The more recent pairs, which Headroom has not measured, have an even bigger spike at 10 kHz than the older ones did.
By the way, Jamie and the gang are now no longer involved in Headroom. Nor does the company exist any more per se; Jamie and company had sold off the name and store assets but not the engineering assets to someone else back in 2017, who then quickly absorbed Headroom's intellectual operations into the new owners' own Headphones.com portal.
The more recent pairs, which Headroom has not measured, have an even bigger spike at 10 kHz than the older ones did.
By the way, Jamie and the gang are now no longer involved in Headroom. Nor does the company exist any more per se; Jamie and company had sold off the name and store assets but not the engineering assets to someone else back in 2017, who then quickly absorbed Headroom's intellectual operations into the new owners' own Headphones.com portal.
IMO, that's the problem with studying frequency curves. A: they can be inconsistent compared to conditions, and B: we are all sensitive towards different frequencies in headphones (for example, 10KHZ is reaching just harmonics where everyone is less sensitive towards).
I thought Headroom was pretty much Tyll Hertsens (who founded it with his amp designs), and several years ago they did have good comparisons against headphones they also sold. I then watched/read Tyll's reviews at InnerFidelity (which influenced my recent resurgence in new head-fi) until he retired. I do remember one video from him that's classic for any audiophile:
I had been into headphone since the mid-1970s but never purchased another pair after the Sony CD870s in 1997. I go online in 2006 to investigate the k701 and I see a picture of this strange guy at the first National Meet? I found Head-Fi and thought......”Wow.....a site about headphones?”
The picture looked almost like this. I don’t know, maybe the odds were pretty good that if you looked up the k701 online in 2006 you would see Tyll wearing them? But that was the very first person I saw on Head-Fi?
I’m thinking............. these people are really into headphones; how little did I know.
The first mistake I did was to purchase the k701 and an amp that had no business trying to drive them.
IMO, that's the problem with studying frequency curves. A: they can be inconsistent compared to conditions, and B: we are all sensitive towards different frequencies in headphones (for example, 10KHZ is reaching just harmonics where everyone is less sensitive towards).
I thought Headroom was pretty much Tyll Hertsens (who founded it with his amp designs), and several years ago they did have good comparisons against headphones they also sold. I then watched/read Tyll's reviews at InnerFidelity (which influenced my recent resurgence in new head-fi) until he retired. I do remember one video from him that's classic for any audiophile:
I now know why my non-HD MDR-7509 (as well as an MDR-V600 that I had in the past) sounded so wonky: It's primarily due to the very resonant earcups, exacerbated by the complete lack of compensatory tuning. At the time my particular MDR-7509 and the aforementioned sample of the V600 was manufactured, Sony was simply indifferent about tuning. Both headphones suffer from a way over-bloomy lower mids caused in large part by the overly resonant earcups. These headphones really need major re-tuning just to sound right to my ears.
I now know why my non-HD MDR-7509 (as well as an MDR-V600 that I had in the past) sounded so wonky: It's primarily due to the very resonant earcups, exacerbated by the complete lack of compensatory tuning. At the time my particular MDR-7509 and the aforementioned sample of the V600 was manufactured, Sony was simply indifferent about tuning. Both headphones suffer from a way over-bloomy lower mids caused in large part by the overly resonant earcups. These headphones really need major re-tuning just to sound right to my ears.
Upon my further investigation I now know why the 7509 (and the V900 and V600) were so picky about the source output. The reason why they sounded so screwy when used directly out of a cheaper or older portable player is that the cheaper, as well as older, portable music players had (relatively speaking) a high headphone output impedance. These old and cheap portables had (or have) a headphone output impedance that's very close to 10 Ohms. This causes a (relatively speaking) low damping factor - and if that damping factor is much below 8, the bass will roll off early while the lower mids become bloated and distorted. My old Galaxy J7 smartphone had a headphone output impedance that's somewhere between 5 and 10 Ohms (I measured my particular unit myself since I could not find such information online). No wonder why the ATH-M50x sounded so uninvolving as well out of that J7. This is all because the damping factor with low-impedance headphones became less than 8 with the J7.
My new S10e, on the other hand, has an output impedance of less than 1 Ohm (as I found information online with the S10+, which shares the same audio electronics as the S10e). As a result, the low-impedance headphones began sounding cleaner out of the S10e. Below an 8 damping factor, the voltage sensitivity becomes the predominant factor as to how easy the phone gets to a comfortable listening volume. It is because of this that my MDR-7509 sounded more like the headphone that I originally expected it to (although it still needed a bit more mechanical dampening just to sound right).
I listened to my MDR-7509 today, and I can now see that it sounded the way it did (rolled off at both extremes with somewhat recessed treble) because it was tuned differently from its consumer MDR-V900 brother (which I recalled sounding somewhat tinny and blurry in the treble and boomy in the bass). Same parts, different tuning. Just like the MDR-V6 versus the MDR-7506.
The earcups in Sony's consumer closed headphones are, for the most part, underdamped. The same earcups in Sony's professional lineup are a bit overcompensated, making them a little overdamped.
At the time, I really liked the V6. My sole original complaint was that they become somewhat sweaty / clammy to wear for extended periods.
Now I would regard them as somewhat V shaped. I tend to like a neutral mid range and treble and a slowly rising bass response (L shaped). The V6 would not fill that bill.
These go back to my early days of "hi fi". In the day I owned Sennheisers (actually still have few pairs around of the PX100), Grados, and Koss. Then I started fiddling with ear buds and IEMs. So the V6 were a gateway drug....
At the time, I really liked the V6. My sole original complaint was that they become somewhat sweaty / clammy to wear for extended periods.
Now I would regard them as somewhat V shaped. I tend to like a neutral mid range and treble and a slowly rising bass response (L shaped). The V6 would not fill that bill.
The MDR-V6 was tuned to the average Japanese consumer tonal balance taste preferences back when it was designed in the 1980s. As such, it was somewhat V-shaped with somewhat boomy bass and emphasized treble. The MDR-7506 was tuned a little differently despite using the same parts as the MDR-V6, with its higher enclosure damping resulting in less bass and making the mid-treble sound a bit harsh relative to the MDR-V6.
I toyed with buying the 7506 more than a few times but never pulled the trigger. My XM3 unit is not tuned to my tastes either; but they have the advantage of being terrific for airplane use.
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