[Xi-Trum]

Never had a good headphone in my life.  So I'm curious...

Do you get all sonic attributes associated with stereo speakers from headphones?  For example, can you pin-point sound in a 3D space with headphones?  What about deep bass, i.e. pipe organ?  Thanks.

[JoshK]

Contraversial indeed, but I'd say no.  I have never heard 3-D like effects from a headphone setup and I even have a arguably good setup.  They do have some great attributes and are sometimes funnier to listen to, but ultimately they lack many things that I love about my stereo setup.

I don't know about organs, cause I don't listen to anything with pipe organs, but they do 'seem' to play deep, although I think there is quite a difference between bass in headphones and bass in speakers.

[nathanm]

Binaural recordings on headphones provide the most mind-bending illusion of real sounds in my limited experience.  You feel as if you were not even wearing headphones and that the sounds are truly originating from outside your body.  Of course, they don't usually record music albums this way that I am aware of, although it would be darn cool.

Deep bass is possible too, but it does not have quite the tactile quality that speaker-generated bass has.

[BradJudy]

Getting true imaging from headphones requires a crossfeed  or binaural recordings (IMO).  Imaging in speakers comes from both ears hearing things generated by both speakers.  With headphones, each ear only hears from the corresponding speakers.  Binaural recordings are designed specifically with headphone listening in mind as they are recorded with microphones positioned like one's ears.  A crossfeed mixes sound from the left and right channels to simulate what happens when listening to speakers.  

If you haven't heard great headphone sound, try one of these options.  There are some binaural recordings available for download online like http://www.quietamerican.org (check out the annapurna section).

While I haven't tried it, I've been told the best listening experience is a binaural recording using headphones and a sub (for the visceral part of lower frequencies).

[JoshK]

I guess you could put a rump shaker in a chair that you sit in while listening to headphones for the tactile part.  

I just want to clarify, that although I seemed quite critical of headphones, I think in many ways they are more enjoyable, in that they take the room out of the equation and seem to offer immense detail while sounding smooth.

[nathanm]

Headphones partnered with a Buttkicker transducer on your chair is also quite cool if you get the levels balanced.  Actually you can get really interesting effects by playing both speakers and headphones at the same time, although this does require some loud speaker levels and obviously you only wanna do this with open backed 'phones.  Perhaps an adjustable  delay line on the speakers would be helpful.

[Smeggy]

I'd have to say no on the imaging front and soundstage.

Headphones provide only left to right info, this precludes 3d imaging, depth, height and all that guff. Binaural and Crossfeed are wonderful with only binaural providing any real sense of pseudo 3d locational info. Crossfeed can help push the sounds out of the middle of your head into a less localised perception. Some claim to hear a huge soundstage but I think that's more differences in definitions more than anything else as conventional headphone types are physically incapable of such things. They can give the impression of a very wide presentation, however, when the sound is only one-dimensional (L>R) there are obviously severe limitations on what is possible Re: imaging and soundstage.

Having said all that, headphones can still be an awesome listening experience, just don't expect the impossible from them.

[Figo]

Imaging is different with headphones.  I really can't explain it, its something you really have to hear for yourself.  Some don't loke it, some do.


about bass, my HD600s are something like -3db at 16hz... you can hear it all but don't expect to feel it.

[audioengr]

A friend of mine just bought a Headroom amp, so we tried it out on a modded Toshiba 3960.  The Tosh sounds great on my reference system, although falls just short of my reference Transport/DAC.

Anyway, the natural stereo function of the Headroom amp was dissapointing at best.  The amp got good reviews, but I could hardly tell any difference when the "processing" was switched in and out and neither could my friend.  This was the whole reason for getting the Headroom.  It also sounded dissapointing.  My unmodded Sony DVP-S7700 headphone output sounded better.  As a result it is going back.

[bob82274]

If you haven't heard great headphone sound, try one of these options. There are some binaural recordings available for download online like http://www.quietamerican.org (check out the annapurna section).

Thanks for the reccomendation!  Its not music in the traditional sense but well recorded and very nice to listen to... hmm something for work.

I agree for the most part that headphones are not good a imaging but good for detail.  However these recordings certainly do provided imaging.  You almost have to (ok I did ) look over your shoulder to make sure that there isn't a donkey or an old man laughing behind you.

[Eric5676]

How do you use a Buttkicker LFE kit in conjunction with a pair of headphones?

The LFE setup is a breeze except I'm not clear how one does this.

Anyone?

[dado5]

Never had a good headphone in my life.  So I'm curious...

Do you get all sonic attributes associated with stereo speakers from headphones?  For example, can you pin-point sound in a 3D space with headphones?  What about deep bass, i.e. pipe organ?  Thanks.

I get good latteral imaging on most recordings from my headphone rig (grado rs2/ecc99 SET diy). From slightly outside the earpieces and accross my head. I get a sense of image depth to the rear on some recordings as well. In addition, some recordings (and a lot of movies) have deliberate out-of-phase parts and these can sound like they are WAY outside of you head and in the room.  I will qualify that I no other phones I have heard image as well as Grados and the single stage SET amp augments this ability.  My current set up is the best imaging headphone rig I have yet come across (better than the Headroom cross feed circuit by a wide margin)

IMO, some minimally miked records image BETTER on headphones (Mapleshade and Mercury Living Presense come to mind). On speakers they tend to have hard left-right qualities with little center fill. With phones the center fill is stronger.

I prefer movies on the phones because it is much easier to hear detail and to loose yourself in the film. Music is 50/50. Phones are more intimate and  ultimately I listen longer at a session with them than with speakers but the 'they are here-ness' of speakers on some recordings just cannot be duplicted with phones. Also groove noise is much more apparent with phones so vinyl listening in often not as enjoyable.

Hope this helps a bit.

[Folsom]

Soundstage? NO. Everything sounds like it is in your head for the most part, what else would it do? Now with some AKG 1000's that sort of point at your ears, and special recordings, you will get something nice related to speakers I am sure.

Imagining? I got to make a new post about this, I am not entirely sure what people consider imagining anymore....