What are reference grade headphones?
Nov 28, 2011 at 12:37 AM Post #16 of 35


Quote:
 
Do you mean you find the HD800 to have more bass than the T1?
 
Your description of the two matches the impression I came got when reading about the two.  Vocals are huge in my music preferences so I opted for the more forward midrange.  I've also always favored a warmer and richer sound.  Coupled with the fact that I'm no good at tinkering with different amps and such, the less finicky T1s may very well be the right choice for me.
 
I do really value detail and clarity though and I get the impression that the HD 800 may surpass the T1s in that regard.  Not that the T1s are lacking at all (to my ears, at least) in terms of resolution, but I always wonder what I'm missing out on.
 
 



Key thing to remember is that if you get to audition the HD800 ~ don't judge it just off one rig, if you're at a meet,
spot all the nice amps and see if the nice owner will allow to 'amp hop' from amp to amp just to get a feel of this different
character they exude depending on the amp of choice.
 
I will say this though ~ you can buy a T1 and for a $1000 or so build a very nice rig around them, I'm always on the
lookout for 'bang for your buck' champions like eg, the Audio GD NFB-5 but in the case of the HD800 ~ I don't think
there are shortcuts with this flagship.
 
Starting from scratch, some people just see a $1500 headphone ~ I see a total spend of $3500-$5000+ including the
headphone, DAC and amp to really do justice and starting hearing what the guys back at the Sennheiser lab want you to hear.
 
Nov 28, 2011 at 1:02 AM Post #17 of 35
Back on topic, a "reference" is something someone uses as a basis on which to judge other things. Generally here that would mean a high-end pair of headphones or a piece of equipment which someone uses if they write reviews. While they may not be able to compare all review headphones or equipment at the same time, they are able to compare it/them to their reference, so they have something consistent with which to compare.  Reference headphones don't have to be neutral, tonally, as there is no definition for the word. The reason so many headphones are marketed with the word "reference" likely comes from audio reviews where the reviewer writes "Compared to my reference [whatever]...", so the company is attempting to suggest that the headphones are the kind of high grade against which others are judged. This, of course, is marketing BS.
smile.gif

 
Nov 28, 2011 at 5:23 AM Post #18 of 35
1. Studio/Monitors hps = studio tool, accurate as possible.
2. Reference hps = wanna be studio tool, but don't have the balls...lost in translation. Many will take advantage of this gray area.
3. hifi hps = sound coloration (almost everybody happy).

 

 
Nov 28, 2011 at 7:50 AM Post #23 of 35


Quote:
High fidelity means a high quality accurate sound reproduction (in other words, neutral) and it is definitely not a contrast to studio headphones. 
 



and 'reference grade headphones' is not the same as 'reference headphones'
the original question was slandered.
 
insisting on creating your own language, or simply forgetting english?
 
there is only one thing to 'grade' once the track has left the studio, and that is the hardware the track is played on.
you cannot grade a song after you've heard the song before, it is judging the headphones.
new details heard in the song gives new meaning to the song, but you already graded it with a 'like or dislike'
 
reference grade headphones are towards the studio perfection needed to master the audio track.
simply because a business says they are reference grade, that doesnt say if their words are true.
you might take the company to court and they belch out some excuse about their headphone's quality is 'reference grade' compared to headphones on a short list.
that is marketing propaganda with results after blowing past humanitarian laws.
the market is always trying to float past humanitarian law to sell you something with words because they need to completely lie about some junk to sell it.
 
did you know speakers have a harmonic distortion percentage that can change depending on which frequency is being tested?
because that changes, they simply put out a chart for the noise floor.
and that isnt distortion, that is signal to noise ratio.
 
the desire to monitor everybody's shopping choices seems to be higher than the importance of being humanitarian.
and i've seen it myself when a person seriously doesnt care enough about themselves and is totally happy with their purchase.
this usually doesnt cause a problem until the price is way too much for the quality received.
 
being a conscious shopper has been something of a 'niche' and a 'hobby' since the world's fair.
and it means..
if you can hide your progress well enough, then you can release old versions out to the public slowly year after year until you reach the 'best and final' product you came up with.
 
and now today we must tell people.. 'simply because it is perfectly functional.. that doesnt mean the quality is perfect'
it would of been better to allow people to watch as the inventor was making progress, and keep people out of the way with security.
that way you could see for yourself how hard it is and how to do it yourself and if you wanted to build one of your own and sell it.
 
