasses first and foremost balanced response (because of auditory masking). Second, distortion (which really isn't a big problem with halfway decent headphones. Thirdly, noise floor which is more an issue of proper amping.

You can make any frequency band "clearer" by pumping it up, but the rest of the spectrum of frequencies won't be as clear. If you want clarity across the whole spectrum, you need a balanced response. "Clarity" is also a word commonly used to describe bias.

 

[tabness]

thanks for the answer!

Mostly makes sense, am I correct in assuming auditory masking happens more with lower frequencies emphasized than higher?

 

[dazzerfong]

thanks for the answer!

Mostly makes sense, am I correct in assuming auditory masking happens more with lower frequencies emphasized than higher?

Yes: it's easier for low frequencies to mask high frequencies, than it is the other way around.

Here's something you can read if you're interested: they provide an explanation why.

Hearing: 11.3.1 A masking experiment - OpenLearn - Open University - SD329_1

Applying this knowledge, this means that emphasised bass would start to mask more and more of the higher-frequency sound.

 

[bigshot]

Masking is related to octaves. It’s most noticeable in the core frequencies of human hearing, particularly in the upper mids and lower treble.

 

[tabness]

Yes: it's easier for low frequencies to mask high frequencies, than it is the other way around.

Here's something you can read if you're interested: they provide an explanation why.

Hearing: 11.3.1 A masking experiment - OpenLearn - Open University - SD329_1

Applying this knowledge, this means that emphasised bass would start to mask more and more of the higher-frequency sound.

thanks for the link! have wanted to get started understanding acoustics/psychoacoustics better

 

[bigshot]

I thought that too, but someone showed me a study that showed it could go down an octave too in certain bandwidths. Wish I had saved that. Usually masking frequencies are an octave below masked frequencies. You've got 9 octaves in human hearing and the mids and upper mids are the most sensitive.

A friend of mine is a sound mixer and he showed me an amazing demonstration of masking. He played some music and went to his equalizer and said, "Let me know what I am doing here." Suddenly the treble disappeared. It was like a pillow over the sound. Voices muffled with no sibilance, cymbals sounded dull. I said, "You've cut the treble at around 3 or 4kHz." He said, "Nope. I boosted the mids around where the drums and soprano vocals are." He then isolated the pot he had boosted and sure enough, it was midrange- around 1.5kHz if I remember. That is the area where our hearing is most sensitive, so it's also the area that is most subject to masking.

 

[dazzerfong]

Look at figure 41a at the link: that corresponds to your experience.