[perhapss]

  This may seem like the dumbest question on headfi, but seriously, why are some headphones more expensive than others? I have apple headphones that came with my iPhone 5, ws55's, and SRH840's, and I honestly can't tell any significant differences in sound quality. For example, everyone on headfi praises the SRH840's for being revealing, but my apple headphones are just as revealing! I just don't understand why I would pay an additional $170 on SRH840's when I feel that other than features and small specs, they are equal in quality! Is it just me?

 
It's definitely not just you.
There is absolutely no reason for any headphone to cost more than any other

.

 

[JR4599638]

   
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kD6fcH58_U here you can hear the timbales and the guitar way more clear with the shures

I don't know if it's just me, but I can hear the guitar equally clear through my apple earpods and SRH840's. There is definitely better intrument separation with the SRH840's, though.

 

[barid]

To the OP: if you can't tell the difference count yourself lucky. You just saved youself thousands of dollars and a lot of time.

I've been through like 20+ phones and amps. All sound different to me (and great in their own ways). This has been quite a rewaring hobby for me as i cannot blast a full range speaker setup at all hours.

 

[JR4599638]

To the OP: if you can't tell the difference count yourself lucky. You just saved youself thousands of dollars and a lot of time.

I've been through like 20+ phones and amps. All sound different to me (and great in their own ways). This has been quite a rewaring hobby for me as i cannot blast a full range speaker setup at all hours.

In your opinion then, with my most expensive headphones being the SRH840's, are they justifiable enough for their price compared to the WS55's in terms of sound quality and features that I should keep them?

 

[barid]

In your opinion then, with my most expensive headphones being the SRH840's, are they justifiable enough for their price compared to the WS55's in terms of sound quality and features that I should keep them?

I think so. The 840's were my first pair ( since a pair of sennheisers in the 90's) and i thought the sound quality was good. My problem with them was comfort. I could not wear them for long sessions.

I noticed in another thread you were looking for dubstep / comfortable headphones? The denon line is great for that. If may be worth looking into like a used d2000 of their current model the d600. Obviously if you dont notice a difference theres no reason to keep burning money though.

 

[joseph69]

To the OP: if you can't tell the difference count yourself lucky. You just saved youself thousands of dollars and a lot of time.

I've been through like 20+ phones and amps. All sound different to me (and great in their own ways). This has been quite a rewaring hobby for me as i cannot blast a full range speaker setup at all hours.

+1 I hear the difference in every headphone/amp that I have also, and each are great in their own ways…definitely hear you on that!!!
 

I think so. The 840's were my first pair ( since a pair of sennheisers in the 90's) and i thought the sound quality was good. My problem with them was comfort. I could not wear them for long sessions.

I noticed in another thread you were looking for dubstep / comfortable headphones? The denon line is great for that. If may be worth looking into like a used d2000 of their current model the d600. Obviously if you dont notice a difference theres no reason to keep burning money though.

Yeah, if you don't hear much of a difference in headphones, then just buy/keep the ones that are the least expensive and most comfortable for you to wear…and you are very lucky in a way, saving all of that money, but a big part of this hobby is to hear different sounds/quality, so on the flip side you are not so lucky being you don't hear the differences, so in the end, just keep yourself happy and don't ask others what you like to hear or what they think if you don't hear the differences, only you know what you can hear/like, so just enjoy what makes you happy!

 

[JR4599638]

+1 I hear the difference in every headphone/amp that I have also, and each are great in their own ways…definitely hear you on that!!!

Yeah, if you don't hear much of a difference in headphones, then just buy/keep the ones that are the least expensive and most comfortable for you to wear…and you are very lucky in a way, saving all of that money, but a big part of this hobby is to hear different sounds/quality, so on the flip side you are not so lucky being you don't hear the differences, so in the end, just keep yourself happy and don't ask others what you like to hear or what they think if you don't hear the differences, only you know what you can hear/like, so just enjoy what makes you happy!

I can definitely hear differences in my music through different headphones. I hear differences in sound signatures, for example, my SRH840's sound more natural than my WS55's, have a larger soundstage, more emphasized mids, and better instrument separation. I just don't know if these differences justify the fact that the SRH840's are more than twice as expensive. Besides, some of my music sounds better with my WS55's, so I don't know if I should sell my Shure's and buy something of better value or not.

