The Headphones Thread - Page 16

Based on the recommendations in this thread I bought a pair of grado SR-60's from audioadvisor.com

So far I dig 'em. My previous headphones were the "go in your ear" kind from radioshack, so these are certainly more comfortable. I bought up in quality because I'm planning on using these all the time instead of my speakers, as my neighbor upstairs is very pissy about my noise level

So yeah, comfortable, nice long cord (my old headphone cord was really short), but how do they sound?

Well, for some songs, not that different. Perhaps I have to tweak my soundcard settings a bit, but rock, acoustic, and blues all sound about the same, but with more bass than normal. Scores on the other hand... My soundtracks sound awesome through these headphones. And hopefully I can get other music on the same quality by tweaking equalizer settings on my pc or something.

Anyway, just wanted to let those in this thread know their posts were helpful.

Remember the age old adage of audiophilia :-


Crap In -> Crap Out

The better your source material and source itself - the better the final sound out of the headphone. Headphones are waaaay more sensitive than speakers and you will hear a lot more detail than ever before. Tape Hiss, DAC jitter, Transport Noise (the noise the cd transport makes), Vinyl Cartridge misalignment...the list is endless...

Make sure you have a good source, cdp, soundcard etc. and you will enjoy the music more.

Cheers!

GS just wanted to let you know that some people miss you

http://notebookforums.com/showpost.p...3&postcount=32

Now that I have a decent audio setup: m-audio firewire and the AT900's I was wondering about ogg and flac audio formats gsferrari has mentioned before. Is it worth converting my wma's from cd's and mp3's to one of these format's. If so which one and do you have a suggestion of a program to use to do this?

Never try to convert from a lower rez format like mp3 into flac - useless - the data was already lost in translation from wav to mp3.

Rip directly from CD to FLAC. This is a stunning format and using the ASIO (this is supported by the m-audio firewire) dll in Foobar-2000 you can get some pretty impressive sound.

If you need advice setting up Foobar lemme know.

For encoding - use EAC (Exact Audio Copy). Here is a tutorial : http://www.saunalahti.fi/cse/EAC/

It seems that EAC can only detect my virtual alcohol 120% drive and not my physical cd rom drive, have you had this problem and also, where do I need to select the ASIO you said, I don't know what that is?

ASIO is a dll that you install into your dll folders in Foobar.

Here : http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/...hp/t22601.html

EAC doesnt work on my laptop - it is cranky about which drive you use...I think TEAC works...I use my desktop to do all my encoding. Try to find some solution on google...I will also keep my eyes open.

Cheers!

I made an image of the cd to 120% and then eac read them, but I don't see the option to encode them to what I want. I followed the tutorial to change everything to flac compression, but all I see is wav and mp3? Also is there a way for it to automaticlly inculde the names with the tracks?

Wow. 21 pages... I'm on page four, and I'm trying to decipher everything you're saying headphone guy.

Anyways, I've been shopping for headphones for about two weeks and I still don't know anything about them.

I have a $300 budget. I think I'd prefer circumveral or whatever it was you posted way back on page three. The ones that total cover your ear and don't rest of them. But someone told me in another thread to look at the ER-4 micropro and I think I would like the itty bitty ear phones too... so... yea. What's your opinion? If you had $300 to drop what would you put it in?

Or, looking at it this way... if you had $170 to drop, what would you put it in? Because in a week Sound blaster launches the new Audigy sound card which I think would be a big improvement over onboard sound for my new alienware.

Opions!

Oh, PS, I would like MUSICAL headphones, as you point out (I'm on page seven now!). I'll be using them a ton in my video games (My new lappy comes w/ Doom 3 and Far Cry, and I'm gonna take up HL2 and WoW) but I'll probably end up turning my game music down or off (and just keep the affects on) and run winamp over it. That's always been my preferrance.

For $300.00 the choices are pretty good and simple :-


Circumaural : Sennheiser HD-650, Beyerdynamic DT-880, Audio Technica AT-A900, Sennheiser HD-595 (not recommended - too pricey for what it is), AKG K-501, AKG-K271S

Supra-Aural : Alessandro MS-2, Grado SR-325/225, Ultrasone HFI-650

Canal-Phones : Shure E2, E3


I would recommend this one : http://www.headphone.com/layout.php?...tID=0020080026

Fantastic bass and folds up nicely. It is one of the better sounding headphones out there. Get this one + Your Audigy sound card. Alternatively I would recommend getting a USB DAC like this one (www.xitel.com) : http://www.xitel.com/product_phfl.htm

The USB DAC converts audio into analog along with the convenience of a digital output so that you can use another better DAC on your home hifi system.

With this DAC you can use the RCA outputs to connect to ANY amplifier ANYWHERE. For use with your headphones I would get a $80.00 MINT amplifier from www.jmtaudio.com or build one yourself (if you need help with this let me know).

Laptop -> Xitel DAC -> Amp -> Headphones = Stunning Music...

I dont like CMSS and EAX doesnt work with headphones very well...I prefer stereo sound in games...better positioning with headphones.

Still confused? ask and I will tell.

Oh and BTW - dont let the supra-aural nature of the headphones (grado Senn HD-25 etc ) fool you because they are quite comfortable to use. The Grado SR-225 is an incredibly musical headphone and costs around $170.00 new and $150.00 used. This will not isolate any outside noise because it is completely open but the sound quality is second to none.

