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Well that is interesting to know that neutral sounds tops out at pretty much the LCD-2, which is affordable.
Now I just need to enjoy the Neutral signature. If the HD650 is a neutral headphone compared to the Grado's then I know I am gonna need to dramatically tweak it. The only thing I liked about the HD650 was a bigger bass and the much better headstage and imaging. In fact, it was my same complaint with the HD800 albeit with only a portable amp to power them. But what if I prefer the Pro 900 for my dance music and what if I like Grado's for just about everything else (especially classical, rock and korean vocals)? Can I truly use EQ to obtain those signatures? Or are we just declaring neutral as inherently superior to all other signatures hence you will rarely ever need to EQ them after obtaining neutrality?
Well, my experience with the LCD-2 was that it was kinda dark sounding in stock form. The way I read Lunatique's words is that it gives him the sub-bass extension/quality he wants in a headphone, and then he raises the upper-mid/treble quantity to be neutral, as you can see on his graphs. Frankly, the HD600/650 are more neutral, provided that you are willing to give up some extension.
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Well written but I have to disagree completely here... mostly because you've inaccurately used the screen analogy.
TVs are not always better with upgrades:
-Everyone I know usually turns 120hz TVs to 60hz because 120hz is too smooth and unnatural.
-Pre HD-console consoles look better on EDTVs because the bleeding effect is a natural aliasing effect better than HDTV upscales.
-Too much aliasing can look bad.
-People still use effects like grain filters and black and white so even though it is not inherent in the TV, visual fidelity does not always correspond to what you are discussing
-3D is not enjoyable for all
There is less room in TVs for interpretation but it is still certainly there.
Relating to music, I have been in your "typical consumer" to "low end audiophile range" for years now (bought stuff like Skull Candy headphones, bose headphones, moved onto klipsch and entry level Beyers). I joined Head-fi awhile after buying the v-moda m-80 and began to pick up steam in terms of audio gear.
While it is probably true that you are closer to the true production by getting neutral/accurate phones, I do not believe in any way that this makes music better. Colored sound seems perfectly legitimate in terms of producing enjoyment and I often don't even like the headphones that are considered more neutral. Music is far too subjective to make accurate comparison with visual fidelity, which is much more straight forward. My example for this would be the fact that I personally, have enjoyed new genres of music or music I did not enjoy previously due to certain headphones that are supposedly "colored". I frequently enjoy and use both my bass and treble boost to give an abnormal about of focus towards certain parts of a production.
That I enjoy these "colorations" is a fact and is a reality for many people. I do not understand choosing neutrality over enjoyment as a more educated way to make purchases. I am a fairly new member which is probably why I am going against the grain here. Maybe I will conform to this topic when I move up on your scale ^^'
A good number of those problems you talk about with TVs are just an issue with LCDs. CRTs just did all that better, minus the terribad ergonomics and power draw. AFAIK, most "120hz" TVs don't actually display 120hz properly, and will not render any input frame inbetween.
Again, neutrality may not be in your interest. Neutrality is honesty in music, without any particular over-emphasis or underemphasis of the spectrum. Personally, I see neutrality as a way to hear your music unimpeded. Colorations and effects are used to set the scene and tone i.e. old crime drama, grim and bleak, et cetera. I find I pick up on this better with neutral gear, and that gives me pleasure. The way you talk you make it sound like that music doesn't have a character and that the advocated neutrality is not just reproducing a linear sound, but that all music must conform to a specific sound.
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Tweaking each songs EQ settings is completely impractical and requires a certain amount of motivation to discover to begin with. Enjoying music shouldn't really be a chore... Also, how am I suppose to tweak the EQ settings to make my v-moda sound like UM3x or Grado's? The EQ settings on my iPod are pretty terrible if that was what I was suppose to do.
Also, if every range of headphones could be easily replicated with an EQ setting on my ipod than what would be the point of all these different headphones? Everyone should just focus on things like improving the soundstage, imaging and precise details? Obviously there are a lot of things that come into play when choosing a headphone and I think "sounding neutral" places absolutely nowhere on the list unless you LIKE neutral or are an audio engineer. Some people just love lots of bass. Some people just like lots of treble. Some people hate harsh highs and get fatigued easily. Arbitrarily saying that people who like bright/dark headphones will suffer when they listen to treble heavy/light music is an extremely black and white view of the issue that has almost no practical value.
I know the logic behind this idea but I really don't see this as practical at all considering the nature of headphones and sound. Can you turn a K701 into a Grado SR325i sound or an HD650 sound except with a huge headstage just from EQ settings? I feel like this is what newbies would take away from the people posting in this topic more than anything else in which case, I find this topic is promoting gross misinformation in the guise of enlightenment.
As mentioned before, certain traits cannot be mimicked. Distortion and stored energy are an issue of the driver and housing. Some drivers are just built differently, and you aren't going to fix that by tweaking the signal. But the most noticeable trait of a headphone is its frequency response which simple work with a
surgical, parametric EQ will fix. Headstage I find correlates with FR, though I wouldn't say its entirely dependent on it. HRTF processors and extensive crossfeed controls (a la the topic starter) will also tweak this, not that I have used any.
Most headphone companies try to approximate neutral as best as they can. Most. They all fall short in different ways. Even if neutrality is your goal, there are certain things that some cans do better than others, and certain aspects that you will compromise to do something else better, as consistent with your priorities. You can see this even with Lunatique's can selections.
No one is going to shoot you in the back of the head or threaten your family and friends if you don't like neutrality. That is fine, and is your own personal taste. But rather than liking neutrality, I feel it is more important that people are on the same page and understand what neutrality is, especially on a website ostensibly dedicated to achieving the greatest fidelity possible within your means via headphones. Piercing, brutal treble is not neutral (HD800, DT880), nor is it anemic, thin bass (K701, ER4S), nor dampened treble (LCD-2, and apparently the SR-007) nor warm and thick (W4, UM3x). It should not necessarily sound live, nor necessarily like your favorite headphone.
