Good, then you will realise that every bit of information you put in your earlier post is completely invalid and thus should be disregarded. Based on your clarification (a nice way of putting it, more like a 100% about-turn), here are your points, and allow me to address your mistakes/misconceptions once again
"headphones have much less linear frequency response compared to speakers. when i said sine wave, i meant to make fun of how poor the FR of headphones are. "
I still do not understand how saying 'sine wave' makes fun of a FR measurement. They are completely unrelated. But yes, i dont deny, all headphones typically have severe frequency response peaks and dips. my measurement thread shows this quite clearly. there is nothing out there i have heard of with anything close to a linear response. But make no mistake, frequency response is the easiest thing to fix (i.e. with EQ, if that floats your boat). What you CANNOT fix with any driver is inherent energy storage and distortion characteristics. In these areas, headphones typically excel. much more so than even the best home audio drivers. that is where their 'magic' lies. Thats why even with very poor frequency response, headphones can pick up details even a top tier speaker would struggle to reproduce
"how and why grado high end is so shrill"
Finally, we are getting somewhere. Your entire post is not about distortion, decay, or energy storage. It is about YOU not liking the grado sound. According to you, it's too shrill. I wonder...what kind of reference you are basing this on. Maybe your headphones are too dark? You see, shrill & bright are subjective issues, subject to LISTENER PREFERENCES. what i find funny is that you think that just because you think grados sound shrill to your ears, then it must be distorted, inaccurate, sine wavey etc
. This is how flamewars start. You impose your preferences on other people. Trust me, i am nicer than others here will be once they realise what you are up to. Tell people it's just your opinion, and not proven fact, and it will sit better with people. I have no problems with people hating grados, plenty of people listen to my PS-1s and there are many who do not like it. That does NOT mean that the grados are distorted, shrill etc in any objective sense. If everyone though grados were shrill and distorted, then why do so many (objectivists who really know what distortion sounds like and what is considered accurate as well as subjectivists who just want to enjoy the music) own and love them?
"...treble extension because grados simply don't extend that far"
I see, they are shrill, but they have no treble. ummm...ok. Again, subjective, i wont argue with you. Why not try some test tones on a grado you are listening to as opposed to only reading headroom's graphs and see what happens. I am genuinely curious to see the result (this is not sarcasm, i really am). if you like, and you trust my opinion enough, i can do the test on my PS-1. Please bear in mind my hearing starts rolling off at 18KHz so i cant hear past that frequency very well. I cant do a full FR sweep on the grado because my measuring equipment is no longer with me (i shipped it to my 'other' home overseas)
"measurement graphs are difficult to make and difficult to interpret. if even experts fight over interpretations all day long, then i as a newcomer won't get into any arguments about interpreting graphs"
You are most welcome to share your subjective opinions about anything, good or bad, grado or not. But with objective factors, i think a better idea would be for you to try and understand whats going on and how things work before you lambaste something based on incomplete knowledge. trust me, you will save yourself a lot of flames in this forum (and others) if you do this. Like i said, i am really trying to help you here, not make a fool of you (if i appear harsh, that is the way of internet discussions, dont read too much into it)
