HD800 for monitoring

[Acix]

It's very simple, the K702 is one of the best reference hps for studio use (you like it or not). The question is if the 800 are more colored then the K701/2?

BTW, emphasizes treble will not give more detail.

 

[Stephen Murphy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acix /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's very simple, the K702 is one of the best reference hps for studio use (you like it or not).

Studio people who's ears I really trust, namely Steve Hoffman and Jamie Tate, would not agree with you at all. (you like it or not).

Steve Hoffman on the K701: Of all my many pairs of headphones these are the strangest sounding. The others have quirks but at least they sound cohesive in their own way. These are so inaccurate they're almost unlistenable. They really distort the sonic spectrum and balances sending everything through that nasally midrange EQ... No amount of burn in is going to help these cans, that's for sure. They have a fundamentally flawed tonal balance.


Jamie Tate on the K701: Sharp upper mid boost, lean bass, harsh overall tonality... don't get it. I tried to listen to some of my stuff on them and it changed the mixes! They sounded totally foreign to me...

 

[Morph201]

I assume that was before Steve Hoffman settled on an ALO modded K701 paired with a Woo amp?

Seems his opinion changed some....

(well for personal listening, of course)

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acix /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's very simple, the K702 is one of the best reference hps for studio use (you like it or not). The question is if the 800 are more colored then the K701/2? BTW, emphasizes treble will not give more detail.

How can you say that when you haven't even heard the HD800? That's a truly ignorant statement to assume they are more colored or even colored at all. Could they not be less colored?

 

[Acix]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif The coloration people are saying the HD800 have is just not true. Their sources may be colored or their amps may be colored, but the HD800 is as close to flat as I've ever heard in a headphone. If you run a neutral DAC and a neutral amp into the HD800, you will have a neutral sound that works for mixing. The K702 would work well for that purpose I'm sure, but you miss out on lots of detail.

Hehehe, you are the one that mention the coloration of HD800.

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acix /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hehehe, you are the one that mention the coloration of HD800.

Oh really? I guess you need to read more carefully:

"I understand that fully. Just don't rule out a headphone you haven't even tried using in that setting. The coloration people are saying the HD800 have is just not true. Their sources may be colored or their amps may be colored, but the HD800 is as close to flat as I've ever heard in a headphone. If you run a neutral DAC and a neutral amp into the HD800, you will have a neutral sound that works for mixing."

 

[xiaobao0707]

Technically speaking, express one's own idea on a given topic does not necessitate insults on others.

BTW. I'm still waiting for my HD-800. Envy all of you who have slept with them for month

 

[lejaz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xiaobao0707 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Technically speaking, express one's own idea on a given topic does not necessitate insults on others.

+1 yeah, really, let's relax a little here. It's not the end of the world if someone voices an opinion thats different from our own, is it?

 

[elbuzzard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif I never claimed I worked in a studio, although I have used equipment to record my own songs.

Ok. Thank you for answering my initial question. Though it was already blatantly obvious you dont have enough experience in MIXING/RECORDING to answer the OPs question. Still you come in here and blast the AKG for this purpose because you believe it to be "mid-fi". Try a mix with your 701 then remix with the 800. That is a tangible comparison. Put your recording "theory" to the test. Your "mid-fi" vs "hi-fi" labels are useless in this realm. We know what they cost. Who cares?
A good engineer will make a concious choice between a U47 and a crappy radioshack mic based on which one gives the desired effect. This is the fundamental difference between recording engineers and audiophile snobs. Audiophiles buy $3000 silver cables to upgrade their sound. An engineer can get the same effect with a few turns of a knob or tugs on a fader. The performance of each headphone is relative to the producers SKILL in using them as reference tool.

 

[elbuzzard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif If I buy an album and you couldn't hear all the detail while you were mastering it, do you really think I'll be listening to an accurate mix?

What do you mean accurate mix? You will be hearing what I wanted you to hear. If engineers/artists were trying to please the 1% ers known as audiophiles there would be very little music to hear.
Look, Im not going to say that the 800s are not good for mixing. Never tried it. But lets not burn our albums mixed with 701,240,650,770 or ibuds for that matter. Maybe your are right. The release of the 800 might be the golden age of music! Everything that came before it sounds like total garbage. Guess I need to sell my Neumans and Ampex and get a set of 800s and whatever equipment you have. Will I need silver cables for true accuracy?

 

[lejaz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by elbuzzard /img/forum/go_quote.gif What do you mean accurate mix? You will be hearing what I wanted you to hear. If engineers/artists were trying to please the 1% ers known as audiophiles there would be very little music to hear. Look, Im not going to say that the 800s are not good for mixing. Never tried it. But lets not burn our albums mixed with 701,240,650,770 or ibuds for that matter. Maybe your are right. The release of the 800 might be the golden age of music! Everything that came before it sounds like total garbage. Guess I need to sell my Neumans and Ampex and get a set of 800s and whatever equipment you have. Will I need silver cables for true accuracy?

FWIR one of the best selling Boston albums was mixed with k240's. You make a couple of good points. People listened to Caruso and Mozart on old 78's that can't approach the sound quality of todays CD's and they still enjoyed the music...probably every bit as much as we do ours. A good song will sound good on iPod ear buds.

 

[peun55]

Can't decide between HD800 and HF-2. Both are the best.

 

[RedBull]

If you care to read mixing forum, not audiophile forum (Gearslutz.com - Powered by vBulletin to name one, John Willet also there), it is indeed AKG240 and 701/702 one of the most popular for recording, other than DT48 and some like HD600, few others like 650, although I prefer 650 for my listening pleasure. I guess it's just the different needs. One need speed, stability, not comfort for sport car (F1 to the extreme) and one need comfort, not speed (Maybach?) Comparing the two and think they are the same is silly I find, especially when you haven't done the recording work yourself, it's just common sense.

deejayen, I guess you ask at the wrong forum in the first place, people here are audiophiles, well, some are recording engineer I guess, but mostly are not, so you get a bias answer based on different purpose.

 

[Stephen Murphy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morph201 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I assume that was before Steve Hoffman settled on an ALO modded K701 paired with a Woo amp? Seems his opinion changed some.... (well for personal listening, of course)

I have never read anything saying his view of the sound of the stock K701 has changed. The ALO modded version is in the $700 range on their website and if it is at all worth what they are charging, it should sound a lot different from the stock version.

 

[lejaz]

I'm curious what hp Steve Hoffman used before there was a hd800 or an ALO modded K701...hd600?