Solude
Headphoneus Supremus
Just for kicks I pulled out the 'freebie' earbuds that came with my Sony from ~1995 and sadly wasn't that disappointed
The Grados are clearly smoother, more natural, less raw, more impact... but the ear buds are still enjoyable. Why? The vocals. The earbud doesn't try and do anything to mask that the sound is in my head. It's more direct, less airy/resonant/distant/(insert your version of the word for that not point blank, not near sound).
Didn't really hit me until after trying the earbuds again but that's pretty much why I love the PSB Golds. The instruments, especially the vocals are real, exactly what you would hear if the singer unmiced sung 10ft in front of you. In my real world, when someone sings or speaks at near field there is no air, no sense of being withdrawn. Unless of course it's your better half
Without that natural stage I get a feeling of 'somethings not right' when listening.
But in a headphone so far they've all tried to put distance in the sound so my brain interprets the sound as distant and near at the same time giving what I hear an unbelievable placement. So what headphone keeps everything I like about the Grado or at least closely matched in brightness and on stage feeling without affecting vocals in a way that makes them sound distant. Try to keep it under ~$250US street, so no CD3000
The Grados are clearly smoother, more natural, less raw, more impact... but the ear buds are still enjoyable. Why? The vocals. The earbud doesn't try and do anything to mask that the sound is in my head. It's more direct, less airy/resonant/distant/(insert your version of the word for that not point blank, not near sound).
Didn't really hit me until after trying the earbuds again but that's pretty much why I love the PSB Golds. The instruments, especially the vocals are real, exactly what you would hear if the singer unmiced sung 10ft in front of you. In my real world, when someone sings or speaks at near field there is no air, no sense of being withdrawn. Unless of course it's your better half
But in a headphone so far they've all tried to put distance in the sound so my brain interprets the sound as distant and near at the same time giving what I hear an unbelievable placement. So what headphone keeps everything I like about the Grado or at least closely matched in brightness and on stage feeling without affecting vocals in a way that makes them sound distant. Try to keep it under ~$250US street, so no CD3000
