DO YOU NEED TO GET USED TO NEW HEADPHONES?

[Jimmy Gazelle]

Hi fellow Head-fiers,

do you need to get used to a new set of headphones? could this also include discomfort in your inner ear, or even sometimes mild pain?
I recently bought an Audioquest Nighthawk. I can only listen over it for about 30 minutes at quite some low volume level. After that, my left ear is hurting, as if there was a lot of pressure on the eardrum. I specifically bought these headphones because I am very treble sensitive. I had trouble with both of my previosu closed-back headphones (DT 770 and B&O H4), but wanted to give it one more try ; ).
Does anyone have similiar experiences? Could it get better by slowly increasing listening sessions?
Thank you!

 

[cossix]

If you're experiencing pain, definitely stop listening to it and find a new headphone! Pain means damage for the most part and you don't want to damage your hearing

 

[Jimmy Gazelle]

Hey Cossix, thnks again for the reply, much appreciated. On a former thread I mentioned that I somehow cannot listen to over-ear headphones without having discomfort and even mild pain. With the Nighthawk its better than it ever was. I have the feeling its better the better the source is. Listening over a revox soundsystem at my parents home didnt give me any trouble. But over the I-phone I definetely feel uncomfortable. Maybe something like the Dragonfly would help? This will probably be my second last attempt on over ear headphones (with the last stage being the HD650), so I want to give it a proper try. Of course, as soon as its painful I will stop. It feels like there is alot of pressure on my ear, and high notes and distorted guitars feel very sharp. It varies alot with the kind of music and I think the recording quality as well. Would you think something like the Dragonfly would make a difference?
Thank you

 

[Dulalala]

Hey Cossix, thnks again for the reply, much appreciated. On a former thread I mentioned that I somehow cannot listen to over-ear headphones without having discomfort and even mild pain. With the Nighthawk its better than it ever was. I have the feeling its better the better the source is. Listening over a revox soundsystem at my parents home didnt give me any trouble. But over the I-phone I definetely feel uncomfortable. Maybe something like the Dragonfly would help? This will probably be my second last attempt on over ear headphones (with the last stage being the HD650), so I want to give it a proper try. Of course, as soon as its painful I will stop. It feels like there is alot of pressure on my ear, and high notes and distorted guitars feel very sharp. It varies alot with the kind of music and I think the recording quality as well. Would you think something like the Dragonfly would make a difference?
Thank you

Something like the Dragonfly won't help. I would try using a parametric equalizer to reduce the treble instead. However, considering speakers don't cause this issue, I'm more inclined to believe maybe the clamp of the headphone is the cause of the problem rather than the frequency response.

 

[Jimmy Gazelle]

Thnks for the reply.
I dont know about the head clamp. Its really inside of the ear, like the inner ear. Have no problems with Bowers and Wilkins p5 for example. So I guessed it had something to do with over ear headphones. I think you mentioned once that it could be due to a pressure sensitivy, which made a lot of sense. The Nighthawks have nearly no clamp pressure (imo). Maybe its just over for me with over-ear cans...
thnks man

 

[Dulalala]

Thnks for the reply.
I dont know about the head clamp. Its really inside of the ear, like the inner ear. Have no problems with Bowers and Wilkins p5 for example. So I guessed it had something to do with over ear headphones. I think you mentioned once that it could be due to a pressure sensitivy, which made a lot of sense. The Nighthawks have nearly no clamp pressure (imo). Maybe its just over for me with over-ear cans...
thnks man

It's not necessarily how hard it clamps but rather the location it's pressing against. For example my HD800S has a rather soft clamp but it still causes me discomfort over long periods of time due to it pressing against a certain part of my head. However I would try using EQ first, see if the problem persists. If it does, the pressure may be the culprit. I would recommend getting IEMs in that case or sticking to speakers.

 

[ctaxxxx]

I recently bought an Audioquest Nighthawk. I can only listen over it for about 30 minutes at quite some low volume level. After that, my left ear is hurting, as if there was a lot of pressure on the eardrum. I specifically bought these headphones because I am very treble sensitive.

Just wanted to add that if you are treble sensitive, I would suggest against the Nighthawks. They have a treble spike in the upper registers that it's only noticeable after some use. They're what I call passively fatiguing. It's like listening to the mosquito nose for 30 minutes with music. I had this same problem.

