How do you select headphones (based on sound)?

[Phronesis]

I'm not sure which forum section is best for this thread, but I went with psychoacoustics because my question emphasizes the perception aspect.

The question is this: how do you select headphones, based on their sound?

Most of us have concluded that in a gear chain ending at a headphone, the headphone is the biggest factor controlling the perceived sound quality. However:

- Quality and specific characteristics of recordings vary a lot, so there's the issue of 'compatibility' between recordings and headphones.

- Most of us have concluded that expectation bias and other psychological factors can strongly influence our perception of the sound reaching our eardrums. I don't think headphones are an exception to that - we may be influenced by the headphone price, brand, reviews by others, etc.

- The ear anatomy of people varies, and combined with differences in headphone geometric/acoustic designs, that can affect how a headphone sounds to one person versus another (even ideally assuming they had the exact same brain). And of course we don't have the same brains, so there will be variation among people in their hearing acuity and perceptual dispositions.

- As recently discussed in another thread, our perception of the sound coming out of a headphone can change as we listen to it and our ears/brain adapt to the sound, so that subjective but biopsychologically real aspect is also there, and emotions, moods, fatigue, etc. can also affect our perception. As perceivers, we change over time.

With all of this in mind, how do you choose headphones? Do you trust your perceptions? Do you try to make blind comparisons? How much do you rely on measurements? Do you compare them back to back with quick switching? How much extended listening do you do? Do you use standard test tracks you're familiar with, or try new tracks?

 

[RayDunzl]

With all of this in mind, how do you choose headphones?

Chose my first pair in 1992 or so, because the display at the store looked nice.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...l-island-audio-seajay-limited.816/#post-25168

Chose my second pair (unheard) in November of 2013 because so many people thought they were good enough, and the measurements appeared reasonable, and the discounted price looked good - HD650, the middle of the road safe choice.

I'm not a headphone collector, having speakers and a place for them to speak 24/7.

 

[maverickronin]

With all of this in mind, how do you choose headphones? Do you trust your perceptions? Do you try to make blind comparisons? How much do you rely on measurements? Do you compare them back to back with quick switching? How much extended listening do you do? Do you use standard test tracks you're familiar with, or try new tracks?

With headphones you have to trust your perceptions more than in any other area of audio. Personally, I don't think it's that big a deal since measurements show plenty of differences which are known to be clearly audible and exceed the usual deviations in typical speakers as well.

Outside of some series of models within the same manufacturer blind testing is flat out impossible since you actually have to wear them and different designs will feel different on your head.

When I listen to headphones at shows or meets with limited time I use the same set of test tracks and take notes. I find quick switching is usually only necessary for very similar models. If I'm going to have it for a while I usually don't bother with a formal procedure unless I plan to write a review or something and just listen instead.

If you're in the market for a new pair, going to a meet or show when you can try lots of things is the best option.

If that's not possible then it's best to start with something well known and then read a ton of reviews comparing other things to it. After you go through a few pairs you'll probably be able to find a reviewer whose opinions mirror yours and you can use that to branch out into other choices. It will take more time and money, but headphones are a lot easier to flip online than speakers, since shipping cost is negligible in comparison, so it's not outrageous.

 

[RayDunzl]

Chose my second pair (unheard)

Actually, didn't listen to any.

 

[Dogen]

I’m pretty new to headphone listening, but my belief is that the perceived sound of any pair is highly dependent on the individual. Much more than speakers. I read over at HeadFi and nobody can agree on how anything sounds! One person’s dull is another’s piercing - I don’t get it. Ear shapes play a big role I’m sure, and any personal psychoacoustic preferences are magnified.

In answer to your question, in my limited experience, a good pair makes different recordings sound very different. Bad recordings should sound bad; good recordings sublime.

