[Acix]

Quote:

Don't the K701/702s require significant amplification? I doubt I could afford a high end headphone (what I'm aiming towards) and a powerful amplifier on a students pay, I'm might be kidding myself thinking my FiiO E10 can power a LCD-2 too.

About $200 you can get a used Meyer headfive. Whit the K702>K1000 you'll get not only the best sound stage you also get the best instrument separation and imaging, they goes hand in hand.

 

[eltocliousus]

Quote:

huh, lcd2 has perhaps the worst presented soundstage I've heard on headphones..

I've heard people praise them for their soundstage, I understand headphones are subjective but surely soundstage is something that is either better or worse?

 

[Chefguru]

Soundstage - how far away things can sound from your head
Imaging / separation  - how clearly different each instrument is
 
Lcd2 has a small soundstage, but decent imaging.
 
Hd800 has the best soundstage of any current production headphone, the Stax sr-009 is also up there.
 
If we include out of production the Sony qualia 010, Sony R10, Sennheiser He90, Stax Sr-omega, AKG k1000. All of which will run you a ton of money. 
 
So considering the price ranges we're talking about the HD800 is an excellent deal.
 
 

 

[jerg]

Bigger soundstage "size" doesn't necessarily equate to it being better, it's more of a preference. I like all my music to sound like I'm sitting 2 rows back rather than 12 rows back, for instance.
 
Imaging, on the other hand, is better if it's higher.

 

[stacker45]

Grado GS-1000,older non ''i'' model generation

 

[ssrock64]

Quote:

 


Very intriguing, how would the t5p compare to a planar like the LCD-2? I've heard the HiFiMAN series being a little amplifier heavy.

Almost anything mentioned here will best the LCD-2 in soundstage width and depth, but the LCD-2 is a very involving phone (one of the few high-end cans with a "fun" sound signature). I cannot comment on the HiFiMAN range as I've never heard or owned them, but I have heard that their higher models, at least, are very amplifier, specific.

 

[vid]

For me,
soundstage = the maximum extent (and shape) of the space within which instruments are allowed to exist
imaging = how definitely the location (or acoustic shape) of a certain instrument can be pinpointed; also, how well that instrument maintains its unique characteristics within the context of all the instruments.

 

[swbf2cheater]

Best soundstage in terms of what area, width depth or height?  Or perhaps the overall best performer?  
 
I'm going to say the Stax 009 as the best overall.  The HD800 as the widest, the LCD2 as the deepest, the K1000 as the tallest.  

 

[TMRaven]

If you were to break down soundstage to its purest definition, it's the ability to recreate a virtual stage. That includes both how big it is and how well it's able to properly separate layers and placement for positioning of instruments. That's just the way I view it anyways. The famous AD700 sounstage for me is pretty wide, but also not very forward/backward and the imaging isn't as good. It has trouble with back/front recognition in games and for songs, instruments aren't as coherently positioned as some other headphones I've had like the DT990 or HD650.

 

[telecaster]

Understand how a soundstage can be reproduce beforehand and you will understand why it's not possible for headphones to do it properly!
 
Two pin point sound sources (like a pair of good speakers) can achieve stereo holographic reproduction. It's been mastered this way in the studio, it's the only way to do reproduce it! Stereo Recording is made with two little point microphones and that's a minimum requierement.
 
When using two big diaphragms that are place so close to the ear, they are no longer pin point sound source but are sound plans. The stereo holograme is then blurred as if you have eye problem and you don't have your glasses.
 
This is the reason of the lack of 3D in headphones. Easily comparable with a good stereo speaker set!
 
In my experience electrostatic speaker with their door size diaphragm, are the worst speaker for stereo hologram ability. That explain also why electrostat headphone are worst than dynamic one with their big diaphragm. It sounds "bigger" for sure because of the size, but you will never immerse in an holographic soundstage because of the blurred reproduction!

 

[Acix]

Quote:

Best soundstage in terms of what area, width depth or height?  Or perhaps the overall best performer?  
 
I'm going to say the Stax 009 as the best overall.  The HD800 as the widest, the LCD2 as the deepest, the K1000 as the tallest.  

In my experience the sound stage should be equal as 3D sphere shape, and this will be for me the best performer.

 

[markzi]

The HD598s have an amazing soundstage.

 

[vid]

Quote:

If you were to break down soundstage to its purest definition, it's the ability to recreate a virtual stage. That includes both how big it is and how well it's able to properly separate layers and placement for positioning of instruments. That's just the way I view it anyways.

Where does that leave the definition of imaging, though?

 

[catscratch]

Soundstage - at least to me - is the headphones' ability to recreate the overall size of the recording venue. I.e. music recorded in a concert hall should sound like a concert hall, and music recorded in a small room should sound like a small room. Imaging is the headphones' ability to accurately place individual instruments within the soundstage. Basically, it's the relative positioning of the instruments against each other.

Both are hard to judge since there aren't too many recording with actual, natural dimensional information on them. Most are layered studio recordings that have individual layers with individual spatial properties on them, or sometimes so spatial information at all.

I haven't heard everything, far from it. To my ears the HE90 has the biggest overall soundstage, but its imaging IIRC wasn't that great. It sounded somewhat diffuse and overly airy. The K1000 has the best soundstage width - it's truly remarkable in that respect - and its unique enclosure-free design makes it sound as airy as, well, a pair of speakers suspended right next to your ears, since that's basically what it is. However it doesn't have the best depth and height, or the most accurate imaging, though it's by no means bad at it. The Omega 2 has a fairly small soundstage, but its imaging is extremely accurate, and it has an uncanny ability to resolve foreground from background, and make instruments in the foreground really jump out at times. This, however, has more to do with dynamics than soundstage to my ears.

Would love to hear a 009 or a HD800. Soon enough I suppose. In reasonable-price-land, the HD650 has a perfectly reasonable soundstage, fairly open and with good imaging.

 

[MattTCG]

I like the sound stage of my dt990's just fine, although I know there is better out there. I sold a pair of hd598's that had a very good sound stage. Maybe the best bang for the buck sound stage hp's out there. But it's just not at the top of my list, although important still.