[timar]

I can't confirm that. I used Audacity to generate a series of low frequency test signals, and they go all the way down to 20hz. Even at 30hz the signal is still very loud compared to a 440hz reference signal - that's what I'd call really deep bass extension. I think many people actually confuse extension with gain. Some headphones really exegarate the bass. Listen to a very loud 60hz bass and a more silent 30hz bass and I bet you'll feel that the former is "deeper" - it's the harder for our perception to tell two different frequencies apart, the more we reach into the "extreme" ends of the peceptual spectrum, and the more probable to confuse quantity with quality (or extension).

 

[Spacehead]

Yeah I can also hear the 20 Hz with these. Like I said, I add a little bass volume with EQ so it fits my tastes better.
 
Now out of curiosity I would like to hear what Sennheiser HD650 or similar sounds like.
These Superlux phones have rated THD of <0.3%. HD650 has 0.05%. Can human ear resolve enough to tell a difference between those distortion figures?

 

[timar]

Nah, everything above the cheapest low-fi phones will have an THD which is neglectable. There has been quite some amount of research into the audibility of THD.
 
Wikipedia:

A THD rating < 1% is considered to be in high-fidelity and inaudible to the human ear.

 
Of course, the audiophile community if full of people who believe they have some supernatural perception and can hear everything (including the sound of cables and other BS). So many audiophiles will lynch me for saying this but there are exactly three factors determining the sound quality of headphones: frequency response, fit and imagination.
 
Why did Sennheiser take so long to develop the HD800? They could just have taken the reliable design of the HD600 but they went for a completely new futuristic design for the HD800 and a price tag 5 times as high as the HD650. Well, give your imagination something to chow on... and you'll certainly get better sounding headphones

 

[Spacehead]

If that is true, I think Superlux HD668B are ultimate headphones. More expensive headphones wouldn't gain anything.
 
Have you heard 300 $/€/£ headphones?
 
Next I think I need to upgrade my source. X-FI CS4382 DAC is a little bit harsh.

 

[timar]

All I can say is that I like the Superlux better than my old Beyerdynamic DT880, because the latter have some problems with sibilants.
 
Have you measured your DAC? (http://audio.rightmark.org) AFAIK sound differences between different high quality DAC's are another audiophile myth.

 

[Spacehead]

I have measured my Sound Blaster X-FI
 
the results are fantastic, 100 dB SNR and dynamic range with 0.0026% THD

 

[timar]

So there's nothing to improve there. If you think the sound is too harsh, use an equalizer to suit it to your taste. I think the Superlux can be improved a bit by EQing out the spike between 7 and 10 khz. A dip of -3db at ca. 8khz should take out the harshness.

 

[Spacehead]

It depends a lot of the source file. This is great to be able to listen music as it is.
 
These are a lot less harsh in the highs than MDR-V6. 
 
It is hard to tell, I don't know if anything could be improved. 
 
 
Maybe warmer midrange would sound more fun. I can bring mids closer with EQ too?

 

[zephyr90]

Quote:

I can't confirm that. I used Audacity to generate a series of low frequency test signals, and they go all the way down to 20hz. Even at 30hz the signal is still very loud compared to a 440hz reference signal - that's what I'd call really deep bass extension. I think many people actually confuse extension with gain. Some headphones really exegarate the bass. Listen to a very loud 60hz bass and a more silent 30hz bass and I bet you'll feel that the former is "deeper" - it's the harder for our perception to tell two different frequencies apart, the more we reach into the "extreme" ends of the peceptual spectrum, and the more probable to confuse quantity with quality (or extension).

 
You're not getting me. I'm not a bass head, and I'm not imagining this. I tried the sound files provided on this web page: http://www.rock-grotto.co.uk/Headphonebreakin.htm
The 20hz was close to inaudible on the 668b. I did burn them in, too. Maybe I got a bad pair. Maybe I have a bad source. Either way, the 668b had weaknesses I could not ignore, although its worst trait wasn't the sound but the pressure on my earlobe after wearing them for more than 30 minutes.

 

[timar]

Well, 20hz should be very silent compared to another signal because that's the nature of our hearing. A 20hz sine wave of the same level as a 30hz sine wave is perceived to have 1/3 the volume of the 30hz sine wave (the human ATH goes down 20db from 30hz to 20hz, a step of 10db is to double the volume). If you have some headphones where a 20hz sine wave actually sounds loud, they are most certainly exaggerating the bass response!
 

 
Btw. I had the same problem with the pressure on my earlaps. They started to hurt after a half an hour. It was easy to solve however, by inserting some spacer made out of paper tissue to the back of the earpads. I have the impression that those spacer as a side effect even improved the spatiality of the headphones

 

[Noobiiee]

I solved it by bending the headband outward (make sure you don't break it). The clamping force on the Spacehead's pair is feather light now.  

 

[magicalpig]

Has anyone been able to compare these with a pair of K701s?

 

[xnor]

@timar: add things like resonances, cup construction, impedance curve .. as factors

 

[Noobiiee]

Quote:

Has anyone been able to compare these with a pair of K701s?

From my vague memory, the HD668b is more mid-centric than the K701. And they're semi-open while K701 is fully open. 

 

[magicalpig]

Quote:

From my vague memory, the HD668b is more mid-centric than the K701. And they're semi-open while K701 is fully open. 

So the soundstage would probably not be as wide, right?
 
If the mids are more forward than on the K701, would you say the HD668b are more suited to rock than, say, jazz or classical? Or does it result in a warmer analytical sound?