Beagle
His body's not a canvas, and he wasn't raised by apes.
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2001
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On Wednesday, I conducted a bit of an experiment comparing the sound of a live acoustic band to the sound my memory associates with different brands/types of headphones.
The band was a four piece, using acoustic guitar, violin, acoustic bass and drums. The quartet was playing in the lobby of my office building. I stood in various locations and took notes, comparing what I was hearing from the different positions to headphones I have heard and came up with some interesting results (no conclusions, nothing is ever conclusive)
I will indicate my listening position then indicate which headphone most approximated the sound as I heard it, coming from that particular perspective:
-Directly in front/centre, 5 feet from source: GRADO RS-1 (flat pads)
-Directly in front/centre, 10 feet from source: GRADO HP-1 (bowl pads)
-20 feet off to the side: GRADO SR225
-50 feet down the lobby, just off centre: GRADO SR125
-100 feet down the hall, "centre", from 2nd level: AKG K501
-150 feet down the hall, inside a shop buying a Diet Coke: SENNHEISER HD600
-200 feet down the hall, to the left, in the washroom taking a dump: SENNHEISER HD490
-Outside, waiting for the bus: SONY 7506
As I said, I did not draw any conclusions, and some of my 'observations' are based on my memory of headphone sound. But I think this should put to rest all the arguing about different headphones. To me, this experiment merely indicates that different headphones offer a different simulation of a particular listening perspective and that there is no right or wrong, never was never will be. They are all good and they all suck.
The band was a four piece, using acoustic guitar, violin, acoustic bass and drums. The quartet was playing in the lobby of my office building. I stood in various locations and took notes, comparing what I was hearing from the different positions to headphones I have heard and came up with some interesting results (no conclusions, nothing is ever conclusive)
I will indicate my listening position then indicate which headphone most approximated the sound as I heard it, coming from that particular perspective:
-Directly in front/centre, 5 feet from source: GRADO RS-1 (flat pads)
-Directly in front/centre, 10 feet from source: GRADO HP-1 (bowl pads)
-20 feet off to the side: GRADO SR225
-50 feet down the lobby, just off centre: GRADO SR125
-100 feet down the hall, "centre", from 2nd level: AKG K501
-150 feet down the hall, inside a shop buying a Diet Coke: SENNHEISER HD600
-200 feet down the hall, to the left, in the washroom taking a dump: SENNHEISER HD490
-Outside, waiting for the bus: SONY 7506
As I said, I did not draw any conclusions, and some of my 'observations' are based on my memory of headphone sound. But I think this should put to rest all the arguing about different headphones. To me, this experiment merely indicates that different headphones offer a different simulation of a particular listening perspective and that there is no right or wrong, never was never will be. They are all good and they all suck.
