what's the point of comparing headphones online?

[redshifter]

i've been wondering about the validity of comparing headphones online. iow, when someone says brand x kicks ass over brand y, there are too many variables involved to be accurate:

source: almost everyone uses different sources and amps, and different recordings. this has a huge impact on how a headphone sounds.

hearing: everyone has different hearing, different shaped ears, more or less wax build up, and differing levels of hearing damage. this will also change the sound.

coupling: this is mainly for earbuds. since the earbud's coupling with the ear changes the sound drastically, and people have widely different sized canals, again there is a alot of variation.

personal bias: many folks say "i hate brand x (sony)", so when it comes time to review that brand their bias kicks in and the cans don't get a fair listen.

use: people use their phones for different things. sure the hd600 may sound better than the v6, but not on a noisy bus! there are other factors involved than pure sound.

"different strokes" factor: sometimes for no reason someone will love something but someone will hate the same thing.

sometimes it seems like these discussions are like "pizza tastes good." "no it doesn't!". where one person hears "over-bright" treble, someone else hears "detail". there can even be variations in the same equipment.

i'm not trying to invalidate this forum (like i could stop you maniacs

), but just wanted to show advice should be taken with a grain of salt (like tequila). i enjoy reading the reviews here, but sometimes the headphone shootouts get a little ridiculous.

 

[Beagle]

I fully agree, that's why I always maintain that auditioning is the key. The forums (head-fi and headwize) are certainly great for providing guidelines and an approximate idea of what one can expect. However, when one person finds something bright and someone else finds the same thing dull, people can get confused.

 

[Tim D]

Just in case, even with all these variables, that when you get down to it...there may be the rare case that you may look at someone's review/comments and say "holy crap thats exactly how I feel about so and so headphone".

But I know what you mean, heck I can't even trust my own opinions half the time

, cept one...Ety's r00lz.

 

[coolvij]

Well, the point is mainly that we can validate our own opinions - or, perhaps, engage in lively discussions with those who contradict our views.

Also - if ONE person evaluates SEVERAL different headphones with almost all the other variables accounted for, I'd take that person's opinion immediately.

Take a look at any decent review - like the Featured Headphone Review Section, or MY Senn. 495 review

Those reviews state what music is being listened to - and at what times, quite often.

I dunno.....there is no point to anything unless you think there is....IMO.......

 

[Vertigo-1]

I pratically have nothing to go by but online reviews. The more onlline reviews there are on a product, the more I can begin to pick out and discern what exactly the product might sound like. If one person says the treble is clear and the next person says it's too bright, that's a good sign of a strong treble response. If one person says the midrange is warm and the next says it's muddy, it tells you overall that the midrange must be quite warm. Etc etc. I read reviews just to get a flavor of the product...it certainly doesn't decide for me if I buy something or not, even if the reviews are all rave. I don't know about anybody else, but online reviews are very important to me, since I can't audition crap out here in Hawaii.

 

[KR...]

All reviews, no matter who writes them should be taken with a grain of salt. All of the factors that you listed must be noted by the person reading the review. When reviewing, headphones, amps, sources, cables, tweaks, etc. The person doing the review just has to be as honest as possible. That's all you can ask for.

But, I think that they are very helpful at the end of the day. After all, I never got the hear my HP-2 or HD-600's before I brought them.

 

[raymondlin]

Same thing can apply to Movie reviews, another thing which I am into. That's why I don't just read ONE review, I read a few and I use websites like www.rottentomatoes.com to see how a film does in the context of 50+ critics.

If 75%+ critics says it's good then there's got to be something in that which makes it good. IF a film gets less then 40% approval from critics all over the country then the chances of me watching it is slim, I'll wait for the DVD in blockbuster. However, it it get's 80%+, I most certainly check it out in the cinema and make up my own mind afterwards.

 

[redshifter]

i don't have that much of an issue with straight-forward reviews, but when someone says brand x is better than brand y for whatever reasons then i go "hmmm".

another factor that may be filed under "bias" is the theory of headphone folklore. you know how it works, someone says something about a headphone (let's say they say a headphone is worthless for binaural recordings), and this information gets replicated in a hundred posts as heresay by people who never ran the test. pretty soon that headphone is "well known" for this problem, whether it is true or not. this is the reason i keep commenting on the same few headphones; i actually own them and use them everyday!

i agree with vertigo-1 on reviews; you can get a gestalt review by taking all of them in (if there are enough). however, most reviewers either review the wrong thing (see dvd reviews where they review the movie not the disc), are incapable of giving a serious review ("the only other headphones i ever owned were the stock headphones that came with my sony walkman, so these mdr v150 headphones are the best ever!!!!!"), or give everything 5 stars or 1 star. review sites should be much more specific in their guidelines for reviews, and use a little editorial power.

