“Studio Headphones Are Exposing Many of My Favorite Music as Crap”, Says New Audiophile

Audiophile headphones can be a double-edged sword.

A Redditor, DumbNTough, recently shared their experience with the Sennheiser HD650 studio headphones on r/headphones. The post reveals how these audiophile-grade headphones exposed the flaws in many modern music recordings, ultimately making the listening experience more unpleasant than before.

The Emotional Rollercoaster of Using Audiophile Headphones

In a detailed post, DumbNTough expressed a mix of admiration and disappointment after upgrading to high-quality headphones.

He shares how he was excited about getting his very first audiophile-grade studio headphones. This is especially since the HD650s are known for their exceptional clarity and detail. But, testing them out has unveiled troubling aspects on many of his beloved modern music tracks.

This realization came as a shock to the user. He noted that the depth and fullness expected in many songs were glaringly absent, leaving a lot of “empty space” where rich sounds should have been.

This observation was particularly striking for “every modern digital recording from mainstream genres”.

For example, in a comment, he mentioned that Linkin Park’s “My December” from Reanimation sounded like half of the song was missing when using the HD650s.

However, it’s not all negative. The post also highlights a silver lining in this discovery.

The OP claims that listening to classical, orchestral, and choral music genres using the headphones has been a revelation.

He mentions that tracks like “Sanctus (London)” by Ola Gjeilo, which already “sounded good for everything,” almost moved him to tears, along with other old classical mixes.

Do You Need Different Headphones for Different Genres?

The Reddit thread inspired a diverse range of responses from the audiophile community. This covers technical advice, shared experiences, and personal reflections on using high-fidelity headphones.

For one, thelazygamer tackled the nuanced issue of music compression and its impact on sound quality. He also shared a personal take on how the HD650s really don’t match some genres but are great for classical music.

Many other users supported this.

One user pointed out that the HD650s may be lacking the sound signature that the OP is looking for in “modern” music.

Another user talked about how studio headphones are made to be uncolored. He clarifies that this is intentional and should have been considered when choosing the headphones.

In response, the OP mused the probability that one may need different headphones to enjoy different genres.

This sentiment was echoed by other users who shared their observations on how different uses and genres dictate their headphone choices. Some even detailed their own headphone rotation strategy.

However, not everyone agreed, especially considering the practicality of this stance. To address this, others offered a solution to the OP to try equalizing the headphones to compensate for the HD650’s lack of color.