"Beats" seems like a huge gimmick and it certainly didn't help the HP Touchpad much in terms of sales. It's just hype and morons buy it just because some celebrities name is tied to it. These same people would probably buy Justin Beiber's new perfume too.
I read that the "Beats" circuitry adds some sort of limiter or multiband compressor to the output chain. If that's the case, then I for one wouldn't want any "Beats" audio on my computer or devices.
I also think that the Apple "sound enhancer" in Itunes sucks monkeyballs and I prefer to listen to music and audio without any additional enhancement.
I also think that the Apple "sound enhancer" in Itunes sucks monkeyballs and I prefer to listen to music and audio without any additional enhancement.
Yep. These damn DSPs always make the sound worse, not better. High Fidelity does not mean "sounds less like the original source". It means that it sounds more like the producer intended. DSPs are kind of like putting filters over your oil painting to make it look "better". Would a lenticular filter over the Mona Lisa make it look better because it is "3D"? How about a filter over a Van Gogh to get rid of those damn bush strokes? Don't like the artist's shade of blue? Put a filter over it to make it green instead. Even better, put a filter on that can be changed, like those cheesy digital photo special effects: make it sepia instead of colored! Next day, make it look like it was lit with fluorescent lighting, or sunlight, or candlelight.
Yep. These damn DSPs always make the sound worse, not better. High Fidelity does not mean "sounds less like the original source". It means that it sounds more like the producer intended. DSPs are kind of like putting filters over your oil painting to make it look "better". Would a lenticular filter over the Mona Lisa make it look better because it is "3D"? How about a filter over a Van Gogh to get rid of those damn bush strokes? Don't like the artist's shade of blue? Put a filter over it to make it green instead. Even better, put a filter on that can be changed, like those cheesy digital photo special effects: make it sepia instead of colored! Next day, make it look like it was lit with fluorescent lighting, or sunlight, or candlelight.
Yeah.
I agree. Sound is best listened to in a good, hi quality chain that is as close to the original as possible.
The Apple sound enhancer actually messes with the phase and completely alters the original sound, making drums and other instruments sound like crap.
I keep my listening chain simple, an Apogee Duet hooked up the Mac and a really good AKG headphone hooked up the the Apogee Duet. I hear music and audio the way it was intended to be heard. No enhancements for me, thank you very much. Just good, clean, punchy sound.
I agree. Sound is best listened to in a good, hi quality chain that is as close to the original as possible.
The Apple sound enhancer actually messes with the phase and completely alters the original sound, making drums and other instruments sound like crap.
I keep my listening chain simple, an Apogee Duet hooked up the Mac and a really good AKG headphone hooked up the the Apogee Duet. I hear music and audio the way it was intended to be heard. No enhancements for me, thank you very much. Just good, clean, punchy sound.
I think that is a good sound chain, but no one can say that is the way the music was intended to sound. It sure sounds good, but I assume that the music was meant to sound the way the music was monitored on an exact monitor or headphone. If you are listening to different headphones than the final mix engineers, it will sound different.
That Apogee Duet is great though. Would love to have that in my audio chain.
Perhaps we won't see HP laptop commercials anymore with Dr. Dre?
Yes, because those 1 or 2 commercials Dre made for them 2-3 years ago are on still constantly and prevent you from turning the channel. if you don't like him or hip-hop that's fine, but don't exaggerate or lie to make a phony point.
I think that is a good sound chain, but no one can say that is the way the music was intended to sound. It sure sounds good, but I assume that the music was meant to sound the way the music was monitored on an exact monitor or headphone. If you are listening to different headphones than the final mix engineers, it will sound different.
Which is simply an argument for purchasing audio equipment which is as accurate as possible. You get close to the intended music with a flat audio response with no added distortions. It's not hard to find portable audio equipment and headphones that are close enough to flat over 20-20,000 that there's really no need for anything else.
The concept that intentionally distorting the sound will somehow get it closer to the original is rather absurd.
I think that is a good sound chain, but no one can say that is the way the music was intended to sound. It sure sounds good, but I assume that the music was meant to sound the way the music was monitored on an exact monitor or headphone. If you are listening to different headphones than the final mix engineers, it will sound different.
