[HeatFan12]

 
 


 
Quote:

Wowzers. The ED9s look so similarly shaped as the HFI series. The HFI-580 is my favorite closed headphone at its price range. Would you say the ED9 is an overall improvement on the HFI 580 sound? Thing that is interesting me the most is if it has similar bass impact potential as the HFI-580.
 

The Ed.9s are an overall balanced, midrange monster, bass just perfect, comfortable as all,. kinda headphone.....I love the 'Sones and go up or down the ladder on a daily basis (today Ed.9s, tomorrow PRO550s...)  They all bring something different especially if you're an Ultrasone freak....Or not....Depends what you are looking for...
 
 
This was yesterday...HFI-680s with a little tube love...If you love the 'Sones, going up and down the ladder will not be tiresome.  Just refreshing indeed.....All depends what your flavor is...

 
 



Quote:

Nah, genre's more important. More specifically, the mastering. Mastering quality is often, but not always, genre-dependent. You'll find more well-recorded jazz and classical albums than rock albums, and usually more well-recorded (indie and classic) rock albums than hip-hop albums.
 
If you only listen to poorly mastered recordings and only want fun, high-end headphones might not be a good idea. They'll reveal weaknesses in the recording. They'll reveal what the recording does well, too, though. It all depends on the individual whether or not the pros outweigh the cons.
 
Rip quality only matters so far as the files aren't <128kbps MP3s or encoded from other lossy files. Until you know what to listen for, you won't easily tell the difference between bitrates without using your eyes.

Agreed in bold Head Injury (somewhat)...However, I will not subject myself to classical or jazz to get the best from my gear.  If I want to listen to that genre so be it.  Mastering has come a long way especially for hip-hop.  Take Biggie's Ready To Die...horrible sound....I don't mind the pops and clicks from the vinyl, but the lines were just not hitting properly....Out comes the remaster and it is a welcomed improvement....You can even hear the pRaT on "One More Chance"s beginning phone messages...lol.......

 
Not to get into the all ever popular lossy vs lossless debate...As your gear expands, so must your source material....My Ed.9s can certainly tell a difference between lossy and lossless.  My Senn CX200 can't.....
 
As you expand, your chain must expand as well for overall musical tonality and depth...lossy sounds flat on better gear with no extension...
 
I listen to other genres- rock, metal, house, trance etc...and agree the mastering must be on par...If you like trance, listen to some Markus Schulz and the sound is just awesome...
 
 

 

[kingoftown1]

This is a troll thread, right?

 

[Subliminal]

Quote:

This is a troll thread, right?

Please explain why you think it's a troll thread?

 

[buffalowings]

Quote:

This is a troll thread, right?

lol, it's okay, he already fell for the head-fi mentality (treble treble treble, bass gets in the way, mids, ehh they can stay) 
 
a lot of gear on head-fi really sucks ass for reproducing hip hop/rap and bass in general in the name of clarity 

 

[HeatFan12]

Troll?  Please say in ain't so.....All I wrote will go in vain...lol...not good on a Sat. night...
 
Quick- Top 5 hip-hop albums....Least fav.5 hip-hop albums....Go, subliminal....

 

[Happy Camper]

Heatfan, is that a SP amp in the background?

 

[HeatFan12]

Quote:

Heatfan, is that a SP amp in the background?

Hi HC,
 
Yes it is.  I use the PPX3 SLAM on my desktop.  Pair of 5687s and a 2c51 w/ adapter.  So far, so good, but I  try to stay protected....:lol....Cheers...

 
 
 

 

[ardgedee]

Like Head Injury says, the main problem with listening to hip-hop on high end gear is with enough resolution the flaws in production and mastering start distracting from the music.
 
This isn't just a problem in hip-hop, though. It's pretty common through a lot of rock and pop, as well as some jazz recordings I have. The best engineers can't necessarily override a performer or their manager deciding that things have to sound differently in the mix. Similarly, I've got high-budget commercial recordings with noticeable clip and distortion in the release. It's just not that fun to listen to on high-end equipment.
 
But that's OK. You'll have different headphones some day, right? Listen to the better stuff on the better cans, and keep a set that you know you'll be able to continue rocking out with under any circumstances.