 

[JJB70]

Comfort is probably the biggest thing, since you wear headphones it doesn't matter how great the sound is if you can't face wearing them. And that is a very personal thing, one persons heaven is another's hell. Then I guess it is not dissimilar to speakers, do you like a bright sound, a lot of bass, a warm sound, something neutral etc etc. There are also technical aspects, if you want to use headphones with a portable device then low efficiency and good efficiency are important, not so much so if you have a headphone amp. If you want to use them outside then closed back is pretty much essential, if you're only going to use them at home then open back designs are just as good a choice. Some of these considerations will close the choice right down.

Some swear by planar magnetic models or electro-statics but a well designed dynamic model can sound terrific and as with most things it is more about implementation than assuming planar magnetic or electro-static is best.

The one parameter I'd be very careful of using too much to judge is price. Some high end statement headphones offer little or no improvement over much cheaper alternatives (except perhaps for being made of luxury materials). Some models available at modest cost are very good indeed, I really like the Audio Technica ATH-MSR7 and that can be picked up pretty cheaply now. Unfortunately headphones have followed other audio equipment down the road of expensive after market cables and some frankly silly prices for headphones, amps etc but you really don't have to spend much.

 

[Graph Feppar]

Its simple,I want widest soundstage,most precise imaging,extended sub bass with low distortion,frequency response thats close to neutral and doesnt have any sharp peaks or dips and ringing in time domain.

I also compare how much detail can I hear,more detail = superior headphone.I like going to local headphone shops where I can compare side by side headphones.The headphone ability to reveal detail depends on frequency response,distortion and time fomain decay speed.

One thing I noticed that some headpones like AKG702 or Hifimans at first wow me with their level of detail,make me think I "I never heard that before" but then as I switch to Sennheiser HD6X0 it becomes apparent they arr in fact strongly inferior and what I heard was fake detail which bring me to...

Fake detail - this is big trap for noobs trying to buy new headphone.From my experience I found that distortion,non-neutral frequency response and time domain ringing can cause illusion of hearing more detail when it fact its just some form of imperfection masquerading as newly found detail.

Most notorious fault that causes this fake detail is sharp treble peaks,it creates a notch that enhances your hearing in that small frequency window,make you hear things you wont notice in flat neutral headphone but this comes at cost of fatigue and real detail is lost bellow and above of this treble peak,when compared to neutral headphone,treble peak headphone will wow at first but with extended critical listening it becomes apparent that the darker more neutral headphone is in fact more detailed sounding.

Also,I listen for transients,flat frequency response almost always means better time domain behaviour,any kind of filtering causes time domain smearing,headphone with non-flat frequency response acts as filter.I find that neutral headphones often have superior transient response,I can hear it as distinct crisp click type sounds when drums hit,some sharp synths also are like rapidly playing transient,like if you think about square wave it have this sharp transient spikes that play two times per each cycle of fundamental sinewave.
I like to test with the Royksopp - Happy Up There,it have that sharp transient type synth that I use to examine transient response.

 

[sergeauckland]

I chose mine for comfort and sound isolation, didn't listen to either of the pairs I use, Koss PRO4AA and AKG K270S. The Koss isolate better, but are heavier, so less comfortable for long periods, the AKGs are lighter and generally more comfortable but don't isolate as well, so which I use depends on circumstances.

I did have a pair of Jecklin Float headphones, but being open, they had no isolation at all so of limited application. Sounded OK, but no more than that.

I generally only use headphones for monitoring during live recordings when loudspeakers are impractical.

S.

 

[pwjazz]

Some high end statement headphones offer little or no improvement over much cheaper alternatives

Yup - http://seanolive.blogspot.com/2017/02/twirt-337-predicting-headphone-sound_17.html

 

[Phronesis]

Yup - http://seanolive.blogspot.com/2017/02/twirt-337-predicting-headphone-sound_17.html

Good stuff. Is there a link somewhere to their paper, or a list of the 61 headphones?

