[Letitroll98]

So sitting at the Mr. Speakers booth at last weekend's audio show I learned that lowering the position of the cans on your head improves bass response.  Do you concur, and what other positioning rules do you follow or ignore?

[charmerci]

So sitting at the Mr. Speakers booth at last weekend's audio show I learned that lowering the position of the cans on your head improves bass response.  Do you concur, and what other positioning rules do you follow or ignore?

Squeezing those suckers on tighter with my hands does the trick! 

[Letitroll98]

We know from some Innerfidelity postings that even the position of 'phones on the dummy heads can be very sensitive in getting a consistent response.  My impression of the Mad Dog earpads, and even moreso the Alpha Dog earpads is, they surround the ears so well and close all leaks at the bottoms of the earpads (where the head starts to slant inward), that I wouldn't expect any bass leaks.  I wonder if there's any more explanation.

That was my impression as well, when some guy named Dan (I wonder what position he holds at the company) said I needed to loosen the headband a bit on the Alpha Dogs I was listening to.  I said no, they seem to fit just fine.  He gently said no, I needed to loosen the headband to lower the ear cups to improve the bass response.  Then he proceeded to open the headband 3 or 4 notches and by golly, the bass was stronger.  Of course now I would have liked to ask what the reasoning was for that, but since it worked and I'm such newbie with headphones I assumed all of you guys knew why this is so.

And no, I'm not familiar with the posts at Innerfidelity.  Could you do a brother a solid and explain, at least briefly, the specifics of their findings.  I did try the lower cups at home and it worked a trick, what else is important in placement?

[Quiet Earth]

I learned that lowering the position of the cans on your head improves bass response. 

Is this lesson for all headphones in general, or just MrSpeakers headphones?

[Letitroll98]

Is this lesson for all headphones in general, or just MrSpeakers headphones?

Oh no, all phones, or any specific you wish to refer to for that matter, i.e. "I position Grados in X fashion, but that doesn't work universally" or anything like that.  But general comments was the original idea.

[Quiet Earth]

My headphones are kind of heavy, so there is really only so far I can loosen the headband before the cans fall off of my head. But I will experiment a little bit and listen for "stronger bass". Also, I'll try not to mistake reduced highs for stronger bass.

Worth a shot.....

[Letitroll98]

So to bring it back to a more catholic discussion, do any of you have ear cup positioning guidelines you use?  Our do you adjust for comfort and let it fly?

[steve in jersey]

A really important thing to factor into this discussion is the diversity in all our "Noggins"

About the only consistently shaped heads you are likely to find is on mannequins or dummy heads.
(Mine is the "Knuclklehead Smith" model). Added to that is the angle that our ears protrude from the sides
of our heads.

Short of having a headphone manufacturer taking a mold of your entire head & then making a custom fitted headphone, there really is'nt any head placement tip that's going to universally work for everyone. We have to be like "Mikey" & try it. So,,yeah, we're stuck with what you said !

[Bob2]

Head shape makes a big difference. Ears are all shapes and sizes.
I look like a cab with the doors open.

[brooklyn]

About the only consistently shaped heads you are likely to find is on mannequins or dummy heads.
(Mine is the "Knuclklehead Smith" model). Added to that is the angle that our ears protrude from the sides
of our heads.

For those that are not old enough to remember, this is the Knucklehead Smiff Model below..
You have a nice shaped head Steve. LOL

[eclein]

I've been amazed how much position and angles effect the sound. The JBL headphones I recently picked up sound amazing when situated correctly. They are not hard to fiddle with and stay positioned pretty well after you tweak them. I have the earpads angled to really shot the sound as close as possible directly down my ear canal. And pivoting the headband slightly further toward the rear then I'm used to and wow the low end and sound stage really changed in a good way....Play with position, use the split headbands to your advantage like on DT1350's by BeyerDynamic if you split the band and almost make it like a helmet with on band forward and one band back pretty far they stay put for one and your sound is more consistent.
 "Fiddle with the cans, man"......LOL...