That Apogee Duet is great though. Would love to have that in my audio chain.
You're right that it's certainly not the exact same chain that was being used in the studio. The majority of big names mix through speakers/monitors, and in major studios those speakers and monitors usually have 15-18" woofers. You can feel the music, not just hear it through those kind of speakers. Headphones are only used a small amount of the time usually, the main mixing happens through speakers and monitors. That usually consists of a pair of nearfield monitors and a pair of larger main monitors. That's kind of hard to replicate in a home environment, unless somebody has a ton of money and a huge house with an acoustically designed room.
Beats is a complete effing scam! Why do I say that? Because I have heard the sound and it isn't anything to write home about. But,If you're a sucker for high concept design then Monster's Beats' products and their superfluous packaging are right up your alley.
They are also built like s***! Everywhere I saw them they were freaking busted.
So, part of your complaint is that the demo models you saw in the store were allegedly broke? Hmmm... ever think they were broke from excess amounts of people testing them out and mishandling them? You cannot be that foolish to make that your argument to prove they are not good headphones?
You're right that it's certainly not the exact same chain that was being used in the studio. The majority of big names mix through speakers/monitors, and in major studios those speakers and monitors usually have 15-18" woofers. You can feel the music, not just hear it through those kind of speakers. Headphones are only used a small amount of the time usually, the main mixing happens through speakers and monitors. That usually consists of a pair of nearfield monitors and a pair of larger main monitors. That's kind of hard to replicate in a home environment, unless somebody has a ton of money and a huge house with an acoustically designed room.
While it's true that a handset isn't going to mimic studio monitors, good headphones come pretty close. Even though they obviously don't have massive subwoofers, they are moving a small enough volume of air that it's not that hard to get fairly flat response down to 20 Hz or so.
In any event, you don't 'fix' imperfections in your sound reproduction by intentionally adding distortions.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steven N.
HTC is impressively run. Solid company with good vision.
I suppose one could argue that "we don't need to innovate because we'll just copy everything Apple does" is 'good vision'. Not that I would accept that definition, though.
Which is simply an argument for purchasing audio equipment which is as accurate as possible. You get close to the intended music with a flat audio response with no added distortions. It's not hard to find portable audio equipment and headphones that are close enough to flat over 20-20,000 that there's really no need for anything else.
The concept that intentionally distorting the sound will somehow get it closer to the original is rather absurd.
Yeah, I've no problem at all with any output as long as the distortion is chosen wisely. If for instance, bass distorts into blooms and/or echoes poorly from the resonance chamber of the headphone cup or speaker enclosure, I dislike the distortion.
But, I'm no longer into 'ultra fidelity at any cost'. My favourite headphones are and will remain the Beyerdynamic DT880 600Ω, though I've a soft spot for a few nicer, more expensive ones such as the HD800, and the T1, and the L3000 from Audio Technica.
Each have a flavour, and even purists who argue that AKG's studio monitors favour high frequencies, or do not apply the ear's natural frequency to the output, and actually induce an unnatural distortion of their own.
For me, I've settled into just loving music. The DT880 aren't as linear as the AKG's, but their smooth mids and good, but not trumped up bass, combined with a semi-peaky high range, are perfect.
Comfort for both is phenomenal. AKG and Beyer are probably my favs, though I am pressed toward Audio Technica more and more.
Beats aren't competing at all with high end audio and are not marketed toward stodgy audiophiles. They are marketed to the largest market and they do well. They sound good, but not great. Jude from Headfi said quite honestly that the Beats are probably the best headphone the average person will ever hear because, no average person will go to check out high end headphones and will likely prefer something from a brand they know, and that other people like.
I used to get all worked up over this audiophile thing. I hated the iPod, Monster, Bose, and that ilk for spreading a false audio agenda. Then I realised that everyone has different personal focuses. If your focus is audio, then get what you like, but preaching to people who just want a cool pair of headphones, is stupid.
