[Mike Scarpitti]

Quote:

Originally posted by NotoriousBIG_PJ This thread is just a bunch of people pimping there hp-1000's, r-10's and stax. Lets talk about personal preferences. I like vocals coloured and up close, yet these same features hurt the presentation of classical music in my opinion. Basically what I am reading is that I am therefore "wrong" in my headphone tastes. I've heard every blinged headphone except orpheus and yet my ears are still telling me the same thing. Now if I could only have 1 headphone and cost wasn't an object, that headphone would be omega II's because they sounded great with everything I threw at them and did not lack energy. Biggie.

Then that's what our inquirer should do, right?

 

[Hirsch]

Quote:

Originally posted by Mike Scarpitti I've heard the Sennheiser electrostatics and they seemed quite similar to Stax electrostatics. This supports the notion that electrostatics are closer to perfection than dynamic types, where indeed trade-offs rule.

No, it simply means the two headphones sounded similar to you at the time. I only had one chance to hear the Omega II, Orpheus, and R10/HP4 in the same room, and they all sounded good (minor understatement here), but definitely not the same. There are people here who have owned all of these systems who are far more qualified to speak to their similarities/differences than I am.

 

[Mike Scarpitti]

Quote:

Originally posted by Hirsch No, it simply means the two headphones sounded similar to you at the time. I only had one chance to hear the Omega II, Orpheus, and R10/HP4 in the same room, and they all sounded good (minor understatement here), but definitely not the same. There are people here who have owned all of these systems who are far more qualified to speak to their similarities/differences than I am.

The R10, I imagine, being 'more different' than the electrostatics.

 

[elnero]

I do believe that certain headphones will generally do better with different genres especially at the lower end of the spectrum. All you have to do is look at the different design philosophies and listen to the different offering of the companies to understand this. I also agree that as you get more expensive the probability of these limitations should be greatly reduced but of course I can't adhere to the (as usual) ludicrous statement of Crackhead Mike that as you get more expensive they will start to sound more alike. Generally I believe the more you spend the more you get, although there are always exceptions to this rule and it's always a blast to find those overachievers. By the same token it's possible to spend alot on a product that is not up to the standards of others in it's price range.

For myself, because of money constraints I've had to look for that holy grail of one headphone for all genres at a decent price, the illusive overachiever if you will. No headphone is or will ever be perfect so in order for me to find such a headphone it would have to be a one that makes it's compromises in all the areas that I prefer to be compromised and at the same time handle everything I throw at it equally well. I understood from the outset that finding such a beast would be impossible so what I've had to do is look at my preferences and analyze what compromises I was willing to make and in what areas. I've been lucky so far in that the W100's seem to have served my needs well for my home rig. Grado's might sound better with rock and Senns might do better with the more acoustic material I listen to but the W100's do a pretty decent job of it all with their own special magic.

So I guess what I'm saying is yes I believe that different headphones will serve specific genres better but as individuals it is possible for us to make compromises and live with one particular headphone if we truly need or want to.

 

[Mike Scarpitti]

Quote:

Originally posted by elnero I do believe that certain headphones will generally do better with different genres especially at the lower end of the spectrum. All you have to do is look at the different design philosophies and listen to the different offering of the companies to understand this. I also agree that as you get more expensive the probability of these limitations should be greatly reduced but of course I can't adhere to the (as usual) ludicrous statement of Crackhead Mike that as you get more expensive they will start to sound more alike.

Why is it 'ludicrous'? It has been exactly my experience that the better anything gets, the more limitations are removed from perfection, and the closer together the performance becomes. This does not mean they're identical, but you're now dealing with subtler and subtler differences.

 

[joelongwood]

Quote:

Originally posted by Mike Scarpitti Why is it 'ludicrous'? It has been exactly my experience that the better anything gets, the more limitations are removed from perfection, and the closer together the performance becomes. This does not mean they're identical, but you're now dealing with subtler and subtler differences.

I don't know about that, Mike. I've heard the top of the line offerings from Sony, AKG, Beyerdynamics, Stax, and Sennheiser (well, not the Big O....the HD-600). They sound VERY different from each other. The differences are definitely not subtle.

 

[Mike Scarpitti]

Quote:

Originally posted by joelongwood I don't know about that, Mike. I've heard the top of the line offerings from Sony, AKG, Beyerdynamics, Stax, and Sennheiser (well, not the Big O....the HD-600). They sound VERY different from each other. The differences are definitely not subtle.

Would you agree that the differences are subtler than there are among the cheaper ranges?

 

[jpelg]

Quote:

Would you agree that the differences are subtler than there are among the cheaper ranges?

Sony R10...Stax Omega II...Grado HP-1...Sennheiser HE90...AKG K1000... uuhhh,...Nope.

 

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

Quote:

Originally posted by Mike Scarpitti Would you agree that the differences are subtler than there are among the cheaper ranges?

No.