I was just thinking yesterday how my $100 M40X sounds pretty good compared to my headphones which cost 10x to 25x that amount.

 

[StevenEleven]

I'm not sure which forum section is best for this thread, but I went with psychoacoustics because my question emphasizes the perception aspect.

The question is this: how do you select headphones, based on their sound?

Most of us have concluded that in a gear chain ending at a headphone, the headphone is the biggest factor controlling the perceived sound quality. However:

- Quality and specific characteristics of recordings vary a lot, so there's the issue of 'compatibility' between recordings and headphones.

- Most of us have concluded that expectation bias and other psychological factors can strongly influence our perception of the sound reaching our eardrums. I don't think headphones are an exception to that - we may be influenced by the headphone price, brand, reviews by others, etc.

- The ear anatomy of people varies, and combined with differences in headphone geometric/acoustic designs, that can affect how a headphone sounds to one person versus another (even ideally assuming they had the exact same brain). And of course we don't have the same brains, so there will be variation among people in their hearing acuity and perceptual dispositions.

- As recently discussed in another thread, our perception of the sound coming out of a headphone can change as we listen to it and our ears/brain adapt to the sound, so that subjective but biopsychologically real aspect is also there, and emotions, moods, fatigue, etc. can also affect our perception. As perceivers, we change over time.

With all of this in mind, how do you choose headphones? Do you trust your perceptions? Do you try to make blind comparisons? How much do you rely on measurements? Do you compare them back to back with quick switching? How much extended listening do you do? Do you use standard test tracks you're familiar with, or try new tracks?

I prefer speakers but if I am going to get some music time I do need to use headphones a decent amount (family of 5 and subway ride to work).

These days I read the reviews in rtings.com and consumer reports with a focus on their sound quality judgments and measurements. Rtings.com measures every aspect of the headphones I could think of--how valid the measurements are or well how they correlate with sound quality is something someone else would have to judge. I'd be very interested if anyone has any opinion on this.

https://www.rtings.com/headphones

I've had one hit (the Superlux 681s) and one miss (the Beyer DT990s) based on their SQ judgments.

Comfort is extremely important to me. I don't expect to get a good SQ judgment in the store so I read up. I value reading subjective impressions as well as more objective data.

I have returned about 4 or 5 headphones over a period of about 20 years because I just could not get along with the sound or comfort even after giving time for my brain to "burn-in."

These days I most often use an old pair of Sony CD780s that have stood the test of time extremely well, a pair of Superlux HD681s ($30 on Amazon) that go 20 hz to 20 kHz and sound incredible, a pair of Beyer DT880s that have also stood the test of time, and the newest and most expensive addition is a pair of Sony WH1000-XM3 noise cancelling wireless bluetooth headphones.

The Sony WH1000-XM3s do not cut it for sound quality for me out of the box, but I can EQ them through the firmware in the headphones, a kind of breakthrough technology in headphones for my purposes, so it's basically design your own headphone sound, and I love the sound I've been able to achieve through the equalizer you can access by a smart device to change the firmware of the headphones. Also the noise cancelling is unrivaled and they are extremely comfortable and they are also adjustable in many other parameters (move the image in your head, ignore wind noise's effect on the NR mic, let voices in, adjust the level of NR in 10 gradations, etc). So they're worth every penny, but only because I can change the FR and therefore the SQ by firmware.

For anyone who doubts the SQ of my $30 Superlux 681s (or whether they go 20hz to 20 kHz), which I love:

https://www.rtings.com/headphones/1-2/graph#471/2031

I've certainly heard headphones that cost in excess of $500 or $1000 that I did not like as much for SQ as the Superlux 681s, full stop! The build quality is awful and they're not pretty, but hey, they're $30.

And that is how I choose (and have actually chosen) headphones!

