[Dry Martini]

No, it's not about my wallet. I am not even married yet..

The trouble with being introduced to hi-fi headphones, to me by the way, is that every music(not talking about sound here) regardless how good or bad sounds GOOD. Even the sound of a coin rotating on a metalic table is 'exciting' enough to get a grin going.

My current lifetime goal is to become particular musician. In a little more narrower scope, I want to be able to depend entirely upon hearing/inventing really great melodies. But with headphones that can throw at you so much textures and timbres of even one note of an instrument in a given moment, I feel that I become distracted? by micro details surrounding the music, that my 'thresthold' for being excited by music of which IMHO the prime importance is melody, shifts toward where the prime importance is texture. Take any melodic songs(popular,classical, jazz, etc). If you take out almost all its texture and timbres, what eventually is left is the melody. Now with so many songs, you are able to to tell which particular song Strikes you, and what strikes you is the echoing of the great melody. I used to listen to an album by whoever, I was immediately able to tell which tracks are worth a skipping once a while. But listening through a pair of headphones that can make a rotating coin on a metalic table sound exciting, I get a little confused.. I don't mean even a slightest disrespect for Head-Fi community or who make these addictive headphones.. Needless to say I believe headphone listening is one of the few true bliss given to human beings, but I feel I am an odd exception.

 

[D-EJ915]

Well, goodbye; I hope you had a good time with us.

 

[Factor]

I guess better fidelity didn't change me as it changed you. I've been into this stuff for a couple years, but I usually can't stand music that wanks off over sounds at the expense of musicality. I think the key is to enjoy the technology because of what it does to the music, not to enjoy the music because of how far it can push the technology.

(Ironically, right before I read this post I threw on Tortoise, which is undoubtedly the wankiest, most sound-oriented album I own. After it's over I'll put on the Buzzcocks or something.)

I remember going to some site that carried a bunch of interconnects and hi-fi accessories, and they were selling CD's from their own label's roster of artists. The selling point of the CD's wasn't the music, but the quality of the recording and mastering. Beyond genre classifications, virtually no mention was made of the music itself.

 

[gpalmer]

Uhhhh, can't you just nuy some crappy headphones and stick around?

 

[archosman]

Funny... I always thought that my headphones have made me a more critical listener. Which can be both good and bad. Especially after getting my Etys. I think there can be a balance of both. In fact today I was dubbing some spots to a vhs for a client. Our QC station has a bare bones rack mounted monitoring system comprised of 2 1 rack high speakers. All they allow you to really do is hear the sound in the machine room. As it was going down I knew I had heard something suspicious. Put on my 7506s and lo and behold... the voice overs on the commercial were out-of-phase. I find I'm much more in tune with my whole audio enviroment... not just when I'm listening through headphones. If all you're hearing is good maybe you just need a little break.

 

[Edwood]

LOL, Gone in less than 10 posts?

Why don't you obsessively post 100+ per day for at least a week and then leave?
Hmmm. I haven't left yet (yeah, I know you guys want me too.) I guess I was supposed to slow down and burn out.

Seriously, though you need to listen to more variety of music there, man.

And what's so bad about headphones that make even mundane things sound amazing? I guess if you stuff cotton balls in your ears, it'll all be better?

BTW, what's the best headphone setup you've listened to?
Ever been to a meet? It'll suck more money out of your wallet than you can imagine.

C'mon.

Pull up a chair.

Roll up your sleeves.....

That's it.......

Much better, yes?..........

-Ed

 

[iq160plus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Factor ...but I usually can't stand music that wanks off over sounds at the expense of musicality. I think the key is to enjoy the technology because of what it does to the music, not to enjoy the music because of how far it can push the technology.....

I agree wholeheartedly. I have a particular example that ticks me off to no end.....CHER

I DJ for friends and family. They still like this song BEILIEVE by Cher.

Play it sometime....there is this section that goes right into the chorus...its this exciting echoey thing....however, the engineering drives me crazy. The sound at that point seems like the dynamic range is cut in half. It seems that the bandwidth is cut in half. The volume changes, and then returns to normal after the chorus. It goes flat. Has anyone else noticed this?

Its where technology went to far without a well seasoned engineer noticing that the special effects took away too much continuity of the melody.

OK, I am not a CHER fan, but my wife and her friends like her. She is a good performer. None of the females notice this horrific change in tone. They just dance away. The difference is as night and day as going from Senn's to Freebies. It is so bad, I wrote a letter years ago to the producer to tell him how bad the trade-off was to add special effects so poorly. I am not a sound engineer. But that guy was. He should have tried harder.

........going back to my cave.......

 

[terrymx]

i think you make a great point here, but you shouldnt be leaving. i also feel the same way, and this is where it gets bad because the enjoyment of music end there. it is true that a good headphone can improve the sound quality of music, but that isnt all. the physical sound of instruments and noises created in an everyday enviroment is one thing, but music brings these thing together to create a smooth transaction of atmosphere and emotion. i also listen for the meaning of the music and what the artist is trying to tell you.

what would be the point of spending thousand of dollars on expensive amps and headphones if you arent listen to good music to begin with?

you should stick around some more and maybe post at the music forum about your musical tastes. it seem like the headphones that fit you most would be one with extreme flat response and does not alter the original sound.

 

[Takashi]

Good luck on your pursuit of becoming a composer.
Here's my advice. Learn to play the piano. It will give you the perspective of music. Melody and harmony co-exists, learning piano will help you understand it. Simple melodies weave out harmonies, and harmonies become a melody, that is a music. That's what composers do.

Once you understand it and listen to Mozart or Beatles or Red Hot Chili Peppers, you'll know how all those texture and balance are important. Until then.

 

[wallijonn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iq160plus The sound at that point seems like the dynamic range is cut in half. It seems that the bandwidth is cut in half. The volume changes, and then returns to normal after the chorus. It goes flat.

Sounds like compression.

 

[Takashi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wallijonn Sounds like compression.

IIRC that chorus was heavily effected - like Vocoder - and not human voice(assuming Cher is still a human

) any more, but synthesizer sound. I guess that's why.

 

[zeplin]

So why are you leaving agian??

Ahhhh comon man, stick around. Have some fun and chat with us some more!!! If anything, you can use this site for advice in your pursuit of a musical career. I don't know who has this experience here, but I'm sure that there are many.

 

[plainsong]

I understand where you are coming from, but I completely disagree. Headphones or even speakers for instance, don't approach the excitement of live performances. So by your standards, you should never perform or even listen to a live performance, simply because a great performance can leave you easily fooled into liking a melody that you otherwise would not have.

If you're going to be a musician this could be a real hinderance.

You just need to train up your ears. Don't be fooled because it's only equipment. It's a means to an end, and that's to get you closer to the music. If you're really having this problem, maybe you need to spend more time listening closely to _good_ live performances of music that you do and do not like. Look at it this way, training up your ears will only improve your own musicianship.

 

[cosmopragma]

Good luck!

 

[dj_mocok]

i think when you just first got your new rig/headphone, you will tend to listen to the audio quality than music itself, which is totally understandable....
but after awhile, im sure it will fade off and you can start listening to music.

So just hang around, the more the merrier here, hehe...

But if that doesnt work and you are too "scared" with headphone forum, we also have "Music" forum here, so maybe you can just be a permanent resident on that forum and only hang around there...