Headstage: Why I really don't give a crap about it (or don't understand the fuss)

I feel a lot of new music particularly electronic music is now mixed for headphones. I wonder how people feel they sound on speakers. can't comment myself as I don't use speakers with space constraints.

 

Well, you might like this then.

As someone who mix electronic music, I wouldn't say it's mixed for headphones. The thing is, clubs have mono systems, and you want your song to translate the best it can to it. Less stereo separation = less phase cancelation. (Even tho some songs are ridiculously wide, but you wont hear that from top producers)

@Topic

I don't see the point in using crossfeed for casual listening, it narrows sound too much for me, but it's very useful for mixing when you balance things.

 

Well, if you make sure to scrape all the lacquer off of the hammer felts, you'll come pretty close to binging it's sound closer to
one of Gould's "wannabe Harpsipianos" ( I think a Piano Technician should have just smacked Gould's fingers with his Tunning Hammer told him "No" the first time he requested it & been done with it) (I can't remember anyone ever asking Bach how he felt about a modern Hamburg Steinway's sound... OH that's right he did'nt have that option)

He,he ,he .... I've honestly forgotten what the topic of this thread was supposed to be about (I seem to do that quite often on this website,as more often then not , I simply can't relate to much of what's being said (He says while enjoying some very nice LvB piano trios)

 

Btw, isn't it part of the fun that headphones are totally different than speakers in that manner?

 

Well, it adds to the confusion and disorientation leaving lots of room for dialog, anyway.

 

You can order a tracker that can be attached on the headband, so camera is not necessary.

 

Yup.

Amps seems to make a huge difference in the capability of the headphone to show this aspect too.

 

Interesting discussion.

I have a Realiser and I think the head tracking is over rated. Yes, of course, in theory it should make a huge difference, but for me (and many other Realiser owners) I don't find it really makes much of a difference once your brain gets used to the imaging reproduction.

What I mean is that at first, the head tracking is very helpful in "training" your brain to interpret what your ears are hearing. The head tracking helps reinforce the localization of the sound source in the room. But, once you're used to it, turning off the head tracker doesn't make the image collapse or get any worse. Your brain understands what you're hearing and the image and localization is just as good.

With the Realiser, the tracking is done via IR and has a limited range and range of angles. And the transmitter runs out of batteries pretty fast. So there are issues that aren't worth it to me. Other Realiser owners I have talked to also don't use the head tracker. (Some do and swear by it too.)

All I am saying is that on paper, it seems like head tracking would be leaps and bounds better than without, but in practice, for me, it doesn't make a difference.

With regard to the imaging of Out Of Your Head or the Realiser (which are basically the same), with custom measurements, the imaging can be every bit as good as speakers. You can hear speakers that are 4 or more feet away from you and clearly hear the location of the sound source. But without custom measurements using your ears, it is hit or miss. So with regard to Marv's diagram, the Out Of Your Head/Realiser DSP is a huge range from bad to almost as good as speakers depending on the person and the measurements.

If anyone ever wants to setup an experiment where we do measurements in a room with speakers and can directly A/B compare the sound of the real speakers vs. the sound of the headphones with Out Of Your Head/Realiser DSP, I'd be happy to do that. I have done it LOTS of times and people really get a kick out of it. You will be surprised at what's possible.

 

Well that Nx plugin looks pretty cool. We've got OOYH. there's Smyth Realiser... has anyone tried Beyerdynamic's Headzone system?

http://north-america.beyerdynamic.c...rth-america/headzone/headzone-technology.html
http://www.amazon.com/Beyerdynamic-Headzone-Home-Head-Tracking/dp/B001BAJ09A

Not cheap, though cheaper than the Smyth.

 

"Because I live/share walls with other people" and thus the ability to spend lots of money on headphone gear was born

 

I know only that Beyerdynamic's free speaker simulator is very bad. It deforms the FR totally.

 

Pink noise before and after Beyerdynamic's Virtual Studio