[Part #1]
I took some time to get to his, because it deserved an involved reply. Hope you don't mind?
I am a purist and minimal.
I'll try not to go into this
too deeply, because it eventually devolves into a philosophical discussion.
But your transducers, whether they be speaker cones, or headphone drivers, are atrociously coloured & inaccurate! Take a look at the frequency & amplitude plots of your speakers & cans. You'll be shocked, literally shocked, if you've never looked at these plots!
(I highly suspect you do use plots - no insult intended).
So, you're already listening to highly coloured audio already! And that's just with the output transducer! Then, there's another highly coloured transducer on the content creation side - i.e, a 'mic'. And we haven't even started on quantization effects & errors in digital conversion and production, or the further inaccuracies of the signal path in analog production!
Now, I can see the quest for the mythical 'straight wire with gain', as it applies to amplification and the amp signal path. That would be saying you want to hear exactly what was the end-result of the transduction and other effects of the creation process, you want to accurately amplifying it, and then send it on to the output transducer to do what it sees fit. I get that theory, that desire, even though I don't necessarily subscribe to it.
I started playing electric guitar at 10 y.o. By 14, I had my first professional level guitar, and my first professional grade (tube) amp. My burgeoning love of music sent me on a quest to learn audio & electronics. Through studying electronics I came to appreciate concepts like the 'straight wire with gain', and also came to appreciate technical specs. But through it all, having started in music before I understood a shred of electronics, I always let my ears (and heart & soul) lead me. My sole listening criteria is,
'Do I like the sound? And that often is reflected in,
'Does it sound real?' But it also can be,
'Does it sound 'enjoyable'? And, those guiding (driving?) principles have never left me! 'Till today!
Anyway, in essence we're speaking here of the Objectivist-Subjectivist audio debate. It's as old as audio itself, and is the paramount perennial audio discussion. And yes, eventually it becomes philosophical. And, it never seems to get resolved or agreed upon.
If you're interested in these types of discussion, each school of thought is well-represented at the extremes by the following forums:
- SBAF (Super Best Audio Friends) -
Subjectivist
- ASR (Audio Science Review) -
Objectivist
I hope I didn't drag you down a rabbit-hole here . . .
Because of this thread I have broken out my headphones. I was right, I have 5 pair.
I also strted to shop headphones again. (I so don't need them)
I was thinking of Electrostatics or another Planer Magnetic. So now it's the Focal I mentioned, now at the back of the line, Audeze LCD 3 or Stax SR-007 MK2.
You mentioned in one of your posts that you felt power was important. How so?
Power is important in headphones, as it is in speakers, because firstly you need to have adequate power to reproduce the audio w/o distortion, but also to have adequate 'headroom'. Headroom refers to excess capacity from nominal use, and basically allows for more impact & dynamic transients. It allows for better dynamic impact.
This (headroom) doesn't just refer to the raw power, but the ability to produce transients quickly.
Besides having excess power in general rating, two of the technical specs (among others) that affect these properties are known as, 'damping factor' & 'slew rate'.
Damping is essentially how well the amp can control the transducer. When we speak of a 'husky' amp that produces a tight bass, we're likely speaking of good damping (along with adequate reserve power - i.e. headroom).
Slew Rate is essentially how fast your equipment can cause a rise or fall in the signal voltage. Obviously, the ability to change voltage quickly means your equipment can more accurately follow a signal.
As to 'headroom' itself, it is not just raw power in spec terms, but is your amp's ability to deliver it in real terms. It starts at your amp's input transformer, where everything in the amp gets its power. That's why the best & most powerful amps with conventual transformers (iron core) are so hulking heavy! It's the transformer(s)!
[Con't]