A lot of audio junkies will ride bikes from companies that are the Beats or the Bose in the bicycle world, or use cameras that are the same, or shop at clothing shops that are the same thing. I'll have to admit that after dropping my audiophile identity (and a short fugue), I became a happier person as I don't care whether or not a person uses a certain headphone.
I'm not an audiophile, but I did hear the difference with beats on hp laptop. But for me headphones also make a crazy difference and the iPhone sounds much better with my pair of "good" headphones. So my question is will HTC splurge on shipping good headphones with their phones? Cause otherwise I don't know if people will notice.
I agree. Sound is best listened to in a good, hi quality chain that is as close to the original as possible.
The Apple sound enhancer actually messes with the phase and completely alters the original sound, making drums and other instruments sound like crap.
I keep my listening chain simple, an Apogee Duet hooked up the Mac and a really good AKG headphone hooked up the the Apogee Duet. I hear music and audio the way it was intended to be heard. No enhancements for me, thank you very much. Just good, clean, punchy sound.
Back in the day, my system was a high-quality, simple belt-drive turntable with a massive platter (no servo-feedback crap), plugged into a New York Audio Labs SuperIT tube type phono preamp, plugged into an ADCOM 200 Watt/channel amplifer. My speakers were Snell two-way systems, with massive heavy cabinets and a simple crossover.
With a good recording it sounded glorious. Deep, wide soundstage with depth and height. Tight bass. Accurate midrange and treble.
Most people had never heard good audio, so they can be forgiven for thinking that gimmicky crap sounds "better".
Nowadays some movie theaters have very good sound systems.
So, part of your complaint is that the demo models you saw in the store were allegedly broke? Hmmm... ever think they were broke from excess amounts of people testing them out and mishandling them? You cannot be that foolish to make that your argument to prove they are not good headphones?
Just read a bunch of customer reviews on amazon a few months ago, poor build quality came up way too often. I went with the Sennheiser hd 555's, very happy.
Can no one just accept that HTC has purchased this company because it believes that it will allow them to create better products and have that be the end of it?
Why is everything always a competition?
As for your "piece of junk" comment - how many HTC devices have you used?
+2 for you because you actually think outside the box.
Comments
I read that the "Beats" circuitry adds some sort of limiter or multiband compressor to the output chain. If that's the case, then I for one wouldn't want any "Beats" audio on my computer or devices.
I also think that the Apple "sound enhancer" in Itunes sucks monkeyballs and I prefer to listen to music and audio without any additional enhancement.
I also think that the Apple "sound enhancer" in Itunes sucks monkeyballs and I prefer to listen to music and audio without any additional enhancement.
Yep. These damn DSPs always make the sound worse, not better. High Fidelity does not mean "sounds less like the original source". It means that it sounds more like the producer intended. DSPs are kind of like putting filters over your oil painting to make it look "better". Would a lenticular filter over the Mona Lisa make it look better because it is "3D"? How about a filter over a Van Gogh to get rid of those damn bush strokes? Don't like the artist's shade of blue? Put a filter over it to make it green instead. Even better, put a filter on that can be changed, like those cheesy digital photo special effects: make it sepia instead of colored! Next day, make it look like it was lit with fluorescent lighting, or sunlight, or candlelight.
Yeah.
Yep. These damn DSPs always make the sound worse, not better. High Fidelity does not mean "sounds less like the original source". It means that it sounds more like the producer intended. DSPs are kind of like putting filters over your oil painting to make it look "better". Would a lenticular filter over the Mona Lisa make it look better because it is "3D"? How about a filter over a Van Gogh to get rid of those damn bush strokes? Don't like the artist's shade of blue? Put a filter over it to make it green instead. Even better, put a filter on that can be changed, like those cheesy digital photo special effects: make it sepia instead of colored! Next day, make it look like it was lit with fluorescent lighting, or sunlight, or candlelight.
Yeah.
I agree. Sound is best listened to in a good, hi quality chain that is as close to the original as possible.
The Apple sound enhancer actually messes with the phase and completely alters the original sound, making drums and other instruments sound like crap.