consumers will absorb whatever is on the shelves.. they take and take and take without giving anything back (talking about inventions, ideas, and product arrays).
so if you release all there is to give, they will soak it up and want something more.
that is when you know you need a government to keep that type of an 'infant' happy.
nothing worse than a crying baby that wont really tell you what is wrong or why it is crying.
but
the screams get painfully loud and sometimes things get thrown.. but you dont hear about all of that time wasted and how you didnt learn anything during that time.
you are supposed to be always learning something.. even at work you can learn something from a friend that works along side you as long as you are responsible enough to talk and get the work done at the same time.
 
 
people are filling up 'voids' when people have a question.
but what they are filling those voids up with is not the highest grade of accuracy.
in fact, we can see here in this thread.. people are willing to get dirty if it does anything to raise the accuracy of their attempt.
graphicism could not know if it is 'marketing allure' without checking the websites you visited (or knowing which headphones are being discussed because you somehow told him/her).
 
Nov 28, 2011 at 8:00 AM Post #24 of 35
It's known for a lot of things depending on what you plug it into ~ when someone reports harsh treble, recessed mids, ~ I always ask
about their recording of choice and the details of the rig.

No headphone is more finicky about the source and amp (especially the amp) than the HD800 ~ like a chameleon it changes from
amp to amp, you really have to hear it for yourself, it's quite remarkable.


the HD800 is diffused-field and hand built so it tend to vary to vary to certain people. i also think diffused-field headphones are picky on itself though. my 240DF seems to pretty darn picky. while it sounds great on lot of things,it likes being driven from Class A amps the most and sounds it best there.
 
Nov 28, 2011 at 8:11 AM Post #26 of 35


Quote:
*sigh* The word high fidelity has lost its meaning.



when i see the word.. i think of this
 
h is for heaven
i is for antenna
g is for gulp (drink)
h is for heaven
 
translation..
perfection to your antenna and drink.
 
now on to fidelity..
f is for fail
i is for antenna
d is for low grade (one layer above fail)
e is for everything
l is for lose (or lost)
i is for antenna
t is an intersection
y is a split (like a fork in the road)
 
translation..
let your surroundings fall, but dont fail at anything while you are lost.
 
put those two translations together and you get 'perfection to you and drink it while(you) let your surroundings fall, but dont fail at anything while you are lost'
 
 
most people try to say the math is invalid, and they say 'when high fidelity is abbreviated to hi-fi .. it means there is something missing from the math, and if there is something missing.. it cannot be close to 'studio reference' anymore'
 
people thinking like that are paranoid, and criminal to say we cannot use abbreviations to keep the typing short.
 
because if you do the math again for the abbreviation.. it looks like this
 
h is heaven
i is antenna
- is hyphen (hyphen translates to accurate hype)
f is fail
i is antenna
 
translation..
gather round for heaven with perfect hype as we conflict with those that fail.
 
 
 
really.. it means people dont know math symbols and they are reading things backwards and sideways and upside down instead of seeing the one real simple standard.
we read from left to right.. not right to left.
it also means people are not realizing something rational.
if you are typing out 'high fidelity' over and over again.. then it must be worth typing about.
when you switch to the abbreviation to save some time, it is once again a 'perfect hype'
that is how the sentence got the second 'with perfect hype' because the first 'perfect hype' that came from the hyphen was used for 'as we'
nobody should be avoiding perfect hype.
another rationale problem because the hype is 'perfect' somehow.. and that is worth learning.
 
people are far from detectives.
they linger around forums and let other people tell them what is and what isnt.
 
Nov 28, 2011 at 8:30 AM Post #27 of 35


Quote:
the HD800 is diffused-field and hand built so it tend to vary to vary to certain people. i also think diffused-field headphones are picky on itself though. my 240DF seems to pretty darn picky. while it sounds great on lot of things,it likes being driven from Class A amps the most and sounds it best there.



That sheds some light on why my favorite amp thus far for the HD800 has been the Class-A Sugden Masterclass HA4.
 
So many others just never make the grade, the V200 is not too bad but it's still not ideal.
 
Feb 22, 2013 at 3:38 PM Post #28 of 35
Is a natural sound a warm sound or a flat neutral and analytical sound?
 
So a reference headphone like the studio one should it be (e.g. HD650) flat and neutral or warm and lush or...?
 

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