 

[Purité Audio]

I have never been a headphone fan, I don’t like that ‘in head’ feeling but the Smith realisers were eye opening, and the Sonoma’s I have are very similar to my loudspeakers, they sound pretty good, are light ,but are open backed which does limit their usefulness.
Keith

 

[pwjazz]

Is there a link somewhere to their paper, or a list of the 61 headphones?

I'm not sure. The closest I could find in a Google search is this - https://secure.aes.org/forum/pubs/conventions/?elib=19436

 

[andymok]

Generally

1. Budget
2. Open/Semi/Closed
(3. Look for the largest diaphragm available)
4. Choose from the brands who make microphones

 

[cjfrbw]

Such an open ended OP question, since nobody can tell somebody how or what they will hear. It's a Pandora's box, because any advice you give a particular person is bound to be wrong for that individual.

1. Use decent, clean extended amp (lots of good, inexpensive ones reviews on this site) 2. Decide context in which you wish to use headphone 3. Beg, borrow, steal different headphones and try them out aka open, closed, IEM, planar magnetic, electrostat, dynamic 4.Choose a price point and listen and choose what gives you reasonable satisfaction in the context you wish to use them with the kind of music you like to listen to 5. Discipline yourself not to go anal retentive nervosa over every 'perceived' difference 6. enjoy your music.

For dynamic, I prefer closed (isolated and bass and lower midrange best), I don't like a lot of upper midrange and highs (fatiguing), I do like comfortable pads for long use: Sony MDR Z7 (bargain @ $320 used) or Sony Z1R are great closed back dynamics. IEM for gym: Etymotic basic brand ($80) since you can generally just hear midrange. Stax phones for exquisite, detailed sound. Sony Z1R are expensive, but very comfortable and light, and make the sound appear as if it is being played in a dynamic space (in fact, it is modeled on a high end recording studio setup).

 

[solderdude]

The question is this: how do you select headphones, based on their sound?

Most of us have concluded that in a gear chain ending at a headphone, the headphone is the biggest factor controlling the perceived sound quality.

Headphones are personal devices. You will be the only one wearing it (unless it is a studio etc.)
And yes, the headphone is the sound determining part, assuming properly driven.

- Quality and specific characteristics of recordings vary a lot, so there's the issue of 'compatibility' between recordings and headphones.

These should not matter but some folks have a few headphones fitting their moods or genres.
I believe a headphone that performs well can greatly help discriminating good from poor recordings.
Some folks like their headphones to 'gloss' things over. A personal choice.
I don't think it is a compatibilty issue but rather mastering issues.

- Most of us have concluded that expectation bias and other psychological factors can strongly influence our perception of the sound reaching our eardrums. I don't think headphones are an exception to that - we may be influenced by the headphone price, brand, reviews by others, etc.

yes.

- The ear anatomy of people varies, and combined with differences in headphone geometric/acoustic designs, that can affect how a headphone sounds to one person versus another (even ideally assuming they had the exact same brain). And of course we don't have the same brains, so there will be variation among people in their hearing acuity and perceptual dispositions.

This does not matter when selecting a best headphone for you unless you select from reviews found here and there. They differ night and day.
My suggestion is to pick a reviewer that hears very similar to yours and see what he reviews when going of 'reviews' alone.

- As recently discussed in another thread, our perception of the sound coming out of a headphone can change as we listen to it and our ears/brain adapt to the sound, so that subjective but biopsychologically real aspect is also there, and emotions, moods, fatigue, etc. can also affect our perception. As perceivers, we change over time.

Yes, also seen in many reviews. Don't trust other peoples ears unless you found they have quite similar ones to yours.
ALWAYS listen to headphones yourself. Spread over a couple of days and times of day as well as music genres.
Don't like it instantly ? try to listen a while longer.
Like it instantly ? try to listen a while longer.
Is it just 'meh' ? try to listen to it a while longer.

With all of this in mind, how do you choose headphones? Do you trust your perceptions? Do you try to make blind comparisons? How much do you rely on measurements? Do you compare them back to back with quick switching? How much extended listening do you do? Do you use standard test tracks you're familiar with, or try new tracks?