I keep my listening chain simple, an Apogee Duet hooked up the Mac and a really good AKG headphone hooked up the the Apogee Duet. I hear music and audio the way it was intended to be heard. No enhancements for me, thank you very much. Just good, clean, punchy sound.
Yawn ....
Exactly...
What the hell... did AI want to bring up the HTC suit with Apple but couldn't find anything new so they used this Beats story as a segue.
I agree. Sound is best listened to in a good, hi quality chain that is as close to the original as possible.
The Apple sound enhancer actually messes with the phase and completely alters the original sound, making drums and other instruments sound like crap.
I keep my listening chain simple, an Apogee Duet hooked up the Mac and a really good AKG headphone hooked up the the Apogee Duet. I hear music and audio the way it was intended to be heard. No enhancements for me, thank you very much. Just good, clean, punchy sound.
I think that is a good sound chain, but no one can say that is the way the music was intended to sound. It sure sounds good, but I assume that the music was meant to sound the way the music was monitored on an exact monitor or headphone. If you are listening to different headphones than the final mix engineers, it will sound different.
That Apogee Duet is great though. Would love to have that in my audio chain.
I've heard these "Beats" may be even higher quality than Apple's standard earbuds.
That would not be heard lol.
Perhaps we won't see HP laptop commercials anymore with Dr. Dre?
Yes, because those 1 or 2 commercials Dre made for them 2-3 years ago are on still constantly and prevent you from turning the channel. if you don't like him or hip-hop that's fine, but don't exaggerate or lie to make a phony point.
I think that is a good sound chain, but no one can say that is the way the music was intended to sound. It sure sounds good, but I assume that the music was meant to sound the way the music was monitored on an exact monitor or headphone. If you are listening to different headphones than the final mix engineers, it will sound different.
Which is simply an argument for purchasing audio equipment which is as accurate as possible. You get close to the intended music with a flat audio response with no added distortions. It's not hard to find portable audio equipment and headphones that are close enough to flat over 20-20,000 that there's really no need for anything else.
The concept that intentionally distorting the sound will somehow get it closer to the original is rather absurd.
I think that is a good sound chain, but no one can say that is the way the music was intended to sound. It sure sounds good, but I assume that the music was meant to sound the way the music was monitored on an exact monitor or headphone. If you are listening to different headphones than the final mix engineers, it will sound different.
That Apogee Duet is great though. Would love to have that in my audio chain.
You're right that it's certainly not the exact same chain that was being used in the studio. The majority of big names mix through speakers/monitors, and in major studios those speakers and monitors usually have 15-18" woofers. You can feel the music, not just hear it through those kind of speakers. Headphones are only used a small amount of the time usually, the main mixing happens through speakers and monitors. That usually consists of a pair of nearfield monitors and a pair of larger main monitors. That's kind of hard to replicate in a home environment, unless somebody has a ton of money and a huge house with an acoustically designed room.
Beats is a complete effing scam! Why do I say that? Because I have heard the sound and it isn't anything to write home about. But,If you're a sucker for high concept design then Monster's Beats' products and their superfluous packaging are right up your alley.
They are also built like s***! Everywhere I saw them they were freaking busted.
So, part of your complaint is that the demo models you saw in the store were allegedly broke? Hmmm... ever think they were broke from excess amounts of people testing them out and mishandling them? You cannot be that foolish to make that your argument to prove they are not good headphones?
You're right that it's certainly not the exact same chain that was being used in the studio. The majority of big names mix through speakers/monitors, and in major studios those speakers and monitors usually have 15-18" woofers. You can feel the music, not just hear it through those kind of speakers. Headphones are only used a small amount of the time usually, the main mixing happens through speakers and monitors. That usually consists of a pair of nearfield monitors and a pair of larger main monitors. That's kind of hard to replicate in a home environment, unless somebody has a ton of money and a huge house with an acoustically designed room.
While it's true that a handset isn't going to mimic studio monitors, good headphones come pretty close. Even though they obviously don't have massive subwoofers, they are moving a small enough volume of air that it's not that hard to get fairly flat response down to 20 Hz or so.
In any event, you don't 'fix' imperfections in your sound reproduction by intentionally adding distortions.
HTC is impressively run. Solid company with good vision.
