Advice on Picking Headphones - "Audiophile" Misconceptions & Neutral Sound

I want to talk about some misconceptions I think the audiophile community has created, especially for those either just getting into the audio world in earnest or those looking to next level their listening. Here's what I've experienced after fiddling and reading for years, and spending a lot of money on different gear.

[@dasninjastix]

The Audiophile community is like any other special interest group that has vested interest in maintaining a status quo of established norms and beliefs. It doesn't matter that "neutrality" is poorly defined because in reality it only represents a shifting spectrum and not a target. Both Objectivist and Subjectivist struggle to define neutral upon examination even before you get to all the mitigating factors that makes it so your experience with the exact same equipment is not the same as mine. You would think the goal or aim of the community would be to share those varied experiences and move away from these sorts of meaningless labels. But, sadly, it's like any other group of people. You have established norms, rhetoric, labels, stereotypes (no pun intended), and beliefs. If anyone is thinking about getting into the audio hobby, be it headphones, amps, DACs, speakers, streamers, etc., I would implore you to do everything in your power to demo products over relying on reviews or graphs. Experience the equipment yourself before ideas are seeded into your head and before you've had a chance to have the experience. Save your time and your money. Don't subscribe to the belief that someone with 20-30 thousand dollars worth of audio equipment knows what's best for you. Don't chase belonging to poorly or ill conceived orthodoxies about what music "should" sound like. Try and experiment and try to do so as cheaply as you can. Most things in the headphone world are plain old good. Unlike other forms of hardware, headphones tend to just work and tend to sound good. But whether good becomes great or amazing or diappointing depends mostly on you and your tastes, your use cases, your preferences, your frame of reference, and your expectations. No one else can provide that information for you. Avoid the toxic bullsh*t and gatekeeping in this hobby, and keep it about finding new, cost effective ways to experience (or re-experience) the music or sounds you enjoy.

[@Mr.Deeds.]

Omg...are you me?! I almost have had the same experience as you. I gathered a bunch of headphones based on what others say is good and neutral and you must buy... I have the same perception as you...what fun is music without bass...we have the same preferences. I love highs and bass...but I also care about the mids. I have the DT 990/770. AKG 371. And recently the hifman sundaras. I was thorne between these and the 1990.

[@Digimorphosis]

It’s a cool feeling to put yourself out there in a video and hear it connects with someone else with the same experiences. Appreciate your comment. Yeah it sounds like it’s been a long road for both of us. I’ve not heard the Sundaras but I’ve seen Hifiman referenced a lot very positively. Those and the Audeze Mobius are hopefully among the next on my list.

[@garygarlucialuciani9794]

Yep very good breakdown. Whenever I hear someone say the headphones they bought because they were recommended have some things about the sound that bothers them; one of the first approaches are asking what kind of amp are you using with them the person will say amp x. The response is oh, no wonder you don't like the bass on those headphones they don't have good synergy with amp x, you need to try them with amp y. Guess what ? t's not the amp. You just want more bass than the headphones can reproduce or conversely the headphones have more bass than you want. It's the tonal balance intrinsic to the headphones. An amp is not going to change that.

[@Digimorphosis]

Exactly. With the AKG K701s that I had, even adding 6dB of bass wasn't enough, and going any higher caused distortion that made me feel like I was going to break the headphones. No amping or EQ was going to change that aspect of their sound signature to the degree that I needed it to. Switching to headphones with a comparably detailed model that had strong bass makes for an effortless and enjoyable experience for me. Thanks for commenting!

[@annebokma4637]

It can be both. Done amps can't drive certain headphones. Some headphones will never get the sound you want. It's just like any other system. Synergy is a thing and can be destroyed by any one (or more) component

[@jeanagner6876]

Amazing! Simple as that.

[@Digimorphosis]

Thank you for the kind words! After making a video like this it's a rewarding moment to know someone else really got something out of it. 👍

[@jeanagner6876]

@@Digimorphosis Your point of view is so nice and you put it in such a simple way that the most layman in this subject (like myself) can understand. Add to that the ammount of content I stumbled across, while searching for a studio headphone, that says exactly what you emphasize in the video. To me, this was truly enlightening and will probably be to many others. Really a great piece of work!

[@seuzer]

I totally agree that some people in this audiophile world seem to completely forget that at the end of the day what we're trying to achieve is music that sounds amazing for ourselves, not meet a certain criteria. By the way, I ordered a DT 1990 PRO and expecting it to be delivered in a couple of days. I had the chance to try them on a local store before ordering it online and I absolutely loved the sound. They pretty much fix all the issues I have with my current headphones, which are Audio-Technica MSR7s. Nonetheless, I want to try different pads with it, especially the pads from Dekoni. Besides the hybrid one, have you had the chance to try out other Dekoni pads?

[@Digimorphosis]

I did have the chance to play with the regular leather Dekoni pads. I like them but they're definitely hotter to wear than the Elite Hybrids with the holes in them. I could tell the minute I put them on they were hot. Since there's not a big price difference between them the hybrid would always be my recommendation thus far. Also, thumbs up for getting the DT 1990. Listen to some stuff where the singer puts out a really emotional vocal experience, like Adele's Set Fire To The Rain. That song in particular really wowed me one of my listening sessions. Appreciate your comment!

[@TM-hl9kz]

Great video! Just stepping into the hifi audio realm myself, I've noticed the audiophile community tends to be very purist, regardless of your intended use. I just ordered the Audeze LCD-GX paired with a Monolith THX Amp and DAC and Black Dragon XLR cable from Moon Audio. I'll be using this setup exclusively for gaming (racing/flight simulators and open world non-competitive games), having relied on the likes of Steelseries Arctis Pro for years. The LCD-GX apparently don't need the amplification but I like the Monolith's XLR output and the ability to do some minimal EQ fiddling. This is probably over the top for gaming, but that's what your annual bonus is for.

