@mahgister 

Thanks for expanding on the topic of "perception as a creative act". 

Now, another question:

I knew my acoustical optimization of my AKG K340 hibryd was done well when i cranked up the highs  with tone controls and equalization because the violin sound  was enebriating like an angelic silk thread..

I’m confused. I know you are as aware as I am that a violin, in person, can sound very strident -- quite the opposite of "angelic".  So, why offer this as evidence of having optimized your headphones "well"? 

 

I’d just like to say, I find this thread a very stimulating discussion. Much more interesting than talking about gear, although I recognize that has its place. 

I like my K340 so much because being hybrid with a 4,000 Hertz crossover, the two cells work in the mids but the dynamic one from the deep bass higher and the other from the highs to the mids lower...They had an acoustic dual chamber inside then with 5 tuned Helmholtz resonators.The only headphone design as this.

Then the medium are so unique and natural...

It takes me 6 months of reading and experimenting to understand how they work even reading the patent created by Dr. Gorike their designer and founder of AKG a physicist by formation fascinated by acoustics not an engineer...

Why did i dislike all headphones so much , i tried all types, many dynamics, 2 planars et 2  electrostatic...

i dislike them because they sound unnatural generally the mids timbre is unrealistic and artificial... No deep bass  and no natural highs...And very important : no out of the head soundfield experience ( the K340 with many classical recording especially gave me that )

The bass and the Highs  are very limited on most headphone because a singular cellular membrane of any types work not so well to capture bass resonating in your body and highs celestials sweet as honey and seemingly  extended not appearing  with a  roll off ...( The fact that my hearing is not near my 20 dont change the idea and experience, only the perceived frequencies level where the high peaks and roll off)

 A violin played by a not so much great violonist on a not so much great violin yes may sound strident...

But some top artist in Vivaldi Bach or Mozert plays so well that hearing their note tonal microdynamis on a very resolving system with a great acoustic, which is what the K340 gave me, i entered heaven...

Before the K340 i never even on my speakers (Tannoy) or the others less sophisticated one, i never enjoy violin as much... Often stridence, sibilance, acoustic stress at high volume... I was more a bass head in a way...

But with the K340 i cannot be tired of listening the Arte of violin by Locatelli which is almost violins only non stop for hours (3cd). On a bad system in a non controlled room it must be strident and very tiring...

On my K340 it is celestial syrup of the most ethereal kind...Like a set of  colors distillation at the limit of the visible spectrum flowing and flying ...

I own a CD of a Polish version of the 4 seasons of Vivaldi  on Tacet, "tube recording only", i cannot be tired of listening it, the violins and especially the solos with the deep bass of the cello create an altered state of consciousness..

the mark of a high end system, the ultimate after having natural timbre, deep bass, spatial localisation of all instruments with their holographic individual tonal volume in space, is the higher frequencies rainbow arc...

I never experienced it on speakers because my system was never "high-end" even in my extraordinary well controlled room.

But my actual system of choice even if i can use small speakers well embedded acoustically which i modified, my system of choice the only high end one i ever had (quality of gear design) is the K340 driven by the Sansui alpha...

The most difficult and the LAST factor  to get not only right but very good and celestial  is the higher range of frequencies on speakers but especially on headphone... The only headphone i know which is good is the K340... I am not frustrated at all because it will cost me a lot to beat them with speakers...

incredibly stunning poster to put on my, a bit expanded, lower stomach  part !

I want one ...

asvjerry

4,937 posts

05-05-2025 at 02:04pm 

Been in there long enough for kitty, too.... ;)

@hilde45 

'We gain new perspectives with ASC’s and if they can be somehow incorporated into our way of understanding things, they become resources to break out of routine judgments.'

Which is to say, what is seen can not be unseen, what is heard can not be unheard, and what is felt can not be unfelt.    

Music is already an ASC and cannot be unheard going deep in us...

Playing with sound parameters in a room imply an ASC...

Do you know the Barabar site in India ?

Nobody knows who did it, the precision is  impossible to replicate today, and the caves were probably used as an acoustic tool to create ASC...

This stunning  documentary is one of the best i had seen recently and say a lot :

BARABAR, THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE OF THE FUTURE

This 2 hours is amazing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iF6qv1CC5_4&t=3s

But if you want a short introduction :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nGnA0ZrwEk

@12many By the way, I like your handle – clever!

Agree that what is heard gets incorporated.

I agree with others that music is an ASC. (I mean, what isn't an ASC given certain definitions? That's a rhetorical question, FWIW.)

The point of my question (which is not as fun as what others are bringing up, so it's all good) is how do we break out of "ruts" in the way we are presently analyzing our systems? So many people on the forum seem stuck about what to do next, and they look for advice about gear, etc. But one could change a thousand things, and so the problem comes back to how we break out of our larger perspective. An ASC had long ago is of little help, as it has already become routine in our present habit. A new ASC has the potential to shake up present habits, provide an analytical clue, and lead to experimentation with the system or room with greater potential.