[tattoou2]

OP: Uh, OK.

 

[karthur]

Seriously, I think Etymotic IEMs are for you (maybe the ER4S): Etymotic Research, Inc. - ER-4 - Which ER•4 is Right for You

Do they sound good? to me no, to you, most likely...Everyone has their preferences...

 

[donunus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by karthur /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes and that is EXACTLY what is great about having a variety of headphones to listen to. What exactly are you trying to reprodudce? Live bands are "coloured" by the type of mics/PA system/amps/mixing/etc/etc they use. EVERYTHING is coloured. The only arguably natural state would be completely acoustic (unamped) but even that is "coloured" by the particular instrument and environment!

Well at least the headphones shouldnt have obvious resonances making them sound like headphones as a start

 

[miscreant]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BHTX /img/forum/go_quote.gif Upon using a combination of pink noise and a software based sinewave generator.. . They're ALL extremely "colored". Enjoy yourselves. I give up.

DACs are colored
cables are colored
amps are colored
headphones are colored
:
mics are colored
cables again are colored
mic-preamps are colored
ADCs are colored
and
your ears are colored the most... and your brain is a darn rainbow

 

[Mr C]

Hmm I guess since you seem never to have enjoyed headphones you really shouldn't be wasting your time here. You are probably looking for the ultimate no personality phones (or true monitoring phones) I've never heard about any phones that were like that and most people tend to find phones that sound like that dull.
The name of this website might give you a lil tip about what most people around here like, you dont go to a dog show if hate dogs do you?
You could try IEM but since to really experience what good IEM are like your probably gonna have to spend 1000$+ (have to be customized to your ears and considering how demanding you are you'll probably have to get UE10 or better)

 

[BHTX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by miscreant /img/forum/go_quote.gif DACs are colored cables are colored amps are colored headphones are colored : mics are coloured cables again are coloured mic-preamps are coloured ADCs are coloured and your ears are colored the most... and your brain is a darn rainbow

Agreed. However, there's a point when it becomes too much. I don't want every track sizzling in my ears, or every voice sounding like I've got my ear to the person's chest, or every drum sounding fake and bloated. I don't have to try to find these things. They point themselves out. I can't help from noticing it. And it keeps me from just enjoying the music. That's all.

 

[oldschool]

Quote:

Originally Posted by miscreant /img/forum/go_quote.gif DACs are colored cables are colored amps are colored headphones are colored : mics are colored cables again are colored mic-preamps are colored ADCs are colored and your ears are colored the most... and your brain is a darn rainbow

LOL, good one!

 

[donunus]

This post is actually good because its telling the industry to shape up. No point in ridiculing the OP. Arent many of us trying to find uncolored sound? I myself am hoping the hd800s can deliver that

 

[BHTX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donunus /img/forum/go_quote.gif Arent many of us trying to find uncolored sound?

Obviously not. While everything slightly modifies the recording to an extent, I think it's ridiculous that every headphone on the market possesses significant frequency deviations. Sure, I guess some people still enjoy the tizz and boom from the 70's, or whatever.. but I don't see why every headphone on the planet should put such a prominent signature of its own on everything I listen to. If I want to modify what was recorded, I'll do it myself. I don't see why someone would pay money for a headphone intended to do that permanently. Maybe some people think they like it. To each their own.. I don't see why it has to be mine though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by donunus /img/forum/go_quote.gif I myself am hoping the hd800s can deliver that

I certainly wouldn't count on it.

 

[miscreant]

imagine how colored is the sound in live performances... yuck! all that room reflection, resonances.. it just drives me NUTS!

wanna be a cubic in a cubic world... no sounds for me please. thanks, OP, for the those wise words.

 

[userlander]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbd2884 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I wonder if he even listens to music or understand music isn't about perfection but the message, emotion or just an idea the artist is trying to convey. So for me, I see no reason why this perfection and accuracy is even pertinent to me enjoying my music. That and I certainly can't hear these peaks and what nots. And obvious to me the OP couldn't either without using software to analyze the pink noise. Good for the OP, he can decipher pink noise with his EQ software.

What you say is kind of contradictory, though. Because if the artist is trying to convey some particular message, emotion or idea, but the headphones aren't neutral and represent the sound differently than the artist intended, you might end up *not* hearing the message the artist is trying to convey at all. I can see this happening especially with classical music, but theoretically at least it could happen with all music. So the headphones are then actually interfering with your goal, and presumably with the artist's goal, too.

That's why some people consider neutrality to be so important: so you can get an accurate representation of the music that's as close as possible to what was intended, and not some colored version of it that is relatively farther away from what the artist wanted you to hear. I can't speak for the OP, but these "peaks and what nots" you mention are *very* obvious to a lot of people from phone to phone, or even from speaker to speaker. I doubt he needed the measuring gear to hear the variations. On the contrary, he probably heard them very clearly, like I assumed most of us do, and that's why he used the gear, to try to quantify what he was hearing.

