[Ra97oR]

It was pretty funny, when I started out using CAL!. I was asking on Head-Fi for treble and detail headphones, SA5000, W5000, and stats are recommended. I am still a treble and detail lover that loves the midrange even more now, bass need to be at a reasonable level to keep the melody going. People wanting more bass is due to mass media portraying heavy bass, loud music listening more often. I started getting my decent headphones when I was 11, a pair of Audio Technica clip-on, with their "house sound" (airy, detailed, slightly bass light). I think that have affected my taste quite a bit.

 

[Alghazanth]

 
Quote:

I, too, love Adele and Florence+the Machine, and I think we can both agree that they aren't really "mainstream". Mainstream, at least for me, is music that has been manufactured specifically to generate the widest appeal and usually performed by no-talent artists who rely heavily on studio modifications and enhancements such as autotune. I'm referring to the likes of Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Rhianna, etc. Adele and Florence are pretty much the complete opposite of these "pop" singers. If you merely want to categorize "mainstream" as whoever is on the Top Hits charts, then Adele and Florence are still two really obvious exceptions that stand out from the rest.

How is a grammy winning singer not mainstream? 

 

[Brooko]

Quote:

I, too, love Adele and Florence+the Machine, and I think we can both agree that they aren't really "mainstream". Mainstream, at least for me, is music that has been manufactured specifically to generate the widest appeal and usually performed by no-talent artists who rely heavily on studio modifications and enhancements such as autotune. I'm referring to the likes of Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Rhianna, etc. Adele and Florence are pretty much the complete opposite of these "pop" singers. If you merely want to categorize "mainstream" as whoever is on the Top Hits charts, then Adele and Florence are still two really obvious exceptions that stand out from the rest.

Yes - but what defines "mainstream" - because I agree - I too always thought it was more "pop" (or popular music).  Not necessarily manufactured.  And look at some of the bands that started out doing their own thing and became massively popular.  That's why I debated the point.  Lets have a look at some others - Taylor Swift for example.  Classified as mainstream, but the girl can undoubtedly sing - she in fact has a wonderful voice.  Not my cup of tea - but my daughter loves her.  Christina Perri is another one - I actually have her album - if you like female vocals, she's actually quite good.  What about Avril Lavigne - undoubtedly mainstream - wonderful voice.   Look up Brooke Fraser - NZ singer - mainstream - great vocalist.
 
I guess the point I was trying to make is that just because someone might like some mainstream music - and isn't a metalhead or into something else, does not make them 'lazy' or any less of a music lover.  They just have different tastes.
 
Back on topic - I personally think part of the whole bass thing is age as well as culture shift.  When I was (a lot) younger, I lived for bass - thumping, vibrant, almost feral.  As I get older, I still enjoy a good bass line, or refined back-beat.  The difference now is that I don't want it to overpower the rest of the music, and most of the time now I'm looking for balance.  Possibly the reason you're seeing a lot more request for bassy headphones is that the youth of today can afford to buy headphones - especially with portable DAPs so cheap.  I know going back 30 something years, having the money for a portable player (for me anyway) was a big thing.  I still fondly remember my first portable Philips cassette player.  Having access to players, music (especially internet and itunes), and you have far more inquiries from a younger set that possibly would not have been so active previously.
 
Just a thought anyway.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

Therefore I kindly ask:
 
1) why are there no sticky threads for newbies/dubsteb/moar bass etc
2) why can't the forum be split into subforums. E.g. "beginners", "hi-fi", "general discussion", "bass-head"

I actually like this kind of categorization, not a bad idea at all. This would put similar thinking people in the same group which has the advantage of minimizing heated discussions between people who thinks different as well as easier for newbies to find the info they are looking for by splitting bassheads from "balanced listeners". I almost only check threads regarding emphasized bass response headphones myself so I'm the opposite to you. I also think trebleheads would need their own category.
 

 

[imdaffy]

To me it's math. Here in Belgium the legal drinking age is 16 so you start going out at that age, go to any random club around here or even just a cafe really and all you're going to hear is emphasized bass, a lot of it. From that point on you're getting the motherload of music brainwashing that is bass. Back then I went out at least once or twice in the weekend and I thought that music without a ridiculous amount of bass sucked quite hard. The music wasn't engaging, fun and whatever. Apart from metal really, metalhead infected since 14. But still, even my 200 euro hi fi set is all bass too, when I bought it I thought it sounded great, now I think it sucks and wish I had done my homework first before I bought it. So basically anyone who's exposed to club music is more prone to being a basshead, plus people with shoddy hi fi ..
 
Even more likely, the problem is getting old and youth these days sucks etc etc

 

[Alghazanth]

Quote:

To me it's math. Here in Belgium the legal drinking age is 16 so you start going out at that age, go to any random club around here or even just a cafe really and all you're going to hear is emphasized bass, a lot of it. From that point on you're getting the motherload of music brainwashing that is bass. Back then I went out at least once or twice in the weekend and I thought that music without a ridiculous amount of bass sucked quite hard. The music wasn't engaging, fun and whatever. Apart from metal really, metalhead infected since 14. But still, even my 200 euro hi fi set is all bass too, when I bought it I thought it sounded great, now I think it sucks and wish I had done my homework first before I bought it. So basically anyone who's exposed to club music is more prone to being a basshead, plus people with shoddy hi fi ..
 
