Super duper WIFE headphone shootout!

[thomaskuhn]

I just recieved my new Grado RS-1 headphones and in order to justify the cost, I assembled all my headphones and let my wife try them all out, so she could appreciate the difference. So, In the running from lowest to highest:

Behringer HPM1000 - These were free with some purchase I made, and are embarrassing.
Sennheiser HD 201 - Bought 2 just for podcasting
Grado SR-80 - My main headphones for two years
Grado RS-1 - My new main headphones. Have not been broken in yet

My wifes final say on the shootout:

"They all sound the same to me"

Tom

 

[TheMarchingMule]

She may just not have cared at all, thus not engaging critical concentration brain cells towards the analyzing and listening portion of your "shootout."

 

[thomaskuhn]

The one thing that really has become apparent to me in all seriousness is the fact that an amp really does make a difference. At the office, where I listen most of the time, I use a Millet tube amp with the SR-80's and now the RS-1's. When I brought all of them home and hooked all of them to my Presonus HP4 amp, the Grado's sounded pretty bad comparatively speaking compared to how they sound on the Millet.

Tom

 

[facelvega]

What else could she say? If she said the Behringers or Senns sounded best, you'd know she was lying. If she agreed that your RS-1 were grand, she'd lose serious bargaining points on the disposable income front.

 

[gz76]

I'm sure you think all her shoes are the same too!

 

[uraflit]

my gf said she couldnt tell the difference between onboard laptop speakers/audio and a HD595 with EMU 0404USB.

i know she lies, i hope XD

 

[madman91]

You can transcode the music to very low bitrates for the lower end headphones.. And play uncompressed audio on the higher end headphones... Then if she doesn't hear the difference you know she is lying.

 

[Sarchi]

Look......comparos are only for the uber-geekiest audiophiles. Invariably it means she had to listen to the same passage of music 4 times. Most people's eyes would start to glaze over on the 3rd repeat.

 

[nylan8301]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thomaskuhn /img/forum/go_quote.gif "They all sound the same to me" Tom

...My wife says the same thing to me too, Tom...try to look on the bright side...

...You're ears are happy...(even if your wallet is not)...

 

[kugino]

my wife swears the free ibuds sound better than all my other headphones, including the k1000 properly amped!

but then again, i swear her cheapo shoes look just as good as her manolos

 

[Ichinichi]

the gf hears a difference between senns and beyers. the diff between the 580s and 650s as well.

 

[nylan8301]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ichinichi /img/forum/go_quote.gif the gf hears a difference between senns and beyers. the diff between the 580s and 650s as well.

...Lucky...

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kugino /img/forum/go_quote.gif my wife swears the free ibuds sound better than all my other headphones, including the k1000 properly amped! but then again, i swear her cheapo shoes look just as good as her manolos

LOL!

My wife's favorite are my Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5 Pro. But mainly because they are the most comfortable for her to wear. So much so, she claimed them for her own.

It's OK, I have plenty of others I like better.

Her main headphones she uses are her Sennheiser RS-120 because she listens to TV with them, and likes to walk around without being tethered.

Speaking of TV, she is more of a videophile than an audiophile. She loves everything HD. The headphone gear stays as long as the HDTV gear stays.

-Ed

 

[vcoheda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gz76 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm sure you think all her shoes are the same too!

 

[Nepenthe]

My girlfriend claims to not see any difference between standard def and hi def television.

Same thing with audio. We've visited my father, who has an incredible audio system including 7 foot tall electrostatic speakers and the top end Carver Sunfire sub as well as audiophile components at every point, and she's come away totally indifferent.

I finally got her to use PX100s over the $1 earbuds...