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Originally Posted by Sovkiller /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Not sure what the big deal of the open back headphones is, as IMO that defeats one of the main purposes of headphone listening, the isolation, what leads you enjoy the whole dynamic range with not much effort, with a poor isolation, recordings with great dynamic range will suffer, unless you crank them up, as the room noise, for small that it could be, will be interfering with the very low passages in the recordings, same as in speakers...
OTOH, I have not heard a single open headphone that I have enjoyed more than the closed ones that I have in good regard...with the exception of the Orpheus...
Have you ever think that "those odd resonances" that you hear with the Editions are maybe part of the refelxions of the sound and part of the recordings, and that maybe the open back do not let you listen them due to the poor isolation...just a thought...Those recording studios are not optimal regarding the reflexions in walls, etc...in most fo the cases...
I feel the same way with the Qualias, and they are not so closed, it is a matter of resolution, not the nature of the headphones IMO...
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As to whether or not you need isolation, I guess that depends on your circumstances. I'm guessing that most owners of headphones as expensive as the Edition 9 use them almost exclusively at home. For me that's not usually a noisy environment, and I would happily sacrifice isolation if it meant improved sound quality, but I can definitely see your point. Closed headphones are ideal for many listeners.
I don't think the sound I'm hearing is an artifact of the recordings. I listen mostly to classical music, but also to some other stuff. The classical music I listen to is usually recorded in concert halls, and while the Edition 9 is, again, the best headphone I've owned (and I've owned lots of headphones), it still doesn't quite sound like being there. The best I can describe it is to say they sound a little congested, and I've never heard that in an open headphone. But you may be right about that not being because the Edition 9 is closed. Ultrasone knows whether or not they can improve sound quality by going with an open design or not. For my purposes I would prefer if they concentrated on sound quality and didn't worry about isolation in their top-end headphone.
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Originally Posted by DemonicLemming /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Just curious, but how does that work? I know a few guys tried some CF enclosures, vs the normal MDF or fiberglass, when I was into car audio, and they didn't work at all because of resonance issues - evidently CF had even worse resonance response than normal fiberglass.
Now, it would be cool to see a headband that was layered CF and damping material. I think that could be done relatively easily (although, granted, much more easily and cheaper using fiberglass) and could show some benefits over the plastic ones they're using now.
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It really depends on the type of carbon fiber. Carbon fiber is made in many different configurations, with different weaves, different amounts of epoxy, etc. It's used extensively in the cycling industry, primarily because of its amazing strength-and-rigidity-to-weight ratio, but also because of its excellent vibration damping characteristics, which is important on a road bike. And check this out:
Luis and Clark - Custom Made Carbon Fiber Instruments -- Composite Material Musical Instruments
You can build carbon fiber with just about any properties you like, but the cheap stuff that's just meant to give you the look of carbon fiber isn't going to do anything particularly well. It can also be made flexible and springy, which is why I liked the idea of a carbon fiber headband. I was thinking just a thin carbon band with foam on the bottom of it, preferably memory foam, with sheepskin again.
Does the headband have much to do with vibration damping?
