[tfarney]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaZa /img/forum/go_quote.gif You are married with your HD580 yet you are looking for... variety...

Absolutely. I'm married to my Senns, a Gibson Original Jumbo and a lovely woman named Mitzi. I can cheat on the first two without suffering physical injury.

Tim

 

[big-ban]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaska /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am positive I'm going to be verbally assaulted for this (I hate when that happens!), but honestly my own perception of sound stage has quite a bit to do with the hollowness of midrange reproduction. I prefer headphones/earphones offering an up-front, forward midrange presentation and clean and detailed instrument separation to those offering a wider or deeper ("bigger") sound stage. I have not yet found anything that manages to offer both while managing to do it all with any finesse.

Not sure what you mean with "hollowness" here, but soundstage is in fact some kind of reverb effect in the recording. Without some sort of reverb you wouldn't have any cues as to where the sound is coming from in the reproduced room/venue.
I also find myself preferring headphones with a more intimate and direct presentation as opposed to those putting you in a distance from the music. As a suggestion for the headphone you haven't found yet: imo, the AD2000 could be a candidate for you. It is a kind of mixed bag because on the one hand it has a soundstage with width and depth, but nevertheless you still feel very close to the music. "Very close" might be the wrong description, it is more like "with the music". I don't really worry much about soundstage when I'm listening to it, the music is just there with me.

 

[Joelc87]

I know this is a bit off topic since this thread started concerning the K601's but since the title is strictly concerning sound stage I'll ask this here.

I recently switched from Shure SE530's to UE Triple.fi 10's. The thing I noticed the most was the improvement of the sound stage. The UE's just have a much larger more spacious sound. Very realistic to me.

My main question is this. Do the UE's have a larger sound stage due to their greater treble extension and therefore airier sound, or do they actually create some type of reverb since I hear reverb in almost all my music now with the Triple.fi's that I never heard in my Shure's before?

Up until this point in time the only other in ear headphones that I heard with this airy quality were the V-moda vibes and the Bose IE but both lacked either treble clarity or bass. (I'll let you guess which) All in all very impressed with the Triple.fi's so far.

 

[number1sixerfan]

The one flaw with headphones that bothers me is the fact that they can't properly throw a soundstage. When listening to speakers, the sound is coming from in front of you, just as it would at a concert or performance. With headphones, the sound is just not forward enough. Not even with grados. I wish the sound could truly sound as if it were coming from in front of you.

 

[crewchief]

Well I have both the 701's and 580's in hand right now. There is no comparison between the two on the "airiness" the 701's afford. Also the 701's are very neutral and yes they do have some bottom, but in the clincal variety. As in I have played some tracks with very low end bass through the 580's. Then I take the 701's and play the same track back to back and the 701's go even lower than the 580's can even pick up. Although it is not very "impactful" or in your face it is deffinatly more audiable. I love my 580's and won't be parting with them anytime soon (well maybe for some 650's) and find the AKG's a nice compliment. At the same time I also love my Grado's, but I believe variety is the spice of life.

 

[crewchief]

Quote:

Originally Posted by number1sixerfan /img/forum/go_quote.gif The one flaw with headphones that bothers me is the fact that they can't properly throw a soundstage. When listening to speakers, the sound is coming from in front of you, just as it would at a concert or performance. With headphones, the sound is just not forward enough. Not even with grados. I wish the sound could truly sound as if it were coming from in front of you.

That is a good point as I am into Speaker-Fi as well. That is why in my post above I refered to a "Airiness" of a headphone rather than "Soundstage"

 

[tfarney]

I wish I could try Grados, but the way my ears are made just doesn't work with "on-ear" phones. I have to have full size cans that go around my ear. The crushing of my Howdy Doody cartilage makes anything else unbearable after about 20 minutes.

Beyers? Who wants to talk about Beyers while were talking? I find their line (closed, open, semi-open, uber-open, convertible, 80 ohm, 250 ohm...and the "Darth." What the heck is that?) very confusing, but something in there might provide good alternate tones to Senns...

