what headphones do you use?
Fri, Jan 7 2011, 6:35AM
#2
RE: what headphones do you use?
Out and about I use the Bose Quietcomfort 15 or 3. The 15 is definitely better to my mind.
At home I have AKG K702 and the Ultrasone Edition 8.
The Bose has the best noise cancelling I have come across but the sound is hifi rather than audiophile.
The AKG is light, comfortable and absolutely neutral as far as I can tell.
The Ultrasone in expensive and not as comfortable as the AKG but absolutely fabulous. It is like listening in 3D.
For comparison, my music is all classical. It is in ALAC lossless format played from an Apple TV out digitally to a CI Audio DAC and then to a CI Audio headphone amp or alternatively to a mid-range B&O sound system (Beocentre2 and Beolab 8002).
I have not bought a physical CD in years.
S Crowther
Tue, Mar 1 2011, 3:52PM
#3
RE: what headphones do you use?
The link below will take to a page on my website where, following a scroll down, you will find a section "Listening on Headphones". I rarely listen on headphones myself but appreciate that a lot of people do and wondered whether I might have a bit of fun with some electronics that have been discussed in principle ( e.g. in Electronics magazines, where circuits have been published) but which were not mentioned at all in this thread.
Tue, Mar 1 2011, 9:31PM
#4
RE: what headphones do you use?
The link below will take to a page on my website where, following a scroll down, you will find a section "Listening on Headphones". I rarely listen on headphones myself but appreciate that a lot of people do and wondered whether I might have a bit of fun with some electronics that have been discussed in principle ( e.g. in Electronics magazines, where circuits have been published) but which were not mentioned at all in this thread.
I've listened to the sample(s) and the 'experimental circuit' sounds like it's some sort of stereo widening effect.
(Maybe a bit of crossfeed with phase inversion and/or boosting channel-sum differences? Hard to say just listening, as I'm not much of an expert on this sort of thing.)
Thu, Mar 3 2011, 11:26PM
#5
RE: what headphones do you use?
The "stereo widening" effect, SpiderJon, is the opposite of what I intended!!! The wider stereo acoustic is as it comes from the CD player . I take comfort from the fact that you appear to have taken my experimental circuit as the norm.
Fri, Mar 4 2011, 3:02PM
#6
RE: what headphones do you use?
The "stereo widening" effect, SpiderJon, is the opposite of what I intended!!! The wider stereo acoustic is as it comes from the CD player . I take comfort from the fact that you appear to have taken my experimental circuit as the norm.
It may not be that simple :-)
Having just revisited your page, I see that I managed not to read " The music at the start is via the new circuit." when I listened last time.
So I assumed that the 'norm' was a mono or somehow 'compressed' signal, and that what you were trying to achieve was a more 'open' and 'natural' sound than you often get from headphones, which tend to locate the sound rather unaturally inside the listener's head, rather than coming from outside.
Anyway, to be more specific, from 00:00 to 00:29 on your sample sounds rather 'closed in' and from 00:29 to sometime later sounds more 'open', if perhaps a bit hollow and thin - but that shortcoming could easily just be the result of the juxtaposition, rather than its innate sound quality.
Fri, Mar 11 2011, 10:51PM
#7
RE: headphones RE: what headphones do you use?
So I assumed that the 'norm' was a mono or somehow 'compressed' signal, and that what you were trying to achieve was a more 'open' and 'natural' sound than you often get from headphones, which tend to locate the sound rather unaturally inside the listener's head, rather than coming from outside.
This correctly identifies the aim of the circuit to give a "outside the head" effect. Because the standard system is so wide in its presentation this process necessarily reduces the width of the sound stage but if it gives a little depth to compensate all to the good. There is still enough stereo so that the first group of singers in the dances are clearly on the right.
Wed, Mar 16 2011, 9:21PM
#8
RE: what headphones do you use?
Sennheiser HD650 headphones, driven by a Creek OBH21SE headphone amplifier. A wonderful combination to my ears, stunning clarity and very natural sound. I am not a fan of closed-back headphones because of the colouration of the sound.
Tue, Mar 22 2011, 6:00PM
#9
RE: what headphones do you use?
I am not a fan of closed-back headphones because of the colouration of the sound.
They are sometimes essential - eg, if you don't want to disturb other people on the train or (perhaps more crucially) if you don't want to keep your partner awake when listening in bed.
Speaking of which, I guess I could always try to hunt down some of these...
Sun, Apr 24 2011, 6:52PM
#10
RE: what headphones do you use?
I have been using Sennheiser HD 800s with a Benchmark DAC1 USB -- great combination. Recently I added Denon AH-D7000s and typically I reach for them first. Although they don't have the Senn800's crystal clarity (the 800s are open-back while the 7000s are closed), I just like the sound better. I don't think it's really a matter of quality.
And I certainly don't dislike the Senn800s; they're marvelous.
Thu, Jul 28 2011, 8:16PM
#11
RE: what headphones do you use?
I think my grandma is going to get me a pair of the Sennheiser HD 800s this year for my birthday. I wanted to know if there were any other headphone suggestions. Does anyone have a favorite pair of Klipsch headphones?
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I use Stax SR-404 with the tube SRM-006t driver unit with my hi-fi, after having used up-market Sennheisers + Musical Fidelity tube X-cans for years. The Stax is akin to being in the concert hall/recording studio, where nothing is exaggerated and all seems effortlessly just right, rather like my Quad ESL-57s. They have been reliable, though I had to replace the headband (£50) which began to squeak.
However, I was after something with relatively high sensitivity to play at decent levels with my laptop. After taking soundings, I settled on the audio-technica AD700, and they fulfil the brief very well: good volume straight from the Sony Vaio, very light and comfortable (self-adjusting pads), analytical but not over-bright, bass in correct proportion but a little unfocused, probably a limitation of the soundcard. Good value too. They sound even better on my main system, of course, but are a completely different experience from the Stax. Highly recommended for computer use.
Habakkuk