Post by Rabbit on Dec 28, 2013 15:35:24 GMT
Since trying out so many headphones recently, the more I've realised that the fit is just as important as the sound. We tend to focus much more on the sound and forget about wearing these things for an hour or more, The Grados immediately come to mind here; where people put up with unblievable discomfort because they like the sound of them. I gave up on the bowls a long time back. I couldn't stand having them on my ears.
I have a large collection of all different types of headphones but when it comes down to listening, I will often choose a lesser headphone because of the fit. My long search for a decent closed headphone has produced all kinds of vices on my ears but in the end, I just tend to go for comfort over sound every time.
I've been trying all of the Senn HD series and one thing that they all have in common; really easy on the head and no crushing of your lugs. Sound from some are a bit lazy or laid back but they fit beautifully. Of course, the hd600 and 650 sound brilliant as well as feel great for long periods of time. So they are real winners...... but they're all open.
I fairly recently got the Senn Momentum which is extremely good as far as sound goes. However, for longer periods on the head, they start to get quite uncomfortable. Same goes for the Beyer DT1350. (Although I'm not keen on the sound quality from them)
So, short term, they are brilliant sounding in their own ways but you have to have a break fairly soon.
The trial that I have done with the CAL2 has had me thinking more about how headphones feel on the head as well as the sound. The CAL2 sound is big and beefy, although it can be more controlled with an amp. So it's not exactly a 'bad' headphone and I quite enjoyed its sound. It makes some headphones seem a bit thin actually and it really communicates a strong sense of music making that many headphones don't really do well. What I mean by that is that some headphones send out the notes cleanly but just don't send out any 'feel' for the music. The hd598 can do this - it's clean and clear but 'clinical' very often and so just doesn't suit some things that well. Best all rounder is the T40 and T50 tbh. I don't think the Senn HD650 does string sound much good for instance, but it works well with rock and jazz. HD600 is better with strings but can turn edgy, similar to the HD598.
The CAL2 has its own set of problems as well, but I have to admit that over the past week, I have used them more than anything else, just because of the comfort and the fairly good sound. I have been quite happy to have sound secondary to comfort.
It does make me wonder whether the best headphones need to have this taken much more in mind tbh. It's all very well to have a briliant sounding headphone, but what's the point if it hurts your ears?
The appearance of the CAL2 that has made this really obvious to me if I'm honest. It's very comfortable and sound is perfectly acceptable. For portable listening, where you're wandering about the house, it's great with my custom short lead. I prefer wearing it to the Momentum, which has a better sound but I can only keep it on with breaks.
We do tend to put comfort secondary, but to me, it's becoming one of my first concerns with headphones because I use them so much.
Maybe a 'pillow rating' is really necessary for headphones so that we know what kinds of vices we're sticking our heads into before we buy these (sometimes) 'torture' devices?
I have a large collection of all different types of headphones but when it comes down to listening, I will often choose a lesser headphone because of the fit. My long search for a decent closed headphone has produced all kinds of vices on my ears but in the end, I just tend to go for comfort over sound every time.
I've been trying all of the Senn HD series and one thing that they all have in common; really easy on the head and no crushing of your lugs. Sound from some are a bit lazy or laid back but they fit beautifully. Of course, the hd600 and 650 sound brilliant as well as feel great for long periods of time. So they are real winners...... but they're all open.
I fairly recently got the Senn Momentum which is extremely good as far as sound goes. However, for longer periods on the head, they start to get quite uncomfortable. Same goes for the Beyer DT1350. (Although I'm not keen on the sound quality from them)
So, short term, they are brilliant sounding in their own ways but you have to have a break fairly soon.
The trial that I have done with the CAL2 has had me thinking more about how headphones feel on the head as well as the sound. The CAL2 sound is big and beefy, although it can be more controlled with an amp. So it's not exactly a 'bad' headphone and I quite enjoyed its sound. It makes some headphones seem a bit thin actually and it really communicates a strong sense of music making that many headphones don't really do well. What I mean by that is that some headphones send out the notes cleanly but just don't send out any 'feel' for the music. The hd598 can do this - it's clean and clear but 'clinical' very often and so just doesn't suit some things that well. Best all rounder is the T40 and T50 tbh. I don't think the Senn HD650 does string sound much good for instance, but it works well with rock and jazz. HD600 is better with strings but can turn edgy, similar to the HD598.
The CAL2 has its own set of problems as well, but I have to admit that over the past week, I have used them more than anything else, just because of the comfort and the fairly good sound. I have been quite happy to have sound secondary to comfort.
It does make me wonder whether the best headphones need to have this taken much more in mind tbh. It's all very well to have a briliant sounding headphone, but what's the point if it hurts your ears?
The appearance of the CAL2 that has made this really obvious to me if I'm honest. It's very comfortable and sound is perfectly acceptable. For portable listening, where you're wandering about the house, it's great with my custom short lead. I prefer wearing it to the Momentum, which has a better sound but I can only keep it on with breaks.
We do tend to put comfort secondary, but to me, it's becoming one of my first concerns with headphones because I use them so much.
Maybe a 'pillow rating' is really necessary for headphones so that we know what kinds of vices we're sticking our heads into before we buy these (sometimes) 'torture' devices?