[Le Dechaine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hempcamp /img/forum/go_quote.gif Perhaps on the lower end of things, the Senn HD-280 is a very neutral-sounding, anayltical closed pair of cans. The Ety 4S is also neutralish, analytical. --Chris

Well, i can have HD-280's right now, but the problem with the HD-280's is the lack of bass and highs, or as said in another post, "the emphasis on midrange". If i trust the headroom graph (yeah i know, i shouldn't trust a graph, i should just simply *try* the HD-280's, but i can't), my HD477's are doing better.. That's why i doubt about the neutrality of the HD-280's.

Quote:

Originally Posted by redshifter /img/forum/go_quote.gif hi tomb. thanks for the kind words. i hope the original poster understands what i was trying to say: a completely "neutral" headphone is not the best choice for recording. same goes for most audiophile headphones: wrong gear for the job.

Yeah i understand, thanks redshifter!

'must say: Funny how's the price range here, i'm searching for the best ones and i receive answers about headphones from 1000$ to 100$ (Grado's HP-1000 are ~1000$ i think, K701's are ~500$, HD-280's 150$, Sony V6's ~100$)

So for now, K701's are my "dream headphones" (though i can buy them i want monitoring speakers too and spare cash is always good.. maybe later

), i want to try Ety's and my choice is *still* HD-280's or V6's.

Well, thanks a lot to all head-fi members for helping me choosing, 'still open to all suggestions!

PS: *Now asking someone for the price of Sony MDR-V6's*

 

[hempcamp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Le Déchaîné /img/forum/go_quote.gif Funny how's the price range here, i'm searching for the best ones and i receive answers about headphones from 1000$ to 100$ (Grado's HP-1000 are ~1000$ i think, K701's are ~500$, HD-280's 150$, Sony V6's ~100$)

FYI, you can get the HD-280 Pro from amazon for $80. At such a steal, you can always sell them if you don't like 'em.

(btw, I think I made this 280 smilie back in the day)

--Chris

 

[boodi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbunniii /img/forum/go_quote.gif I love the Grado HP-1000, but this headphone is not as neutral as people claim. Evidence? Everything sounds good through it, even bad recordings. So there's something euphonic going on for sure. It's hard to point precisely to what it is, though, so the impression is one of neutrality. For my money, that's better than a truly neutral headphone because I want something that sounds good no matter what I play through it. But for someone wanting a headphone to use as a studio monitor, the HP-1000 may sound a little TOO good.

ahahah thanks you just gave me a nice laugh

don't know exactly why

 

[Le Dechaine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hempcamp /img/forum/go_quote.gif FYI, you can get the HD-280 Pro from amazon for $80. At such a steal, you can always sell them if you don't like 'em. (btw, I think I made this 280 smilie back in the day) --Chris

Hmm, well, I live in Quebec (Canada), so 80$ US + Shipping = Near 150$ CAN i guess!

(not to mention that i live in a lost town somewhere

)

Haha @ the C-Clamp HD-280 smiley

(Edit: Well, HD-280's really look like that finally haha, nice smiley btw)

 

[Killercrush]

I'm surprised nobody talked about a pair of Sennheiser HD25-1, much tighter sound then hd-280 or mdr-v6 and can be driven on any devices.

I got one for $185 US Shipped with velour pads and a HD650 cable.

You can found a pair at Archambault for $200 CAN I think.

Ety's would be a good choice as well but can't be wear on your neck.

Good to find some fellow Head-fiers from Quebec!

Julien

 

[Le Dechaine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Killercrush /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm surprised nobody talked about a pair of Sennheiser HD25-1, much tighter sound then hd-280 or mdr-v6 and can be driven on any devices. I got one for $185 US Shipped with velour pads and a HD650 cable. You can found a pair at Archambault for $200 CAN I think. Ety's would be a good choice as well but can't be wear on your neck. Good to find some fellow Head-fiers from Quebec! Julien

Eh ben, Salut Julien!

Hmm, they still do these HD25-1? Or you're talkin' about the HD-25's ?

Anyway, i think i'm gonna go for the HD-280's or, better (?), the Sony V6's.

 

[billinkansas]

For analytical listening, I would certainly consider the K701 as a likely favorite for faithful reproduction.

For pure musical enjoyment, I would probably reach for some HD600's, though the K701's are ok for that.

 

[trose49]

[size=large]It's Dragon time![/size]




Although Ill warn you they can be too much FUN!

 

[boodi]

nice pair
thanks for sharing

 

[Le Dechaine]

Hehe yeah nice

 

[ironbut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by redshifter /img/forum/go_quote.gif if you are producing recordings headphones will only take you half way. really the final mixing stages should be through monitor speakers, and that is where neutrality becomes more important. you can mix something that sounds wonderful in your headphones, only to find it is incoherent on speakers. keep in mind some producers also monitor through heavily colored speakers as well, as this is what the recording will typically be played through.

