[nessinonett]

I've read so many reviews on this site about seriously cheap headphones, and some seriously expensive headphones. They all have everything in common. "Deep, extended soundstage; tight, punchy bass; smooth treble...". They all "impress" everyone right out of the box EVEN BEFORE BURN-IN! As if Maxwell headphones get any better after 100 hours of use.



I know we all want to feel good about our purchases, but come on. I'm not saying a higher price tag equals higher quality, but in a lot of instances, it does. Moreover, when I joined this site, I thought it would be more dedicated to serious audiophiles, or at least people who wouldn't write a review for Koss cans and make it sound identical to an RS1 review.



That all being said, other threads here have proven invaluable in my search for some great equipment. And I understand budget constraints and the like, I just get a little irritated when I read so many reviews about some 'phones picked up at Radioshack and the editorial uses a litany of cliches to describe the listening experience.

 

[Seamless Sounds]

Every headphone has their own unique sound signature. Everyone has their own unique preferences. Words don't mean much until you take a listen. Let your ears be the judge of that. Take everything you read for a grain of salt.

 

[nikongod]

If you have not you should listen to several for yourself before subscribing to these reviews. 
 
Incidentally, are these comparative reviews or the normal "this is how these sound with no comparison" types that normally pass for quality? One is worth less than nothing, where the other is actually somewhat valuable.
 
Anyways, when you get your hands on a set of more expensive headphones you will very quickly hear for yourself that the inexpensvive headphones and the expensive ones rarely have more than 1 aspect of sound reproduction in common, if they even have that much. Exactly what this part of the sound is depends on the headphones. Suffice it to say that if you narrow down what aspects of sound reproduction you want to 1 or 2 key parts without regards to the others you can find an exceptionally inexpensive headphone that will do it.

 

[tisb0b]

This is why you've got to take into account the reviewers experience and knowledge. 

 

[nessinonett]

I understand all that. I just wish people would write their reviews a little differently. Not every set is going to have clear, sparkly highs and well defined lows. But every positive review I read on here has that description. I mean, people hear what they want to hear, I just get irked sometimes. I wondered if anyone agreed with me. LAWL!

 

[kingtz]

Quote:

I just get a little irritated when I read so many reviews about some 'phones picked up at Radioshack and the editorial uses a litany of cliches to describe the listening experience.

The thing to keep in mind is that all reviews are relative. I think it's commonly understood that when anyone describes a $30 pair of head phones as having "deep bass", it's probably great bass that's relative to other cans in its class or price range. Unless specificied, I don't think anyone will mistake the "great bass" to that of a $200 pair of headphones. Likewise, when someone says that a $200 pair has great bass, we all know it still won't be in the same league as $1000+ cans, but rather, it has great bass relative to other cans in its own price range.
 
Until the day we can come up with a universal scale to quantify "great bass", or "too bright" or "excellent clarity", all of these terms will be relative and, as always, taken with a grain of salt.

 

[Katun]

Quote:

They all "impress" everyone right out of the box EVEN BEFORE BURN-IN!

You will always be impressed with the best you have been exposed to so far. As you constantly get exposure to "better" things, you start to raise your own "satisfaction" bar. Later on, it gets harder and harder to become impressed. For a second, you glimpse back to your previous simple life, the one where you were impressed with something so "cheap", something so "generic". And now, you are almost impossible to satisfy, you always want more. More quality, better sound, more accuracy. It's a monster that consumes you, and takes hold of your brain. You get brainwashed into thinking you will never find the best, even though a long time ago, you once thought you already had it...
 
Welcome to Head-Fi.

 

[nessinonett]

Yeah, I know how easily companies can get away with a markup based on the name alone! But I don't have the luxury of testing out all these cans. It took me a while to sift through all the BS and narrow down my choice to the HD650. That was about 8 months ago or so, I'd say. Now I'm looking at the RS1i to add to the collection.

 

[tdockweiler]

Cool story. You should make a website forum for only true audiophiles who understand that only good headphones are the expensive variety. You could also charge $50 a month for membership, but they get a free shipment of imported cheese monthly. This way you can be assured of the quality of the members. You should also require them to visit an audiologist before joining. None of those Koss/Skullcandy fanboys with bad hearing. This way you can trust each and every review and you don't even need to do your own research beforehand or weed through "KSC75 vs HD-800" reviews.
 
It is absolutely true no cheap headphone can ever sound good. This is why I like Monster Beats and Bose products. Because when you pay $300 for a headphone you are truly getting the best quality product possible.
 
Thank you for this post!

 

[nessinonett]

You will always be impressed with the best you have been exposed to so far. As you constantly get exposure to "better" things, you start to raise your own "satisfaction" bar. Later on, it gets harder and harder to become impressed. For a second, you glimpse back to your previous simple life, the one where you were impressed with something so "cheap", something so "generic". And now, you are almost impossible to satisfy, you always want more. More quality, better sound, more accuracy. It's a monster that consumes you, and takes hold of your brain. You get brainwashed into thinking you will never find the best, even though a long time ago, you once thought you already had it...
 
