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How to become an audiophile. :P

KamiKatze

So i am looking around for new headphones because the warranty time on my Senheiser PX 360 BT is over and the ear cushions come apart and repairing them costs too much imo.

 

And i found this website, that i am sure a lot of you know. http://www.innerfidelity.com/

 

I was looking at the website and the reviews and the graphs, man what a rush! This website is amazing!!!

 

I am searching for a new set of cans and i try to verify the sound quality of some headphones by looking at the measurement graphs he made on the website. But i fail to distinguish important parts of a sound curve from unimportant ones. I listen to a lot of Drum&Bass, House and electric music in general, but also some heavy metal. So i guess a strong bass wouldn't be bad for my listening experience.

But the overall sound curve (frequency response that is) should stay very flat around +-0 dB so the headphones are quite neutral sounding and not over stretching any sound frequencies or be too shallow in some??

 

So, please tell what those other graphs mean for the listening experience, but i think the overall sound curve graph in particular is most important to me(?)

 

I was comparing those headphones:

 

My headphones

Beyerdynamic custom one pro (bass port close, i think)

Bose quiet comfort 15

Sennheiser Momentum Sound curve looks impressive until 1 kHz (allthough those will be too small for my ears and I'll not consider them.)

 

So all in all, i want to be abled to identify headphones (not just those mentioned above) which would be a good upgrade to my current one/ read the quality of headphones out of those graphs

 

I'd also take recommendations for good headphones up to 300€ (i know i have previously asked for recommendations in another thread but well...)

 

PS: please aplologize if this sound very rookie, i know you have to listen to headphones yourself in order to see if they are any good, but for a noob like me it would be really helpful if i could back up my opinion with some graphs.

 

thanks for reading :P

who cares...

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OK well check out the v-moda m-100. They are very comfortable and have great sound quality. http://v-moda.com/crossfade-m-100/

n0ah1897, on 05 Mar 2014 - 2:08 PM, said:  "Computers are like girls. It's whats in the inside that matters.  I don't know about you, but I like my girls like I like my cases. Just as beautiful on the inside as the outside."

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OK well check out the v-moda m-100. They are very comfortable and have great sound quality. http://v-moda.com/crossfade-m-100/

 

It's more about learing to read those graphs, than a good headphone recommendation. However i appreciate your recommendation. 

who cares...

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One does not simply become an audiophile.

Try Audio-Technica ATH-M50. These are MKBHD and Austin Evan's favourites, so... I think that they are good and useful.

Sorry for my bad English!
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One does not simply become an audiophile.

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Eh, I hate to say it this way but those aren't "audiophile" headphones. They're fashion headphones mostly.

For that money you can grab hd600's, akg k712, he-400 which are all way better headphones.

As to read the graph, anything above 0 db is an enhancement, anything below is a loss. The perfect headphone would probably be a strait line and a heartbeat shaped spike in the treble region or something like that, you don't want a completely flat response curve from a headphone.

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Eh, I hate to say it this way but those aren't "audiophile" headphones. They're fashion headphones mostly.

For that money you can grab hd600's, akg k712, he-400 which are all way better headphones.

As to read the graph, anything above 0 db is an enhancement, anything below is a loss. The perfect headphone would probably be a strait line and a heartbeat shaped spike in the treble region or something like that, you don't want a completely flat response curve from a headphone.

Are you talking about the m-100's? Because if you are, then yes, they are fashion, but they also have exeptional sound quality. Cnet says "Sure, it's a highly competitive market, but no other headphone can touch the M-100's combination of features, build quality, and sound for the money; that's why it deserves an Editors' Choice award." and 

"A beautifully built headphone that sounds even better"

Check out the full article here http://reviews.cnet.com/headphones/v-moda-crossfade-m/4505-7877_7-35512458.html

 

n0ah1897, on 05 Mar 2014 - 2:08 PM, said:  "Computers are like girls. It's whats in the inside that matters.  I don't know about you, but I like my girls like I like my cases. Just as beautiful on the inside as the outside."

