[pianomaster]

I just won a home headroom off of ebay the other nite and hopefully will have it in 4 days. As a guy trying to train his ear, I'm also hopeful that I will notice a marked difference when including that in my current "high-end" rig (har har) of ipod (thru line-out)/airhead/ER4S (or SR-60s if i'm not in the Ety mood). I'm curious as to what a smart listener listens to when comparing different 'phones or different amps w/ 'phones. As a pianist, I have a fairly large collection of classical cds, and then everything else I listen to is mainly rock from the '60s and '70s. My instinct is that classical music presents a much more varied dynamic and tonal challenge to headphones than most other genres (i want to stick with headphones and not include speakers at this point, so i know soundstaging will not be perfect no matter what's used). My other instinct tells me that simpler songs, with more quiet moments and more chances to hear individual instruments, will also be quite helpful in listening. Am i on the right track or should i stop right now and wait to see how wrong i am?

 

[commando]

I suggest you turn the music on and see which headphones you enjoy the music with more. That's what it's all about, really.

 

[go_vtec]

I guess a good place to start is to read some of full featured reviews. I tried to write a couple of reviews little while ago and it was more difficult than I've ever imagined. I found nearly all of them are excellent tools.

I think AdamZuf's review is one of my favorite which compares three phones for each sound characteritic/attribute. http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=51777

Bangrman's comparison is also very impressive and I especially like how he picked his favorite headphone and rank phones for different song/music.
http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=32461

Markl is another one of my favorite reviewer and headfier. His description on Sony MDR-R10 is a classic by itself. http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=5008

I have only listed a tiny portion of reviews above, but I believe that you will find literally all of them to be very educational. I guess one way to learn is to read and see if you can duplicate what they are describing. For example, can you hear the differences in bass between amped and unamped using your Ety or Grado? If you have Telarc's Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture, try to play it using your ipod without any amp. Listen for the bass of cannon shots with or without amps. Unamped, Airhead and Home should sound quite different. Of course this is just a tip of ice burg and everyday I learn something new from this wonderful site

 

[pianomaster]

go-vtec...i appreciate the response....
Quote:

If you have Telarc's Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture, try to play it using your ipod without any amp. Listen for the bass of cannon shots with or without amps. Unamped, Airhead and Home should sound quite different

i don't have this one yet but i've got a Solti recording of Pictures at an Exhibition with some huge bass drum explosions in the great gate of kiev...i'll try that one out ASAP, thanks again for the time!

 

[go_vtec]

You will definitely enjoy your Headroom Home. I think the price you paid was literally steal (I've been monitoring the Ebay auction

). Read this comparison of Maxed Out Home (upgraded version of Home) and Max if you haven't already. Enjoy http://www.soundstage.com/das_max.htm