I agree. If you are in fact using headphones for mastering recordings you are NOT looking for a neutral sound. If you've ever done any mastering, the final product needs to sound a good as posable to your target audience, not to you. That's why studios usually don't have audiophile sounding monitors. This is called translation. Translation tries to find a happy medium for the playback conditions it will see in the real world. This means car audio, Bose home theater set-ups, and mid-fi stereos like you get at Best Buy or Circuit City.
If your looking for headphones to analyze gear, I would think that a phone like the Stax SRX mk3 would be a good choice since that is what they were designed for. Correct me if I'm wrong guys, but I seem to recall that they were designed for Mercedes in sound proofing and noise analysis. And they were continued to be produced for designers of audio gear, sonar, medical and other sensitive sound experiments.

 

[fmplautus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl /img/forum/go_quote.gif Or more accurately don't hear. When we reach the point that we no longer notice we have a headphone on, we're there. Actually the natural process is stereophonic, not binaural. Binaural, like those biscopic goggle things with two LCD screens, have two different "images" that are supposed to be merged into one complete "picture" by our brains. Done well they can get very close to approximating stereophonic/stereoscopic imaging, but are not the same thing.

Carl, thanks for your input but if you look up "binaural" in the Oxford American Dictionary you'll find the following definition:

binaural -- adjective

of, relating to, using both ears: human hearing is binaural

Or check out the Wikipedia entry

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
For the Pearl Jam album, see Binaural (album).

"Binaural literally means "having or relating to two ears." Binaural hearing, along with frequency cues, lets humans and other animals determine direction of origin of sounds."


As you pointed out, binaural is also a method of recording, but it is not incorrect to use the word alone to describe or convey our evolved process of hearing -- which was the point I was trying to make about the unique approach of the AKG K-1000. The white paper on Akg Austrian site makes clear that the K-1000 is a design that takes into account our evolved anatomy and its usefulness in deciphering potentially proximate and menacing lion, tigers or bears -- but maybe if you are sufficiently hikikomori this is something you don't look for in a headphone!

 

[tomb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by redshifter /img/forum/go_quote.gif hi tomb. thanks for the kind words. i hope the original poster understands what i was trying to say: a completely "neutral" headphone is not the best choice for recording. same goes for most audiophile headphones: wrong gear for the job.

Ha, ha! You are welcome, but I notice both of our posts were completely ignored for awhile in the feeding frenzy about the subject digression.

What's really a shame is that the V6 is so dissed around here these days, that it often doesn't rise to the level of a response.

 

[Le Dechaine]

Well, i'm about to buy either the V6's or the HD-280's, so i'm choosing between the HD-280's, which seem to have not enough lows and highs, and the V6's, which seem to have not enough mids...

And i know i'm not in the appropriate forum, but well, talkin' about speakers... Are Edirol MA-15D good monitoring speakers?

 

[Xoton]

This is an interesting topic/question.

For "monitoring" I would definitely recommend the ER-4S. Or if unamped, the ER-4P. I've done some monitoring with these IEMs while filming some talking heads and was very impressed - overwhelmingly so. And it was wild to listen to the person talking in the room, then plug in the Etys and notice how nearly identical it was - how transparent everything seemed. It was as if I hadn't put anything in my ear. The same acoutics, the same tone -- everything! Just as if the phones weren't there. The isolation they provided sealed the deal (no-pun intended), by allowing me to simply monitor what was being picked up by the mike - and nothing else. Just absolutely perfect for this. These were made for monitoring. No coloration. Nothing. Just pure transparency. This is what they do!

However, I may not recommend them - or ANY headphone - for mixing or mastering. Everytime I used them, my final mixes came out cloudy and bassy. I assumed this was because of the etys clear, bright, and non-boomy - or non-congested - presentation. I figured I was over-compensating for this in my mix by boosting bass, or by not adding anything to the treble since it sounded so good as is. Which was true, but that really isn't the case. I got the same muddy mix using my Senn 580s - a much fuller phone. I later realized (or read) that when played back on speakers in a room, the highs naturally soften, etc. I assume the bass gets fuller too because it's bouncing around the room, like it would in a bass cabinet or box.

Hence the reason for the ER-4S and ER-4B designs. Since all recordings are usually mastered to sound clear over speakers in a room, Etymotic (and probably all headphone manufacturors) must adjust to that sound signature. The ER-4B doesn't. It's the most real I guess. But the ER-4S, like any good phone, assumes the basic stance that all music is mastered on room monitors/speakers -- which is pretty true -- and was designed as such to reproduce a pure ear repsonse.

So I guess, the ER-4B would be even better for monitoring!