[Beagle]

  Your thinking of sucking out the mids to extreme levels.  Mid recession is any decrease in volume in the mid section relative to the highs and bass.
 
Example: If the mids are way too emphasized, the song will not sound good (most likely) because of a lack of balance.  They would sound very dull and boring to say the least.
 
My point is this: the recession of mids can sound good (limitedly colored) as long as they don't take it too far.  Its just another signature, like recessed highs, or bass, so it's more of a preference thing.  I listen to J-Rock a lot it it sounds good on an M50, or a DT990.  You just have to learn how to appreciate all the signatures.

 
Actually, it's the opposite. Sucked-out mids make the tune sound boring.

 

[Trunks159]

"Sucked out"- define that.  -6db?   Obviously, "sucked out" anything will make anything sound bad.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

 
Actually, it's the opposite. Sucked-out mids make the tune sound boring.

Ain't it the truth? 

 

[BillsonChang007]

I am extremely sensitive to recessed mids and. I agree that mids makes music sound more lively xD

 

[Trunks159]

Isn't a U-shaped response interpereted as "fun", AKA lively?  Highs and bass can make it sound more lively.  The 1r is a prome example of what happens when the mids are emphasized too much.  The M100 is an example of a very lively headphone with recessed mids.

 

[dweaver]

Elevated mids with rolled off bass and treble starts to sound a bit monotone especially for genres that rely on the contrast between bass and treble (hip hop, dub step etc.). Sharp V or U shaped signatures on the other hand tend to loose the emotion of singers and detail of string instruments which makes certain genres like jazz and classic rock boring.

 

[BillsonChang007]

Elevated mids with rolled off bass and treble starts to sound a bit monotone especially for genres that rely on the contrast between bass and treble (hip hop, dub step etc.). Sharp V or U shaped signatures on the other hand tend to loose the emotion of singers and detail of string instruments which makes certain genres like jazz and classic rock boring.

+1! My Sony XBA sound rather deadly most of the time. The Grado on the other hand, when EQ-ed 16KHz down a lil, it sound very lively!

 

[chetlanin]

Elevated mids with rolled off bass and treble starts to sound a bit monotone especially for genres that rely on the contrast between bass and treble (hip hop, dub step etc.). Sharp V or U shaped signatures on the other hand tend to loose the emotion of singers and detail of string instruments which makes certain genres like jazz and classic rock boring.

well said!!

Apart from that I wonder what different people mean by “mids”. Big difference if we talk about the 500Hz to 1kHz area or if we talk about the 2k to 3k area.

A propos: The other day I saw a fellow talk about 5k as “mids”.
Musically speaking (at least) 5k is far into the treble. The highest tone one can squeeze out of a violin -the main treble instrument of the orchestra- is about 3k. Also the working span of most treble units is typically from 2k and upwards, and they are very often used with crossover freq of between 2k and 3k. (They produce treble, if you wondered). Has the 5k guy ever heard an isolated 5k tone, one may asks.
Some misunderstanding may come from the FR charts, who knows. The tonally insignificant octave between 10 k and 20k takes up much space on paper. But those frequences are not “treble”, rather mostly “air” (of course).

Cheers, Olaf

P.S:
Main thing, the rightly placed upper and lower bumps gives excitement.

 

[Trunks159]

Elevated mids with rolled off bass and treble starts to sound a bit monotone especially for genres that rely on the contrast between bass and treble (hip hop, dub step etc.). Sharp V or U shaped signatures on the other hand tend to loose the emotion of singers and detail of string instruments which makes certain genres like jazz and classic rock boring.

Precisely.

 

[dweaver]

well said!!

Apart from that I wonder what different people mean by “mids”. Big difference if we talk about the 500Hz to 1kHz area or if we talk about the 2k to 3k area.

A propos: The other day I saw a fellow talk about 5k as “mids”.
Musically speaking (at least) 5k is far into the treble. The highest tone one can squeeze out of a violin -the main treble instrument of the orchestra- is about 3k. Also the working span of most treble units is typically from 2k and upwards, and they are very often used with crossover freq of between 2k and 3k. (They produce treble, if you wondered). Has the 5k guy ever heard an isolated 5k tone, one may asks.
Some misunderstanding may come from the FR charts, who knows. The tonally insignificant octave between 10 k and 20k takes up much space on paper. But those frequences are not “treble”, rather mostly “air” (of course).

Cheers, Olaf

P.S:
Main thing, the rightly placed upper and lower bumps gives excitement.

Great post and excellent discussion on what constitutes midrange versus treble. I get a kick out of FR specs of headphones. I can not really hear tones over 12K myself but have never found music missing anything because of this deficiency. The highest pitched sounds I worry about are probably the sizzle of cymbals and I think those fall below 10,000hz.

 

[Beagle]

well said!!

Apart from that I wonder what different people mean by “mids”. Big difference if we talk about the 500Hz to 1kHz area or if we talk about the 2k to 3k area.

A propos: The other day I saw a fellow talk about 5k as “mids”.
Musically speaking (at least) 5k is far into the treble. The highest tone one can squeeze out of a violin -the main treble instrument of the orchestra- is about 3k. Also the working span of most treble units is typically from 2k and upwards, and they are very often used with crossover freq of between 2k and 3k. (They produce treble, if you wondered). Has the 5k guy ever heard an isolated 5k tone, one may asks.
Some misunderstanding may come from the FR charts, who knows. The tonally insignificant octave between 10 k and 20k takes up much space on paper. But those frequences are not “treble”, rather mostly “air” (of course).

Cheers, Olaf

P.S:
Main thing, the rightly placed upper and lower bumps gives excitement.

 
Really?
 
5k is part of the upper midrange.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Quote:

Great post and excellent discussion on what constitutes midrange versus treble. I get a kick out of FR specs of headphones. I can not really hear tones over 12K myself but have never found music missing anything because of this deficiency. The highest pitched sounds I worry about are probably the sizzle of cymbals and I think those fall below 10,000hz.

 
We can normally hear up to about 16k but there is not much happening there, although you would not want a sudden sharp roll-off after 12k-14k because the overtones of what you can hear are affected.

 

[dweaver]

I appreciate every bit of treble I can hear and agree its good that headphones go higher. I just laugh because 20, 000 is beyond most humans and some headphone go go up into the 30+k range

 

[Andrew_WOT]

   
Really?
 
5k is part of the upper midrange.
 
 
 

 
Yep, it is.
Frequency Response of Headphones.

 

[dweaver]

All these charts and data are awesome! I haven't seen them before and appreciate them a lot. Out of curiosity where does cymbals and the like sit in those charts?

 

[waynes world]

All these charts and data are awesome! I haven't seen them before and appreciate them a lot. Out of curiosity where does cymbals and the like sit in those charts?

 
This is a great interactive chart:
 
http://www.independentrecording.net/irn/resources/freqchart/main_display.htm
 
As you scroll over different instruments, you see additional info in the right panel. Hover over "Cymbals" and you will get your answer.
 
Here is the chart on it's own: