[Awk.Pine]

There's a saying: it isn't the size of the thing, but how you use it. I believe at least the last part of that. So, if someone has a headphone rig--whether it be mediocre or excellent--how can they put it to best use?

How do you use headphones?

I'm serious. When I first started with home audio, speaker placement wouldn't have occurred to me as being more than "tweako," but it is critical. What I'm wondering is what things matter when using headphones. We can discuss buying new toys ad nauseam, but I bet that there are non-obvious things anyone can do to get the most out of what they already own. (And I don't know what to search for, because I don't know what I'm looking for.)

My only thought: speaker placement. Experiment with how the headphone drivers align up to your ear and notice changes in brightness and soundstage.

Any thoughts?

 

[Lazarus Short]

Explore the Binaural universe or the Headroom/crossfield technology. Best places to start.

Fit and comfort are the byword. Placement is for speakers.

Laz

 

[Bill Ward]

Seen this?

Check under Projects/Tips and Tricks.

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Ward Seen this? Check under Projects/Tips and Tricks.

No joke, this works.

Plus, folks with IEMs and sealed cans really should move em around until they get the proper seal. The K81DJs are sucky until you get that seal - all of a sudden, hello isolation and BASS!

 

[Mercuttio]

Yeah, proper placement and seal are just so essential. They make more difference to me than a cable upgrade.

And god bless crossfeed. It does wonders for older recordings, and lazy newer ones. That Headroom crossfeed is just great, though I haven't spent more than 5 minutes with another company's crossfeed.

 

[ken36]

Unfortunately my friend, there is no free lunch. You have to glue yourself to these forums, spend a lot of money, listen and listen some more. It took me a year to figure out what my favorite sound was. Then it changed somewhat. I keep coming back.

 

[Illah]

For me the cheapest and most effective upgrades were:

- Crossfeed ($10): I bought a pre-populated board from a member here and hacked it into my Gilmore amp. Compared to software crossfeeds this is SO much better. Way more noticable than any cable or source change.

- The headphone positioning mentioned in the pic above. It really does help, especially with big Senns (HD5X5, HD580/600/650). Also helps but to a lesser effect with Grados.

--Illah

 

[Mercuttio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ken36 Unfortunately my friend, there is no free lunch. You have to glue yourself to these forums, spend a lot of money, listen and listen some more. It took me a year to figure out what my favorite sound was. Then it changed somewhat. I keep coming back.

That's absolute truth. Probably the most true statement I've ever read about this hobby.

 

[slwiser]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ken36 Unfortunately my friend, there is no free lunch. You have to glue yourself to these forums, spend a lot of money, listen and listen some more. It took me a year to figure out what my favorite sound was. Then it changed somewhat. I keep coming back.

And if you don't do this the next most important thing is to attend mets as often as you can and listen as much as you can over in a corner where others can't bother you as much.

 

[Awk.Pine]

This place rocks. Part of that is having so much information flowing around. Then again, it is hard to keep up. I can see how this can be consuming ... which is okay, until that interferes with listening.

Bill Ward, thanks for the link. I suppose placement ... er ... fit and comfort isn't as complex as with speakers because the environment is simpler.

I ran a tone sweep and was amazed by how few harmonics there are relative to my speaker (and room) setup. I've been hearing new things, and not just noticing them but reveling in them.

I'll have to give some local stereo shops a visit to see if anyone has crossfeed stuff I can demo; the software I've tried hasn't been impressive, but the binaural recordings (which I presume crossfeed attempts to mimic) and Dolby Headphone are remarkable. Thanks for the tip, Laz. Maybe it'd be best for me to keep my eyes peeled for a local meet ... or just solder my own together.

Then again, the more I listen the more my brain seems to construct a soundstage. Addiction, phase one.

Ken36, it'll probably take me a while to save up for more gear ... which will be the hard part of hanging around here, because no one else seems to have the same components I do, and everything looks so shiny ... but I'm loving what I have and will appreciate even more when I am able to drop the coin needed.

Thanks everyone. But keep comments coming if you have anything else to add!

 

[TheGhostBelow]

On a slightly less serious note the grado pizza box upgrade http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=190026 seems to be doing wonders for some and it comes free with most if not all new grado cans.