[djayjp]

The bad news is that, yes, there are a number of naturally sibilant headphones out there (especially IEMs) and that, yes, there are a number of sensitive people out there to sibilance; the good news is that if you are one of those people, it means that your high-frequency hearing (that which normally is lost) is still likely intact.

 

[Antony L]

As regards my ultrasones i think they are accurate therefore pick up all the sounds that are in the recording ie theres a Radiohead track forgot the name where the ssss echos for about 3 seconds so its obviously in the recording ,if i do find it annoying i just eq it out as most of my tracks are ok

 

[vash2022]

how did you eq it out? im not very good at eqing...anything. Also anyone know if the westone um2s are sibilant?

 

[ph0rk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vash2022 /img/forum/go_quote.gif well my se210s had the problem so bad i had to sale them and now my dt 990s (from 12 years ago) had it with one track, but im listening to my morning jacket-evil urges and i dont have a problem

The SE210 is many things. Sibilant is not one of them.

DT990's however...

 

[BigTony]

Sibilance is quite the problem, and some folks (myself included) have a higher sensitivity to that noise.

However, my investigationd into this has shown that it is very commonly recorded into your source; this is a resonance effect on key constanants which results in a 20-40db spike in the 4-8kHz range (you can see it easily on a frequency spectrum). Some singers have a more pronounced 'sss' than others, some use the 'vowel enunciation' technique when singing, others use mic. technique. So the origin of the problem is usually the recording.
However, if you then look at the frequency spectrum of many headphones, you'll notice that the spectrum is generally not flat, and many have a dip in the 3-5kHz region, which specifically helps 'neutralise' some sibilance. I have seen some cans with a positive bias at the sibilant frequency, which would make matters worse.
In conclusion, if your sensitive to sibilance, pick a headphone that has a dip (or recessed highs) as this will be easier on the ears. I find the HD 650 excellent, whilst my Ety ER 6i are very fatiguing.

 

[donunus]

vash2022,
did you say dt990! the most sibilant headphone on the face of the planet? Of course its due to the headphone

 

[intoart]

If sibilance is painful, you are listening too loud! Sibilance is primarily a result of bad recording, and good headphones merely reveal it. It is always annoying, but I have never found it painful!

 

[MaZa]

Sibilance mostly comes from the recording, but many headphones can make it much worse by having a spike or spikes in 1Khz to 10Khz region (increases perceived clarity). Bad for sibilant recordings. DT990 is prime example for this, and so is DT880.

 

[csroc]

Generally I don't find it painful either but there are a few albums I've heard where it's really bad and it can hurt even at normal listening levels.

 

[Rex81]

After upgrading to good headphones I found this to be a problem. Then I decided to finally turn off the EQ and listen to it flat like it was intended and I don't have the problem anymore. Simple solution for me.

 

[Lettu]

When i bought my HD600 (used HD555 before) this was the first thing i noticed.
Really annoying and obvious in some songs and in some theres no such problem so it has to be the recording.

 

[synaesthetic]

It comes down to recordings more than anything, I think, with a few notable exceptions (SR-325i and DT990 for example).

Arcturus album The Sham Mirrors is painfully sibilant with a lot of phones, and the hot treble is evident even on my AD700s, which are not sibilant at all.

 

[krmathis]

Probably because some 'phones are more transparent than others.
Hence allowing bad recordings to come through.

 

[ph0rk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lettu /img/forum/go_quote.gif When i bought my HD600 (used HD555 before) this was the first thing i noticed. Really annoying and obvious in some songs and in some theres no such problem so it has to be the recording.

You found the HD600 sibilant? My experience is with the HD650, but I still find that difficult to believe - what songs, and what gear?

 

[TopPop]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigTony /img/forum/go_quote.gif this is a resonance effect on key constanants which results in a 20-40db spike in the 4-8kHz range (you can see it easily on a frequency spectrum).

Correct. This is the range of high frequency energy for fricative noise of human speech production. Due to certain aerodynamic properties, the range of frication noise will be louder for voiceless fricatives (such as 'ssss', 'shhh', for example) than their voiced counterparts ('zzzz', and the last sound of "garage" in some dialects, respectively). This is also the case for affricates and full plosive consonants with the same place of articulation, since the release will include a burst of high-frequency energy in the same frequency range.

So, if your system happens to have a peak in this 4-8 kHz range, sibilance will most likely be perceived with the 's' sound, as well as its affricate and plosive counterparts, 'ts' and 't', respectively.