I would suggest the NightOwls instead. They are much more balanced. Otherwise, I would recommend the HD650, or the new HD660S, or Audeze LCD2, or LCD2C that will come out, for smooth treble experience.

 

[PETEBULL]

Nope. You either equalize or find another pair or drastically lower volume.

 

[Jimmy Gazelle]

Just wanted to add that if you are treble sensitive, I would suggest against the Nighthawks. They have a treble spike in the upper registers that it's only noticeable after some use. They're what I call passively fatiguing. It's like listening to the mosquito nose for 30 minutes with music. I had this same problem.

I would suggest the NightOwls instead. They are much more balanced. Otherwise, I would recommend the HD650, or the new HD660S, or Audeze LCD2, or LCD2C that will come out, for smooth treble experience.

really? everything I read about it suggested the Nighthawk is headphone for people disliking harsh treble. reviewers were raving about fatigue-free listening etc...interesting. i must say i do have the ear problems with all sorts of other over ear headphones as well. only in-ear and on-ear seemed to work thus far. but i didn´t wan to give up on the over ear experience just yet. hd650 will be last resort

 

[Jimmy Gazelle]

It's not necessarily how hard it clamps but rather the location it's pressing against. For example my HD800S has a rather soft clamp but it still causes me discomfort over long periods of time due to it pressing against a certain part of my head. However I would try using EQ first, see if the problem persists. If it does, the pressure may be the culprit. I would recommend getting IEMs in that case or sticking to speakers.

thnks for the reply

 

[Jimmy Gazelle]

Nope. You either equalize or find another pair or drastically lower volume.

cheers

 

[cossix]

Just wanted to add that if you are treble sensitive, I would suggest against the Nighthawks. They have a treble spike in the upper registers that it's only noticeable after some use. They're what I call passively fatiguing. It's like listening to the mosquito nose for 30 minutes with music. I had this same problem.

I would suggest the NightOwls instead. They are much more balanced. Otherwise, I would recommend the HD650, or the new HD660S, or Audeze LCD2, or LCD2C that will come out, for smooth treble experience.

I think the 650 were even too sharp for the OP. The 660 won't be as dark as the original 650 either, and the LCD2 has more treble than the 650. I think it's just time for massive EQ adjustments

 

[ctaxxxx]

really? everything I read about it suggested the Nighthawk is headphone for people disliking harsh treble. reviewers were raving about fatigue-free listening etc...interesting. i must say i do have the ear problems with all sorts of other over ear headphones as well. only in-ear and on-ear seemed to work thus far. but i didn´t wan to give up on the over ear experience just yet. hd650 will be last resort

You have to consider the age of those reviewing/commenting. Your hearing in the higher frequencies get worse over time. It's part of why the NightHawks are considered a love or hate headphone. I feel the NightOwls bridge this gap. They're my favorite closed back I've heard so far.

I think the 650 were even too sharp for the OP. The 660 won't be as dark as the original 650 either, and the LCD2 has more treble than the 650. I think it's just time for massive EQ adjustments

Then I would wait for the LCD2C. The pre-fazors were dark sounding headphones, so this should be the same. Unless he buys the HD650 with a tube amp. I don't know what his set-up is though.

 

[Jimmy Gazelle]

Thank youfor all the replies, much appreciated. When starting to be interested to something, its always worth so much getting advice from people that have accumulatwed experience and knowledge about it. My seu-tup is rather meager. I own an Technics SH-CH570 mini stereo system and an Technics SL1200 vinyl player. I often listen over my i-phone or laptop as well. So I am really only at the starting point.
About equalizing: are there softwares or apps to do that? Or is that done throught the headphone amp?
also, my problems seem to be much less the better the gear. also, i found that the recording quality obviously has an impact.
would a good headphone dac significantly improve the quality of the music?
Best

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

I hope that you can figure out what is causing the pain . has it been figured out if its the pressure or the treble or what?

In regards to DACs it just depends on how much you want to budget for it. I think the Chord Mojo is a killer dac for the price and also its truly portable. I used to own a dac that was pretty cheap and I didn't hear much difference between that and my laptops internal dac. I would share what the name is but since we (MTME) doesn't sell that brand I can't say on the public forum.