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Crater_Dude t1_ivgdyjc wrote

Reply to comment by hfcobra in I heard God by emptyvasudevan

Audioengineer here,

those tubes - no matter how well selected they might be - offer zero advantage over even mediocre transistors regarding measurable sound qualities. People might like them for their sympathetic imperfections aka harmonic distortion or "warmth", but that is a purely subjective impression that can not - under no circumstances - be factually better than transistors in terms of their specifications. You won't find tubes anywhere in monitoring paths at recording or mastering studios led by people who know what they are doing. They are simply not linear enough.

What does make those headphones special, is their ability to maintain their composure during the most complex recordings and difficult instruments like pianos or organs. Factors like membrane compression, distortion and frequency range make a good headphone. Not tubes. Tubes are a selling factor, because they look nice and CAN be what the listener wants. However, this is purely subjective and you don't need a headphone amp THAT expensive to get the same or similar sounding results. This is just a prestigious object to show off or express a certain fascination about all the craftsmanship that went into it. A lot of people fall for the usual marketing strategies and blindly buy into the idea that expensive and shiny equals better. Simply not true. I love Sennheiser products (including their microphones, which I use myself), but the headphones visible in the picture would perform better on a transistor based amp, if linear sound reproduction is what the listener aims for.

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InFortunaWeLust t1_ivlozae wrote

Well couldn't the tubes be used to color the sound sig a certain way? Along with everything else that went into the tuning.

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Crater_Dude t1_ivouxb1 wrote

In sound production this is common practice, because you create what the listener will later hear on their stereo as intended by the artist's and/or producer's vision. That is where the tuning takes place.

In sound reproduction (hi-fi), you want to extract said vision as close to the original as possible. That's the idea.

While being interesting to look at and accompanied by many myths, all a tube really does (if at all) is add harmonic nuances that aren't part of the original recording and thereby distorting the signal. Due to their fanbase and big marketing claims of wider soundstages, superior clarity and what not, they still have a place in the hearts of audiophiles. I also call a pair of old tube monoblocks my own, but I'm fully aware of the technicalities behind them and sleep better, knowing that I don't have to use them to power my speakers in order to enjoy my flac files and records in all their glory.

That being said: they're either status symbols (especially at the given price point), a nod to the earlier days of hi-fi and electronic engineering or - sadly the usual - a sign of how easy people can be tricked into a feeling of imperfection which results in buying ridiculously overpriced gear.

Now excuse me, while I pre-heat my 30 year old tube monoblocks and listen to some Chet Baker 🫡🫣

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InFortunaWeLust t1_ivqu15t wrote

Would you buy the HE-1s if they were the same price as HD-800S? (Given you would spend this much on a set of headphones)

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Crater_Dude t1_ivu0umj wrote

I imagine both headphones would sound quite similar without the marble top tube amp on something like an RME ADI-2 DAC or Lehmann Audio Linear Black Pro, so I would choose based on design and comfort.

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