[intoart]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbd2884 /img/forum/go_quote.gif No intoart fantasizes with them constantly!

You are confused. I own a pair of DT770s. Fantasizing is limited to things I don't have!

 

[Jackbush]

It's a valid conclusion to compare runners based on a race where one is half starved? That's like saying it's valid to compare an AD700 amped with a beta-22 to an AKG701 plugged into thin air.

 

[Epicfailman]

Wow....this became a really long thread. It looks like we started a never ending troll-fest.

 

[Epicfailman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jackbush /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's a valid conclusion to compare runners based on a race where one is half starved? That's like saying it's valid to compare an AD700 amped with a beta-22 to an AKG701 plugged into thin air.

I see you got a kick out of my friend's quote haha

 

[grawk]

That seems to be the intent for all intoart's posts. Do a find

 

[Llama16]

I understand that current headphones like the HD650, grados line, and all the other headphones around that type are the best you can get. In 10 years there will be new headphones that are more expensive, but does that mean that the HD650 (using this one as an example) doesn't sound as good anymore?? I think that a couple of years ago we reached the limit. There won't really be headphones that sound alot better (or at least audible), I think we're about there. Same as ith amps, they could make them more expensive, but would we still hear the difference?

In my opinion: no.

 

[grawk]

Given reports about the hd800 and ps1000, it might be worth giving them a listen before you write off the possibility that headphones have peaked a couple of years ago...

 

[vic1890]

I often find these sorts of discussions irrelevant, simply because it tends not to be a discussion at all. Party A has an opinion, party B, another, and neither, in most cases, are ever willing to budge, or does try to seek and understand the viewpoint of the other (one needn't accept, to understand). Where lies the point then?

To say that all the more expensive equipment wouldn't sound better than their cheaper counterpart - although there is always an exception to this, as there is to just about everything in life - would be invalid statement.

Therefore, to say a person can extract more enjoyment from something that is cheaper than something that is more expensive - regardless of the actual quality of the utility it provides - would be more accurate.

My current setup sounds 10 times better than just my ipod, and them mediocre Bose headphones I used to have, but the truth is, I enjoyed the music more there than I do now here. But I can still acknowledge, my current setup is 10 times better than its former equivalent - 10 times, not a 100, as the drastic price difference between the two should, as we would like it to, mark.

I'm still seeking for my, as I'd like to call it, headmate.
(etymology: derived from 'soulmate')

 

[THAY BRAN]

I have to say that we always strive for something better, its human nature.I am more than happy with my set up but when i recently saw the Grado ps1000 and Sennheiser HD 800 I felt my heart yearn.

 

[Llama16]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk /img/forum/go_quote.gif Given reports about the hd800 and ps1000, it might be worth giving them a listen before you write off the possibility that headphones have peaked a couple of years ago...

Yes you're probably right about that, I haven't yet gotten the chance to test those out, so I can't know how they sound. Though I 'think' that the difference is just minimal, me myself I probably wouldn't even hear the difference. But after that people can always discuss the 'character' of the headphones, 'those sound more punchy', 'those have better acoustic soundings'. But are we then talking about improvents over other headphones? Then it's more about personal opinion and what you look for in the best headphone.

And yes, headphones will sound worse in 10 years. But let's say they still make them in 10 years. Will the HD800 sound 'bad' compared to other expensive headphones in 10 years?

 

[catscratch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by intoart /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have tried quite a few headphones at a wide range of prices, including the very expensive D5000s. I am back to listening to my $80 HD280s instead. I used to believe that "you get what you pay for", but I no longer think that that is true for headphones. The AKGs were 4X as much as the Sennheisers, the Denons were 6X as much, and neither seemed much better, let alone mind-blowingly better. Is there such a thing as "high end" headphones, or is that just a myth? What would I have to pay for something enough better that I would be unwilling to go back to the HD280s?

I think that there is a case of unrealistic expectations for what high-end headphones are, and what they do. High-end headphones will not take a signal that isn't great and then magically turn it into something that sounds fantastic. What they can do is take a signal that is fantastic to begin with and replicate that accurately, with perhaps a subtle coloration or two thrown into the mix. Their worth isn't in making things sound better but in not degrading an already good signal as much as cheaper headphones, and that's pretty much it. So if you want "mindblowingly better" then start with a mindblowing source. And of course mindblowing music. It doesn't matter what you play dynamically compressed pop on, it will sound terrible always.

 

[intoart]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Epicfailman /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wow....this became a really long thread. It looks like we started a never ending troll-fest.

What is impressive is how much the rest of you have added to it with no help from me (about 90% of it has no connection to my original topic.

)

 

[intoart]

Quote:

Originally Posted by catscratch /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think that there is a case of unrealistic expectations for what high-end headphones are, and what they do. High-end headphones will not take a signal that isn't great and then magically turn it into something that sounds fantastic. What they can do is take a signal that is fantastic to begin with and replicate that accurately, with perhaps a subtle coloration or two thrown into the mix. Their worth isn't in making things sound better but in not degrading an already good signal as much as cheaper headphones, and that's pretty much it. So if you want "mindblowingly better" then start with a mindblowing source. And of course mindblowing music. It doesn't matter what you play dynamically compressed pop on, it will sound terrible always.

The only problem with that argument is that fantastic recordings always sound fantastic regardless of what I listen to them through. It is only with lesser material that the differences become clear.

As an example, I have come to prefer DT150s over many other phones because they are immune to sibilance. I would not have that preference if none of my recordings were sibilant.

 

[catscratch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by intoart /img/forum/go_quote.gif The only problem with that argument is that fantastic recordings always sound fantastic regardless of what I listen to them through. It is only with lesser material that the differences become clear. As an example, I have come to prefer DT150s over many other phones because they are immune to sibilance. I would not have that preference if none of my recordings were sibilant.

Yes, they'll do that. High-end headphones and speakers are more unforgiving and you will hear problems much more easily.

Honestly we can debate this endlessly, but in the end it's about subjective experience, and if you want to really understand where a lot of people on these boards are coming from then you should get to a meet and get the experience yourself. Hearing an HE90/HEV90 rig off an EMM Labs source was for me exactly the kind of mindblowing eye-opener that I think you're looking for, and it taught me a lot about what's possible in audio and what's unrealistic. It may very well be that what you're expecting out of a high-end system is unrealistic and isn't possible with today's technology, and the best way to find that out is to go out there and hear it for yourself.

I certainly wouldn't suggest throwing more money around trying to follow recommendations blindly. I think most of us have done that at some point and more often than not it doesn't work out.

 

[Epicfailman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk /img/forum/go_quote.gif That seems to be the intent for all intoart's posts. Do a find

Yeah I wanted to hijack the thread and start a flame war, because I thought that the OP's comments were ridiculous. I didn't know he was a troll though...I guess I missed the "Please Don't Feed the Trolls" sign.