[Jon Sonne]

There is no denying anechoic chambers are acoustically uncomfortable, and that listening to speakers in a good listening room is preferable to listening to speakers in an anechoic chamber. Since headphones' interaction with the room is negligible, in some ways headphones should mimic listening to speakers in an anechoic chambers. I hypothesize that this is one of the factors contributing to the majority of people preferring headphones with ringing bass, in order to compensate for the dry sound of headphones. 
 
I myself have experienced at several occasions that music that sounds dry, and music with sudden stops without reverberation, can be irritating to listen to for prolonged periods on headphones.
 
What do you think? Does the dry sound of headphones never annoy you, or do you also have unpleasant experiences from time to time?  

 

[RRod]

  There is no denying anechoic chambers are acoustically uncomfortable, and that listening to speakers in a good listening room is preferable to listening to speakers in an anechoic chamber. Since headphones' interaction with the room is negligible, in some ways headphones should mimic listening to speakers in an anechoic chambers. I hypothesize that this is one of the factors contributing to the majority of people preferring headphones with ringing bass, in order to compensate for the dry sound of headphones. 
 
I myself have experienced at several occasions that music that sounds dry, and music with sudden stops without reverberation, can be irritating to listen to for prolonged periods on headphones.
 
What do you think? Does the dry sound of headphones never annoy you, or do you also have unpleasant experiences from time to time?  

 
Yes, headphones want some reverb. Some people are glad to try such things out digitally and others prefer to do the headphone buy-try-trade rodeo until they find the bass response they like.

 

[musikevan]

Not so much "dry" but hyper detailed. Most micro dynamics and extreme closeness of sound is softened in the space of a concert hall. A slightly obscured or veiled headphone or amplifier restores this quality. With true binaural recordings it is not so problematic.

 

[castleofargh]

so much is wrong on headphones that it's hard for me to clearly point at one cause. I suspect that all contradicting cues put pressure on the brain trying to figure out what's going on and what to discard among all the data. full panning, not enough reverb to figure out a room, physical pressure on the ears/in/around depending on what we use, non neutral FR. why not everything being part of the problem?
 
it could be interesting to test the reverb theory by spending time listening to headphone in a huge flat field and see if there is an improvement over listening in a small room where the brain would expect a good deal more reverb?(I vote for testing that in summer!)^_^
 
 
edit: "hears"
I just engrish that good.

 

[musikevan]

Most older recordings are mastered for home audio speakers to achieve the desired stereo seperation. Reverb is much harder to figure out as some listening rooms are acoustically live and some are relatively dead. With more listeners using headphones, I suspect mastering has changed. A cross feed filter helps with the older recordings. Reverb gets a bad rap, but the technology has matured since the "good old days" and I would like to experiment with the good eq apps.

 

[GRUMPYOLDGUY]

I rub my headphones with cocoa and shea butter lotion so I don't have to worry about them getting dry.

Sent from my E5803 using a highly trained, special forces carrier pigeon

 

[Jon Sonne]

I rub my headphones with cocoa and shea butter lotion so I don't have to worry about them getting dry.

Sent from my E5803 using a highly trained, special forces carrier pigeon

 
Hehe, funny
 
Maybe the correct term would be tracks with almost no reverb

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Originally Posted by Jon Sonne /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 

Does the dryness of headphones cause you irritation?

 

I get more irritations from wet headphones actually. Like if I use them on a hot day, sweat all over the pads, then I don't let them dry properly before putting the HD600 back in its box or leave it in a dark room. The next time I use the headphones, I'd break out into zits on my cheeks right where the front of the pads would be, almost like if I shaved my sideburns without wiping down with alcohol after.

 

 
What do you think? Does the dry sound of headphones never annoy you, or do you also have unpleasant experiences from time to time?  

 

I EQ my headphones and IEMs for a generally "dry" sound. I do a low bass boost on the HD600, but that's only to bring up the low bass closer to how loud it is at 60hz (it's 45hz is level with 1000hz, and then downhill from there). It gets a little bit more rumble, more audible plucked bass (guitar, double bass) when other instruments are playing, and adds enough to make bass drums sound more like a deep "THUMP!!!" that doesn't have the tendency to jump out to the front (as on Grados and some Focal speakers). Peaks in the treble are also trimmed.

 

Apart from EQ I also have Crossfeed on, that way I filter some sound across both channels so strong cymbal hits don't jump out too strong off to one flank.

 

Think angled HM5 pads also help with equalizing the low end plus minimizing cymbals and such from pulling too far and too loud to one flank.

 

[watchnerd]

I give my headphones a lot of foreplay to make them wet before any seriously long sessions.
 
Try licking them.