[Joe Bloggs]

Just about all the Beyerdynamic phones except the 831 and 931 are on the Dark Side.

 

[Jeff Guidry]

I head they're what the Beaver Brown band uses for monitoring.

 

[Snusk-Pelle]

By using the equalizer i have solved the problem with bright headphones. In theory i should not need an equalizer. HD600 is often described as roll of treble, laid back and dark sounding. I also have a Pioneer DVD player, it is a bit brighter than the Hoyo. I don't think the problem is my DVD player, they always have a very flat frequency response. Maybe the X-CAN makes the headphones bright. I dont have another amp that can drive HD600 and K501. I think several things adds up. The X-CAN add a few dB. HD600 adds some more treble. CDs are bright. My ears are sensitive to treble. That is why i need to remove 6-8 dB from 3KHz-20KHz. Now when i have found the right settings on the equalizer it sounds great. But i can't stop thinking about why i find all headphones bright.

 

[Moonwalker]

Quote:

I think all headphones are too bright I am using a pioneer equalizer to get the treble down. I can not stand any headphone without turning down the treble. I have HD600, AKG K501, Philips HP890 and HD570. To me they are all too bright.

Well Snusk-Pelle, I know some older phones, they aren't bright by any means.

I had old studio Technics (old, heavy, big metal ones), my friend has some Sony's and I had many cheap headphones, they sometimes were good at bass, but none of them produced enough treble (for me). The real full range phones I heard were (don't laugh) Koss Porta Pro some 8 years ago... So take this more like a memory of the old times when my dream were Portas and I have some cheapos around 10 USD!!!

Brightness is bad, but detailed, treble righ sound not.

Your
Moonwalker

 

[Tomcat]

Quote:

Bright sounding headphones sell better. Buyers expect a more expensive headphone too be brighter.

I feel as you do, Snusk-Pelle, and I guess you're explanation is pretty much correct. As arnett puts it: brightness is just the audiophile sound. I think audiophiles expect sound that is bright, revealing and detailed, take this for accuracy and don't care all that much what real-life acoustic instruments sound like. They tend to be more interested in sound than music. And offering never-before-heard detail and and a brighter tonal balance than many speakers is a big selling point for headphones in general, as arnett has said.

I have listened to all of the headphones you own, Snusk, and all of them are too bright for my tastes as well. Some of the darker and, to my ears, more natural and homogenous sounding headphones are the Beyerdynamics that have been mentioned, and this is how I'd rank them: DT 770 Pro, DT 990 Pro, DT 531 and DT 250.

But there is one headphone that I like more than the Beyers - and I like it a lot more, to my ears, it has the most natural tonal balance of any headphone I have ever heard: the Audio-Technica ATH-W100. I honestly feel that the W100 is so transparent, yet homogenous and inobtrusive that it competes with the very best speaker-based systems in terms of musicality and involvement. To me, the W100 creates an intimacy that isn't fatiguing and immensely enjoyable. It offers the extreme low-level resolution headphones are capable of but it doesn't destroy the musical message in the process. BTW, both the W100 and the DT770 Pro have deeper bass extension than most high-end speakers. They might be worth a try.

 

[arnett]

well Snusk-Pelle,

i think kelly's advice is very good. if you can, ditch the x-can v2 and go with a headroom little. that's what i have. the little really tames the brightness. very natural sound with the crossfeed on and the treble boost off.

 

[Hirsch]

The stock tubes on the X-Can are JAN Philips 6922's...one of the worst, IMO, at least in this amp. You might be able to resolve the X-Can simply by swapping them out. The JJ/Tesla 6922's are pretty good for a current production tube, and are readily available. They roll off the high end and a bit of the bass, and bring out the midrange. If it works for you, it's cheaper than a new amp.

 

[nofacemonster]

Sorry for resurrecting this ancient thread which seems almost more than 15 years old. I just had a similar issue and even though i could listened to music through many headphones fatigue was inevitable after about 45 minutes. I searched for an cheaper (Affordable to me) cure for this. Since i already own some KZ IEM, somewhere someone recommended me KZ ZS1. Out of curiosity i ordered one online and i received them about three days back. Finally a pair of earphones which i could listen to without feeling fatigue at all. If anyone suffers from similar issue i recommend you give KZ ZS1 a try. I love its sound signature.

