[kurt_fire]

I need some clarification how people here describe "soundstage" and some of the other popular headphone describing terms. If I had to describe "soundstage," I don't think I could. I guess I fully don't understand it's meaning.

 

[Kirosia]

Soundstage is a myth created by team sennheiser (due to pressure by the stax mafia). It's purpose was to confuse the hell outta grado users.

 

[reeseboisse]

double post

 

[reeseboisse]

The soundstage is the area from which it seems sounds originate. For instance, with Grados, it sounds like all the sound is either inside your head or just outside of it, wheras with some other nice cans, it seems like certain instruments come from a few feet away from your head. If someone says a headphone has a large soundstage, it has a larger area for the sounds to play around in, metaphorically speaking.

 

[saturnine]

To me, soundstage is the ability of the headphone to project the location of each instrument in a band. I can only discern soundstage when listening to Jazz or Classical, most rock is projected in one big blob. IMO.

 

[MrEcted1]

If you hear headphones with good soundstage you will know it. The instruments will actually sound like they are a few feet away from you. The instruments seem seperated better as well, it's not just a mash of sounds blended together... cans with good soundstage are pretty neat actually!

 

[Azure]

How would you guys describe "analytical," "warm/cold," and "slow/fast?"

 

[Tachikoma]

Fast/slow = your headphones/speakers playing very fast music without becoming muddled? Here's another one, "fatigue". I dosed off listening to my component system three times, once while listening to ricky martin and twice while listening to yo-yo ma. Would you call that "fatiguing"?

 

[Elephas]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tachikoma Fast/slow = your headphones/speakers playing very fast music without becoming muddled? Here's another one, "fatigue". I dosed off listening to my component system three times, once while listening to ricky martin and twice while listening to yo-yo ma. Would you call that "fatiguing"?

No, I would call that being zonked by the Sennheiser veil.

Sorry, sorry, just a joke.

Seriously, that's the opposite of fatiguing. That's being relaxed and soothed by the music so that you fall asleep.

Fatigue to me is listening to Avril Lavigne for an hour with the RS-1 cranked up. By the 55th minute, I'm ready to hibernate and rest my ears for a day.

EDIT: Here's an excellent post by darth nut describing headstage and soundstage.
http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=41424

 

[atx]

wow, so many definitions.

here's mine:

soundstage - the field in which the music is playing, in terms of depth and width. a headphone with no soundstage will sound as if everything is inside your head. It's very uncomfortable and dull when watching live performances or movies with no soundstage.

imaging - the placement of instruments within the soundstage.

fast/slow - the rate of decay in a musical note. a note that decays too fast will sound thin and bodiless.

analytical - sounding "fast" (as above).

cold - sound with an emphasis on treble to the point where it affects the vocal range.

warm - sound with a de-emphasis on treble.

bright - sound with an emphasis on treble, but not to the point of being cold.
e.g. grados are bright, but ety's are cold--- vocals on grados sound natural.

 

[Firestarter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by atx wow, so many definitions. here's mine: soundstage - the field in which the music is playing, in terms of depth and width. a headphone with no soundstage will sound as if everything is inside your head. It's very uncomfortable and dull when watching live performances or movies with no soundstage.

I must add that if a recording has a nice soundstage, it can be very enjoyable to listen on headphones that have (vritually) no soundstage of their own, like my HD-25's. However, instead of feeling like you are in the crowd, it sounds as if the band hired your head for their venue. Very intimate I'd say

2 minutes of watching a movie without a soundstage made me want to shoot myself

 

[Jeff Wong]

J. Gordon Holt is sort of considered the grandfather of subjective reviewing. He coined many of the phrases in common usage today in audio reviewing. He wrote a book called The Audio Glossary that was published by The Audio Amateur Press in 1990. Here's a link to many terms from the book as reproduced by Stereophile in 1993:

http://www.stereophile.com//reference/50/index.html

 

[salannelson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Firestarter /img/forum/go_quote.gif I must add that if a recording has a nice soundstage, it can be very enjoyable to listen on headphones that have (vritually) no soundstage of their own, like my HD-25's. However, instead of feeling like you are in the crowd, it sounds as if the band hired your head for their venue. Very intimate I'd say

Yes that is rather fun

 

[krmathis]

Holy 3 1/2 year bump to say all that!

Anyway, if others bump into this thread, head over here: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/des...ossary-220770/

 

[KONAKONA]

Wonder if bumping old threads gets you a temporary ban nowadays?