Who does this... re:extreme-quality gear

S

Serendipity Records

Well-known member
Reportedly the best headphones produced today, these seem quite hard to acquire.

From the Sennheiser website:

"Each Sennheiser HE 1 is as individual as its future owner. Therefore, we invite you to be part of every step of the process when we create your custom Sennheiser HE 1.

1 We kindly request you make a down payment of $10,000
2 One of our employee contacts you to discuss your order in detail
3 Start production of your personal Sennheiser HE 1
4 We’ll be in touch again to complete the final payment once your Sennheiser HE 1 is ready for shipment
5 Upon receiving your payment, we will make arrangements for the transfer and assembly of your new Sennheiser HE 1"

That's not to say I won't get a pair someday :)
 
I'd be curious to see what a purchaser's hearing profile looks like, whether they can even hear in the frequency ranges boutique gear wants you to believe they're capable of reproducing, whether they're able to discern whether or not there's distortion.

No matter how much you spend on gear you're still only going to experience a compromise of what the original performance sounds like. You're hearing the voices and instruments through a gauntlet of elements that alters and colors the sound - including the headphones. The best recording possible is at best an approximation. Then there's the question of how much of that compromise you're actually capable of hearing.
 
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So if they have a bandwidth that goes to 100kHz, then you need to be listening to stuff that was at least recorded at 192K, or better yet, 384K to that your source material is equal to your monitoring system, right?

There are people who have so much money that such a headphone is almost an impulse buy. Very few people really have a need for such a system. It's a status thing. But it's the same as the guy who buys a million dollar McLaren to sit in his garage and drive it 200miles a year. 99% of them will never drive it within half of it's potential.
 
Funny how famous recording producers and studios never feel investing in these products worthwhile? its the Hifi mentality that seems to leak into our world. Read the ads, and you see who they are targeting, and it isnt musicians or studios I fear.
the folk who pay three grand for an IEC mains cable because the difference in clarity is amazing, need locking away. How many studios have oxygen free XLR cables with directional cable for sonic reasons? All the solid headphone companies have these niche products. They’re not for originators, they’re for deluded listeners who want to improve what we create.
 
Harvey Gerst (remember him?) used to sell MoreMe headphones for studio mixing and monitoring. They were like $29.95 or something. I bought two.
 
I don't think I would ever buy those, they cost more than me & my wife's first home. :-) I would like to hear what they sound like though.
 
One of my dogs used to eat headphones. Although I learned to keep them out of reach, I think maybe he grew out of it, but you never know.
 
I miss ol' Harvey. He had a lot of common sense in terms of what you really need to do good recording. He had been through the whole process over the years, from playing and writing to recording and producing.
 
Stax makes electrostatic headphones that are 1/10th the price of the Sennheiser HE1, and are good for 40kHz+. Electrostatics should be very responsive and have very low inherent distortion. They always had a reputation for excellent imaging. Stax has been making ES headphones forever! They were considered among the best out there even back in the 70s and 80s.
 
TalismanRich said:
Stax makes electrostatic headphones that are 1/10th the price of the Sennheiser HE1, and are good for 40kHz+. Electrostatics should be very responsive and have very low inherent distortion. They always had a reputation for excellent imaging. Stax has been making ES headphones forever! They were considered among the best out there even back in the 70s and 80s.
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There’s a used pair for sale near me I’ve been curious about. I’ve got some of the usual suspects from Sennheiser and a planar pair from Hifiman.

Recently bought my first in-ear system based on the reviews. $50 for the Truthear Red. For $50 you get pretty much the Harman curve nailed almost perfectly with near-zero distortion. I don’t love in-ears, but it’s a pretty good value.

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Truthear x Crinacle Zero Review: Harman Tuning for $50?

Crinacle teams up with a brand out of left field - Truthear - with his latest collaboration IEM, the Zero. IEM specialist Precogvision takes a closer look
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leddy said:
There’s a used pair for sale near me I’ve been curious about. I’ve got some of the usual suspects from Sennheiser and a planar pair from Hifiman.

Recently bought my first in-ear system based on the reviews. $50 for the Truthear Red. For $50 you get pretty much the Harman curve nailed almost perfectly with near-zero distortion. I don’t love in-ears, but it’s a pretty good value.

headphones.com

Truthear x Crinacle Zero Review: Harman Tuning for $50?

Crinacle teams up with a brand out of left field - Truthear - with his latest collaboration IEM, the Zero. IEM specialist Precogvision takes a closer look
headphones.com headphones.com
Click to expand...
You'll need an amplifier to run them. Electrostatics aren't like typical dynamic headphone that you can plug into your laptop or interface. Most times, they have special amplifiers that can handle the unusual load that electrostatics present.
 
TalismanRich said:
You'll need an amplifier to run them. Electrostatics aren't like typical dynamic headphone that you can plug into your laptop or interface. Most times, they have special amplifiers that can handle the unusual load that electrostatics present.
Click to expand...
Yeah there’s an amp included in the listing. I also have a modest one from Schiit audio
 
Johnny Ramone used to carry his "guitar" in a shopping bag. He's in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Gear is great. It can certainly help in making the best recording possible. Talent can and will override that. When you pay extreme amounts of money for gear, I'd gather it's for status and not sound or quality.
 
Headphones that go 80,000 Hrz above what a young kids top of the hearing range can hear? I don't think so - bunch of hooey - better off with average headphones and great recording skills.
 
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