I like all the back and forth about the sound signature. To shed a little light I'm going to paint a bit of a picture for you - I really enjoy comparing the inherent differences and properties of a good two-channel listening setup and a pair of headphones. As a matter of fact, that's one test I tend to do with all competitive headphones at home, in front of my RF-82 II system. Of course we have the tools to do the actual measurements in the office (and we measure everything), but I like comparing a set of headphones to a pair of speakers for a number of reasons.
The first, speakers are what most people are used to hearing. I've sat in recording studios, in front of numerous home theater setups, and in controlled listening rooms. Another awesome benefit of working at Klipsch. I've also had the privilege to listen to many systems setup by some of the best acoustical engineers in the world. Many headphones sound quite different than a good set of speakers. There are two tell-tale signs from headphones that try too hard to have their own house sound: muddy voices or sharp highs. A combination of the two is arguably the worst case scenario.
When putting on a headphone and listening to the same content, oftentimes (with several notable exclusions) an "audiophile" headphone tends to sound like a good bookshelf speaker. This is both a good and a bad thing - a bad thing because oftentimes sub-bass information gets compromised for the sake of retaining good lower-midrange. On some open-back models, bass guitars have simply been flipped to "mute". A special variety of these headphones then decide to boost high frequencies in a way that encourages your ears to bleed after half an hour. I'm not looking to making our customers want to peel these headphones off after such a short period. I'm also not looking for a headphone that completely sacrifices bass. Good speakers sound good with music of more than one genre, as should headphones.
On the flip-side, the consumer-centric versions tend to immediately color things, voices first. They get dark and muddy, details get crunchy, and lower frequencies take the forefront. This is not the right way to treat bass. Over-doing it here is what will have us being compared to cheap headphones.
Now, measured frequency response does reveal some information about the way the product sounds. However, two headphones that measure virtually the same can sound quite different, especially on YOUR head with YOUR ears. What we want is a neutral frequency response with bass extension, high frequency extension, and an honest soundstage. We will do our absolute best to achieve it and probably be looking for your feedback throughout CanJam events throughout the year. We haven't settled on which we'll be attending, but fully expect to be exposed to the pre-production models for anyone fortunate enough to be able to travel and see us.
