Headphones

HD650 is warm neutral , has great detail but small sound stage and bad imaging. That how I view hd650 and I think it's consistent enough. I don't think there will be anyone say it's bright and bad resolution with wide stage and god tier imgaing to contrast my point. Good or bad are subjective but overall description is enough for you to consider.

I have the hottest of takes: Different people like different things.

Shocking, I know.

If you want to know whether you'll like a headphone or not, go to an audio store and listen to it.

Yeah you're never going to get reliable final verdicts on anything online. And that's for the best because everyone's ears are different and anything audio related is so subjective. But user reviews can be useful for more objective info like how hard headphones are to drive, overall sound sig etc.

Crinacle.com

Big list goes into details so you can spot any bullshit, has reviewed 1000+ iems. Price is not considered when ranking, and most iems are in C tier because it's mid, but you'll still have dirt cheap iems like the Truthear Hexa, which is usually 80$ in A+ tier. Many headphone rankings too. Good site.

Because everyone hears things differently. There won't be 2 people that hear the same.

It's because half thinks "high end" is real and the other half sees it as what it is: snake oil

I very rarely look at reviews for the sound quality/descriptions of any headphones or IEMs. I will always look at reviews for the physical quality, fit, finish, and any known issues. Not only that, but I use this sub to see what's new/trending, since most of the official copy from companies on new releases is just fluff.

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At the end of the day, we should all be trying to help each other listen to music, and stop listening to the gear. If I'm listening to some techno/hardstyle/trance, I want that stupid bass kicking HARD. On the other hand, if I'm listening to some Norwegian black metal recorded on a cassette tape in the middle of the forest in the early 90s, I really don't want the same kicking bass.

Well, you can use frequency response to tell you some things, like if they are bass/treble heavy or v-shaped response. After that when you have heard some things that reviewers have also done reviews for to gauge how much your own taste aligns with various reviewers.

Welcome to literally any tech hobby. Cameras, guitars, headphones, keyboards, video games, they're all the same. People will buy something and then dig their heels in the sand that whatever they buy is the best version of that thing and anyone not doing the same thing is dumb. You have to be able to filter out the dumb/obviously biased comments from ones that actually might be applicable to your question or point of interest.

Dude this sub used to have folk Bashing the ER4XR because of Crin's impression, Almost hounded 1990 when he showed It can output 12.5db of bass(155Hz low shelf). A reviewer here quitted after spamming how Grado fans are a cult.

The Crinacle lot are the worst since I was told a IEM needs 12mm DD or 2 BA woofers. But not long after hyped the ER2XR for It bass...unaware it using a 5.8mm & It THD was 1.9% at 1KHz/100db, The ER4XR is 0.7 ~ 0.98% at 1KHz/100db.

don't read reviews on audio equipment other than those which give you accurate measurements, as this is the only thing that might give you a clue if you will like the gear or not. but that requires experience.

the only way you can really judge if you like a particular headphone is trying them out - and return them if you don't like them.

I regularily do this, every few months. The only headphones I stuck with are my Superlux HD 660 Pro and HD 330 Pro as they do everything well enough so that i am satisfied with them. I just recently returned some Hifiman Sundaras because I just wouldn't get to like them. Too heavy, not better by a amount that would justify the cost at least for me.

I browse this sub purely for headphoneporn and fun - as it is my hobby.

It's a simple matter of you needing to come to terms with the fact that you MUST try before you buy. Just as you said, everything is subjective as it is in food. The only thing you should take away from reviews are things like build quality. BUT even then build quality is subjective because some people are ham-handed morons who deal with their equipment like it's something you should be able to toss around like a bat and ball. People always complained about the Sony MDR-V700's cracking at the swivel points, and it took 20 years for mine to develop a stress crack and that only happened because my kids kept knocking them off my desk--in my loving hands they were never going to crack.

Unfortunately, there are tons of "audiophiles" who aren't actually looking for what sounds good to them because they are so blinded by the idea of equipment that is mathematically or electronically perfect, which is also a faulty concept because our hearing is all different and equipment with flat response will still fail us due to peaks and valleys in our own hearing--a flat response at 3kHz becomes a low spot due to our damaged hearing at 3kHz or similar.

When you have a group of enthusiasts gathered around, certain things will tend to dominate the conversation. Certain headphones will gain praise over most. (To an alarming degree, which is where I agree with ya)

So when ten people praise a thing, more people will buy the thing, then more people will praise it, while a percentage will have a negative experience.

It’s not only headphone preference. There’s an even greater enthusiast market for listening sources. A different source can give someone a totally different experience. And from what I’ve heard, the hd600 is a very amp dependent headphone. So people are hearing different experiences in general.

There’s also a fuck ton of snake oil coming outta YouTube reviewers that flows into this forum.

It all just makes for a VERY frustrating hobby, when you can’t just try the shit before you buy it. I’m the type of guy that will do a stupid amount of research before I settle on something. It’s why I like the Deva over the Sundara.