Biggie.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Quote:

Originally posted by lkmich So what do people think-can you acheive musical enjoyment with one headphone and one amp with all source material?

I could do it.

But...why?

That said, it would be a compromise. Let's take amps, for example. I've noticed after listening to Hirsch's Supra a couple times, that it can actually be too transparent. I doubt the original makers of some of the music (that I listen to) have ever heard their music laid out so naked and bare as I have heard it.

Case in point: Talk Talk's Spirit of Eden. In the tracks "The Rainbow" and "Desire", there's a couple of very psychedelic moments.

On the Supra, you can actually pick out each individual cymbal hit, crash, ride, tin can, Zildjian, whatever, and (if one is experienced in the subject), probably figure out which part of the drumstick the drummer was using (tip, side, etc.).

On the RKV, for example, this track has the desired "wall of sound" that I think was being attempted by the musicians/producers. The RKV is just more "blossomy", and I think that was probably being heard when monitoring. Just a guess.

I bet I could find My Bloody Valentine's sample-edit points with the Supra and an appropriately good source.

That said, this is, for the most part, not a criticism. I like hearing the music laid out naked and bare! It removes any hinderances to hearing the music, at least on the amp's part, and puts me at one less level of indirection with the music.

So, yeah, I could live with one amp, as long as that amp was the Supra. Not sure which headphone it would have to be. I really liked the HP-1, but not sure about the comfort issue. As we concluded at one time, this amp seems to make any headphone sound good, so I'm not sure it matters. Pick one. Not any one, but one good one. W2002, A100Ti, HD600, DT770...I could probably live with any of those. I'll play with some of my other Beyer's when I get mine.

I could also just as easily live with just the RKV, as I've been doing, pretty much.

 

[wallijonn]

Quote:

So what do people think-can you acheive musical enjoyment with one headphone and one amp with all source material? From jazz to rock to hip-hop to classical? What are those "magic combinations" of equipment for people who listen to a full spectrum of music?

while the AKG K501 is bemoaned (loved/hated) there are times when I just reach for them (usually when the ears are tired). so any headphone will have certain strengths and certain weaknesses. it all depends on what you want to live with and what condition your ears are in when you listen.

repeat after me, "it's okay to have more than one set of headphones". after all, many people have more than one car, more than one dvd or vhs, more than one firearm, more than one child, etc. strange how so few people have more than one microwave. let's not relegate headphones to microwave status, eh.

 

[joelongwood]

Quote:

Originally posted by Mike Scarpitti Would you agree that the differences are subtler than there are among the cheaper ranges?

Not in my opinion.......the differences are far from subtle. Listen to the R10s for awhile, then put on the Stax Omega IIs. While both are great headphones, the differences are like night and day.

 

[Mike Scarpitti]

Quote:

Originally posted by joelongwood Not in my opinion.......the differences are far from subtle. Listen to the R10s for awhile, then put on the Stax Omega IIs. While both are great headphones, the differences are like night and day.

OK, but let me ask you this: is the difference between these two (night and day) of different order than say between a $100 Sony and a $100 AKG or Beyer?

 

[Mike Scarpitti]

Quote:

Originally posted by lkmich When building my home system, I've always worked from the idea that the point of a good audio system is to produce music that is enjoyable, no matter what kind of music it is. You hear a lot of people, whether they are talking headphones or speakers, say that "Headphone X is no good for Y music" or "Don't buy X speakers unless you only listen to jazz." Of course, most people don't keep a rotating stock of speakers at home like people here keep headphones, but the issue still comes up a lot on this board. I'd like to think that it's not necessary to have 3 pairs or more of headphones in order to make all music types sound good. So what do people think-can you acheive musical enjoyment with one headphone and one amp with all source material? From jazz to rock to hip-hop to classical? What are those "magic combinations" of equipment for people who listen to a full spectrum of music? lkmich

How much are you willing or able to spend?

 

[Zanth]

I believe any sound reproducing system should be able to adequately handle all types of music. In an ideal world this would be the end result. I can say certain systems do VERY well but that does not exclude the...."well this headphone system does better"....line.

I have a few systems. I prefer the RS-1's for jazz and electronica. I find the resonance of the wood lends a very musical characteristic to the sound of the instruments, particularly the saxophone, which I love. I'm not saying it isn't coloured..but I am saying I love it and prefer it to say...the Ety's or the HP-1's. Also, the slight bump in the bass, although remaining tight, is still more pronounced than the HP-1's or Ety's. This just means I enjoy the sound more. I certainly could be happy with just the Ety's (as I have stated many times before) or the HP-1's. It is a true luxury for me to have more than one quality phone...and this luxury permits some change up. I've yet to listen to Stax; however, from every other phone I have listened to thus far...I can certainly tailor the strengths of each to a certain genre of music.

Of course, if only given the option of owning one headphone, I would still be tapping my foot daily in true ecstacy.