3 ms·

> It's simple: if you can't tell the difference between 192 and 256, and are going to listen to Spotify stream anyway, it makes more sense to invest more into

by Oletros 11y ago

> It's simple: if you can't tell the difference between 192 and 256, and are going to listen to Spotify stream anyway, it makes more sense to invest more into the appearance than in sound. I'm unable to understand this kind of logic

coldtea 11y ago
It's simple: a) Good headphones only bring marginally better sound over mediocre ones for most of the source material and format people hear (not to mention if you listen to pop hits, they're often mastered to sound good to mediocre headphones in the first place). b) Appearance matters. Being trendy and following fashion is good for your social life (yeah, other people are often that shallow: don't fight it, hack it to your benefit). c) For most people their social life is way more important than something like better frequency response. So optimize what's actually important to you, not what should be important in theory. Heck, I'm a heavy DAW user and I have AKG and AT monitor-grade headphones, but I'm still tempted to get a pair of Beats, a) to hear mixes through a headphone "in vogue" producers of pop/hip-hop/r&b optimize for, b) for the fashion part. (And no, "everybody has one" doesn't diminish the fashion factor, except to fashion snubs people who you'd want to avoid anyway. Fashion works better when you conform -- to put it another away, nobody was seen in a bad light wearing Nike because "tons of other people have Nikes").
- widdershins 11y ago
  In my opinion bad headphones will have a bigger impact on the sound than the difference between a 192 and 320 mp3. Sure, on a 192 a practiced listener might be able to discern compression in things like cymbal washes, but bad headphones can wreck the whole balance of a track by boosting bass to ridiculous levels etc.
- falcolas 11y ago
  > Good headphones only bring marginally better sound over mediocre ones for most of the source material and format people hear I have to disagree here. Perhaps it's just me, but when I listen to my music downloaded from iTunes over crappy headphones, then over my good headphones, there is a tremendous difference. I can hear synth beats, quiet drum hits, vocal inflections, and guitar riffs on the good headphones which are lost to the muddled and over-driven bass in bad headphones. And this is with recent music by Taylor Swift, Adelle, and Avicci. > Appearance matters. Thankfully, companies like Sennheiser have started to make tremendous leaps in these qualities. Of course, they're starting to drive up their prices as well, so that's a bit of a backslide... > So optimize what's actually important to you Agreed. Though it wouldn't hurt to expose folks to more good sounding headphones, so they can make a decision on actual data. If I didn't have headroom in my home town, I wouldn't know what truly good headphones would sound like; my experience would have been limited to Boise and Beats.
Oletros 11y ago
So, it is better to recommend buying overpriced shit over cheaper good quality because you think they will serve better. I wouldn't call friend someone that recommends me something like that
- golergka 11y ago
  How do you define "quality"? Why do you automatically assume that the most important thing about headphones is sound quality for everyone?
  - Oletros 11y ago
    I repeat, you're the one assuming that for other people is more important look than price or quality. Why do you automatically assume that the most important thing about headphones is "look" for everyone?
    - golergka 11y ago
      I don't assume — may be I didn't state this in the most correct way. I ask the person about his listening habits and fashion sense when giving advice, of course. Often, brands like SkullCandy or UrbanEars are aesthetically closer to a person's style; Beats is just a good illustration of a principle.

by Oletros 11y ago

coldtea 11y ago

It's simple: a) Good headphones only bring marginally better sound over mediocre ones for most of the source material and format people hear (not to mention if you listen to pop hits, they're often mastered to sound good to mediocre headphones in the first place). b) Appearance matters. Being trendy and following fashion is good for your social life (yeah, other people are often that shallow: don't fight it, hack it to your benefit). c) For most people their social life is way more important than something like better frequency response. So optimize what's actually important to you, not what should be important in theory. Heck, I'm a heavy DAW user and I have AKG and AT monitor-grade headphones, but I'm still tempted to get a pair of Beats, a) to hear mixes through a headphone "in vogue" producers of pop/hip-hop/r&b optimize for, b) for the fashion part. (And no, "everybody has one" doesn't diminish the fashion factor, except to fashion snubs people who you'd want to avoid anyway. Fashion works better when you conform -- to put it another away, nobody was seen in a bad light wearing Nike because "tons of other people have Nikes").

widdershins 11y ago
In my opinion bad headphones will have a bigger impact on the sound than the difference between a 192 and 320 mp3. Sure, on a 192 a practiced listener might be able to discern compression in things like cymbal washes, but bad headphones can wreck the whole balance of a track by boosting bass to ridiculous levels etc.
falcolas 11y ago
> Good headphones only bring marginally better sound over mediocre ones for most of the source material and format people hear I have to disagree here. Perhaps it's just me, but when I listen to my music downloaded from iTunes over crappy headphones, then over my good headphones, there is a tremendous difference. I can hear synth beats, quiet drum hits, vocal inflections, and guitar riffs on the good headphones which are lost to the muddled and over-driven bass in bad headphones. And this is with recent music by Taylor Swift, Adelle, and Avicci. > Appearance matters. Thankfully, companies like Sennheiser have started to make tremendous leaps in these qualities. Of course, they're starting to drive up their prices as well, so that's a bit of a backslide... > So optimize what's actually important to you Agreed. Though it wouldn't hurt to expose folks to more good sounding headphones, so they can make a decision on actual data. If I didn't have headroom in my home town, I wouldn't know what truly good headphones would sound like; my experience would have been limited to Boise and Beats.

Oletros 11y ago

So, it is better to recommend buying overpriced shit over cheaper good quality because you think they will serve better. I wouldn't call friend someone that recommends me something like that

golergka 11y ago
How do you define "quality"? Why do you automatically assume that the most important thing about headphones is sound quality for everyone?
- Oletros 11y ago
  I repeat, you're the one assuming that for other people is more important look than price or quality. Why do you automatically assume that the most important thing about headphones is "look" for everyone?
  - golergka 11y ago
    I don't assume — may be I didn't state this in the most correct way. I ask the person about his listening habits and fashion sense when giving advice, of course. Often, brands like SkullCandy or UrbanEars are aesthetically closer to a person's style; Beats is just a good illustration of a principle.