[bcpk]

Subject 1 : Sony MDR-V6, famous for their analytical monitoring sound.

Subject 2 : Grado SR60, famous for their rockability.

So, uh ...

 

[momomo6789]

FR Is not every thing

 

[flatmap]

I see what you're saying and find it just as unexpected. However, to take a differerent viewpoint, suppose you have a collection of headphone listeners -- all with perfect human hearing -- and you ask them them to describe which set of phones they liked and why. This is the empirical approach and I think what you find is that perfectly flat does not sound perfectly flat -- especially at the frequency extremes.

If that's the case, and you're a headphone designer, then you have to figure out what to aim for, perhaps especially in the high frequencies. I'm guessing what we see here is that Sony and Grado have come up with two different answers.

 

[krmathis]

Yeah, there is much more to is than just frequency response...
Listen and compare!

 

[leeperry]

FR is ear canal dependent anyway, these graphs are completely meaningless: http://www.davidgriesinger.com\headphones.htm
Quote:

the coupling of high frequencies to the eardrum varies greatly among individuals. It is influenced by the volume of the concha, the diameter and geometry of the ear canal, the eardrum impedance and other factors.

 

[stang]

Little bump

I find Frequency response graphs not accurate to the overall sound at all. Just look at this:

Now look at that. The PRO 900 trumps the ED8 by the looks of that, I find that pretty weird considering their price difference. I really want to see a frequency response of the ALO-780 so I can see how my pair compare to the other 3 Ultrasone's. To see what the ALO mod really does

 

[malldian]

What do you mean by trumps?

Quote:

Originally Posted by leeperry /img/forum/go_quote.gif FR is ear canal dependent anyway, these graphs are completely meaningless: http://www.davidgriesinger.com\headphones.htm

I wouldn't say that.. they could be used for relative comparison against each other. (note: I have never taken FR into account when buying a pair of headphones)

 

[stang]

Lol, according to the graph, it should be a lot better. But I do not believe in that. What's on paper is not nearly as important as how it sound to you. I never take into account FR either, I read reviews and then buy it. According to the graph, there is a lot more bass and the high's go a lot 'higher'. But that doesn't mean it is necessarily better than the ED8

 

[Shike]

One test isn't enough to compare headphones by.

 

[jinp6301]

waterfall graphs are a lot more useful then normal FR graphs

 

[bdr529]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stang /img/forum/go_quote.gif Lol, according to the graph, it should be a lot better. But I do not believe in that. What's on paper is not nearly as important as how it sound to you. I never take into account FR either, I read reviews and then buy it. According to the graph, there is a lot more bass and the high's go a lot 'higher'. But that doesn't mean it is necessarily better than the ED8

the goal is not to have the most bumpy frequency response.

 

[stang]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdr529 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Its not a race to the top.

As i said in my post, frequency response isn't everything.

 

[bdr529]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stang /img/forum/go_quote.gif As i said in my post, frequency response isn't everything.

i didn't say that it wasn't, i was commenting more on the fact that you interpreted those results as "better"

 

[jynweythek]

Another bump. Something interesting that I noticed and posted earlier in a different thread.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jynweythek /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks. Recently I happened upon this Japanese headphone review site. It has a frequency response graph for the Sony 7506. Now Headroom has a graph as well, and it looks really flat: The graph on the Japanese site does NOT. It shows just what the V6 sounds like to my ears. Note the huge dip from about 100-400hz. This is why it lacks warmth. I can hear that this part of the music (especially the deeper part of the dip) is almost absent on the V6, but I can hear it on cheap headphones (!). Also note the peak around 2-3khz. Human hearing is most sensitive around 3khz, which makes this very fatiguing (I think this is why Bjork's voice ends up so loud). From about 4.5-11khz is another major peak (or mountain range, more like). The higher frequencies really stand out from all the other frequencies, which is why the V6 is so bright and fatiguing. This graph is a really accurate depiction, IMO, of how the V6 sounds. I think the Japanese site is showing raw, unadjusted frequency measurements, while the Headroom graphs have been messed with a lot (HRTF and whatnot). Or it could be that the Japanese site does a better job of messing with the data. I'm not sure if the Japanese site's graphs are more accurate in general, but in this specific case I would definitely say so. ...

Incidentally, here is their SR60 graph:

Looks very different. I don't know if the SR60 graph is accurate (never listened to an SR60). But the V6 graph, at least, does seem quite accurate.

 

[Landis]

The best thing you can take home from your average FR graph is vaguely where you may expect frequency spikes. For example, if the graphs show a hike in bass over one of your cans you're comparing to, then you should expect some more bass-- Will it be punchy, muddy or sloppy? Hard to tell.