[MrGreen]

Just wondering.

I find myself quite partial to small, precise soundstages. I prefer it over larger, imprecise soundstages, anyway

 

[Suntory_Times]

Yes there is (you), whether there is anyone alse who does is obviously a different question.

 

[cAsE sEnSiTiVe]

I want to hear how it was recorded. If the musicians were recorded on a large stage, say Carnegie Hall, I want to experience that spread, depth of image, and of course all the wonderful acoustics that great venue provides.

If the musicians crowded into the mens room at O'Hare airport to jam, I want to hear the lack of spread, as well as the resultant slap echo that comes 2nd nature to a truly rotten recording environment.

If a pair of headphones - or any gear for that matter - doesn't show me that differences in that manner, then I'm not interested in spending time with them.

 

[MrGreen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Suntory_Times /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes there is (you), whether there is anyone alse who does is obviously a different question.

I like large soundstages (when appropriate), but I don't like it when they're imprecise, so I wouldn't consider myself part of the "soundstage haters".

I don't like the soundstage of the AD700s, for example (its got some focus in the centre then the outskirts of the soundstage is completely unfocused, which really drives me mad).

I would consider myself one of the people who think that soundstage size is one of the less important factors in making a good headphone, though.

 

[xnor]

I think that most headphones I've heard without some kind of crossfeed cannot even produce a realistic soundstage.
What I hear is stereo separation, sound coming from the inside of my head, a feeling like standing in between the instruments. It might sound impressive at first but becomes quite fatiguing after a while.
Crossfeed is not the ultimate solution but helps to get the sound a bit out of your head making it easier to visualize a soundstage in front of your eyes.

 

[MrGreen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xnor /img/forum/go_quote.gif What I hear is stereo separation, sound coming from the inside of my head, a feeling like standing in between the instruments.

I get a similar feeling at times (sitting in the band), but I actually prefer to be there; probably a trait from spending a lot of time on stage.

Another byproduct, is that it annoys me when bass is panned to the left, however or when the lower notes of piano are too the right rather than the left.

I agree with your sentiments about a realistic soundstage. Those that I think have a "nice" soundstage on some music generally have another major flaw (tonal balance), or the soundstage is not always "nice" (eg. it might make a quartet sound too large).

I've never tried a decent crossfeed, but generally that kind of thing doesn't interest me on anything other than tracks with huge stereo bias (some Coltrane albums, for example).

 

[K_19]

While I like large soundstage, I also enjoy very small compact IEM-like soundstage... with rock, for example, through my RS1 with flats. Love its intimacy and closeness, feeling it as much as possible.

 

[Ypoknons]

Precision and reasonable size is the key.

 

[shane55]

Yep. Cans that present the recording space, or engineers mixed space faithfully... whatever that may have been. I consider this best for HP's, but otherwise I only care about soundstage with speakers.

shane

 

[Eagle Eye]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ypoknons /img/forum/go_quote.gif Precision and reasonable size is the key.

X1

 

[Justin Uthadude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrGreen /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...Another byproduct, is that it annoys me when bass is panned to the left, however or when the lower notes of piano are too the right rather than the left....

I'm confused. I realize the keys to the lower notes on a piano are on the left side of the keyboard, but I've never felt the lower notes stayed on the left and the higher notes stayed on the right when at a piano recital or concert. They come at me as a whole. Do you mean some recordings separate the high notes and low notes into different sides of the recording/channel? If so, that would be weird.
.

 

[MrGreen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justin Uthadude /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm confused. I realize the keys to the lower notes on a piano are on the left side of the keyboard, but I've never felt the lower notes stayed on the left and the higher notes stayed on the right when at a piano recital or concert. They come at me as a whole. Do you mean some recordings separate the high notes and low notes into different sides of the recording/channel? If so, that would be weird. .

I play piano on a regular basis.

I also play saxophone on a regular basis (which is why I am used to hearing bass on the right side in a band context).

The same thing happens when I hear a tap on an acoustic guitar body on the right side of the recording instead of the left.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justin Uthadude /img/forum/go_quote.gif Do you mean some recordings separate the high notes and low notes into different sides of the recording/channel? If so, that would be weird.

A lot do, even if the difference is only subtle, and its often "backwards" (i.e. so you are watching the piano performance, rather than playing it). In my opinion it just sounds wrong.

But thats just me

 

[FirsToStrike]

Yeah, I don't like large soundstage at all, i dont want to hear all the instruments far apart, I dont want to hear my music with headphones for them to sound like speakers. I want my music dense, all inside my head, like it was recorded straight from the musician's instruments into my brain. That's how i like it.
Anybody got the right headphones for me?

 

[MrGreen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FirsToStrike /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah, I don't like large soundstage at all, i dont want to hear all the instruments far apart, I dont want to hear my music with headphones for them to sound like speakers. I want my music dense, all inside my head, like it was recorded straight from the musician's instruments into my brain. That's how i like it. Anybody got the right headphones for me?

Etymotic ER4 or Sony SA5000

Apparently the DT48 does the same thing, but dont quote me on that one.

 

[xnor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrGreen /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've never tried a decent crossfeed, but generally that kind of thing doesn't interest me on anything other than tracks with huge stereo bias (some Coltrane albums, for example).

You can get pretty decent results within minutes with bs2b, a free foobar2000 plugin. Everyone should give it a try.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FirsToStrike /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah, I don't like large soundstage at all, i dont want to hear all the instruments far apart, I dont want to hear my music with headphones for them to sound like speakers. I want my music dense, all inside my head, like it was recorded straight from the musician's instruments into my brain. That's how i like it.

I don't think this makes much sense, have you ever listened with speakers experiencing real soundstage?