[KElyas]

 

[thoughtcriminal]

Because some people prefer accuracy to a "fun sound"

 

[TMRaven]

Not all do.  Also, who's to say more accurate isn't more pleasurable to some?
 
 

 

[wuwhere]

I don't. Pleasurable listening experience does not necessarily mean not accurate.

 

[viralcow]

You're implying that there are people here that intentionally choose what is unpleasant to them? Why would anyone do that?
 
Also, please define "a more pleasurable listening experience."

 

[Sound Quest]

Some people find a brutally honest sound more pleasurable over a coloured sound.
 
It's just a matter of preference.

 

[hodgjy]

Because I strive to have the recording be as close to the artist's live performance in the recording studio or on stage.

 

[amigomatt]

Accuracy is the ultimate aim of a music reproduction system. When I produce music or record myself playing, I like to think that anyone listening to it is hearing the recording as close to how I made it as possible. The artist and producer have made deep decisions about how a record should sound and I wouldn't like my system imparting it's own voice too much on to that.

Would you like to see all of Vincent Van Gogh's paintings tinged with purple just because you like that colour? Surely not, you'd rather see the painting in the flesh, see what Vincent was really trying to do with his colours.

 

[Br777]

quite often when people hear accurate, or neutral headphones (requires eq by the way) they dont like it or claim its somehow imbalanced. 
 
on the other hand, my experience is that a truly good pair of headphones sounds its best when it is eq'd to neutral.  The sound is not diminished in any way, quite the opposite.

 

[BruinAnteater]

I agree with alot of what's been said. I like hearing music that is recorded and mastered well, while also retaining its "live" aspect (ie. I love hearing guitar amp and mic feedback, I like hearing the taking of a breath before a verse, I like hearing the musican's talking to each other). I find the more accurate a headphone is, the more these details are brought out.
 
This isnt universal though. When I'm in my car, I usually drive with the windows down, even in 100 deg weather; but even with the window up, there will still be alot of ambient noise, so trying to go for 'too accurate' of a sound in my car is almost pointless because I will never really take advantage of that type of set up. So when I put in a sound system in my car, I still trend towards musical speakers/sub over loud/boomy speakers and subs, but I take accuracy two steps down and up loudness/impact two steps up. Similar for my portable setup: I still want to hear as much detail and rawness as a closed earphone in the middle of the street or in a loud office can offer, but I tend to look for a little more impact/bass than I do in my home setup where I can use open back headsets and the outside enviroment is quiet.
 
Harsh highs, and muddy bass does not sound 'fun' to me. I doubt FEW people consider those 'fun', even Bose and Beats owners. They may prefer harsh highs or boomy bass over a completely neutral presentation, but I am sure if they would prefer deep bass or bright highs PLUS detail if they could get it.
 
But then again, the sound profile I like is not what other people might consider 'fun' or 'accurate' either. I like Sennheiser almost exclusively for headphones and Wharfedale almost exclusively for loudspeakers. Both brands tend to be on the neutral/natural/accurate side, and some (even on head-fi) may consider the general sound signature as too laid back, too bland, etc. Its just a matter of taste. Some of my friends might give props to the SACD/DVDA sound, but love the nuances of LPs, even if the LPs cant match the SACDs dynamic range; the fact that dynamic range is a bit limited is the reason they probably like the LP sound: the ear will focus on the mids and ts the mids that most people seem to enjoy the most. These friends also absolutely HATE RBCDs, except for a very few audiophile grade CDs. Who am I to say "No you dont know what you like, you should like this!" Hell I too sometimes prefer the sound of an LP to a digital recording (particularly if the original recording was analog and the vinyl is virgin or near virgin).
 
I also tend to wonder why the forum is so harsh on people who like their Beats. I find it funny when people say "they dont know what good sounds is, they think their Beats/Bose are the best in the world, and think my X-audiophile headphones are just ok!!! They tell me why did I pay so much for my cans when everyone knows Beats are the best! They dont know anything!!!!" Im not with that crowd either. Beats owners may not know what non-mainstream audiophile cans sound like, they may not know what YOU like, but they know what THEY like. I dont think we have any right to say they dont know what good sound is. Ive auditioned my cans to Beats users, and they dont like em', and thats FINE. I cant say they dont know anything, they know they like Beats and they know they dont like my Sennheiser, and I cant argue with them on that point! We might be able to say "They dont know what else is out there, they dont know if they MIGHT like something else," but its a bit unfair to say they dont know what they like. As unfair as it is to say accurate sound isn't fun sound. How you gonna tell me what fun is for me!

 

[anwaypasible]

Quote:

quite often when people hear accurate, or neutral headphones (requires eq by the way) they dont like it or claim its somehow imbalanced. 

 
because they are used to hearing the large dB difference from one octave to the next when the frequency response isnt flat.
you take the volume differences away and it sounds really strange to them.
 
if you've got good equipment to tell you what it is you are hearing, then it is safe to sit there and listen to the new sound for some time.
usually after some time has passed, the person is able to say they browsed the frequency amplitude space, and they heard things they didn't hear before.
because even then.. they say 'it sounds better.. but i'm still not used to the new sound'
 
and of course not.
you hear non-flat frequency response a lot..
in the car
at the grocery store
any other public place with music playing
from the television
 
and if you've been listening to the frequency response like that for 10 years, it takes some time before your character is molded into a new casting of what you are used to.