I think I like the Shure E3s. Can you tell me more about them? How they sound MP3 wise, video game wise? Do they produce a dark deep sound or a brighter sound, etc?

And do canal phones produce surround sound?

E2 - Deep bass and overall fun sound
E3 - more analytical but not like Etymotics ER6

You can live with both - I have all E2, E3, E5 and I spend most time with the E2 because it is cheap, I can carry it around and chuck it around without fear and it is perfect for my musical tastes.

Remember that inserting and removing ear-canal-phones is a 10-20 second process and you will look weird doing it. If you spend a lot of time in public places (at work without cubicles) or if you need to answer telephone calls/talk to people then think twice. You cannot hear ANYTHING below 70db outside a 5 foot range with these ear canal phones inside and music playing. They block a great deal and more of the outside sound.

Get the Shure E2c and get started. Nice place to start and no need for a headphone amplifier. A good soundcard will do nicely - the Audigy2 looks interesting...


Audigy 2 Notebook has ASIO support and hardware processing...it will be good for games and decent for music with ASIO support and Foobar 2000.

No headphone can produce surround sound UNLESS the sound was recorded for headphones (Binaural Recordings) which are the best form of realistic surround sound (better than speakers).

I will post a few binaural mp3s (not music though) here for you headphone freaks to enjoy. NO speaker system in the world...even the most expensive...can give you this kind of surround sound. I will also explain how binaural works if you dont already know.

Cheers!

Please do give a big long explanation of binaural. I have abosolutely NO clue!

So the noise isolation actually cuts it down THAT much? That is SO awesome. That's definitely a factor for me... I'm going to be using them alot in noisey places (IE - crowded buses on my band trips, airplane trips, and in band class to tune out the band... o.o)

I know you say to start small and work your way up but I think I'm just going to start with the E3s and then maybe in June work up to the E5s. I'm a picky listener and while I haven't had to many good headphones, I've gone through so many MP3 players/CD players/computer programs in listening to music that I notice the small differences.

But just so I know can you describe the E2s versus the E3s to me?

And I don't mind about the 10-20 second process of putting them in. I'm still in high school... my laptop has become my new hobby though so ever since I got a job I've been saving all my money towards it, and towards spiffy little things to make it even better.

The E3s definitely have my attention right now though. Will they go good with the Audigy 2 ZS or would I need an amp?

And where would you suggest buying them from? Directly from the shure website?

E2 - deep bass, good midrange, rolled off treble (treble is adequate but it doesnt extend)
E3 - moderate bass, good midrange, good treble

E2 and E3 are both comfortable but I like the E3 better in the comfort department. It is also smaller in size.

Both come with an assortment of fittings - find the one that is right for your ears through experimentation. These can be re-used after washing in Hydrogen Peroxide or Iso Propyl Alcohol so dont throw them away (expensive).

I still suggest starting with the E2 and going on to the E5 when you are ready because the E5 costs $400.00 or something...

Buy from www.ttvj.com - he is having a HUGE sale now
http://www.toddthevinyljunkie.com/pr...ory=Headphones

scroll down to the Shure section and look at the prices - call him and order and ask for best price including discounts.

Ahh... ok. I'll get the Shure E2c because it has a bigger discount then the E3 and you recommended it. Coupled with the new external card from sound blaster it should be a pretty sweet deal.

Thanks mucho for your help.

Binaural Sound :-


How does your ear perceive position/depth of a source of sound? When a car honks on the road you know precisely where the sound came from. When the telephone rings - you know where to look...

How?

Your head holds all the answers. The head is complex and plays a huge part in how you hear sound signals. The shape of the head, shape of the outer ears or pinna, shape of your inner ear canal etc. defines how you are able to pinpoint sound. A set of mathematical functions that define a person's head is known as "Head Related Transfer Functions" or HRTFs.

Sound from a source to your right will reach your right ear first and then pass around your head, over your face and over the back of your head (thus breaking into two signals) before finally entering the other ear...all this "phase" differences and "delays" results in a natural crossfeed and the brain is able to process these signals to tell you exactly where the sound is coming from.

Everything clear so far?

Now - when you record in stereo (like most CD's) you are not taking into account an individuals physical form. The microphone is generic...what you record with a stereo microphone is like what you would hear if you didnt have a head but your ears were two eardrums suspended on a stalk. There are no HRTF's involved and the brain does not receive signals in this format. What the brain receives is simple L/R channel sound and thats what we all listen to as stereo. There is no surround sound effect and you cannot perceive depth, position and imaging in this way.

Now.

Suppose you recreate your head in silicon - right down to the ear canal shape, outer ear shape etc. and place two microphones in each ear exactly where the ear drum is in your ear. Use this to record sound...

The recorded sound when played back to you via headphones will be natural surround sound. It will sound like you were meant to hear the sounds even though you werent actually there.

Everyone still with me?

Several people have approached this form of recording known as "Binaural" recording in two ways : Hardware and Software. Hardware is what I just described and is more natural and reliable. Software is using stereo and then applying fourier transforms (HRTF's) to the signal to make it sound like Binaural. It may or may not work.

There are several Binaural sound files on the www and I have a few on my website...I will upload some more and post for you guys to check out with your brand new headphones

If anyone has any questions - let me know

Hey gsferrari do you recommend any good headphones with a mic? I think they are called headsets but oh well... Logitech has some new ones on their site that look pretty good, but I just wanted a recomendation.