[dB Cooper]

So to bring it back to a more catholic discussion, do any of you have ear cup positioning guidelines you use?  Our do you adjust for comfort and let it fly?

"Adjust for comfort and let it fly" works just fine with my HD650's.
If headphones aren't comfortable (to me), I don't really care about the sound. In other words, I'm not willing to put up with discomfort to get good sound. There's no need to IMHO. That's one reason I've never warmed up to Grados. I didn't visit the alpha dog table at CAF because I tried their Mad Dog model last year and while I was impressed with the sound, I started getting the "clammy ears" almost as soon as I put them on.

[Guy 13]

"Adjust for comfort and let it fly" works just fine with my HD650's.
If headphones aren't comfortable (to me), I don't really care about the sound. In other words, I'm not willing to put up with discomfort to get good sound. There's no need to IMHO. That's one reason I've never warmed up to Grados. I didn't visit the alpha dog table at CAF because I tried their Mad Dog model last year and while I was impressed with the sound, I started getting the "clammy ears" almost as soon as I put them on.

Hi dB Cooper.
For me, comfort first, then the sound second, then $$$ third.
My HD650 are the most comfortable pair of headphones I ever owned.
To me, there is not much adjustments with the HD650, but no need,
they fit perfectly my head, it's like if Sennheiser have used my head as a mold for their HD650.
They are more than comfortable, they pamper my head and ears,
it's like a nice young chick with big b..... That would take her hands and cover my hears.
Wow... That's what I call comfortable.
My worst pair of headphones was my Grado, cheap foam, on the ears
and the adjustments were useless for my noggin.
Even the top of the line expensive HD800 were not comfortable at all for me.

Guy 13
 
Yes, I know, I said I did not like the sound of my HD650,
well they are so comfortable, that I forgive Sennheiser for what they did...

[dB Cooper]

I still think the HD600 might be the answer for you Guy, or at the very least, closer to what you are looking for than the 650.

I will have your imagery in mind next time I put on my 650's... 

[Guy 13]

I still think the HD600 might be the answer for you Guy, or at the very least, closer to what you are looking for than the 650.

I will have your imagery in mind next time I put on my 650's... 

Hi dB Cooper.
I've decided that of I cannot do a change/change between my HD650
and the HD600, I will keep my HD650.

Guy 13

I will do the same, I will think of you when I put on my HD650.
Which means I won't be thinking of you often,
because I don't use my HD650 very often these days.

[dB Cooper]

I meant the image of the young chick with the big b****

[Wind Chaser]

I'll try not to mistake reduced highs for stronger bass.

Good point. I've never really considered the position of headphones beyond how they fit and feel. Can there really that much difference between optimum fit and optimum sound?

[Letitroll98]

After playing with position for awhile now, it seems as though I can affect imaging more than bass weight or tone.  And I'll quickly add that the positions I've tried are all in the comfort zone, nothing pinching or uncomfortable.  Lowering the cups makes a bit of a cone with side images behind and below the central image, and adds a little bit of bass.  Moving the cups forward does what you would imagine, moves the images forward in the soundstage.  Nothing else I tried was the least bit pleasant so I'll spare you the findings.  So I ended up liking a position slightly lower than one would get from planting the cups firing down the ear hole, as Ed describes it.  And I'm pretty certain results would vary as much as headphones do.  So although my search for some universal guidelines has proven fruitless, replacing that with the rule to experiment with position on all new phones seems even more valuable.

[Wind Chaser]

Interesting. This of course might vary from headphone to headphone. Should I find my headphones, I will have to experiment.

[dB Cooper]

Good point. I've never really considered the position of headphones beyond how they fit and feel. Can there really that much difference between optimum fit and optimum sound?

Here is a random 'pull' from the innerfidelity tests pdf. The headphone in question is the AKG K701 but the spread is similar for most. As you can see, there is a fairly significant variation as the headphones were moved on the test 'head'.