[poorimpulsectrl]

what "things" should I be listening for?

In other words, I'm wondering if someone can put into words how to assess different attributes of sound. I'm not sure if there is an FAQ up or something that defines verbally what "soundstaging", "grainy highs", "boomy bass" or any of the other terms people throw around when they're doing amp or headphone reviews.

 

[joelongwood]

I think you may find what you're looking for here:
http://www.stereophile.com/showarchives.cgi?50:1

 

[poorimpulsectrl]

Thanks.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

You may want to skip all that and just go straight to enjoying the music, but that's just MHO...

 

[JMT]

Quote:

Originially posted by poorimpulsectrl: ...what "things" should I be listening for?

First and foremost: Do I like what I hear?

 

[poorimpulsectrl]

Thanks for the response JMT. So far, the answer is yes. I've been playing music all day to let the amp burn in a bit. Have I noticed anything that absolutely blew me away on first listen? No. I don't know if that's the amp or the fact that I typically focus on the music more than analyzing the technical aspects of sound when I listen.

The thing that I've noticed the most is that bass seems more authoritative than before. I played some games for a bit and it seemed as though sound placement was a little more accurate, although that could just be a placebo effect.

 

[poorimpulsectrl]

Quote:

Originally posted by Dusty Chalk You may want to skip all that and just go straight to enjoying the music, but that's just MHO...

That, given my screen name, is what I've been mostly doing

Have fired up some of my favourite tunes and been playing them all day. In so far as a "OMG I cAN'T BELIEVE WHAT I'VE BEEN MISSING" effect, that hasn't happened, but maybe that's because as aforementioned I tend to get lost in music rather than picking apart details / have an untrained audiophile ear / haven't given it enough time / don't have cans yet to fully take advantage of the amp (on their way) / haven't a/b'ed without the amp.

 

[minya]

Quote:

Originally posted by poorimpulsectrl what "things" should I be listening for? In other words, I'm wondering if someone can put into words how to assess different attributes of sound. I'm not sure if there is an FAQ up or something that defines verbally what "soundstaging", "grainy highs", "boomy bass" or any of the other terms people throw around when they're doing amp or headphone reviews.

Same thing happened to me. And judging from what i've read from your posts, it seems you and I have similar music taste / spending habits / headphone "needs."

I certainly didn't have a mind-blowing revelation after I used an amp, either. I'm slowly realizing that little things sound better, though, thus making everything sound more musical as a whole.

- Chris