Quote:
a recessed midrange means that the highs and lows are pronounced.
I have a problem with this, as it's a common misinformed statement. If the mids stay where they are, and the highs and lows are pronounced, then the mids are not reaccessed. They are neutral. Recessed means to withdraw, which means recessed mids suggests that the midrange is lower than neutral volume.
So a neutral headphone should be:
Highs: 5
Mids: 5
Lows: 5
Pronounced treble and bass would be:
Highs: 7
Mids: 5
Lows: 7
Which makes recessed mids:
Highs: 5
Mids: 3
Lows: 5
If a headphone were to have pronounced treble and bass... AND recessed mids:
Highs: 7
Mids: 3
Lows: 7
It would sound like there's a big hole in the music... vocals would be difficult to hear and almost impossible to make out the lyrics. Yes I realize technically the 2nd and 3rd example could be the same in different proportions, but there's still a difference between how the sound is either emphasized or held back.
It's either one or the other, not both.
The reason why I bother to bring up "the glass is half full" vs "the glass is half empty" is because sometimes people's statements can give people the wrong impression of headphones. For example, the DT 880 is a bass neutral headphone, but many claim that it "lacks" bass. This is not true, because what is the DT 880 being compared to? the DT 770 and 990? Bass heavy headphones? Compare the DT 880's with the AD700, and there's no possible way that the DT 880's can "lack" bass by any stretch of the definition.
All I'm saying is, neutral is the bar in which proportions should be measured.