Quote:
Originally Posted by
deedeeyeah
get a grip: one can 'learn' different headphones, as much as different speakers, different soundfields in different venues etc.
try a headphone amp: you might be surprised how much of a difference this can make... - and get a model with a crossfeed matrix.
Don't tell me to get a grip. I'm just really frustrated that literally NO OTHER headphone I've tried that I can actually afford has ever been able to hold a candle to my 7509's for the last 20 years, except the Shure 840's and the AT ATH-M50X. I wouldn't even be having a discussion about this if they were still making the 7509's. I'd just buy a new pair and be done with it.
Speakers are a different matter to me altogether. I don't have studio monitors, yet. So I've been using Sony floorstanding SS-MF515 and SS-MF600H consumer speakers connected to a massive flagship audiophile 7 channel surround sound receiver connected from my M-Audio ProjectMix I/O interface. And while they're not the best sounding speakers, the quality of the receiver itself is mind-blowing. It's completely flat, so no increase in bass or treble controls and the result is pretty spectacular and I have it in 7-Channel Stereo Mode which splits the 2 channels into 7 equal channels (I do disable to the Center channel speaker in this mode, however).
Scold me all you want and tell me it's wrong, but this is something I've done all my life, anyways. I've just never done it with an audiophile grade flagship receiver before so to have a receiver of this quality is a game changer for me, even if I don't yet have the best speakers.
Most keyboards don't even use the best internal DACs, anyways, except my OASYS, the KRONOS, the Yamaha Montage, Roland's latest generation FANTOM series, RD-2000 and some of the newer, more recent synthesizers such as the Waldorf Quantum, Novation Summit and the Moog ONE.
The DACs in my Triton are absolute sh*t, but the interesting thing about the Triton is how compressed the samples are and for it to sound as good as it does is mind-blowing.
And my sound system is not something I can use often, though, because I live in an apartment. So when I do and I mix on this set up, I always check with my headphones (usually my Shure 840's) and they translate quite well anyways after some adjustments, especially when I'm working in the box.
When I finally DO get monitors, it's going to be an active 4 channel setup. 2 in the front and 2 in the back. There's really something to be said about having a set of speakers behind you, far widening your sweet spot.
I will NEVER use a 2-channel system for as long as I live. EVER.
But headphones are a completely different matter to me because I have that sound filling experience I don't get with speakers. So I don't just need accuracy. I NEED them to sound good for a fun music making experience. ALL my keyboards are workstations so most of the time, I'm not even working in the box. I'm jamming away on my keyboards most of the time and creating music with them and only when I'm ready to go deeper, that's when I take it all to Logic and blend in my other keyboards and the hundreds of soft synths and plugins I have in the box. My 7509's REALLY served that purpose for me in a way that almost NONE of the other headphones I've ever had or even tried for that matter were even remotely able to.
I'm not willing to settle, either. GOOD quality headphone amps are really expensive and if I was to go that route, I'd just get the Sennheiser HD 800 S or 820 and plug it into a Grace DAC and call it a day. But how much is that set up? $3-5K?
There's a reason I stuck with the 7509's for SO long. And it doesn't even matter what I plugged them into, they were the best headphones I have ever laid my hands on to listen to and mix on and until I actually find something BETTER, I'm gonna keep looking for another pair, while I get my messed up pair fixed with the internal wiring.
I can't use the 7510's. I'd rather use my V900's in the meantime because the 7510's are NOT a true successor to the 7509's despite Sony's BS claims. A successor to the awful 7506's, maybe. The 7520 could be a successor to the 7509HD. But that's a $300 pair of headphones and given how disappointed I am with the 7510's, I really question the 7520's, now, even though they use the HD drivers. I've heard great things about the 7509 HD version, so that might be something to try as an alternative?