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Are you talking about the m-100's? Because if you are, then yes, they are fashion, but they also have exeptional sound quality. Cnet says "Sure, it's a highly competitive market, but no other headphone can touch the M-100's combination of features, build quality, and sound for the money; that's why it deserves an Editors' Choice award." and 

"A beautifully built headphone that sounds even better"

Check out the full article here http://reviews.cnet.com/headphones/v-moda-crossfade-m/4505-7877_7-35512458.html

 

Lol, cnet.

 

Anyway, I'm sure they sound decent, but there's much better options for the money.

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Lol, cnet.

 

Anyway, I'm sure they sound decent, but there's much better options for the money.

Maby, but if you dont want to look stupid wearing them in public, or if you want ones that wont break eisily then the m-100 are good

n0ah1897, on 05 Mar 2014 - 2:08 PM, said:  "Computers are like girls. It's whats in the inside that matters.  I don't know about you, but I like my girls like I like my cases. Just as beautiful on the inside as the outside."

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Eh, I hate to say it this way but those aren't "audiophile" headphones. They're fashion headphones mostly.

For that money you can grab hd600's, akg k712, he-400 which are all way better headphones.

As to read the graph, anything above 0 db is an enhancement, anything below is a loss. The perfect headphone would probably be a strait line and a heartbeat shaped spike in the treble region or something like that, you don't want a completely flat response curve from a headphone.

 

I know they aren't audiophile headphones. I don't have the money for HD 800 and such. I wash just searching for a witty thread title.

 

*one does not simply become an audiophile* true, same argument as above.

 

I really appreciate your recommendations.

 

Thanks for the explanation. btw what does blue and red line mean? left and right? :D

 

As an example, the HD 600s wouldn't be good headphones for me because of dat loss at 20-40 Hz which is the region for bass kicks in common electronic music? http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/SennheiserHD600.pdf

The Sennheiser Momentums would give me a more equal bass spectrum, whether they are fashion headphones or not, i don't care for the sake of this example.

 

Could you give me an example of that spike you are talking about in the trebble region?

who cares...

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If you enjoy good quality music then you are an audiophile. If you strive to get better and better audio then you are an audiophile. That is it.

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If you enjoy good quality music then you are an audiophile. If you strive to get better and better audio then you are an audiophile. That is it.

 

Finally somebody who get's it. You don't have to wear $800+ headphones and only listen to FLAC to be an audiophile. It's like saying you can only consider yourself a sports bike rider when you have a sports bike with a 1000+ ccm engine.

 

The journey is the reward!

 

90% of my music is not purchased, it's 256 KB/s mp3 recorded off of Spotify. Deal with it! :D

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Finally somebody who get's it. You don't have to wear $800+ headphones and only listen to FLAC to be an audiophile. It's like saying you can only consider yourself a sports bike rider when you have a sports bike with a 1000+ ccm engine.

 

The journey is the reward!

 

90% of my music is not purchased, it's 256 KB/s mp3 recorded off of Spotify. Deal with it! :D

Well I just like to convert all my game music from .ogg when it's in the game folder into MP3. I have a very large FLAC library but it got too big so I converted it into MP3 and to be honest I haven't heard the difference. If you have good enough equipment then all audio should be fine. I have a Xonar D1, Fiio E10 and a pair of Sennheiser 558's. I will probably get some 598's but that is only for the look and I can have two headphones if I ever need them. Also I bough a replacement cable for my 558's as the original is way too long. Bought it off Ebay, I am very happy with it. It came from China which is ok. The only problem with it is that the sleeving was a little too gappy but it's red on the other side so it actually looks really nice. 

 (\__/)

 (='.'=)

(")_(")  GTX 1070 5820K 500GB Samsung EVO SSD 1TB WD Green 16GB of RAM Corsair 540 Air Black EVGA Supernova 750W Gold  Logitech G502 Fiio E10 Wharfedale Diamond 220 Yamaha A-S501 Lian Li Fan Controller NHD-15 KBTalking Keyboard

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Maby, but if you dont want to look stupid wearing them in public, or if you want ones that wont break eisily then the m-100 are good

M100's are simply put- Basshead headphones. They lack a lot of detail and presence in mids and highs (as far as I've heard). But damn do they look good.

