Odd... Qualia 010 'disappears' with SRS WOW. Explanation?

[bangraman]

One of the things I judge home headphones I like to listen to most (regardless of their abilities) is on the way they 'disappear' on my head, that is that if I'm not concentrating I don't immediately notice it coming from headphones.


This is partially a comfort aspect, but in more ways it's a sonic one. For example, the Stax Omega II is the most 'disappearing' headphone I've ever had because it's just so refined and capable yet unshowy in it's rendition. I've never, ever had this experience with the Qualia 010 as it sounds too unnatural as is. Even with fairly heavy EQ work, it's not 'disappeared'. Until that is, I was listening to it with the iRiver with SRS enabled on the iRiver. I was listening an hour later, and the 'disappearing' took place.


With SRS enabled to a subtle level, a lot of 'fake room' acoustics of the 010 seems to coalesce into a more integrated soundstage.


What specifically does SRS WOW do?

 

[Scrith]

I've got a WoW box at home and have used it (with some success) with headphones before, though never with my Qualia.

The effect is generally a pleasant one (when used in moderation), but I got the impression that you lose some audio quality with it (which is why I ended up removing it from my setup once I started getting some serious equipment, like the Benchmark DAC1). Also, as I recall it seems to make the sound quite a bit brighter (in addition to the spatial effects), which leads me to believe it might not be a very good accessory for the Qualia headphones (which many people think are too bright).

I am pretty sure you can achieve a similar effect with something like the convolver plugin for Foobar2000 (if you can ever figure out how to make your own effects with it, that is).

 

[bangraman]

Loss of quality... check. But I did say I'm listening out of an iRiver. But the effect on the soundstaging is very interesting. I'll have to look into the convolver.

 

[Joey_V]

I'm still amazed at how you choose to use the qualia for portable purposes.

 

[acs236]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joey_V I'm still amazed at how you choose to use the qualia for portable purposes.

Transportable.

 

[Covenant]

A Qualia out of an iRiver. That's just insane

That said, had I one, i'd likely to be throwing it at mine and my mint, too. Let he who be without sin cast the first stone

 

[Oink1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joey_V I'm still amazed at how you choose to use the qualia for portable purposes.

It's not like he jogs down to the newsagents for a copy of the Mail wearing the Qualia's - Though this i'd love to see!

 

[Joey_V]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oink1 It's not like he jogs down to the newsagents for a copy of the Mail wearing the Qualia's - Though this i'd love to see!

THAT would be HILARIOUS!

 

[gpalmer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joey_V THAT would be HILARIOUS!

I'll second that, Bangra, I think I sense a photo op!

 

[bangraman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oink1 It's not like he jogs down to the newsagents for a copy of the Mail wearing the Qualia's - Though this i'd love to see!

I read The Independent <sniff>

 

[tayano]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bangraman Loss of quality... check. But I did say I'm listening out of an iRiver. But the effect on the soundstaging is very interesting. I'll have to look into the convolver.

I second that SRS's effect on the soundstage is interesting.

I set "Field width" to 5 on my iriver h10,the sound I get isn't accurate,it's fake but with a large soundstage.

With custom eq,the sound of um2 is in front of your face,but with SRS it's like listening to headphones

Edit: from www.srslabs.com :

"WOW is a special combination of SRS audio technologies that creates a thrilling immersive sound experience with deep rich bass from mono or stereo sound sources. Your audio sounds fuller, richer and wider. Based on the elements of the flagship SRS 3D technology, WOW restores the spatial cues and ambient information that is lost during standard stereo playback. It includes TruBass, a patented bass enhancement technology that offers a dramatic improvement in bass tones that are often lost during compression or are unable to be delivered by small speakers."

*I really don't like the soundstage I get from SRS,it's too fake but.. somehow interesting.*

 

[bangraman]

You see, that's what's so interesting. The soundstage I get from using SRS WOW from for example the Audio-Technica ATH-W2002 is 'fake'. But the Qualia's 'odd' soundstage and the equally 'fake' feeling that comes fron SRS WOW seems to partially cancel each other out.

 

[canloader]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bangraman For example, the Stax Omega II is the most 'disappearing' headphone I've ever had because it's just so refined and capable yet unshowy in it's rendition. I've never, ever had this experience with the Qualia 010 as it sounds too unnatural as is. What specifically does SRS WOW do?

Very interesting obvervation.
Thank you
I have got to get a pair of STAX..