[retskrad]

For example, is the bright dt880/990, akg k701 or hd800 more detailed than darker more laidback headphones like lcd-2 or hd650? Or do they just push details more upfront?

 

[H20Fidelity]

Often brighter tonality headphones are perceived as being more detailed, it certainly helps push out more clarity, however a headphone tuned correctly with capable drivers will sound just as, if not more detailed with darker tone, there's a difference. Sometimes brighter tonality sound cleaner, richer but often its written off as faux, or "fake detail", pushes out in the upper-mids with no real heft or throat to it.
 
On the other hand, a headphone tuned to be warm or darker which can still push out strong detail 'evenly' across the frequency range would be in my opinion more skilled on a technical level. There's lots of confusion brighter / cleaner / higher clarity levels equate to 'better sound quality,' but its simply not the case when a headphones been tuned correctly.
 
Take the LCD2 for example, its very detailed headphone and somewhat darkish.
 
This is just my experience. 

 

[retskrad]

My 15 year old car I feel has just as much clarity in the treble as my dt990, but it deosnt sound as bright or artifical if you know what I mean.  The car speakers sound just as detailed, but they doesnt hurt my ears. Its quite strange. Why artificially boost the treble so much if it doesnt add anything to the treble detail?

 

[billybob_jcv]

I agree, one of my criteria for a very high quality headphone is the ability to discern detail at all frequencies, not just in the upper mids. I love being able to tell the difference between a drummer striking an 8 inch tom and striking a 10 inch tom.

Neil Peart has all this gear for a reason, and I want to hear every nuance!

 

[retskrad]

Is it even possible to create lifelike sounds from a speaker or a headphone? Is it possible with current technology? Maybe its like video effects in movies or true to life picture in video games, you need better and better technology, while current dynamic and planar headphones arent up to task?
 
You never mistake a sound from a headphone for reality, while CGI in movies you can be fooled.

 

[billybob_jcv]

Define "lifelike"...

Being "fooled" requires a great number of variables. With a movie CGI, you are NOT being fooled into thinking you are *really* in space or *really* storming the beaches on D-Day - you are simply being fooled that it is computer generated versus filmed live. That's a completely different level of "fooled" from asking headphones or speakers to make you believe you are at a rock concert or a symphony hall. ALL of the other cues, such as the sights, smells and everything else missing when you are at home are always going to remind you that this is a recording, not "real".

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  For example, is the bright dt880/990, akg k701 or hd800 more detailed than darker more laidback headphones like lcd-2 or hd650? Or do they just push details more upfront?

 

If the "bright" headphone measures with the treble region as a spike or plateau higher than the average (or the midrange), then it just pushes the details forward. You can see on the graph below that the "bright" headphones have a higher peak between 5khz and 10khz compared to the other two. So it's not a matter of having "more" detail when you consider that the "dark" headphones have a smoother curve, so what people call "detailed," "transparent," and "(more) neutral" tend to be a little skewed.
 

 

Try playing around with a good EQ on any headphone. For example, boost the bass region - you can at some point hear the bass drum like it's coming from in front of the vocals, more inside your forehead.

 

[retskrad]

So bright headphones isnt more detailed, they just push things more forward  which is also means more fatigue. In other other, its redundant to buy a bright headphone unless you are an engineer?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  So bright headphones isnt more detailed, they just push things more forward  which is also means more fatigue. In other other, its redundant to buy a bright headphone unless you are an engineer?

 

Why would an engineer want bright headphones? When he does the mix he might end up overcompensating for the peaks in the response; unless of course he's using several kinds of headphones and speakers to check the mix and make sure it won't be unlistenable on any of them.

 

That said, you don't need to be an engineer to want these - if you have some kind of hearing loss, like how you lose high frequency response as you age, then a "bright" headphone can help compensate (that or you can just use an EQ if you're using a computer of some kind anyway).
 

 

[Shaffer]

My 15 year old car I feel has just as much clarity in the treble as my dt990, but it deosnt sound as bright or artifical if you know what I mean.  The car speakers sound just as detailed, but they doesnt hurt my ears. Its quite strange. Why artificially boost the treble so much if it doesnt add anything to the treble detail?

I'm really getting tired of posting this, not your fault, the DT990 is not easy to drive. With a substandard amplifier they can indeed sound overly bright. Look at a used Matrix M-Stage - as a minimum - and hear your cans transform. Good luck.

 

[billybob_jcv]

I suspect "detail" may also be affected by driver transient response, overshoot and accuracy rather than just the amplitude of treble response compared to mid & bass response.

 

[retskrad]

So you mean like the hd800 and dt990, they are both bright.

I find it amusing that people are saying the dt990 is "v-shaped" and tinny sounding, while Imo the hd800 is the same but because they cost 1500 dollars they are "detailed" and "amazing" and not bright?

 

[Shaffer]

So you mean like the hd800 and dt990, they are both bright.

I find it amusing that people are saying the dt990 is "v-shaped" and tinny sounding, while Imo the hd800 is the same but because they cost 1500 dollars they are "detailed" and "amazing" and not bright?

What amplifier, DAC, and source material are you using? Do you own HD800?

 

[retskrad]

I tried them and compared during a meet. 320 mp3's, schiit lyr. I found the hd800 to be the refined dt990, like the T1 sounded like a refined dt880.

 

[Shaffer]

I tried them and compared during a meet. 320 mp3's, schiit lyr. I found the hd800 to be the refined dt990, like the T1 sounded like a refined dt880.

Sounds like a thorough audition, and very revealing and refined source material.