WatchAndEatPopcorn

WatchAndEatPopcorn t1_jefgbnd wrote

Reply to comment by CleanOutlandishness1 in Why do people buy more than thousand dollar headphones instead of speakers? by BC_LOFASZ

So, for the record, I was inspired to try something... took a 500 watt bass amp and cabinet and supplemented the bass... Still, where I'm sitting 50hz is dead silent. I can't fix the fact that the 50hz wave is roughly 20% longer than the length of my garage and nulls out in this spot. It's absolutely wild how a 50hz test tone is silent in this spot. It's just the geometry of the room.

If I move my desk 3 feet back, it's plenty loud... absolutely rattling the walls, but then I'm literally sitting in front of my entryway.

This is obviously very specific case, but not a unique problem. I happen to like sitting next to the window and not in the doorway and I hate not hearing (and ideally feeling) the thud of kick drum.

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WatchAndEatPopcorn t1_jec03u4 wrote

Reply to comment by CleanOutlandishness1 in Why do people buy more than thousand dollar headphones instead of speakers? by BC_LOFASZ

I could probably use a sub to fix the 50hz null... but there are more dips than that...
If I watch this, there are dramatic dips in the volume along the way:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URrEtyFSENc
I like accurate bass tones... so it's just an uphill battle and a constant headache, especially if I'm usually listening around 60-70db where the kick is far less pronounced.
The timbre and presence of a really good cello tone is hard to beat with my cans.

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WatchAndEatPopcorn t1_jeatkvw wrote

Reply to comment by CleanOutlandishness1 in Why do people buy more than thousand dollar headphones instead of speakers? by BC_LOFASZ

Where I sit next to my window in my garage, which overall is the only ideal place to sit, with my $600 studio monitors, I can barely hear kick drums because 50-60 hz is nulled out. Also, another considerable dip around 120hz... Not an easy fix there and kind of a deal breaker for a lot of the music I listen to.

For roughly the same amount of money, I can have HD650s with a tube amp and use Ghz's CanOpener + a slight room reverb plugin to get an amazing, and consistent performance anywhere in the room. No, I can't feel the lower hz with the headphones, but I can at least hear them, and I don't feel them with the monitors anyway. Also, I can lay in the hammock with the same HD650s and a Qudelix and get pretty close sound quality, but with the benefit of being in a hammock.

So, yeah, if you have the room for it, speakers are great! But IMO the headphones win hands-down if you don't have a good room.

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WatchAndEatPopcorn t1_je7mw8q wrote

Reply to comment by SpringsNSFWdude in Why do people buy more than thousand dollar headphones instead of speakers? by BC_LOFASZ

It's a sliding scale obviously... but my desk is roughly in the middle of an epoxy-floor garage, so I'm pretty affected by the room acoustics... I wouldn't spend even $200 on nice speakers because I already know that 30-50hz is already going to be nulled out without some additional investment there.

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WatchAndEatPopcorn t1_je7bpno wrote

Reply to comment by CleanOutlandishness1 in Why do people buy more than thousand dollar headphones instead of speakers? by BC_LOFASZ

Not trying to argue, but how is that the wrong answer? Wouldn't a bad room or ill-placement of the speakers completely ruin the frequency response?
I've got decent studio monitors, but they lack the detail of even a $100 IEM, and I also don't get to feel much bass because those frequencies are almost entirely cancelled out in my garage.

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WatchAndEatPopcorn t1_irxujjr wrote

Reply to comment by suppaboy228 in IEM’s just hit different by Cameri-

I agree, but I do feel like the term has already been repurposed. How many people on this subreddit are using an IEM for monitoring performances vs listening to music?
In practical modern internet usage, the earbuds that insert into the canal are IEMs, so the AirPods Pro 2.0 is just as much an "IEM" as the Moondrop Chu. Even if the later has more potential utility as an actual IEM.

For the record, I hate that and feel like "IEM" shouldn't be used in this context. But if we're already abusing it, and that ship has already sailed, I don't see much issue applying it to bluetooth sets.

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