The truth be told, one's ears don't change, it is one's brain that changes. However, while not a literal term, we know what people are referring to when one talks about my ears or your ears or, in this case, what happened to me recently.
Not too long ago, my main headphones were Lawton Audio/markl modified Denon D5000s. They have quite a strong bass-ey sound signature, which is a lot of fun listening with, but also can be overwhelming, especially if you are used to other headphones. In my case, I was used to the Denons and happy with them. Living in Audio Technica land, however, I have quite a lot of opportunities to try out most of the headphones in their range, and some that are no longer. The problem with this was, I just didn't "get" the AT sound. Every model I tried, up to the uber expensive L3000s and fantastic limited edition ESW10JPNs, sounded to me like two small speakers strapped either side of my head. It was nuts. How could I live here and completely dislike the most popular headphone brand?
Anyway, a strange thing happened. I borrowed a pair of ESW10JPNs again for a longer listen, as the possibility of fairly-well isolating portable cans was appealing. When I plugged them in to my rig, for the next few days, I didn't want to listen with my far better and more expensive Stax rig. What the...?
What seems to have happened between my first listen with them and now is, I've sold my Denons in favour of HD-600s, and mostly been using the far more relaxing-sounding Stax rig. My ears have adapted, and now the previously un-exciting-sounding ESW10JPNs are no longer such a huge contrast to my regular head-fi kit.
The other thing is, tonally, the ESW10JPNs are spot on, which goes along with my equally nicely balanced-sounding HD-600s and Stax Lambda Nova Signatures. They have just the right amount of mid-bass boost to make the music fun without over-doing it. The treble isn't fatiguing and they seem to negate most, if not all the displeasure of listening to regular dynamic headphones after listening with Stax. However, they are a little rough around the mid-range, and the treble needs to open up a tad more, suggesting to me that a re-cable is in order.
I've also caved in and ordered Grado HF-2s, which will, no doubt, contrast nicely with the HD-800s which are also on their way. Way too good this year is going to be. Now to see if those headphones can change my ears more.
Not too long ago, my main headphones were Lawton Audio/markl modified Denon D5000s. They have quite a strong bass-ey sound signature, which is a lot of fun listening with, but also can be overwhelming, especially if you are used to other headphones. In my case, I was used to the Denons and happy with them. Living in Audio Technica land, however, I have quite a lot of opportunities to try out most of the headphones in their range, and some that are no longer. The problem with this was, I just didn't "get" the AT sound. Every model I tried, up to the uber expensive L3000s and fantastic limited edition ESW10JPNs, sounded to me like two small speakers strapped either side of my head. It was nuts. How could I live here and completely dislike the most popular headphone brand?
Anyway, a strange thing happened. I borrowed a pair of ESW10JPNs again for a longer listen, as the possibility of fairly-well isolating portable cans was appealing. When I plugged them in to my rig, for the next few days, I didn't want to listen with my far better and more expensive Stax rig. What the...?
What seems to have happened between my first listen with them and now is, I've sold my Denons in favour of HD-600s, and mostly been using the far more relaxing-sounding Stax rig. My ears have adapted, and now the previously un-exciting-sounding ESW10JPNs are no longer such a huge contrast to my regular head-fi kit.
The other thing is, tonally, the ESW10JPNs are spot on, which goes along with my equally nicely balanced-sounding HD-600s and Stax Lambda Nova Signatures. They have just the right amount of mid-bass boost to make the music fun without over-doing it. The treble isn't fatiguing and they seem to negate most, if not all the displeasure of listening to regular dynamic headphones after listening with Stax. However, they are a little rough around the mid-range, and the treble needs to open up a tad more, suggesting to me that a re-cable is in order.
I've also caved in and ordered Grado HF-2s, which will, no doubt, contrast nicely with the HD-800s which are also on their way. Way too good this year is going to be. Now to see if those headphones can change my ears more.
