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kenwstr
121
Dec 22, 2017
Mine arrived a couple of days ago, took ages for the local distributor to update shipping details, maybe they had a huge backlog this close to Christmas. Anyway, I have had an opportunity to listen to a few tracks now. Player is Sony BDP-S6700, DAC is Essance HDACC with headphone impedance set to 300 ohm. Clarity is amazing and I have never before been able to wander through the music and pick out each individual instrument and vocalist, identifying and isolating them in my attention to this extent. I mean, picking just one vocalist out of a 3 or 4 part harmony and complex instrumental accompaniment, wow just wow. It got me thinking though that this is not even possible in a live performance so what is going on that it is possible with these headphones. Well, this is what I suspect, that each source in a studio recording is just a the primary sound of that source completely devoid or room effects. Effects like reflected sound waves with all the additive and subtractive complexities of phase shifting from that and other sources. Playing such a recording through speakers will of course generate these effects differently for each room it is played in but headphone sound will be devoid of room effects. So headphone sound is completely false in not reproducing the sound of any real world performance but one that is only obtainable through headphones. This is a bit of an Epiphany for me as I had never thought about this before. HeadFi really is it's own world that exists nowhere else. Not saying it's a bad thing, while it doesn't fulfill the traditional HiFi aim of faithful reproduction, perhaps it is best thought of as it's own unique listening environment. Sennheiser's comments under "Your HD6XX" indicate a departure from traditional purism and the highest demands on precise reproduction that leaves me wondering just what this departure is. I am aware that manipulating the frequency spectrum greatly influences emotional response to sound, and the way that I feel about the HD 6XX sound is enhanced energy and excitement in the music, more expressive and dynamic. One track made me think it's as if my nerves are being tweaked to elicit a deliberate response. This brought Lindsey Sterling to mind so I played one of her tracks, ah yest, there it is an almost over the top High end (or am I imagining it). If this is so, it's quite subtle and certainly not nearly as much as some manufacturers do. The rich lower mid range and bass are not diminished at all. It reminds me of the reason I chose an AMC CD8a over all others decades ago, dynamics and expression right across the whole spectrum range. The HD 6XX certainly are an outstanding headphone, the best I have ever used, very pleased!
Ken
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