Try to audition some. Maybe preselect on your personal preference/application based on measurements (know HOW is and WHO has measured) or based on reviews written by 'trusted ears' (the ears you trust not people say you should/can trust)
Some sellers offer to take it back if you don't like it (for s small cost or free) and buy them.
Buy secondhand and sell onwards when not satisfied.
HiFi shops, meets of enthusiasts.

Are you gonna use EQ ? Or must it be good without EQ ?

When you found your 'sound' look at comfort. Especially long term comfort.
And things like isolation, on-ear, over-ear, In-ear

What are you gonna use it for ? recreational listening, sound evaluation, mixing, DJ work, making music (specific instruments) ?

Do you play loud ?
Must it be driven from a phone ?

Looks ?

and also important ... price range.
Don't fear to audition ones above and even below the 'target price point'.
There are gems for everyone at each side of their price goal.

In the end you may end up with your ideal headphone and wonder a year later if this or that new and well received headphone isn't any better.

Personal thing ... you must decide.

 

[trl]

I always look for measurements first (innerfidelity, rtings, audioheaven etc.), then I choose a pretty flat headphone from there.

I don't wear glasses, I'm not big-head, so I don't much care about the comfort (unless the headphone is too heavy or too sweaty). I don't like sponge Grados, it's scratches my ears...

Last, I read reviews and opinions about sound-stage and manufacturing quality, but also compares with other headphones.

I always EQ, I'm sensitive around 4-6KHz, so this is something that I usually notch down a couple of dB. Choosing the correct frequency and Q-factor may transform a headphone with ease.

 

[Fluffy]

First of all, they have to be comfortable. If I put it on my head and I want to take it off after 10 seconds, it will come off forever and I don't even bother listening to it.

After that simple test, the next step is to make sure through measurements that they don't have any unusually abnormal behaviors, such as a really high bass roll off point, or audible amounts of distortion. This are things that no amount of EQ can correct, so there is no point even considering a headphone that has them.

And after that, I listen to music I like through them, and if it sounds awesome than that's enough. Accuracy isn't a consideration, but something very colored in the wrong way can make the music sound not awesome.

Under the definition of awesome, you can find a lot of properties like soundstage, imaging, detail, dynamics, lack of sibilance, etc. But overall when all these things align, you just get awesome sound, and that means that headphone has them all to a satisfying degree. Mostly it's about feeling at this point – If the headphones make the music feel like I want it to feel, then I consider it up to my taste.

Personally I prefer headphones that either doesn't need any EQ, or need very little. Stuff like the HD800 that needs tons of EQ and modding to not sound like treble murder seems very counterproductive.

By the way, I listen to a lot of what most audiophiles will consider "bad recordings" (like metal and stoner), so headphones that are less revealing are actually preferable for me.

And also contrary to previous comments, It's usually clear to me on the first couple of minutes of listening if the headphone is right for me or not. I have a couple of headphones that I knew instantly that I love them from the first moments I heard them, and they haven't let me down since. Other ones that I was skeptical about but tried to give them time are long gone.

 

[nhunt]

Good stuff. Is there a link somewhere to their paper, or a list of the 61 headphones?

I was just thinking yesterday how my $100 M40X sounds pretty good compared to my headphones which cost 10x to 25x that amount.

At the end of one of those price/preference studies, they had a list of the FR curves of the headphones measured but without labels, and the internet attempted to reverse engineered them:

Sean Olive also confirmed on Twitter that the highest scoring non-EQ’d headphone in this test that can be seen around $80 was a “popular Sony studio headphone” which backs up the MDR 7506 theory.
I personally think I might be “average” because I have liked a few of those headphones mentioned there like the HD650, MDR 7506/1000x, DT990 Pro, and PM-3. That said? They all sound pretty different to me.