I think you're right Kouiky.
Frequency spectrum or frequency response character is to an extent about preference, yes this is definitely correct.
Like you're saying, a lot of people like a heavy, impactful and involving low frequency. Even within the low frequency there are many different Hertz areas, a focus on 40 Hz will sound different to 60 Hz or 115 Hz and so on, thus there is preference even within the low frequency.
I've spent a few years reading on the internet and listening to literally dozens of headphones and earphones.
Personally, I'll say FR is only one piece of the picture, when it comes to the overall picture of sound quality.
To see the entire picture and look at sound in real fairness, if such a fairness exists from an impartial heavenly perspective, I believe we need to account for and listen to a lot of sonic parameters.
They include......
- FR extension from 10 Hz to 21,000 Hz
- Driver impulse response
- Decay
- Echo, how echoic or non-echoic / anechoic
- Square-wave response, how well the driver can reproduce a square-wave
- Distortion, harmonic distortion, total harmonic distortion
- Dynamic range
--- Macro dynamic range
--- Micro dynamic range
- Magnetic flux density
- Speed
--- Coarse speed
--- Fine speed
- Detail
--- Coarse detail
--- Fine detail
--- Low volume detail
- Imaging
- Layering
- Space extension
--- X
--- Y
--- Z
- Driver radiation
+ For example, an electrostatic or isodynamic driver will radiate the sound very differently +
- Tone, colour
If you play middle C on a piano or violin on 15 different headphones, the tone will sound slightly different on all of them.
- Transparency
--- Fixed
--- Chameleon
- Realism
A lot of these are subtle differences you need to pay attention to, however they are definitely there nonetheless, I think.
So if I ask myself with a neutral mind, do the Dr. Dre headphones suck?
I don't have an answer since I haven't heard them.
However considering the technical information I've seen which is close to zero and the hype factor nine thousand I have not very much hope for them.
When it concerns value for money, just try to find out how much the retailer buys them for and sells them for.
For example if a retailer buys a HDMI cable for 10 and sells it for 70, of course they will do everything in their power to make that cable more popular.
I don't want to sound cynical, perhaps the Dr. Dre sound amazing, perhaps it's advertising, I really don't know, I just suspect there's dozens of more technically advanced headphones.
Frequency spectrum or frequency response character is to an extent about preference, yes this is definitely correct.
Like you're saying, a lot of people like a heavy, impactful and involving low frequency. Even within the low frequency there are many different Hertz areas, a focus on 40 Hz will sound different to 60 Hz or 115 Hz and so on, thus there is preference even within the low frequency.
I've spent a few years reading on the internet and listening to literally dozens of headphones and earphones.
Personally, I'll say FR is only one piece of the picture, when it comes to the overall picture of sound quality.
To see the entire picture and look at sound in real fairness, if such a fairness exists from an impartial heavenly perspective, I believe we need to account for and listen to a lot of sonic parameters.
They include......
- FR extension from 10 Hz to 21,000 Hz
- Driver impulse response
- Decay
- Echo, how echoic or non-echoic / anechoic
- Square-wave response, how well the driver can reproduce a square-wave
- Distortion, harmonic distortion, total harmonic distortion
- Dynamic range
--- Macro dynamic range
--- Micro dynamic range
- Magnetic flux density
- Speed
--- Coarse speed
--- Fine speed
- Detail
--- Coarse detail
--- Fine detail
--- Low volume detail
- Imaging
- Layering
- Space extension
--- X
--- Y
--- Z
- Driver radiation
+ For example, an electrostatic or isodynamic driver will radiate the sound very differently +
- Tone, colour
If you play middle C on a piano or violin on 15 different headphones, the tone will sound slightly different on all of them.
- Transparency
--- Fixed
--- Chameleon
- Realism
A lot of these are subtle differences you need to pay attention to, however they are definitely there nonetheless, I think.
So if I ask myself with a neutral mind, do the Dr. Dre headphones suck?
I don't have an answer since I haven't heard them.
However considering the technical information I've seen which is close to zero and the hype factor nine thousand I have not very much hope for them.
When it concerns value for money, just try to find out how much the retailer buys them for and sells them for.
For example if a retailer buys a HDMI cable for 10 and sells it for 70, of course they will do everything in their power to make that cable more popular.
I don't want to sound cynical, perhaps the Dr. Dre sound amazing, perhaps it's advertising, I really don't know, I just suspect there's dozens of more technically advanced headphones.
Last edited:
Here's another thought.
Put 100+ teenagers in a large hall, blindfold all of them.
Let them listen to the two most expensive or respected Dr. Dre headphones, Audio Technica ATH-ES10, Koss KSC75, Beyerdynamic T70p, Fostex T50RP.
Ask which sound the best to them, while blindfolded.
The latter four will very easily win I think. To clarify, I haven't heard 'them' but I did hear the Beats Studio, which sounded quite weak.
Put 100+ teenagers in a large hall, blindfold all of them.
Let them listen to the two most expensive or respected Dr. Dre headphones, Audio Technica ATH-ES10, Koss KSC75, Beyerdynamic T70p, Fostex T50RP.
Ask which sound the best to them, while blindfolded.
The latter four will very easily win I think. To clarify, I haven't heard 'them' but I did hear the Beats Studio, which sounded quite weak.
Attachments
Last edited:
Update: Finally got a chance to hear the Beats Studio, I think, at my gym (of course!). Lots of bass, comfortable to wear. Ragged, slow highs. Could they not, for the sheer hell of it, put in some decent transducers with flat FR and good transients, and have switch for the extra bass? Maybe call flat "studio" and the boom sound "club." Would it kill them to do this?
I can't remember whether I heard the Beats Pro or the Beats Studio. They were selling second hand for £190, although I tried them and they had a crackly plug so I'm not spending that money on crackly plug headphones. I thought the sound quality was pretty good, noise isolation wasn't so good though as I was trying to get a demo in Exchange which was noisy. I don't think they are as good value for money as many other brands.
I got a pair of Sennheiser HD25 on ebay for £110 which are good if you get the velour pads. Good sound quality on those, although a touch harsh on the upper mids to highs and not quite enough bass for me. EQ would probably sort them out - otherwise decent headphones although they feel a bit tight on the ears after a while.
I find myself using SoundMagic E10 in ear headphones the most.
I got a pair of Sennheiser HD25 on ebay for £110 which are good if you get the velour pads. Good sound quality on those, although a touch harsh on the upper mids to highs and not quite enough bass for me. EQ would probably sort them out - otherwise decent headphones although they feel a bit tight on the ears after a while.
I find myself using SoundMagic E10 in ear headphones the most.
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.