 

[Jeff Graw]

Also sorry for resurrecting this, but I think that there's something to be said about bright records selling better, and also bright headphones and iems selling better. I'm a musician, and I've been playing drums for 30 years. Cymbals are generally difficult to record, and a bright record that is also presented brightly never fails to molest cymbal sounds to the point of total disbelief. Having just one or the other is often fine and adds a bit of "sparkle" and "detail," but it doesn't take much to cross into the uncanny valley. I know what hihats are supposed to sound like. A bit of extra brightness might make a set of hihats sound like they're 13" instead of 14" or 15." It's not an accurate reproduction, but its in the realm of believability. When most songs sound like someone repurposed two 8" splash cymbals into a hihat however, then we have a problem. Non-musicians surely have this easier, and depending on which instruments you play you're going focused more on different areas, but generally highs and lows are the most susceptible to making the journey from simply "colored" to "weird and unnatural."

 

[Tano]

You might be (B)right.

 

[dunring]

I'd recommend the Sennheiser 58x with a magni modi combo. Nice for anyone sensitive to treble. I bought those long ago and remember how they were warmer and great for acoustic or country, but not very exciting for heavy metal or gaming.

 

[bagwell359]

Audeze and DCA make some cans that are fairly mellow in the top end

 

[chesebert]

007 would be my vote, but it has other problem, but should be a relatively enjoyable listen.

 

[DivineCurrent]

For me, basically any high end headphone outside of the HD650, R70X, and Focal Clear MG sounds too bright to me without EQ or mods. But the budget stuff like from Koss and most earbuds sound too warm and dark actually. I have the most issues with IEMs. Compared to open backs like the 650, every single IEM i've tried is WAY too forward from 3-6 kHz, causing an unnatural upper mids and lower treble glare to everything. I need a measureable dip there in order for it to sound natural like the HD650. The Sennheiser IE800S and the Final Audio E5000 sound better, but still bright around 5-6 kHz. I'm convinced this is because of my personal ear resonances and preference for lower volume in the upper mids, not because every IEM is flawed. In fact, Axel Grell talked about this in one of his more recent presentations regarding his Grell brand IEMs, the fact we all have naturally different ear resonances that can very by as much as 20 dB in some areas.

Genre is also a big factor. I listen to a lot of classic rock and pop, which can be heavily compressed and mixed bright to sound exciting on everything. This does not go well with headphones that have great detail retreival and a small boost in the treble. Things can get real painful on some tracks if you are sensitive to the mid and upper treble. (10-15 kHz)

 

[Jeff Graw]

For me, basically any high end headphone outside of the HD650, R70X, and Focal Clear MG sounds too bright to me without EQ or mods. But the budget stuff like from Koss and most earbuds sound too warm and dark actually. I have the most issues with IEMs. Compared to open backs like the 650, every single IEM i've tried is WAY too forward from 3-6 kHz, causing an unnatural upper mids and lower treble glare to everything. I need a measureable dip there in order for it to sound natural like the HD650. The Sennheiser IE800S and the Final Audio E5000 sound better, but still bright around 5-6 kHz. I'm convinced this is because of my personal ear resonances and preference for lower volume in the upper mids, not because every IEM is flawed. In fact, Axel Grell talked about this in one of his more recent presentations regarding his Grell brand IEMs, the fact we all have naturally different ear resonances that can very by as much as 20 dB in some areas.

I think for IEMs it's a mix of ear resonance and broadly poor high end tuning by people who don't have a good understanding of what live acoustic music, and especially cymbals, sound like.

I'm basically in the same boat as you. HD-650 doesn't sound too bright. Practically every IEM is too bright. The few that aren't tend to be too dark and lack detail. Even Free Pro 2's with Oluv's ear resonance specific reference tuning is bright enough that many cymbals sound artificial.

I recently picked up an Adv Furai (on sale right now for $200), and that was a breath of fresh air. The few impressions floating around recommend either the treble or reference filter, erring towards treble, but my experience is that the treble filter is very artificial sounding. The reference filter on the other hand, is great. It's not the most neutral sound, being generally warm, intimate, and bassy (not muddy and boomy though, ~8/10 bass tightness), but it's a very believable one. Highs sound natural yet retain presence and are easy to pick out, peeking out of the mix just a little bit. Soundstage is surprisingly speaker-like, as far as IEMs go. Main weakness is that things can get a bit congested when there are too many instruments (to be fair, might improve with a better source. I'm driving them directly from my phone). Being tiny and incredibly comfortable is huge plus. Obviously, IEMs are a bit of a crapshoot at the best of times, but the Furai's might be worth a try for you. (fyi, I'm somewhere around 5800-6000hz ear resonance).