Dark or Light preference?

[tradja]

I like my:

Beer: Dark
Wine: Dark (well, red anyway)
Rum: Dark
Bread: Dark
Chocolate: Dark
Cans: Bright!

 

[rhythmdevils]

DARK cause i preffer bad sound to bloody puss

 

[rhythmdevils]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tradja I like my: Beer: Dark Wine: Dark (well, red anyway) Rum: Dark Bread: Dark Chocolate: Dark Cans: Bright!

hmmmm. interesting. I had you tagged as a sennheiser boy till i got to the end...

 

[tradja]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhythmdevils hmmmm. interesting. I had you tagged as a sennheiser boy till i got to the end...

Yes, but all those things also pair well with Beyers and an armchair. :ahhhhh:

(Funny you should mention -- HD580's are on the way, unheard. My first Senns since MX400. We'll see.)

 

[saturnine]

Both. Depends on my mood and the position of the stars...

 

[fewtch]

IMO, most music is so poorly recorded that 'dark' is preferable in order to enjoy it. A perfectly neutral system would probably sound thin and lifeless with the majority of recorded music out there... in terms of enjoyment, you'd be limited to a fairly small number of recordings.

 

[4xer]

I like both but it really depends on what I listen to.

Dark for dark songs
Bright for bright songs

 

[Carl]

I'd much rather the frequency response be flat as a ruler, but if forced to pick I'd opt for things to be a touch on the bright side, provided they don't sound tinny.

 

[Teerawit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fewtch IMO, most music is so poorly recorded that 'dark' is preferable in order to enjoy it. A perfectly neutral system would probably sound thin and lifeless with the majority of recorded music out there... in terms of enjoyment, you'd be limited to a fairly small number of recordings.

Well said!

 

[crazyfrenchman27]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tradja I like my: Beer: Dark Wine: Dark (well, red anyway) Rum: Dark Bread: Dark Chocolate: Dark Cans: Bright!

Kinda funny.

Nearly all the headphones you own are dark.

-Matt

 

[Andrea]

Darker than lighter.

 

[Glod]

I often use the adjective dark to describe my personal flavour of reproduced sound. I feel that sound is a comprimise too, in order to get a life like impression of a live event.

Then there is the very definition of dark. I am not sure it is just a shift of the emphasy of the frequency resposnse towards the bass area. To me, a dark sound does not have to have a recessed treble. However, it must not be pronounced either.

Dark sound has to me a somewhat controlled reverb, a black background, a slightly recessed upper mid-range and sweet rather than high definition treble. A slightly recessed mid-range is the most important feature of dark sound, IMO.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glod Dark sound has to me a somewhat controlled reverb, a black background, a slightly recessed upper mid-range and sweet rather than high definition treble. A slightly recessed mid-range is the most important feature of dark sound, IMO.

I disagree... IMO, a slightly recessed mid-treble (and possibly slightly boosted bass) are the main factors. IMO midrange has little or nothing to do with it.

 

[Glod]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fewtch I disagree... IMO, a slightly recessed mid-treble (and possibly slightly boosted bass) are the main factors. IMO midrange has little or nothing to do with it.

We might have disagreement about what mid range or treble are rather then what dark sound sounds like

To me midrange is 160Hz to 1300Hz, and I would say that if the range about roughly 800 to 1100Hz has a dip in relation to the rest of the spectrum, the overall sound would have a somewhat dark character.

 

[rsaavedra]

Voted dark since I like the Sennheiser house sound a lot. I agree a slightly darker sound might make lots of recordings and equipment more tolerable. Also, at least for me, a slightly darker balance is way less prone to fatigue than a slightly brighter presentation. This might be very ear/person dependant though. After a recent hearing test I was told I'm more sensitve to higher than lower freqs in the range below 8K, though I think that test wasn't very conclusive/accurate.

My top choice of headphone is HD650+Zu, some regard the combo as dark, some as too bright (?), obviously YMMV. I think it just sounds great, especially powered by a Dynahi.

Despite this general preference for slightly-darker sound, I must say I do like the Grado SR-60 sound a lot, as well as HP-2's (properly amped, e.g. Microzotl), AKG-501, and needless to say, the Orpheus, neither of which are regarded as dark headphones.