Sonic Atrocity
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2009
- Posts
- 759
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- 19
As of late I am doing some research on new headphones. AFAIK a flat frequency response will bring me the greatest fidelity (ie: hearing what the artist and producer want me to hear). I actually made a thread on this that got quite a few replies (http://www.head-fi.org/t/506000/headphones-flat-fr-low-sibilance-fidelity). My most important concern is what some of have said about pop music – that it is produced with the concept in mind that it will be listened to on bass heavy systems to bass is lessened to make up for it. But I am concerned mostly that this is also applied to other music (that I listen to more often) like metal, rock and industrial.
You see, I want flat frequency response headphones so that I can start listening to classical music. I am very intrigued by it. But I wonder if it would actually give me less fidelity regarding metal, rock and industrial. Though, I’d think one would be hard pressed to believe that considering so the great diversity in frequency response makeups from headphone to headphone.
Now, if I do want to get a pair of flat headphones I also want to bear in mind my amp in source. I am currently running on a Sansa Clip+ (Rockboxed) and am very aware of its ruler flat frequency response. So, that is one check mark off the list. But I am most concerned about my PA2V2 and how it might affect my frequency response. I have read around that the PA2V2’s warm presentation is accompanied by a thick, punchy-bass and a mid-centric character. I’d think that I want to use an equalizer to make up for this.
But I don’t want to go as far as buying different headphones to accommodate the PA2V2 but instead using an equalizer to accommodate the PA2V2 and (in time) upgrading to a better and flatter amp (I use a portable because I’m on the go. But I am not worried about using my headphones on the go nearly as much as I am concerned about using them while sitting at home).
I am currently using the Pro 900 and have the highest and lowest frequencies attenuated by 7.5 decibels. I love the clarity and transparency of the Pro 900 but I know they heavily colour my sound. They are also really sibilant and listening is painful. I can at times solve it by further attenuating and rolling off my highs but then I actually lose a lot of detail (it seems).
Right now I’m looking at the Denon AH-D5000 and AH-D7000. I’ve read that the D5000 (the one I am leaning towards a little more) is a bit too bassy and that the bass is a bit muddy. This of course concerns me (I care about the entire frequency range!!). But I’ve also read that they’re used as reference cans. Crazy contrast.
Now, I’ve read that a lot of cans will have a mid/upper-bass hump and a bit of accentuation in the midrange to mimic that of reference monitors in a room designed with proper acoustics – is this a correct understanding? Futhermore, I read a critique from a fellow head-fier claiming that there experience with reference monitors and reference headphones has been greatly different regarding the bottom end. They said that reference monitors, while of course flat, have a very present bottom end while reference headphones do not. Hence, he felt that reference headphones did not accurately portray the bottom end of the frequency spectrum. What are your thoughts on this?
I look forward to your responses and love the discussions on this site!