I suppose one could argue that "we don't need to innovate because we'll just copy everything Apple does" is 'good vision'. Not that I would accept that definition, though.
Which is simply an argument for purchasing audio equipment which is as accurate as possible. You get close to the intended music with a flat audio response with no added distortions. It's not hard to find portable audio equipment and headphones that are close enough to flat over 20-20,000 that there's really no need for anything else.
The concept that intentionally distorting the sound will somehow get it closer to the original is rather absurd.
Yeah, I've no problem at all with any output as long as the distortion is chosen wisely. If for instance, bass distorts into blooms and/or echoes poorly from the resonance chamber of the headphone cup or speaker enclosure, I dislike the distortion.
But, I'm no longer into 'ultra fidelity at any cost'. My favourite headphones are and will remain the Beyerdynamic DT880 600Ω, though I've a soft spot for a few nicer, more expensive ones such as the HD800, and the T1, and the L3000 from Audio Technica.
Each have a flavour, and even purists who argue that AKG's studio monitors favour high frequencies, or do not apply the ear's natural frequency to the output, and actually induce an unnatural distortion of their own.
For me, I've settled into just loving music. The DT880 aren't as linear as the AKG's, but their smooth mids and good, but not trumped up bass, combined with a semi-peaky high range, are perfect.
Comfort for both is phenomenal. AKG and Beyer are probably my favs, though I am pressed toward Audio Technica more and more.
Beats aren't competing at all with high end audio and are not marketed toward stodgy audiophiles. They are marketed to the largest market and they do well. They sound good, but not great. Jude from Headfi said quite honestly that the Beats are probably the best headphone the average person will ever hear because, no average person will go to check out high end headphones and will likely prefer something from a brand they know, and that other people like.
I used to get all worked up over this audiophile thing. I hated the iPod, Monster, Bose, and that ilk for spreading a false audio agenda. Then I realised that everyone has different personal focuses. If your focus is audio, then get what you like, but preaching to people who just want a cool pair of headphones, is stupid.
A lot of audio junkies will ride bikes from companies that are the Beats or the Bose in the bicycle world, or use cameras that are the same, or shop at clothing shops that are the same thing. I'll have to admit that after dropping my audiophile identity (and a short fugue), I became a happier person as I don't care whether or not a person uses a certain headphone.
I agree. Sound is best listened to in a good, hi quality chain that is as close to the original as possible.
The Apple sound enhancer actually messes with the phase and completely alters the original sound, making drums and other instruments sound like crap.
I keep my listening chain simple, an Apogee Duet hooked up the Mac and a really good AKG headphone hooked up the the Apogee Duet. I hear music and audio the way it was intended to be heard. No enhancements for me, thank you very much. Just good, clean, punchy sound.
Back in the day, my system was a high-quality, simple belt-drive turntable with a massive platter (no servo-feedback crap), plugged into a New York Audio Labs SuperIT tube type phono preamp, plugged into an ADCOM 200 Watt/channel amplifer. My speakers were Snell two-way systems, with massive heavy cabinets and a simple crossover.
With a good recording it sounded glorious. Deep, wide soundstage with depth and height. Tight bass. Accurate midrange and treble.
Most people had never heard good audio, so they can be forgiven for thinking that gimmicky crap sounds "better".
Nowadays some movie theaters have very good sound systems.
I used to get all worked up over this audiophile thing. I hated the iPod,.
But the iPod used to use a good quality DAC. With lossless material, it sounded OK. Not any more, unfortunately.
So, part of your complaint is that the demo models you saw in the store were allegedly broke? Hmmm... ever think they were broke from excess amounts of people testing them out and mishandling them? You cannot be that foolish to make that your argument to prove they are not good headphones?
Just read a bunch of customer reviews on amazon a few months ago, poor build quality came up way too often. I went with the Sennheiser hd 555's, very happy.
Can no one just accept that HTC has purchased this company because it believes that it will allow them to create better products and have that be the end of it?
Why is everything always a competition?
As for your "piece of junk" comment - how many HTC devices have you used?
+2 for you because you actually think outside the box.