 

[GaryWA]

I can definitely hear differences in my music through different headphones. I hear differences in sound signatures, for example, my SRH840's sound more natural than my WS55's, have a larger soundstage, more emphasized mids, and better instrument separation. I just don't know if these differences justify the fact that the SRH840's are more than twice as expensive. Besides, some of my music sounds better with my WS55's, so I don't know if I should sell my Shure's and buy something of better value or not.

You're going to start to realize that at a certain point the marginal gains with headphones are so small many can't actually notice..

 

[reddragon]

I think the differences are usually smaller than what people over here state, I have quite some friends who cant hear any difference whatsoever. for me, I think it really depends... I still struggle to tell the difference between the 2 filters on my ibasso dx100 myself in all honesty. It seems like sometimes I don't hear any difference, actually most of the time. and sometimes it feels like the slow roll off filter is slightly louder or has slightly more treble extension than the fast roll off. it can be possible that I don't hear any difference at all and its just all placebo especially when its lee730 who told me the slow roll off has more treble extension so i start to think that way. sometimes some differences are much bigger, like my ultimate ears trifi10 has more bass than my etymotic research hf5. that's pretty obvious. however, that's more sound signature than quality. i also notice a bigger jump from quality comparing something like my etymotic research hf5 (my first quality audio gear) to a 10 bucks iem than say a 100 bucks headphone to a several hundred bucks headphone. it also depends on the track as well. maybe an easier way to distinguish the sound difference is to dissect it into different categories, like comparing the 2 headphones by bass first, then mid, then treble. differences in bass and mid are also more easily distinguishable to me, my theory is either im not a treble listener like i don't usually actively listen for treble or my music simply does not have a lot of treble. i would guess its both with the first option being the more major one. i think it also depends on my mood. sometimes i hear absolutely no difference at all when im switching gears but sometimes i notice a lot more. i also think i can train my ears if i practice more. i also have an expectation that the higher priced or the more respected gear should perform better. i want to get rid of that feeling because it can cause bias. it can go both ways with this, i can expect more so i automatically imagine the higher priced/more respected gear to sound better when it really isn't or expect a huge jump in sound quality when the difference is not as much and come away disappointed and judge the higher price/more respected gear harshly and the cheaper/less respected gear a lot more favorably than i should.

 

[JR4599638]

  I think the differences are usually smaller than what people over here state, I have quite some friends who cant hear any difference whatsoever. for me, I think it really depends... I still struggle to tell the difference between the 2 filters on my ibasso dx100 myself in all honesty. It seems like sometimes I don't hear any difference, actually most of the time. and sometimes it feels like the slow roll off filter is slightly louder or has slightly more treble extension than the fast roll off. it can be possible that I don't hear any difference at all and its just all placebo especially when its lee730 who told me the slow roll off has more treble extension so i start to think that way. sometimes some differences are much bigger, like my ultimate ears trifi10 has more bass than my etymotic research hf5. that's pretty obvious. however, that's more sound signature than quality. i also notice a bigger jump from quality comparing something like my etymotic research hf5 (my first quality audio gear) to a 10 bucks iem than say a 100 bucks headphone to a several hundred bucks headphone. it also depends on the track as well. maybe an easier way to distinguish the sound difference is to dissect it into different categories, like comparing the 2 headphones by bass first, then mid, then treble. differences in bass and mid are also more easily distinguishable to me, my theory is either im not a treble listener like i don't usually actively listen for treble or my music simply does not have a lot of treble. i would guess its both with the first option being the more major one. i think it also depends on my mood. sometimes i hear absolutely no difference at all when im switching gears but sometimes i notice a lot more. i also think i can train my ears if i practice more. i also have an expectation that the higher priced or the more respected gear should perform better. i want to get rid of that feeling because it can cause bias. it can go both ways with this, i can expect more so i automatically imagine the higher priced/more respected gear to sound better when it really isn't or expect a huge jump in sound quality when the difference is not as much and come away disappointed and judge the higher price/more respected gear harshly and the cheaper/less respected gear a lot more favorably than i should.

I totally agree with you. Since I compared the SRH840's and the apple earpods, and didn't notice a significant difference in sound quality, I appreciated the earpods more because they contended fairly well with the SRH840's, and was disappointed with the SRH840's because in some aspects they were outperformed by the earpods! I think I'm going to keep the SRH840's for a while now, because I have come to appreciate what they have to offer: the natural sound signature and features. I have also noticed that after about 80 hours of burn in, there was a significant improvement in bass emphasis, and mids became very clear. I probably won't need an improvement for a while, but I might buy an amplifier/DAC. Thanks for helping me understand.