Even more likely, the problem is getting old and youth these days sucks etc etc

Some transcendent ones remain 

 


Quote:

I actually like this kind of categorization, not a bad idea at all. This would put similar thinking people in the same group which has the advantage of minimizing heated discussions between people who thinks different as well as easier for newbies to find the info they are looking for by splitting bassheads from "balanced listeners". I almost only check threads regarding emphasized bass response headphones myself so I'm the opposite to you. I also think trebleheads would need their own category.
 

One thing's for sure: There really needs to be a basshead sticky or subforum. 

 

[crinacle]

 
Quote:

Some transcendent ones remain 

 




One thing's for sure: There really needs to be a basshead sticky or subforum. 

Not really a sub-forum, but a general sticky for newbies. Listing all of the potential entry-level headphones that may appeal to those coming from the 'in' crowd.
 

 

[Arleus]

Hi-fi has never meant 'accurate as possible' to me. If it did, we'd all be using studio equipment for everything, rather than hi-fi equipment. People use and love tube amps, Grados, turntables... the list goes on. All of these are inferior equipment from an accuracy point of view, but that doesn't mean we don't enjoy them, and it doesn't mean we shouldn't. If you think these should be excluded from being called 'hi-fi', then we'd be better off changing the description of the forums, rather than trying to avoid discussing or segregating them. Perhaps you would be happier if we had a subforum called 'professional audio gear'? That might be an easier solution.
Quote:

 
 
Many people come here to discuss and pursue hi-fi. Or at least they hope to. Hi-fi means trying to achieve as close as possible to an unadulterated sound signal from the source to the human hear.
 
MANY of us come here and would like to engage in constructive discussions on hi-fi topics. Artificially bloating frequencies to please a particular subset of users is not hi-fi.
 
 

 

 

[Ra97oR]

The thing is, there is no stickys at all on this forum, there is a newbies recommendation thread, but it got buried recently.

 

[Alghazanth]

Quote:

The thing is, there is no stickys at all on this forum, there is a newbies recommendation thread, but it got buried recently.

True. But there is a ginormous IEM guide and one for portable cans, so with all of the bassheads here I think a basshead super guide is easily possible. 

 

[Ra97oR]

True. But there is a ginormous IEM guide and one for portable cans, so with all of the bassheads here I think a basshead super guide is easily possible. 

Me as a treblehead will do my best to sabotage this operation!

 

[Alghazanth]

Quote:

Quote:

True. But there is a ginormous IEM guide and one for portable cans, so with all of the bassheads here I think a basshead super guide is easily possible. 

Me as a treblehead will do my best to sabotage this operation!

And I as an everything-head will sit back and sip Cognac watching the battle unfold! 

 

[Ra97oR]

And I as an everything-head will sit back and sip Cognac watching the battle unfold! 

To be serious, it is really not a bad idea, just that I will not be able to help but saying "too much bass" every line. It will interesting if a experienced basshead to start a decent guide on ALL basshead headphones (not just entry level) to make it the ultimate basshead thread.

 

[Thommohawk]

Well in my opinion this shouldn't be an issue for the simple fact of we all have differing opinions but even more so differing preferences when it comes to sound signatures we like and don't like. It's as individual as our personalities. The other thing is that while people may be coming in looking for bass or that bass will always be an omni present necessity for them, and I'm one of these people, that does not mean to say that they won't find a couple other things to appreciate in their new headphones as much if not more so than the bass they were initially looking for. This is what happened with me - I came in with bass as a priority because I'd purchased cheaper headphones previously which lacked bass to me or rather the sound signature was the total opposite to what I like so I've found out since - anyway I purchased a more expensive pair of headphones having the bass fix required but I found I also gained a lot of love for wide soundstage, good imaging and great instrument separation. So now whenever I'm looking at new headphones I'll try to marry those 4 things again as opposed to simply bass.
 
So the point is that while they may come in looking for bass initially as a prime requirement, that doesn't mean to say that they'll not appreciate other elements just as much if not even more so later on. But even if they didn't it should not bother anybody else because clearly it's all about personal preference and choice - I don't go around frowning at you for your sound signature preferences that you enjoy even if it turns out that they're the total opposite to mine. Because it doesn't matter. The main thing is we all get what we enjoy for ourselves not anyone else. I buy headphones to make me happy I don't buy headphones for you - just like you purchase headphones for yourselves and not for the approval of anyone else - hopefully! 

 

[Ra97oR]

IMO, this thread was not aimed at people like you. It is more of those "Beats are awesome, but I don't have enough money but I wanted even more bass then them" crowd that pops up here more and more often.