[Uncle Erik]

I think this could be a good idea.

Instead of a sticky, create a headphone-specific forum where there's a thread for each model. Then, people could post their impressions and reviews on each model.

That way, instead of searching through 100+ threads to find info on a particular model, there would be one thread someone could read through to get dozens, if not hundreds, of opinions. It'd make learning about the different models much easier.

 

[ferraro25]

I personally think that negative comments about a headphone say more than positive. So, I want to take this opportunity to state some bad things about all of my headphones. Here we go

K701 (gets the bulk and some of the harshest of the complaints because I have been using it the most):
1. Has un-differentiated, untextured, and oddly bloated bass with poor extension. Not that there is that much of it, but what is there is low-quality. Its bass generally comes in two main flavors: boom and thud.
2. Soundstage is 3-blob with poor imaging. Instruments in certain parts of the soundstage (sounds that are in just one channel, usually) only get partially through, resulting in horribly "un-imaged" (sic) sound. Other headphones have no such problem.
3. I usually get absolutely no sense of "being there" from these headphones, being all too aware that I am listening to a recording.
4. There is a treble spike that can result in harsh sound.
5. Music is put second to detail, of which there is not that much. Unmusical and not very detailed, in other words.
6. Sound can become very muddy, with no instruments standing out, resulting in a wall of crappy sound with no music to be found within.
7. Instrument separation isn't as good as people say, with some instruments being lost in recordings other headphones have no problems with.

SR225
1. Poor-quality treble in certain areas, with cymbals and such frequently sounding like nothing but a poorly-rendered thssssss sound.
2. Too much treble.

K81DJ
1. Zero soundstage.
2. Too-strong bass.
3. Lack of detail.

KSC-35
1. Bloated, bloated, bloated overpowered bass. Makes those idiots with the giant car subwoofers feel right at home.
2. The "front" part of the soundstage is separate from the left and right areas and has absolutely no depth.

HD595
1. Very muffled sound, like all the air has been choked out of the music. Basically makes this headphone unlistenable for me.

MX400
1. It is an earbud, thus the sound is absolute crap, period. Worthless.

Every headphone has crappy traits. It is about finding the headphone which has the crappy traits you hate the least.

 

[powermung]

Well, we already have 'recommendations for best headphones' sticky, but that didn't stop me from exploring other threads. Having this thread would save a lot of people time. I don't believe a sticky is a final authority on anything, but rather a starting point in your search.

 

[threEchelon]

I think a wiki would be much better than a thread. With a wiki, people could search for a headphone or keywords. Each headphone would have a page and then a discussion section. There could be a page for overall rankings and other pages for rankings in specific areas such as highs and isolation. Together, we could create the most awesomest headphone database EVAR!

 

[Roger.McMurphy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ferraro25 I personally think that negative comments about a headphone say more than positive. So, I want to take this opportunity to state some bad things about all of my headphones. Here we go K701 (gets the bulk and some of the harshest of the complaints because I have been using it the most): 1. Has un-differentiated, untextured, and oddly bloated bass with poor extension. Not that there is that much of it, but what is there is low-quality. Its bass generally comes in two main flavors: boom and thud. 2. Soundstage is 3-blob with poor imaging. Instruments in certain parts of the soundstage (sounds that are in just one channel, usually) only get partially through, resulting in horribly "un-imaged" (sic) sound. Other headphones have no such problem. 3. I usually get absolutely no sense of "being there" from these headphones, being all too aware that I am listening to a recording. 4. There is a treble spike that can result in harsh sound. 5. Music is put second to detail, of which there is not that much. Unmusical and not very detailed, in other words. 6. Sound can become very muddy, with no instruments standing out, resulting in a wall of crappy sound with no music to be found within. 7. Instrument separation isn't as good as people say, with some instruments being lost in recordings other headphones have no problems with. SR225 1. Poor-quality treble in certain areas, with cymbals and such frequently sounding like nothing but a poorly-rendered thssssss sound. 2. Too much treble. K81DJ 1. Zero soundstage. 2. Too-strong bass. 3. Lack of detail. KSC-35 1. Bloated, bloated, bloated overpowered bass. Makes those idiots with the giant car subwoofers feel right at home. 2. The "front" part of the soundstage is separate from the left and right areas and has absolutely no depth. HD595 1. Very muffled sound, like all the air has been choked out of the music. Basically makes this headphone unlistenable for me. MX400 1. It is an earbud, thus the sound is absolute crap, period. Worthless. Every headphone has crappy traits. It is about finding the headphone which has the crappy traits you hate the least.

Now that's an idea, a sticky thread where we get to freely criticize the gear we own!

[size=x-large]Genius!

[/size]

 

[ironbut]

terrible idea! I lurked on this forum for years before I ever submitted a post and I think it takes about that much time to learn that, if your trying to make a decision on buying a new can and you think that you've read enough posts on the subject to make an informed decision, than you haven't read enough of them! I really believe that that is what makes this such a great place. Cans are such an intimate way to listen to music that there's less to color the sound. Wiring it directly onto the auditory cranial nerve or onto the tympanic membrane might someday happen but where would the style be in that? I love the passion that you guys present your case as to why this headphone is better or worse than another. It's democracy in action!

 

[russdog]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zanth The problem is that concensus is hard to come by. Hence the sometimes rather polar extremes faced on this board when discussing gear.

But that's because the implicit purpose of the in-thread dialogue that each of several people will try to make their opinion dominate, and convince people that their opinion is right. That makes consensus hard because, on some level, it's about winning. Plus, it's just an empirical fact that different people have different opinions that sometimes don't converge. You can't pick "one right answer" when they are two or three right answers.

Consenus would be a lot easier if people were just trying to agree about what-it-is they disagree about. That way, nobody's winning and losing. Instead, they're just making sure their side's subjective experience is fairly described. It's not about "choosing sides", it's about fairly and usefully characterizing what the sides are. It's not about fighting the battle, it's about describing the issues in the battle.

 

[PFKMan23]

Quote:

Originally Posted by russdog Consenus would be a lot easier if people were just trying to agree about what-it-is they disagree about. That way, nobody's winning and losing. Instead, they're just making sure their side's subjective experience is fairly described. It's not about "choosing sides", it's about fairly and usefully characterizing what the sides are. It's not about fighting the battle, it's about describing the issues in the battle.

The problem is the same thing can be described as different things both psotive and megative. So you'd be dealing with a situation where there would be about 10 different answers and some would invariably conflict with each other. Given the vast preferences and focal points that exist it is all but impossible to have such simplication. In all honesty, it would really nice if it was that simple, but I think the truth is that it isn't. I mean you could have something like side A says X and Side B says Y but I don't even know if you could get such consensus becasue it's not even that simple.

So no, I don't think such a document is a goood idea.