[@Digimorphosis]

I’ve been seeing reference to Audeze headphones an awful lot lately. I’ve not heard any of them yet but it sounds like I’m missing out. They’ll be on my list for sure. And absolutely - this stuff is what bonuses are for. :-)

[@irgamer1072]

great topic ... thank you we needed you a lot

[@Digimorphosis]

Sorry I didn't respond to your kind words sooner, but I really appreciate it and it's feedback that helps motivate me to keep doing videos.

[@PabloFlores-hs4wu]

I think the purist mindset is kinda funny, what ever medium they are trying to keep pure takes the backseat to the purity. I’m looking for an entry level headphones for natural sounds, I want to listen to frame drums and reed flutes. The reed flute has crazy breathy nuances. Do you have any suggestions?

[@Digimorphosis]

Hmm. I’ve never been big on selecting headphones purely for one specific type of audio or music genre and prefer to find something I enjoy for most things, so that’s tough to make a recommendation. Especially if you’re talking entry level, where admittedly I have less familiarity since I’ve been using semi expensive headphones exclusively for many years. Maybe someone else can comment with thoughts there.

[@towsifshahriarshovo]

Do headphone amp improve sound experience?? Worth to invest??

[@Digimorphosis]

A good quality DAC for sound output will definitely improve the experience. As far as a headphone amp, it depends on what headphones you have. Speaking generally, headphones under 50 ohms tend not to need a headphone amp to have enough power. Also, if you're listening to headphones under $100 you may not notice a big difference using a fancy DAC since they probably aren't capable of the detail that DAC will provide. For any of the headphones I mentioned in this video, or ones like them at similar price points, yes generally to both the amp and the DAC. You can save $$ by getting a device that does both, like the Sound BlasterX G6 that is both a high end DAC and headphone amp.

[@robertfontaine3650]

I can completely understand applying EQ to your music but when a set of cans does it for you then you can't get rid of it when it doesn't suit the purpose. There are a bunch of different ways of defining "neutral" and it isn't the harman target. If you start with a flat audio chain you can apply whatever EQ at the end you wish. When your headphones intentionally apply distortion you had better like that distortion on everything you listen to.

[@Digimorphosis]

Yep, I understand the principal there. But for most people I've talked to, including my own usage, one ends up using a pretty similar EQ for most things so if you find a pair of headphones that sounds great to your taste, it also frees you from needing as much EQ from setup to setup where you can't always count on having that. I've also had flat headphones that did not respond well to EQ and still sounded disappointing, so for me there's a real argument for picking cans based on the signature you're after rather than relying on heavy after-the-fact adjustment. The type of person who is anal enough to switch EQ every genre is not who this video is for. The haughtiness behind telling other people how they should be listening to their headphones is the main point of the video. Nobody disagrees with your reasoning, but there are a lot of audiophiles that take your stance and insist that everyone else does that, or uses no EQ, or else is wrong.

[@robertfontaine3650]

@@Digimorphosis plenty of bassheads in the world and nothing wrong with that. I've been spending too much time trying get clean sound and it would be a heck of a lot easier if we were measuring based on something like diffuse field rather than Harman as a baseline. 245 people's preference about what sounds good isn't a good baseline when you are trying to get make the audio sound realistic. It's probably just fine for electronic music where there is no real or pop where it doesn't matter. For acoustic instruments I want to hear what they sound like when I can. The experience is so much better.

[@Digimorphosis]

@@robertfontaine3650 Right on. That kind of personalized preference is what it's all about. Agreed - it would be nice to have a clearer definition of neutral rather than the various interpretations that crop up. It's hard enough finding a pair of cans with a distinct sound signature one is looking for, and all the harder if one is looking for a totally uncolored sound with numerous options claiming as much but still pandering to a particular curve.

[@annebokma4637]

Try the 700X pro yet? I use a dsp eq to tune a headphone to be more to my liking. I always laugh at audiophiles needing a pure (expensive) system to correctly reproduce sounds recorded on a 25$ microphone 😂 Soundblaster has been awful since the isa cards. I use a "pro" interface while waiting for my digital mixer. For my listening setup I use an ifi but not with headphones 😂

[@Digimorphosis]

Haven't tried the 700x yet but will look into it. Looks like an interesting halfway between 770 and 1770 but I assume there's more to it. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@syncwork]

Nice video :) Anyway i like airy treble with hump at 1khz at recessed upper mids with a pillow like bass. Bass is not in priority but don't want too much bass 😁

[@Digimorphosis]

Thanks! :-)

[@codyrap95]

I had a similar experience. My first pair of serious headphones and the most expensive ones are the AKG Q701 that everyone praised for their "neutral" response, but I just can't use them, not for listening to music and not even for mixing because I end up dialing in too much bass. I am really annoyed now that I remember how people used to gaslight me that I am not understanding the neutrality of such headphones and that DT770 is U-shaped and bassy. Yeah, indeed AKG with most models and Sennheiser with models like 600 and 650 really nail the balance between mids and highs which come very very clear and spacious but to what good if they start rolling off from 120hz? Then what is the difference between mixing on main monitors which cover the full spectrum and mixing on 3 inch monitors or even some high end laptop speakers. Yeah rant over and thank you for sharing your experience!

[@Digimorphosis]

Ah yeah so you had the same experience with the K701! Agree 100% and there's definitely an argument to be made that lacking low end to that degree is no longer an accurate or even neutral reproduction.