cactus_farmer
1000+ Head-Fier
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- Feb 12, 2008
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If you follow Andrew from The Headphones Show - you'll be familiar that he often bandies about the concept of slam/macrodynamics/impact as an attribute OUTSIDE of frequency response. For example, a headphone with lower overall bass output might still have greater slam in the bass than a headphone with overall higher bass output. And likewise, a headphone with more recessed mids might have more impact in the mids than a headphone with more prominent mids. So the most important things to mention about his proposed slam/macrodynamics/impact concept is that it;
1). Occurs across all ranges of the frequency response (i.e. it's not ONLY about bass. You can have 'slam' in the treble and mids too)
2). It is not related to frequency response (i.e. a headphone with lower bass output can have higher slam as mentioned above)
The headphones he often refers to as having weak/reduced slam are;
Most Hifiman products including Arya, Ananda...etc...
Almost all Dan Clark Audio products
The headphones he often refers to as having strong/enhanced slam are;
All Focal headphones (Clear, Clear Mg, Elex...etc...)
Hifiman HE6
Very high-end Audeze's (i.e. LCD 4)
Do you recognize this phenomenon to be real?
Personally speaking, I have a Hifiman Ananda and have compared it directly to my Focal Elex. For me, they have similar impact in the bass (kick drums, heavy bass lines...etc..) whilst the Elex has notably more slam in the mids (snare drums, shouted vocals...etc...). And really, this makes sense because the Ananda has a similar bass level to the Elex whilst having notably less prominent mids than the Elex. So this would suggest to me that I hear 'impact' as simply being related to frequency response - i.e. if the headphone has a peak in one area of the frequency response I'll perceive it as having more impact there, and if it has a recession I'll perceive it as having less impact there. So for me, it seems that 'slam'/'macrodynamics'/'impact' is simply a product of frequency response.
Do you guys hear it differently? And, if so, can you give some examples?
Do you also hear the Hifiman Arya/Ananda to be lacking in macrodynamics?
1). Occurs across all ranges of the frequency response (i.e. it's not ONLY about bass. You can have 'slam' in the treble and mids too)
2). It is not related to frequency response (i.e. a headphone with lower bass output can have higher slam as mentioned above)
The headphones he often refers to as having weak/reduced slam are;
Most Hifiman products including Arya, Ananda...etc...
Almost all Dan Clark Audio products
The headphones he often refers to as having strong/enhanced slam are;
All Focal headphones (Clear, Clear Mg, Elex...etc...)
Hifiman HE6
Very high-end Audeze's (i.e. LCD 4)
Do you recognize this phenomenon to be real?
Personally speaking, I have a Hifiman Ananda and have compared it directly to my Focal Elex. For me, they have similar impact in the bass (kick drums, heavy bass lines...etc..) whilst the Elex has notably more slam in the mids (snare drums, shouted vocals...etc...). And really, this makes sense because the Ananda has a similar bass level to the Elex whilst having notably less prominent mids than the Elex. So this would suggest to me that I hear 'impact' as simply being related to frequency response - i.e. if the headphone has a peak in one area of the frequency response I'll perceive it as having more impact there, and if it has a recession I'll perceive it as having less impact there. So for me, it seems that 'slam'/'macrodynamics'/'impact' is simply a product of frequency response.
Do you guys hear it differently? And, if so, can you give some examples?
Do you also hear the Hifiman Arya/Ananda to be lacking in macrodynamics?
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