 

I know they aren't audiophile headphones. I don't have the money for HD 800 and such. I wash just searching for a witty thread title.

 

*one does not simply become an audiophile* true, same argument as above.

 

I really appreciate your recommendations.

 

Thanks for the explanation. btw what does blue and red line mean? left and right? :D

 

As an example, the HD 600s wouldn't be good headphones for me because of dat loss at 20-40 Hz which is the region for bass kicks in common electronic music? http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/SennheiserHD600.pdf

The Sennheiser Momentums would give me a more equal bass spectrum, whether they are fashion headphones or not, i don't care for the sake of this example.

 

Could you give me an example of that spike you are talking about in the trebble region?

gGfSw2P.png

No idea if it's left or right or whatever, but atleast I circled that treble "heartbeat". Also, I don't think the "bass kick" in the electronic you speak of is 20-40 hz, certainly doesn't sound like it, from what small amount of electronical music I rarely listen to. In all honesty, bass is something you sorta get used to. I went from M50's to SRH440's, and the 440's have less bass, but I just got used to it, and because the bass in the SRH440's is quite accurate, I can more easily distinguish the bass, the differences in the sound.

Reviews: JBL J33i   M50s   SRH440   Soundmagic PL50           

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snip

 

 

 

 

thanks for the explanation.

 

A friend of mine actually has the shure 440s. i tried them and they had way to few bass for me. But they're aimed towards studio work, so i guess not even a option for me. Nice middle and highs though!

who cares...

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M100's are simply put- Basshead headphones. They lack a lot of detail and presence in mids and highs (as far as I've heard). But damn do they look good.

 

Well cnet says that they are good. http://reviews.cnet.com/headphones/v-moda-crossfade-m/4505-7877_7-35512458.html And i have the v-moda crossfade LP and they are not bass heavy

n0ah1897, on 05 Mar 2014 - 2:08 PM, said:  "Computers are like girls. It's whats in the inside that matters.  I don't know about you, but I like my girls like I like my cases. Just as beautiful on the inside as the outside."

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Well cnet says that they are good. http://reviews.cnet.com/headphones/v-moda-crossfade-m/4505-7877_7-35512458.html And i have the v-moda crossfade LP and they are not bass heavy

well muh graphs say otherwise:

eY6KL8r.png

also: lol cnet

Reviews: JBL J33i   M50s   SRH440   Soundmagic PL50           

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thanks for the explanation.

 

A friend of mine actually has the shure 440s. i tried them and they had way to few bass for me. But they're aimed towards studio work, so i guess not even a option for me. Nice middle and highs though!

using 840 pads improve the bass a little bit, but it's still not as much as the M50's. (I like the less bass)

Reviews: JBL J33i   M50s   SRH440   Soundmagic PL50           

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 And i have the v-moda crossfade LP and they are not bass heavy

I have the crossfade lp as well and this quote..... I don't even know what to say. 

 

insert a gif with someone throwing up their arms and walking out..... I'm out

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I have the crossfade lp as well and this quote..... I don't even know what to say. 

 

insert a gif with someone throwing up their arms and walking out..... I'm out

I mean, probably cause I listen to older rock and roll music not todays bassy stuff so thats prob why I dont notice the bass

n0ah1897, on 05 Mar 2014 - 2:08 PM, said:  "Computers are like girls. It's whats in the inside that matters.  I don't know about you, but I like my girls like I like my cases. Just as beautiful on the inside as the outside."

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I mean, probably cause I listen to older rock and roll music not todays bassy stuff so thats prob why I dont notice the bass

Your music lacking bass is not the same as a headphone lacking bass, broski

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Your music lacking bass is not the same as a headphone lacking bass, broski

Im saying i didnt notice it being bass heavy because none of the songs i listen to realy have and bass to be havey

n0ah1897, on 05 Mar 2014 - 2:08 PM, said:  "Computers are like girls. It's whats in the inside that matters.  I don't know about you, but I like my girls like I like my cases. Just as beautiful on the inside as the outside."

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