[Mato]

I have only tried D1001 and ESW9, which I'm guessing are both 'fun' headphones. Would would be an inexpensive pair of reference headphones to buy to grasp the main differences?

 

[Suntory_Times]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluntman /img/forum/go_quote.gif What do you guys prefer? Don't say both! If you had to go with one, would you go with careful listening, hence, reference style or go with the mac daddy, fun?

Reference for me, the fun comes from the music.

 

[Acix]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacedonianHero /img/forum/go_quote.gif My preference is for balanced headphones as they are better all rounders and the sound better suites me.

lol, if your preference is for balanced headphones, maybe you should get one.

 

[Acix]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Suntory_Times /img/forum/go_quote.gif Reference for me, the fun comes from the music.

X1, I like this one.

 

[MrGreen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhythmdevils /img/forum/go_quote.gif if a lot of music is "unlistenable" on your reference hp's then they're not reference hp's, they are colored to exaggerate treble. clarity =/= reference detail =/= accuracy

Er, how does treble accent make some music unlistenable anymore than say revealing mids?

How is clarity not a reference trait (unless you are using "what you like" as reference, or the marketing term "reference")?

How is a detailed headphone less accurate than a muddy, undetailed headphone?

Less detailed headphones will blur timbrally similar sounds (overdub vocal harmonies - the lower tone is always pushed back due to the nature of sound if the headphone is inadequate; violins and violas are blurred).

Headphones dont need accented treble to be detailed, detail exists in all frequencies.

Please explain your stance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhythmdevils /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't want headphones to add "fun" I just want them to not take it away.

How do you suppose a simple machine takes fun out of music? Sure, if the headphone is severely deficient in a particular frequency, it may make a headphone less fun (such as if it has a lot of bass and treble, and very little mids), but thats apparently a "fun" frequency response, then I can agree with you. But a neutral, detailed headphone will not take anything away, simply present the recording as is.


It's perfectly fine if you don't like a relatively honest headphone (all speakers have fair amounts of distortion), but you cant shape words to avoid basic science.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif The problem with colored (or "fun") headphones is that you get sick of them after awhile. You might love them at first, then you get used to them, then you burn out, then you decide that what you really need is a more expensive pair of colored headphones.

I agree!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Though the "analytical" and "accurate" headphones don't immediately grab you and cause you to fall in love

Sometimes they do!

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acix /img/forum/go_quote.gif lol, if your preference is for balanced headphones, maybe you should get one.

Ha ha...

I think you should maybe get one too...say the HD800 or T1?

 

[SP Wild]

Hypothetically, I want to use the Headphone that the recording engineer used to master the track I am hearing. I feel that if I use a more resolving phone than that, I would be hearing things not how the engineer intended, e.g. flaws that should not be part of the music - flaws that do not exist with lesser phones - flaws that interfere with the true musical flow of the track, i.e. exactly how it was heard as the mixer intended - and I save a lot of money and music sounds better. So the question is then, what headphone does the engineer use - I know K701's a popular.

 

[brat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluntman /img/forum/go_quote.gif What do you guys prefer? Don't say both! If you had to go with one, would you go with careful listening, hence, reference style or go with the mac daddy, fun?

And what if you have both in one as in my case?
I can't have fun with headphones that are far from being high-end. So I will choose "fun" but I'm shure that my fun headphones will be "reference". Or at least on the "darker" side of the reference.

 

[schawo]

If you have a reference, you will need a fun one. If you have a fun can, you will always miss the reference sound. Get both.

 

[subtle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SP Wild /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hypothetically, I want to use the Headphone that the recording engineer used to master the track I am hearing. I feel that if I use a more resolving phone than that, I would be hearing things not how the engineer intended, e.g. flaws that should not be part of the music - flaws that do not exist with lesser phones - flaws that interfere with the true musical flow of the track, i.e. exactly how it was heard as the mixer intended - and I save a lot of money and music sounds better. So the question is then, what headphone does the engineer use - I know K701's a popular.

Recording engineers mainly use high end monitor speakers to master tracks, not headphones. So all your speculation posted here is pretty much shot. But let's discuss what you typed here a bit more.

You "feel" sums everything up really. All I read is a bunch of hopes and dreams. You start off flawed from the start by assuming that the recording engineer is using headphones to master the track you are hearing. Then you imply that only on a "lesser" headphone will one truly be able to enjoy the music because a high end one would expose the flaws that the lesser headphones are not capable of displaying? Only on a lesser headphone will the end user be able to truly enjoy the "musical flow of the track". How absurd and silly is that? So basically what you're saying is that you want to listen to poorly recorded and mastered music? Because if it were mastered well then the high end headphone would be able to recreate it in a superior manner to lesser headphones, not the other way around. In the end though, if it helps you save some money and sleep better at night then thats a plus in my book.

No K701s are really not a popular choice among sound engineers. Other AKG models are like the 240 and such, but not the K701/2.

 

[SP Wild]

Hmmmm. Headphones are even more resolving than speakers. Headphones are generally used for error detection.

Yes, you see "I feel" = my opinion - please don't take it for gospel.

 

[K_19]

It usually depends on my mood. That is why I have more than one headphone, and of all significantly different SQ's at that.

 

[Cantonese]

I hope I'm not blurring the definitions, but I would enjoy a reference phone more when I'm at home with higher quality source, while a "fun" phone can make the mp3's sound more tolerable when I'm on the go. While it is sometimes nice to be able to feel more impact on the rock/upbeat music genres with the "fun" cans, I always go back to reference phones since I feel I'm getting the most of my music out of them.

Thats just me though.

 

[JackRyan]

In all my various audio related hobbies, whenever the opportunity arises, I've always chosen transducers to be as accurate and neutral as possible, and relied upon amps, EQ, and processing for the fun.

The benefit of an accurate and capable headphone is that you can shape it to sound anything you would like with proper EQing and signal processing. However, an inherently "fun" pair of phones is typically far more limiting in terms of what you can do with it.

 

[aimlink]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cantonese /img/forum/go_quote.gif I hope I'm not blurring the definitions, but I would enjoy a reference phone more when I'm at home with higher quality source, while a "fun" phone can make the mp3's sound more tolerable when I'm on the go. While it is sometimes nice to be able to feel more impact on the rock/upbeat music genres with the "fun" cans, I always go back to reference phones since I feel I'm getting the most of my music out of them. Thats just me though.

What is or are your reference can/s?