 

[Kdavis71]

Well I think better headphones definately sound better but I do find it strange with detail retrieval. I can honestly say I have never heard more detailed or things in a song I never noticed before from purchasing more expensive headphones. I have the ATH-M50 and yea they sound amazing but in terms of pure details they don't sound any different then cheap earphones or the dollar store headphones to me.
 
I have never heard something in a song with my ATH-M50 that I havn't also heard in a $1 pair of headphones so hopefully the detail aspect of things will change when I get the Sony Ma900 if it ever mangages to get here. I doubt it however because from reviews I read the Sony Ma900 is not the last word in terms of pure detail retrieval.
 
EDIT: Just wanted to say I do listen to Flac music and I do notice improved bass response, tighter and less muddy bass, vocals that stand out more, and the feeling of less congested. It's just in terms of small details I don't hear any improvement.

 

[pdrm360]

  Well I think better headphones definately sound better but I do find it strange with detail retrieval. I can honestly say I have never heard more detailed or things in a song I never noticed before from purchasing more expensive headphones. I have the ATH-M50 and yea they sound amazing but in terms of pure details they don't sound any different then cheap earphones or the dollar store headphones to me.
 
I have never heard something in a song with my ATH-M50 that I havn't also heard in a $1 pair of headphones so hopefully the detail aspect of things will change when I get the Sony Ma900 if it ever mangages to get here. I doubt it however because from reviews I read the Sony Ma900 is not the last word in terms of pure detail retrieval.
 
EDIT: Just wanted to say I do listen to Flac music and I do notice improved bass response, tighter and less muddy bass, vocals that stand out more, and the feeling of less congested. It's just in terms of small details I don't hear any improvement.

 
Two questions:
1) Can we see anything on a new LED TV that is not visible on an old school TV?  
2) Which one do you like more to watch a movie on it?  
 
LED TV                                                                                           Old School TV

 

[Kdavis71]

Yes, on an HDTV you can see acne/warts/facial hair, etc... that you can't see on standard TVs due to the blurryness. We can see individual blades of grass and just small little things we can see on it that we can't see on old school tvs. I can't say the same at least in my own personal experience with headphones. Yes ATH-M50 sounds better but I don't hear new instruments in the music or chairs moving or any of those extra small details. 
 
I'm not trying to say it can't be worth it to get the better headphones or that they don't sound better because they do, just saying that so many people exaggerate about being able to hear extra things in music they couldn't hear before. This may be true for super expensive or analytical headphones but in my experience most mid-fi headphones don't reveal any extra things in the music that I hadn't noticed before with cheap headphones.

 

[perhapss]

  Yes, on an HDTV you can see acne/warts/facial hair, etc... that you can't see on standard TVs due to the blurryness. We can see individual blades of grass and just small little things we can see on it that we can't see on old school tvs. I can't say the same at least in my own personal experience with headphones. Yes ATH-M50 sounds better but I don't hear new instruments in the music or chairs moving or any of those extra small details. 
 
I'm not trying to say it can't be worth it to get the better headphones or that they don't sound better because they do, just saying that so many people exaggerate about being able to hear extra things in music they couldn't hear before. This may be true for super expensive or analytical headphones but in my experience most mid-fi headphones don't reveal any extra things in the music that I hadn't noticed before with cheap headphones.

People exaggerate and lie about many things and quite often as well as headphones.
 
Headphones are priced differently for the same reasons as most other types of products.
For example:
 
1. Cost of production and materials.
2. Performance and durability.
3. Hype and/or niche appeal.

 

[pdrm360]

  Yes, on an HDTV you can see acne/warts/facial hair, etc... that you can't see on standard TVs due to the blurryness. We can see individual blades of grass and just small little things we can see on it that we can't see on old school tvs. I can't say the same at least in my own personal experience with headphones. Yes ATH-M50 sounds better but I don't hear new instruments in the music or chairs moving or any of those extra small details. 
 
I'm not trying to say it can't be worth it to get the better headphones or that they don't sound better because they do, just saying that so many people exaggerate about being able to hear extra things in music they couldn't hear before. This may be true for super expensive or analytical headphones but in my experience most mid-fi headphones don't reveal any extra things in the music that I hadn't noticed before with cheap headphones.

 
Hearing a new instrument in headphones likes seeing a cat or a car in TV and acne/warts/facial are clarity. I do hear different clarity in different headphones.