Whats your audio hang up?

[BrianS]

good, tough question for OP. though this would be for my next setup as im not sure my current one has it.

i have to rank them to choose my favorite

1. layering/separation/airiness (being able to focus on each individual part of the music separately)
2. clarity
3. detail
4. weight/impact
5. bass
6. positioning (key for games)

#1 rules all, i guess i am an electrostat guy

 

[tkam]

Tonality is probably tops for me.

 

[Anarchy965]

Probably hard hitting bass.

 

[setmenu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tkam Tonality is probably tops for me.

I guess that would sum it up for me too.
I like to have a good open airy sound etc .
But ultimately it is about about hitting a balance that sounds natural without
undue emphasis.[except for added bass weight with portable IEM set ups]
Though I can live with, and quite like a touch of excess air to the sound even
at the expense of a bit of realism. But as these things are so dependent
on the qualities of the music recordings to begin with it can be all to easy to
end up chasing your tail!



.

 

[nabwong]

I like tight crisp articulation, bongo beats, double bass pizzicato, cymbal crash, guitar picking, brass tonguing, all those stuff.

 

[steaxauce]

So many are saying soundstage. I've never heard a pair of headphones that had any sort of soundstage with stereo recordings. I've made a few head-fiers very angry by saying that the idea of soundstage is pretty much shot with headphones, unless you're listening to binaural recordings. I stand by that. I don't just mean that headphones aren't particularly well suited to soundstaging. I mean to say that soundstage isn't worth even thinking about with headphones.

 

[phergus_25]

I agree copletely that HPs are never going to rival the soundstage of speakers, lets not start throwin around the idea of K1000s, however, you cant argue taht a set of 501s dosent sound wider than a pair of SR80s can you. And if that small diff is enough to change someones listining pleasure, then i dont see a prob.

 

[Reputator]

Quote:

Originally Posted by steaxauce So many are saying soundstage. I've never heard a pair of headphones that had any sort of soundstage with stereo recordings. I've made a few head-fiers very angry by saying that the idea of soundstage is pretty much shot with headphones, unless you're listening to binaural recordings. I stand by that. I don't just mean that headphones aren't particularly well suited to soundstaging. I mean to say that soundstage isn't worth even thinking about with headphones.

There's a reason you've made a few head-fiers angry with such statements. It doesn't make any sense. Soundstage is a consideration with headphones, and whether your perception of it has been altered or diminished by listening to speakers isn't a relevant factor in this discussion. The point of this topic isn't to compare aspects of headphones with speakers. If it wasn't an issue and no one could hear it, then no one would care, but clearly people do hear it and clearly some people prefer it. Otherwise, no one would take notice.

Now if you want to make the claim that it isn't soundstage people are hearing, that it's something like airiness, then do so, but don't insult people's intelligence by telling them they aren't hearing anything.

 

[Spareribs]

If you smoke pot with good headphones, that can also help with the sound stage.

 

[mateo05]

Lower frequencies are my hangup. I love a "full" sound, and while I can appreciate qualities of other headphones, if I don't have that bottom end I'm not fully satisfied. At the NE meet this weekend I discovered that I can actually have too much of this, which was actually kind of a surprise, and shows me that even though I pay a lot of attention here, there are other aspects of the sound that are still very important to me.

 

[steaxauce]

Sorry if I insulted anyone's intelligence; not my intent. I will start a thread on this topic and explain myself thoroughly tomorrow.

 

[steaxauce]

Let's not derail this thread. Like I said, I'll start a thread with this specific topic tomorrow.

 

[EdipisReks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tkam Tonality is probably tops for me.

me too. a pair of phones can have great detail, a rounded presentation, good soundstage and nice, impactful bass, and if the tonality isn't correct i won't like them.

 

[ironman64]

Quote:

Originally Posted by setmenu I guess that would sum it up for me too. I like to have a good open airy sound etc . But ultimately it is about about hitting a balance that sounds natural without undue emphasis.[except for added bass weight with portable IEM set ups] Though I can live with, and quite like a touch of excess air to the sound even at the expense of a bit of realism. But as these things are so dependent on the qualities of the music recordings to begin with it can be all to easy to end up chasing your tail! .

Same as in the post above and here. I simply can't place a finger on a favorite genre, so I'm aiming for a headphone that can do a satisfactory job presenting as wide a variety as posisble.

 

[The Monkey]

As I learn more about my own likes and dislikes here: mids and impact are what I want.