Way to judge a headphone

[mychew 0]

Just wonder how u guys judge your headphones for the sound quality. Whhat are the things that u should look into and what r the criteria to follow?Does it base on your listening experience?or does it depend on the setup u use?Don't know what else can ask, anyway, just wanna know how u normally judge a headphone, whether u buy it, audit it, or borrow from your friends..hm...the more the merrier....hehe

[adhoc 0]

detail

 

clarity

 

presence of veil

 

soundstaging

 

bass

 

sibilance

[mychew 0]

hm...short and clear ad hoc

but mind to elaborate more?anyone?

[Blues 0]

1.BASSS.. bass and moreeee Basss vroom!!! *shaking*

I want to hear the slam and the tightness of the bass.

2.detail .I want to hear the cough, the plucking of strings and all..

3.vocal. Whether it sounds ripe or natural. Some hp makes the lead vocal sounds funny. The rest can make the vocal sounds a bit dry and unpleasant also.

3.soundstage depth and width , 3dness , air and separation around instruments. Basically the ability to potray the musician infront of you. To be able to pin point their location accurately and not smeared. Each performer is given a space.

4.legato or smoothness.. transition from one to another is not disjointed.

5.treble extension. I listen to alot of acoustic guitars.. and I would love to hear the extension when the string strum.. very very nice.

 

Basically that's all for me.

Edited July 16, 2003 by Blues

[adhoc 0]

first of all you try to find any sounds you didnt notice earlier

 

then you check the vocals (female especially), the hihats, the cymbals, the tap drums for clearness.

 

this will indirectly lead you to find out whether there's a veil, as in whether the singer sounds like you're hearing her through a velvet curtain

 

then you can go on to determine the positioning of the instruments. if it's seriously off (like voices coming from above effect or all music behind you) then you know either a. you're wearing the phones wrongly or b. the phones are plain wrong. you can also determine whether the music you;re listenign to sounds wide and dynamic or close and squashed up and messy.

 

then bass. look out for tight clear prompt and quick bass that has impact without losing detail. bass can easily make or break a headphone IMO. flabby, uncontrolled bass that sounds distorted can really wreck any song

 

then finally, sibilance. true, it's what you usually notice FIRST, but you must closely examine it to determine whether the 'sibilance' might be your source, or a bright headohone to a normally dark headphone wearing set of ears, detail in the upper freqs, or real scratchy painful excessive sibilance.

Edited July 16, 2003 by adhoc

[ablaze 0]

since we're hear, whats the term 'smooth highs' mean? I know cookie very fond of it

[Blues 0]

me? ...

how.. ho.ww do u know about it blaze? you freaked me out man

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

hehee.. smooth highs ah? the high smooth loh. Like butter smooth.

It's like having highs that are not piercing and it's like rounded and well defined without being unpleasant. like i told u before, cd3k and zotl makes a smooth high..

I am sure there are many more hps out there .. but I think it's more of system matching to get that good highs. Otherwise it will mostly be a miss.

[ablaze 0]

you use it in all your reviews what.

 

anyway, to me good highs are 'tinkly' and 'sparkling' and 'crisp'.. that seems to be quite the opposite of something buttery-smooth. so..I never really understood what 'smooth highs' meant. its almost like if its smooth, it wouldn't be too my taste

[Blues 0]

hm.. yeah.. guess each of us interpretes it in our own way

but the point is that what is smooth to you may not be what it is to me, and vice versa

ultimately if you enjoy 'that highs' , it's good enough

agree?

[ablaze 0]

its not about that cookie, I'm only asking cos I see 'smooth highs' used in a lot of peoples' reviews, and I'm just trying to understand if, their/your 'smooth' highs are actually the 'good' kind of highs I'm looking for. I mean, if I see someone say this can has 'smooth highs' I need to understand if thats actually a good or bad thing for me.

[Blues 0]

mmm.. give cd3k and zotl a shot then

if you like that high, chances are.. you like that 'smooth high;

their high is never harsh,. infact very pleasant.. rounded and very well defined.. reaches the peak without harshness

this is a very hard quality to get, in my case

[ablaze 0]

let me try to understand this further:

so if highs are smooth. they're never harsh at the same time? can highs be extended, yet smooth? can highs be rolled-off yet smooth? can highs be sparkling yet smooth?

[Blues 0]

To my ears, yes extended yet smooth is possible

rolled off and smooth , yes.

sparkling yet smooth, yes.,

It is not smooth when it seems to be piercing and unpleasant at the highs and that particular moment seems to distract the whole spectrum(thus not smooth to me, not flowing, disconnected)

[ablaze 0]

ok, all I seem to understand is smooth=not harsh

haha. okok. nvm. don't detract from the thread

[Sipher 0]

IMO u need a reference CD so that u can compare the headphone that u are auditioning with the others that u have heard before.

 

it also helps if u understand what the terms used frequently in reviews meant. (to me anyway)

 

the rest of the things to look out for.....well..the others have already mentioned them