>> edit: Btw, the attempt in this thread to "diagnose" the OP with some psychiatric disorder (which I hope is just a joke) is ridiculous and imo inappropriate. That kind of post is not useful or productive, imho.

 

[limpidglitch]

Good thread.
I don't know how much I can add what has already been said, except that it should not be necessary to spend thousands of dollars to enjoy intimate music. Maybe a Clip and ER4s is all what's needed? I don't know.

No matter what though, what's stated in the OP is true. All my headphones have frequency graphs like damn roller-coasters, but that doesn't bother me, because I enjoy a crazy ride.

 

[donunus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by userlander /img/forum/go_quote.gif If the artist is trying to convey some particular message, emotion or idea, but the headphones aren't neutral and represent the sound differently than the artist intended, you might end up *not* hearing the message the artist is trying to convey at all. I can see this happening especially with classical music, but theoretically at least it could happen with all music. So the headphones are then actually interfering with your goal, and presumably with the artist's goal, too. That's why some people consider neutrality to be so important: so you can get an accurate representation of the music that's as close as possible to what was intended, and not some colored version of it that is relatively farther away from what the artist wanted you to hear. I can't speak for the OP, but these "peaks and what nots" you mention are *very* obvious to a lot of people from phone to phone, or even from speaker to speaker. I doubt he needed the measuring gear to hear the variations. On the contrary, he probably heard them very clearly, like I assumed most of us do, and that's why he used the gear, to try to quantify what he was hearing. >> edit: Btw, the attempt in this thread to "diagnose" the OP with some psychiatric disorder (which I hope is just a joke) is ridiculous and imo inappropriate. That kind of post is not useful or productive, imho.

x2 on that

 

[BHTX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by miscreant /img/forum/go_quote.gif imagine how colored is the sound in live performances... yuck! all that room reflection, resonances.. it just drives me NUTS! wanna be a cubic in a cubic world... no sounds for me please. thanks, OP, for the those wise words.

You're missing the entire point. At an acoustic concert with instruments.. if they're in a large orchestra hall, I want to hear them there. If I'm at a typical rock concert with a very poorly implemented sound system cranked with ears bleeding, I want it that way.

When I'm listening to a recording, I want it the way it was recorded. If it's that large orchestra in a hall, I want to hear it. If it's a live rock concert, I want to hear it, with all of its annoyances. Do I want to hear my headphone's annoyances along with it and everything I listen to? NO.

Quote:

Originally Posted by userlander What you say is kind of contradictory, though. Because if the artist is trying to convey some particular message, emotion or idea, but the headphones aren't neutral and represent the sound differently than the artist intended, you might end up *not* hearing the message the artist is trying to convey at all. I can see this happening especially with classical music, but theoretically at least it could happen with all music. So the headphones are then actually interfering with your goal, and presumably with the artist's goal, too. That's why some people consider neutrality to be so important: so you can get an accurate representation of the music that's as close as possible to what was intended, and not some colored version of it that is relatively farther away from what the artist wanted you to hear. I can't speak for the OP, but these "peaks and what nots" you mention are *very* obvious to a lot of people from phone to phone, or even from speaker to speaker. I doubt he needed the measuring gear to hear the variations. On the contrary, he probably heard them very clearly, like I assumed most of us do, and that's why he used the gear, to try to quantify what he was hearing.

You got it.

I won't even measure a loudspeaker driver until I've listened to it first on a large flat baffle. If I like it and it's not bothersome, I'll consider using it in a project. If something bugs me about it, I might measure it just to confirm what I'm hearing, although it usually isn't necessary. With strict regards to the frequency domain of things, I've never come across anything that was "flat" that sounded really bad or wrong.

On the other hand, I'm trying to listen to some Diana Krall.. but everything just sounds wrong. Especially the top end of cymbals. The bass is a little bloated at times. The drums sound kinda tubby. The horns sound funny. Every "S" and "T" etc from her lips is slightly exaggerated in a way that I find annoying. Most people would call this "detailed". I just think it sounds wrong. How do I know it's wrong? Because I've heard these songs so many times. And because these same tonal characteristics are applied to everything I play.

 

[miscreant]

Quote:

Originally Posted by userlander /img/forum/go_quote.gif What you say is kind of contradictory, though. Because if the artist is trying to convey some particular message, emotion or idea, but the headphones aren't neutral and represent the sound differently than the artist intended, you might end up *not* hearing the message the artist is trying to convey at all. I can see this happening especially with classical music, but theoretically at least it could happen with all music. So the headphones are then actually interfering with your goal, and presumably with the artist's goal, too.

a vocalist hears his/her voice through the bone structure mostly. thats one mega-coloration. how can you record THAT?