In the first part of this guide, (which was a while ago, I apologize to all those who’ve been waiting for this installment =) ) I’ve described the different types of headphones available on the market. In this second installment, I shall give insight on to the differences between the sonic characteristics of different headphones. All headphones are not made equal, and each will have it’s own characteristic sound.

This is primarily dependent on the company which makes the headphone. This would be known as the “house signature”, and most of the headphones across the company’s product range will have similar tonal characteristics. For example, many Sennheisers have a somewhat warm and dark sound. This means that the sound produced by the headphones will sound richer on the lower frequencies but the high frequencies are less prominent, with a very slight emphasis on the bass. On the other hand, you have Audio Technica’s house sound, which tends to be bright with a recessed middle range. This simply is audiophile speak for: The headphones have an emphasis on the upper frequencies, and the middle frequencies are relatively less prominent. Other brands will have a different signature, so its always best to understand what your personal preferences are.

Audio Technica AD-700

Building on this, the headphones themselves would have their own distinctive traits, each having differences in depth, separation, sound stage, tone, and body. These traits would describe how the sound produced by the headphone would be. I’ve already described soundstage, but I’ll recap. Soundstage is the impression of the area of sound around your ears. A good analogy to compare a small soundstage to a wide soundstage is the comparison between a small auditorium and a concert hall. A smaller soundstage would be like the small auditorium, where the performance is closer to you and more personal, while the wider soundstage would be like a concert hall, where the music sounds wide and spacious.

A close relative, and in fact complement of soundstage would be depth and positioning.The depth of the headphone will be somewhat like describing the depth of a stage. If you have seen or have some idea of how an orchestra is arranged, the depth would be the ability to discern the distance of the individual instruments from each other. Depth will increase the immersion of the headphone, whilst having less depth would be like having all the instruments all close together. While both depth and soundstage are great, it is fully rounded off by positioning, which would be ability to locate individual instruments and voices across the soundstage. These characteristics are excellent for music (with the exception of rock and rap. They sound better with a smaller soundstage) due to the immersion factor, and for gaming too as you’d be able do discern the location of opponents with ease. I’d say its close to cheating because of the incredible edge you can get

Audio Technica AD300

Tone and body would be what makes the sound. The human ear can discern from 20Hz and 20,000Hz, and while it would be great to have a flat frequency response (meaning that all the frequencies are represented without any range becoming prominent), most headphones are slightly “colored” so that there will be slight differences in which frequencies are more prominent or recessed. Most makers already have their own signature tone, and the individual models have their own differences, slightly more intense bass, more high frequencies and so on. Again, this is up to preference, so you have to know what you prefer before you make your selection for a pair of general headphones..

Usage also plays a great deal into the headphone selection. Different headphones perform differently, so they perform differently for different tasks. A up-close and personal rock headphone wouldn’t sound very good playing classical, and so on and so forth. A brief example of the types of headphones for different applications would be as follows:-

Rock - smaller soundstage, less on positioning, more prominent midrange, bright. Eg, Grado SR-60
Rap- warm sound, lots of “doof doof” bass (muddy), less soundstage Eg, Skullcandy
Pop- wider soundstage, ok positioning, more balanced sound, tight and controlled bass
Classical- wide soundstage, good positioning, depth, balanced to bright sound Eg: Audio Technica AD700
Gaming, movies- wide soundstage, good positioning, tight and controlled bass Eg: Audio Technica AD300

Not to fret, for those who do not wish to spend a lot of money, there are still all round headphones which will do well for many different applications such the Audio Technica A500 or Beyerdynamic DT231.

Grado SR-60 : Rock headphones!

For a starter headphone, I would suggest the Audio Technica A500 or Beyerdynamic DT231 for general purpose use, Audio Technica AD300 for gaming and music, Grado SR60 for rock. With the exception of the A500, they would cost around RM250 each. If that is a little too much, a good start would be the Koss KSC-75, Crossroads Mylarone or Creative EP-630, which are around RM100. They are also good for portable use, with the Koss KSC-75 being clip on while the Crossroads and Creative are IEM’s.

Keep in mind that quality headphones can cost a lot of money, so browse carefully and do your research beforehand, and if possible, audition the headphones with your own player and music before buying a pair. I would also recommend that you discuss your needs with the seller who may recommend something more appropriate for your budget and tastes.

To buy headphones, my suggestions would be as follows:-

Global- Bluetin (www.bluetin.com) [Also has Malaysian, Euro and other region specific sites]
Australia- Headphonic (www.headphonic.com.au)
Singapore-Jaben Network
Address: 1 Coleman Street 04-11
The Adelphi
Singapore 179803
Telephone:(+65) 6337.0809
Malaysia: Walabies Audiophile Store (http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/586559)

More information can be found at:-
Head-Fi forums (www.head-fi.org) : Very active headphone audiophile community.
Headphonic forums (www.headphonic.com.au) : Offshoot of the online store.
Lowyat forums, Audiophile section (forum.lowyat.net) : Tech forum with helpful members.

The next edition will talk about amplifiers, so stay tuned!

Headphone shots courtesy D and John Zhang

Addendum: Try to avoid Skullcandy headphones if you care about your music. They are sonically described as being bloated on bass with little else.