Or should I just not trust them because they can't seem to make up their minds?

Tim

 

[tfarney]

Quote:

Originally Posted by crewchief /img/forum/go_quote.gif That is a good point as I am into Speaker-Fi as well. That is why in my post above I refered to a "Airiness" of a headphone rather than "Soundstage"

I can see that. Your little avatar friend is wearing her sub woofers proudly...

Tim

 

[Jo-Vo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by number1sixerfan /img/forum/go_quote.gif When listening to speakers, the sound is coming from in front of you, just as it would at a concert or performance. With headphones, the sound is just not forward enough.

What about a crossfeed? I use one as a foobar plugin and it works.

Greetings
Jonas

 

[recstar24]

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f13/st...nership-40331/

The above link is a review by a headfi user darth nut. He is part of the old school, of which many of the newbs here do not know. This includes people like Kelly, Carlo, and to a certain extent Goredwings19. These individuals had fantastic ears and listening ability but also knew how to communicate and convey their thoughts well, plus they had the listening experience and comparative experience to back it up. But the above review tops it all. No other written word has gotten so close to the meaning of soundstage or conveyed the concept of headphone soundstage so perfect than the above review. I feel it should be required reading for all new head-fiers if they wish to truly be initiated into the headfi vernacular that we all share and use.

Yes it is long but maybe if you took the time to read it through you might learn something. He actually talks about another term called headstage which is different from soundstage but the transition is excellent. Very good reading, well worth it for the long read to absorb and take in everything he is saying. Too bad they just don't write them like that anymore. Also look at the fact his review used 4 YEARS of listening experience before writing it. A review written with long term experience will always be more valuable than one on short term. Today I see so many reviews pop up within 2 hours of receiving a product and being taken as the holy gospel for how the product sounds like, only to see that user change his mind about that product and flip it on the for sale forums in a month or two. Again, the above review should be required reading for all newbies.

 

[Jaska]

.

 

[mrdeadfolx]

Soundstage is a function of micing and mixing. Some cans produce it better than others, but the headphone isn't what creates the virtual plane in the first place. This is why binaural recordings sound so 3D.

 

[catscratch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by recstar24 /img/forum/go_quote.gif http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f13/st...nership-40331/ The above link is a review by a headfi user darth nut. He is part of the old school, of which many of the newbs here do not know. This includes people like Kelly, Carlo, and to a certain extent Goredwings19. These individuals had fantastic ears and listening ability but also knew how to communicate and convey their thoughts well, plus they had the listening experience and comparative experience to back it up. But the above review tops it all. No other written word has gotten so close to the meaning of soundstage or conveyed the concept of headphone soundstage so perfect than the above review. I feel it should be required reading for all new head-fiers if they wish to truly be initiated into the headfi vernacular that we all share and use. Yes it is long but maybe if you took the time to read it through you might learn something. He actually talks about another term called headstage which is different from soundstage but the transition is excellent. Very good reading, well worth it for the long read to absorb and take in everything he is saying. Too bad they just don't write them like that anymore. Also look at the fact his review used 4 YEARS of listening experience before writing it. A review written with long term experience will always be more valuable than one on short term. Today I see so many reviews pop up within 2 hours of receiving a product and being taken as the holy gospel for how the product sounds like, only to see that user change his mind about that product and flip it on the for sale forums in a month or two. Again, the above review should be required reading for all newbies.

Damn, you beat me to it.

This review should be mandatory reading not only for those who wish to review components themselves, but for those who wish to learn the language of hi-fi, and those that want a glimpse into how high-end systems are to be listened to and evaluated in terms of their performance.

Unfortunately, the length and the detailed discussions of fairly abstract topics are going to turn off a lot of people...

 

[tfarney]

Sorry, I could only make it about halfway through depth ques. Perhaps earlier in the day I'll be able to make it further. FWIW, I didn't find any revelations there.

Tim

 

[Dobro]

This demo has been posted before on another thread but I think it might be relevant to this thread.
YouTube - Virtual Barber Shop (Audio...use headphones, close ur eyes)