fondy44
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2006
- Posts
- 40
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- 0
I've lurked around these forums for a while now (ever since Mr. K dropped the link over at Riovolution), but now I have a few questions that I was hoping you guys could help with.
I've often heard that the audiophile market is plagued by snake-oil salesmen hawking expensive aftermarket products that don't really work that well. I've also heard that some expensive products DO work, but the improvements are so slight that only someone with a trained ear can detect them.
So I was wondering, which category does Headroom (www.headphone.com) fall into? The reason I ask is because a couple of comments I've read on their website strike me as odd coming from audiophiles. The first is "the bundled iPod earbuds don't sound that bad". I know sound is subjective, but almost everyone I have talked to thinks these are just about the worst-sounding earbuds money can buy. I'm no audiophile by any means, but I'd take a pair of MX300s over the iBuds any day.
The other thing I don't understand are the headphone recabling kits. I'm not talking about the 'balanced system' kits where you need to use a special amp to convert the source after the upgrade. I'm referring to the aftermarket Cardas cables that are somehow supposed to sound better than the stock cables. Particularly for high-end models like the Sennheiser HD650. One would assume or even expect that a $500 pair of headphones would already use top-of-the line hardware, and that such an upgrade would be directed instead at lower-end models which are more likely to use inferior parts to keep prices down. This doesn't seem to be the case though, as most of their cable upgrades are for the high-end Sennheiser phones.
I hope nobody gets offended as my intent isn't to accuse anyone of shady business practices, but to try to clear up the confusion surrounding these comments/products.
Thanks
I've often heard that the audiophile market is plagued by snake-oil salesmen hawking expensive aftermarket products that don't really work that well. I've also heard that some expensive products DO work, but the improvements are so slight that only someone with a trained ear can detect them.
So I was wondering, which category does Headroom (www.headphone.com) fall into? The reason I ask is because a couple of comments I've read on their website strike me as odd coming from audiophiles. The first is "the bundled iPod earbuds don't sound that bad". I know sound is subjective, but almost everyone I have talked to thinks these are just about the worst-sounding earbuds money can buy. I'm no audiophile by any means, but I'd take a pair of MX300s over the iBuds any day.
The other thing I don't understand are the headphone recabling kits. I'm not talking about the 'balanced system' kits where you need to use a special amp to convert the source after the upgrade. I'm referring to the aftermarket Cardas cables that are somehow supposed to sound better than the stock cables. Particularly for high-end models like the Sennheiser HD650. One would assume or even expect that a $500 pair of headphones would already use top-of-the line hardware, and that such an upgrade would be directed instead at lower-end models which are more likely to use inferior parts to keep prices down. This doesn't seem to be the case though, as most of their cable upgrades are for the high-end Sennheiser phones.
I hope nobody gets offended as my intent isn't to accuse anyone of shady business practices, but to try to clear up the confusion surrounding these comments/products.
Thanks