Welcome to Head-Fi.

I totally agree. To me it just seems like there are a lot of people writing reviews using the same jargon as other reviewers without really understanding what it all means.

Thanks for the welcome, though. I've been lurking for some time and have been meaning to get a bit more active in the community. Even though this first post might not sound like it, I love it here! It's a hobby I've always wanted but never really knew I wanted, if you get my meaning.

 

[nessinonett]

Cool story. You should make a website forum for only true audiophiles who understand that only good headphones are the expensive variety. You could also charge $50 a month for membership, but they get a free shipment of imported cheese monthly. This way you can be assured of the quality of the members. You should also require them to visit an audiologist before joining. None of those Koss/Skullcandy fanboys with bad hearing. This way you can trust each and every review and you don't even need to do your own research beforehand or weed through "KSC75 vs HD-800" reviews.




 




It is absolutely true no cheap headphone can ever sound good. This is why I like Monster Beats and Bose products. Because when you pay $300 for a headphone you are truly getting the best quality product possible.




 




Thank you for this post!

Thank you sir, you've laid it on quite thickly, indeed. I do also enjoy many varieties of cheese. Did I mention my post is better than yours because I typed it on a $400 keyboard?

EDIT: No way are any of my members getting free cheese for only $50/month. These's gonna be tiered access to my forums.

 

[Currawong]

Many of the differences people hear are merely the result of different tonal balances.  People might, for example, use Apple's ibuds, then try some Beats or Bose and be impressed by the bass, which is enough to get them to the cash register, but after doing any kind of comparison with the variety of headphones available, would quickly conclude how they had been tricked by their excessive bass into buying them.  Even with a lot of high-end gear, tonal tricks are used to entice people to buy gear.  This might be to hide the distortion present in that gear, for example, which is hidden by rolling off the treble. Or it might be to make it sound more "fun" (my term for it) but adding mid-bass.  As you spend more money, you should be, IMO, getting lower distortion from the products you buy. However, the sound of your favourite band heard as if you were standing in front of them in the studio, where you can pick out their location by the sound of the echo off the walls and hear the valves opening and closing on wind instruments isn't for everyone.  Most people would rather just have the extra mid-bass and not care so much about the fine details.

 

[nessinonett]

I agree with everything you've said, Currawong. I guess my OP came off sounding a little pointed, and i didn't really intend it to. It's just hard to ensure one is spending his money the best way possible when you have people writing reviews who themselves have only heard one or two varieties.

Anyways, I do love coming here regardless to read about equipment I will (probably) never be able to afford.

 

[tdockweiler]

 
Quote:

Thank you sir, you've laid it on quite thickly, indeed. I do also enjoy many varieties of cheese. Did I mention my post is better than yours because I typed it on a $400 keyboard?

EDIT: No way are any of my members getting free cheese for only $50/month. These's gonna be tiered access to my forums.

 
Haha, I'm glad someone has a sense of humor. I do agree with some of your comments. Basically I now take all reviews with a grain of salt and leave it up to the type of sound signature I prefer. What I get tired of hearing is when someone says "This sounds better then a pair 5 times as much!". Everyone's hearing on here is all different, so something I love, someone is going to hate. Some people also seem to post a lot of reviews, but fail to list any negatives. I generally don't want to read nothing but glowing reviews of something. I love the reviews where people are not afraid to say negative things about a headphone they love. I now never go by just reviews. I've purchased two highly reviewed headphones listed here that I absolutely hated, but that's OK! Strangely I go with frequency charts more then anything. I did that with the HD-600 mostly and I ended up picking a winner. It's also is useful to find someone that seems to like a similar sound signature you do and read their reviews, but that's difficult.
 
You don't think a $100 pair of headphones can sound as good as a $300 pair? I do! I always don't mind paying for an item that's built better though. My HD-600 is worth every penny. The biggest thing i've learned on here in the last year is that price does not mean better sound quality. Usually it does, but not always. I've found that with under $100 headphones it's very difficult to find a good pair without trying a lot of them first. When you get up to the $200-$300 price range, it's harder to find a really BAD headphone. It's not often you get a pair that sounds absolutely terrible, usually just "good" at the worst. Luckily very few expensive headphones i've tried sound terrible. I can think of only one, but I won't say.
 
I get your point about the Koss vs RS1 thing, but Koss are not all that bad. They make some decent headphones now in the $100 price range. Some of them can compete with headphones that are much more expensive. No, not 5 times as much. For example, I like my Pro DJ 100 more then my old SRH-840 which retails for $200. One reason is that it has the sound signature I love and I couldn't find anything similar from $20-$200 that worked with a smaller amp.
 
As it is right now, I could be perfectly happy with just a $100 headphone. It's too bad there are very few really good $100 open headphones with decent amounts of bass.
 

 

[Katun]

Quote:

Anyways, I do love coming here regardless to read about equipment I will (probably) never be able to afford.

That's what I said after I bought my very first headphone and MP3 -- PortaPro + Sansa Clip.
 
Look at my signature now. The very thing has happened to me that I described in my above post...