[tomek]

everyone always complains about the inferiority of headphones' soundstaging compared to speakers.

but what does this mean exactly? what is 'soundstage?' I find that with my new Stax headphones, i am able to place instruments accurately around my head. Is this not 'soundstage', is it imaging? It's quite obvious though, that I'm listening to headphones. It's qualitatively different than speakers, it's not as full of a sound.

When I've listened to good speakers, the sound has 'filled the room.' It feels like it's coming right from the air. Is this what people mean? That this can never be acheived with headphones?

I thought that it was explained by acoustic effects of the room. Reflections and such. Is it not possible to simulate these reflections somehow using software.

 

[cmascatello]

Your feel for soundstage is fairly accurate. I usually describe it to non-audio types as the perceived layout of the instruments in the listener's head. Regular speakers send this information to you from many feet away and it is much easier to impart the airiness and space between instruments as a result. With headphones you are being presented with the auditory information from a few inches at most and it is up to the quality of the diaphragms and drivers to give you some semblance of "space" in the music.

Dolby Headphone software and, to a lesser extent, crossfeed circuits can alter the way that the sound signature is presented to you. The Dolby processing can present the audio as though it is Small, Medium, or Large rooms -- not terribly different than the DSP modes that are present in many receivers, PCDPs, and car stereos these days.

 

[tomek]

but that's what i'm saying. i have no trouble locating instruments with headphones. that i thought was called 'imaging'. what never feels the same, is that 'fullness' that fills the room. that very wide, wide sound.

 

[cmascatello]

Imaging could be called the placement of instruments in a give space. Soundstage could then be called the perceived size and dimension of that given space?

 

[PeterR]

http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showt...threadid=41442

 

[Gallaine]

For me, the problem with headphones is the perception of being placed "closer" to the musical source than I would prefer i.e. I sometimes feel like I'm in row A, or even in the middle of the orchestra, rather than, say, row P.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Stax. But it is a trade-off for me. My headphone system has more detail and naturalness than my speaker-based system ever did. OTOH the speaker-based system had better placement of the listener - if that makes any sense.

 

[Music Fanatic]

Quote:

Originally posted by cmascatello Dolby Headphone software and, to a lesser extent, crossfeed circuits can alter the way that the sound signature is presented to you. The Dolby processing can present the audio as though it is Small, Medium, or Large rooms -- not terribly different than the DSP modes that are present in many receivers, PCDPs, and car stereos these days.

True, but compared with the DSP modes available for Panasonice DVD players (for example), Dolby Headphone works much, much better.

 

[dfong87]

Quote:

Originally posted by cmascatello Imaging could be called the placement of instruments in a give space. Soundstage could then be called the perceived size and dimension of that given space?

IMHO, this is dead on, as far as speakers are concerned. good imaging means that instruments and/or voices can be given their distinct place separated from the others. the soundstage itself is the "whole picture"...the soundstage can be very wide and deep on a good system with a good recording therefore conveying a sense of size to the "stage." image specificity allows one to say the bass is 5 feet off center and 10 feet behind the lead vocalist. a good speaker system can do this very well and reminds me of having a performance on the stage in front of me. this, i have yet to have heard done properly on headphones. but i don't think that is possible.

headphones, however, have other advantages: privacy, resolution with a potentially lower noise floor, and cost.

 

[gpalmer]

Quote:

Originally posted by Music Fanatic True, but compared with the DSP modes available for Panasonice DVD players (for example), Dolby Headphone works much, much better.

Interesting, I hae one of the Pannies with the DSp modes and I find it degrades the frequency of the sound quality enough that I never use it although the effect is neat. How do Dolby headphones improve on this?