 

[kingoftown1]

Quote:

lol, it's okay, he already fell for the head-fi mentality (treble treble treble, bass gets in the way, mids, ehh they can stay) 
 
a lot of gear on head-fi really sucks ass for reproducing hip hop/rap and bass in general in the name of clarity 

I love hip hop, and I guess I assumed that people using this site would be informed enough to not make such sweeping generalizations about a whole genre.
 
 

 

[erod]

To OP, I would never say there is nothing to be gained form getting some good equipment. I would say that what people refer to as a balanced or flat headphone is probably not the best for hip-hop. You would be well served by a basshead headphone, I'm sure. There are many expensive basshead headphones to choose from.

I would also never say that a whole genre is characterized by poor mastering. Believe it or not, hip-hop producers and sound engineers are some of the best in the world. It shouldn't be surprising, though. Since it's one of the most lucrative genres in the world, they can afford to pay for the best.

 

[dadong]

i gotta agree. for hip-hop i don't see any point in buy headphones over 200 or 300 dollars. In my experience almost all of the hip hop albums i've encountered are poorly mastered for headphones at least. 
Hip hop mastering was way better back in the day. Now most most mainstream hip hop albums just can't be listened to on high end gear IMO. 
 
oh and kanyes My beautiful dark twisted fantasy has got to be the poorest mastered album of the century.

 

[Gwarmi]

Just a side note to this discussion that still speaks volumes for sub-bass performance.
 
Since getting into head-fi I have been devastated at the loss of favorite old school reggae and dub recordings.
 
Lee Scratch Perry, Scientist, King Tubby and even some Marley.
 
They sound absolutely awful, all this hiss, crackle, clip comes to the fore. All the flaws float up to the surface.

 

[John In Cali]

I definently find a lot of enjoyment from listening to well produced rap on my K240's even a lot of the time perfering them over my super bassy XB500's.  The smooth bassline, claps, and other things you normally don't pay much attention to really shine.  I find Dr. Dre produced most of his music with a lot of hidden treats for those that listen on a nice set of cans. You might want to find some of his older stuff too like his concrete roots and other pre-NWA stuff.  He also has an instrumental version of his 2001 album that shows off his beats and sound great.  I haven't found many other artists or groups that have as much detail in their beats but then again i'm not one to actively look for new music, mainly just stick to my ~500 and add a song less then once a month.

 

[deadlylover]

I listen to hip hop and all the top40 stuff using the Stax Omega 2's, everything sounds great, so it was worth it for me. I'm guessing that most people who say "don't spend over $xxx if you only listen to blablabla" have no real experience with listening to <insert crappy genre> with high end phones.
 
OP, you have to ask yourself, do you listen to music or do you listen to recordings/gear/"good sound"?
 
If you listen to music, then balls to it and aim as high as you want, because as long as you think it sounds good, then that's all that matters.

 

[Edoardo]

Quote:

Sounds like you listen to Limewire-downloaded, DJ-tagged, 48kbps songs. In which case, no.
 
If you actually listen to high-quality recordings, why wouldn't you notice as many small details as the rockheads

 
Because... Quality recording is not just a matter of bitrate...
 
I don't wanna sound "classy"... But guys... It's a matter of dynamics... Of the recording... And of the instrumentation used, and of the composition itself (if you've ever played or read a classical music sheet you know what I mean...) because composers of long time ago also employed/exploited dynamics for the sake of their compositions.
 
A well-recorded real piano, or set of drums, or chamber ensemble, not speaking about a Philarmonic orchestra, offers much more dynamics than a few computer-made tracks compressed together with the voice of a singer/shouter to make the whole recording sound decently in a pair of earbuds. (we're speaking about 15/20 dB of Katy Perry against the 80 dB of a excellent quality orchestra recording against the 120 dB audible by human ears) 
 
Futhermore, many classical/orchestral compositions (I'm saying: compositions, NOT recordings) themselves need dynamics not just for listening to the smallest details of the recording but for these compositions to be listened to as they were meant to by the original composer, who did not know what "recording" or "playback" were, and thought: here the violins will play pianissimo, the cellos forte and the cymbals... etc etc
 
Many high-quality, neutral and transparent headphones are objectively overkill for some genres and make "computers" sound disappointing.
 
I've always been impressed, since my coming in head-fi, of the number of people who demand for top-notch listening equipment for listening to computer generated stuff...