 

[MooGoesTheCow]

Yes, we all listen differently, have different tastes, etc. But, for me at least, it's easy to find those people whose tastes and preferences pretty darn closely reflect my own. And for those people, I trust their comments and get a good idea of how I might react to a certain component if I were to audition it. Hell, there are a couple people on this board whose opinions regarding sound are so similar to mine, it's almost scary...like they're reading my mind. Probably are, too. Get out of my head, you freak!

And then there are also those whose tastes don't mirror mine, and though I respect their opinions, I would take them with a grain of salt.

So what is the point of comparing headphones online? Tis fun. And if it isn't fun, you're a loser. But you think it's fun, dontcha? You're a winner, right?

w00t!

 

[KR...]

BTW,

Don't you think it's funny that for the most part, the best reviewed films do the worst at the box office.

AFA critics goes, Robert Ebert has the closest taste to my own when it comes to flims. So if he likes it, then there's a very good chance that I'll like it too. Not always, for most (80%) of the time.

http://www.suntimes.com/index/ebert.html

 

[Tim D]

First of all very few people on this board have a "brand" bias. Most are knowledgable enough to know that if you didn't pick the right Sennheisers or Sony's...you'll think they made the crappiest headphones ever. There are differences in the reviews on this board...than say, Audioreview. Where a DJ700 will garner high marks for heavy bass and because its shiny.

As for movie reviews...it IS like movie reviews...there are just SOME movies that you just KNOW what it will be like if you read enough reviews from critics who have the same views as you do(again in cases that a movie you just can tell is not going to be very good...like Blankman...haha than again maybe you love Blankman). Or that a movie might be good. In any case there is some phenomena of agreement that makes a movie great or not. And no one has time and money to see every movie in existance, so you do depend on SOME feedback of peers. In the end you have a list of movies that you would probably avoid...and a list of movies you really want to see.

Oh and BTW, I know there are people that would think Iron Monkey is the cheesiest POS movie...but its one of my all time favorites!

If in case you are talking about why people on this board like to rally behind Team AKG, or Grado Army, or Team Sony or Sennheiser or whatever...its because we are freaks.

 

[MooGoesTheCow]

Hey KR...
Bob Ebert rules! Most of the time his reviews are a good indication of whether I'll like a film or not. Of course, once in awhile his mind slips and he'll make a mistake. (I'm always right, of course.)

 

[kerykeion]

Quote:

Don't you think it's funny that for the most part, the best reviewed films do the worst at the box office.

Either that, or they aren't made anymore.* Same principle holds for "pop" music.**

* Opinion is biased.
** Take with a grain of salt.

 

[redshifter]

ebert loves any movie with boobies in it.

he also liked "ghosts of mars"; i think he, i, and the rowdy crowd i saw it with were the only other people who liked it too (it rocked!).

i think i'm the only person who liked "eyes wide shut" too (besides my wife, strangely enough).

 

[Tim D]

Cool...I'll have even more respect for Ebert's ratings from now on. Maybe he needs to use something besides thumbs.

BTW the funny thing about headphone reviews now that I think about it...is when it comes to comparing hi-end headphones...a lot of them only make sense after having heard the headphones being compared...at which point does beg the question of utilility. Some weird chicken-egg thing again. So maybe reviews are good, because they make you want to buy more headphones, at which point reviews will only make sense...but than if you had to buy the stuff to find out anyways...I guess reviews should be called wallet teasers instead.

For example I can get a total bead on what someone is talking about when it comes to comparing perspective on AKG 501 to Senn even though they may have differing opinions on which they like better. Otherwise I'd probably be scratching my head wondering how an AKG can be both distant and more forward than Senns, or how the Senns could sound at the same time both darker, yet brighter than AKG's.

Lol so I guess you need reference points...and that reviews don't really help without reference points...and reviews actually require you to buy a bunch of stuff to compare anyhow in order to begin to make sense...which kinda defeated the original purpose of some reviews anyhow...pretty weird huh.