[iponderous]

I almost feel apologetic for stating this but I think that there is a pointlessness to this discussion. I am yet to hear a headphone that reproduces the sound of an instrument so tonally accurate that I could mistake it for one. A headphone is nothing more than an attempt to approximate the real thing that is not only limited by its design and execution, but the recording process, and everything else in between it and the listener's ear.

I'm sceptical of anyone who seriously claims that listening to an orchestra through a pair of HD800's is just like sitting five, ten or fifteen rows back in an auditorium; just as I find it hard to believe that listening to a jazz combo through a pair of RS1's is like being on stage with the musicians. Having been in the latter situation on a regular basis, it doesn't come close to approximating this aural experience from my perspective.

I'm enthusiastic about headphones and earphones, but I have no illusions about their inherent limitations when attempting to reproduce a musical performance.

 

[Henerenry]

Not many people have said that they have mistaken the headphone experience for real instruments.

Its all about enjoyment, and for alot of people that means getting as close as they think they can with what they have. For me the mere fact that I have things on my head detract from any belief that I am there.

 

[iponderous]

I think that you might have taken my post too literally. I have read many posts where people have likened their listening experience to "being there." Obviously, that's not the same as deluding themselves into believing that they actually are there. You are clearly capable of distinguishing between wearing a pair of headphones and attending a live musical performance without them. I suppose that's reassuring but hardly unique, as other sensible Head-Fiers would also have this awareness.

 

[grokit]

I'm very surprised that the HiFiMAN HE-5 hasn't shown up in this thread yet.

edit: weird. I did a search of this thread using the term "HE-5" before I posted this, and tvrboy's post (#44) did not come up. So they were mentioned earlier and I missed them

In my opinion the HE-5 has uncanny tonal and timbrel accuracy across the entire frequency spectrum, with incredible detail and extension in the highs and lows while remaining quite smooth and non-fatiguing. The midrange, not to be left out, is presented accurately and prominently without any "humps" in either direction.

To my ears, it's "wide and not deep" soundstage also gives the HE-5 the unique ability to add air and relieve congestion between instruments, while not giving the impression of being close up, or far away from them. In short, they sound as close as possible to the way the mastering engineer intended the music to be heard, for better or worse.

I think that is the best that one can hope for when listening through headphones. Obviously, that's not the same as being deluded enough to believe that I was actually there at the performance

I am using the HE-5s with the "matched" EF5 amplifier, which is the minimum requirement for powering these cans properly and also guarantees synergy. My source is iTunes>Matrix MiniDAC.

 

[Skylab]

IMHO, I would rank the following headphones in this order in terms of accurate reproduction of acoustic instruments:

1. T1
2. HD800
3. HE-5
4. Ed 8
5. D7000

I know the HE-5 wasn't on the list, but it's current production, and very good in this regard, IMO. All of these cans are pretty good at it, IMO.

 

[donunus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by groovizintheheart /img/forum/go_quote.gif I can speak for the 702's and I will tell you, you can discern the strings vibrating in your driver and even pick out an out-of-tune instrument in the middle of an orchestra.

The thread is going elsewhere though because detail does not necessarily make the timbre accurate.

 

[grokit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mamba315 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I... believe that there's a lot more to this discussion than just headphones. They're the last link in the audio chain, and other parts (especially the DAC) may be just as important. Anyone agree (or not)?

How about the microphone recording the instrument? There are many different microphone options for an even greater variety of musical instruments out there in professional recording land, and all engineer/producer types, as well as the musician have their individual preferences, just as we all have different headphone preferences.

 

[grokit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donunus /img/forum/go_quote.gif The thread is going elsewhere though because detail does not necessarily make the timbre accurate.

If one post make the entire thread bad, then they all are. With everything being subjective and also subject to our individual psychoacoustics, I'm not sure if the post in question was really that bad.

I personally am finding this thread quite interesting, as it is trying valiantly to merge the objective and subjective traits of our shared and individual listening experiences together into a necessarily objective ranking system.

 

[donunus]

I was just pointing out the OP stressing that we should only consider timbre and nothing else. Otherwise yah, this is a great thread.

 

[Acix]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donunus /img/forum/go_quote.gif I was just pointing out the OP stressing that we should only consider timbre and nothing else. Otherwise yah, this is a great thread.

Cool, try the K-400, or the K1000.

 

[Uncle Erik]

iponderous, the AKG K-1000, set up correctly and used with a good recording, is almost as convincing as the real thing.

It is possible to get fooled with audio equipment, though. The ones that have "gotten" me a number of times are the DIY ribbons I built. A number of times, I left them on playing the radio when I left the house. Coming back, I've been convinced that someone was inside from the sound of voices. The AMTs and Quads have pulled the same thing, too.

Tonal accuracy aside, dipole radiation is very, very convincing to me. That's how real instruments and singers radiate sound, so it is extremely convincing. Headphones never give you tha kind of radiation, which is why they're never entirely convincing. A dead-nuts flat ESL that's fast and radiates like a human singer does is something else entirely.

 

[donunus]

Thats what I thought when I heard my first maggies too

After that, even an audiophile approved 5000 dollar bookshelf speaker couldnt match even the 1,600 dollar mg1.6QR to my ears in creating a realistic scene of real instruments playing.

 

[Skylab]

The Maggie 1.6QR is one of the all-time greatest loudspeakers ever made in terms of price-performance. I owned a pair for years and loved them, selling them only when my small children made them very impractical. There is something to planar/ribbon drivers and that sense of "rightness", to be sure. I bought the HE-5 specifically in hopes they would provide a measure of that - and they did not disappoint.

 

[iponderous]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif iponderous, the AKG K-1000, set up correctly and used with a good recording, is almost as convincing as the real thing. It is possible to get fooled with audio equipment, though...

Don't go saying that when Henerenry is around.

 

[jimndre]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mamba315 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I would guess because Beyer didn't make enough to satisfy initial demand. Lots of folks here haven't gotten a chance to hear it. I think the second batch is just starting to hit peoples mailboxes. On another note, I also believe that there's a lot more to this discussion than just headphones. They're the last link in the audio chain, and other parts (especially the DAC) may be just as important. Anyone agree (or not)?

I totally agree with this statement, not to mention synergy between source, interconnects, amp, headphone cable, and cans. I was just re-thinking a previous post of mine to this thread. In the post I said that i thought my PS10000 based Vixens reproduced instruments made out of wood most accurately. That was my subjective opinion based on my equipment.