[BuzzLight]

Hi to all ,


I am looking for a good headphone to buy .
What is best Frequency Response that I can find and what
should I look for ?

Example : 5-30hz or 20-20hz

10x

 

[joelongwood]

Welcome to Head-Fi, BuzzLight. It would appear that the headphone with the 5-30 khz response would sound better than the one with the 20-20 khz frequency response, but this is often not the case. The basic frequency response of any piece of audio gear is basically pretty meaningless, unless the deviation from a flat frequency response is measured and noted. For example, many speakers are capable of delivering some sound output at 30 Hz, but they will probably be down in sound output at that frequency by many decibels in relation to the mid and higher frequencies. Higher quality audio equipment usually specifies the deviation as something like 20 to 20 Hz +/- 3 db. Between those frequencies, there will be no more than a 3 decibel deviation in sound output. But even components that measure the same will sound different because the deviations will occur at different frequencies.
With headphones, frequency response measurements are even more problematic because of the proximity to the ear and the effect of individual inner ear resonances on the sound. Some of the worst sounding headphones have great published specifications, and vice versa. That's why you should use the reviews here as a general guide to the various sound qualities of headphones and your own ears as the final judge; and why one person will love a particular set of headphones, while another will hate it. Hope this helps.

 

[dlorde]

You'll probably find it more useful to decide what your requirements are (e.g. price-range, home or portable, open or closed, earphones or headphones, earbuds or canal-phones), and then browse through the messages and reviews on this (and any other sites you can find) to see which are the more highly regarded phones in your price-range.

Ultimately, your ears have to decide. As I have found, my ears prefer some earphones that are decidedly unpopular around here

 

[Braver]

yeah Joe is spot-on. freqresponse is somewhat interesting if they look like 20-20k @ - 1dB, meaning they'll produce sound from 20-20k with a drop of 1dB at either end. it however doesn't tell you how they'll sound, it only tells you how they'll perform at the outer edges of the spectrum. graphs will in theory tell you more about hwo they'll perform over the entire spectrum, if they have peaks soemwhere and things like that. problem is, headphones are nigh impossible to measure. so basically, specs tell you nothing. besides, it's all about taste. you can say a 800MHz proc is faster than a 166MHz one and everyone will agree on that most of the time. you can't say a Senn is better than a Grado, audio doesnt work like that.

now, with a bit more info on expected useage, source, amplification, price-range and most important of all, musical preferences, we could be able to recommend a couple of headphones, to give you a kind of short-list for the inevitable audition

 

[Eagle_Driver]

BuzzLight,

I have to second the other replies. What good is a 5Hz-30kHz frequency response spec if it doesn't come with a tolerance rating? And I've heard WAY better sound from some headphones whose frequency response runs from "only" 20Hz-20kHz than from some headphones rated at 5Hz-30kHz.

Among the headphones that I own or have owned, one of my favorite headphones is the Grado SR-60, whose frequency response is "only" 20-20,000 Hz. That model is colo(u)red, alright - but in a "musical" way. On the other hand, the Sony MDR-V600 - whose claimed frequency response is 5-30,000 Hz - is one of the worst headphones that I've listened to recently. There are simply waaaaay too many peaks and valleys in the sound output! [Gyah, those $100 Sonys mentioned sound WORSE than either of the Koss UR-## series headphones - those $20-$30 closed headphones, whose claimed frequency response ratings run from either 30-20k or 18-20k, actually sound decent (for their actual street price); the $100 Sonys sound like they should cost just $10-$15!]

Thus, 20Hz-20kHz worth of "musical" sound quality is WAY better than 5Hz-30kHz worth of crap.

 

[Gluegun]

And plus, if the musical 20-20k was measured in teh same way that the crappy 5-30k, it would probably be 5-30k.

In FR....you generally do NOT know how they measured it, or to what extent they cheated, because there are soooo many ways to measure the FR of a headphone. And there are sooooo many other things that are more important, too.

As a matter of fact, Bose speakers, which claim to have the largest frequency response actually have the LEAST highs and lows of most any home theater speaker!

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally posted by Gluegun As a matter of fact, Bose speakers, which claim to have the largest frequency response actually have the LEAST highs and lows of most any home theater speaker!

Actually, that claim comes from the Bose ads. Bose NEVER publishes any frequency-response figures for its loudspeakers! As a matter of fact, when you look at the published specs for the Bose speakers (which is the owners manual), you WON'T find any frequency response figures at all!

 

[Neruda]

heh, Bose sucks. nothing new here!

Anyway, Sony loves to make claims about its headphones (as does just about every other company) that its headphones go all the way down to 5hz or lower. Most of the time, these headphones are dropping off around 60hz or even higher, with no usable bass after that. And even if they did extend that far, our ears can't pick up those deep frequencies. Instead, they're felt by our entire body.

 

[Gluegun]

Well, I always hear people talking about Bose as the best because "They Have the best frequency response".

So, they have to get that impression out SOMEHOW...

 

[kerykeion]

Don't look at the FR range, rather, look at the curve. Some reasonable ones can be found at HeadRoom's website.

Besides... very few people can hear below 20Hz, or above 20KHz ... so why even bother with those false claims.

 

[MacDEF]

I *guarantee* that NO ONE here can hear 5Hz or 30kHz

 

[Gluegun]

Hey, what are the frequencies that shake buildings apart in earthquakes?

 

[pedxing]

I have lost the link to the Headroom website with the frequency response graphcs. Does anyone know where the newer website with the graphs is? I can only find the old website. Why do they have two websites?

 

[Braver]

Quote:

Originally posted by kerykeion Don't look at the FR range, rather, look at the curve. Some reasonable ones can be found at HeadRoom's website.

Yeah, those are reasonable. but compare the sr60 with the hd580 there. are the hump in the upper midrange and the roll off at the bass side the differences between the hd580 and the sr60?

"hey, hump in the mid/treble, lack of bass-extension, must be slightly bright, with a rather small soundstage, and have a liquidy smooth midrange and a punchy bass then! prolly great for rock!"...ten bucks for anyone who hasn't heard a good headphone in his life, but is able to make up something like that by looking at the graphs....

Headroom is located at www.headphone.com. their new site isn't up yet, and frankly the new graphs suck

they might be very accurate tho...

 

[BuzzLight]

Thank you all for your fast reply .

My question camed after I read the spec. of two Sony
Headphones .

One is MDR-CD3000 and the other one is MDR-CD2000.

MDR-CD3000 is way way up with the price and the FR is 20-20kz.
MDR-CD2000 is lower price and it's FR is 5-30kz.

So how should I look at it ( price is not problem has doing a good
buying ) .


Thanks again .