[bassophile]

If using headphones for mixing your own music, you will inevitably be dealing with music that has not yet been mastered.
 
Music in this state can contain aggressive high frequencies, clipping and/or distortion. Would reproducing these sounds cause damage to the voice coil and/or drivers of headphones?
 
I know this is how speakers can blow, so it could do the same thing for headphones? Or does it depend on what headphones you're using? E.g. a 'hifi' headphone like a Sennheiser HD650 or an AKG K701 may not be built to cope with these production artifacts, whereas a 'pro' headphone like an Audio Technica M50, or an AKG K702 may be tough enough to handle them without being damaged?

 

[MrViolin]

I think it's more of how much power you force into them and how much they can hold. 
 
They have monitoring headphones (what you know as 'pro') for the sake of listening to the track and being as neutral as possible. They're used for mastering.
 
The k701 could be used, but people tend to go with the k702 for the detachable cable (and maybe replace it w/ a coil cord) from what I understand (people being in a studio, could possibly damage cord, need coil cord, something along the lines). 

 

[bassophile]

Power as in volume?
 
Or does power handling include ability to tolerate artifacts such as distortion and clipping, even at low or moderate volumes?

 

[shadow419]

Speakers don't like being fed clipped music or distortion, but damage may occur when the playback level is high. Amp clipping is a more serious issue. Keeping the levels down while you're fixing issues is the best advice I can think of

 

[kramer5150]

Quote:

Speakers don't like being fed clipped music or distortion, but damage may occur when the playback level is high. Amp clipping is a more serious issue. Keeping the levels down while you're fixing issues is the best advice I can think of

Not true, in the general sense.  distortion (by the broad definition of what it is) is not all bad for speaker elements/drivers.

 

[KT66]

No 

 

[shadow419]

Quote:

Not true, in the general sense.  distortion (by the broad definition of what it is) is not all bad for speaker elements/drivers.

I should have been clearer.  Distortion in the music itself isn't bad, although it sounds terrible.  What can be bad for speakers is playing this at high levels.  Amp clipping is something you always try to avoid as much as possible.

 

[kramer5150]

Quote:

I should have been clearer.  Distortion in the music itself isn't bad, although it sounds terrible.  What can be bad for speakers is playing this at high levels.  Amp clipping is something you always try to avoid as much as possible.

Also not true.  Instrument distortion either in the way its played and/or how loudly it is played can sound very good.  Its often times what distinguishes one musician from the next.  Instrument distortion is part of the "voice" of each musician.
 
In a similar fashion, headphone / speaker distortion is part of what gives each their signature "voice".
 
The historical signature guitar riff in the Beatles "Revolution", was the highly unconventional (at the time) method of a guitar plugged into a line mixer and they cranked the gains into clipping.  Its a good example of how distortion and even signal clipping, when used "well" isn't always a bad thing.  But to your point, there are probably more examples of "bad" distortion than "good" distortion/clipping.
 
The reality of it all is, harmonic distortion is everywhere in recorded music.  VERY few musical tones, by they time they get from the musician, to the recorded media, and re-produced and amplified to the listening consumer are PURE, undistorted tones.
 
Good distortion:

 
Bad distortion (0:16 ~ 0:29)

 

[shadow419]

I'm talking apples, and you're talking oranges.  I understand what you're saying though.  Musicians/producers have been using distortion to create effects and sounds for a long time.  I was speaking more about the op's question about pre mastered music, and unwanted distortion or artifacts that can be a much higher levels than the finished track.   Keeping your speakers/ headphones at a lower level is smart.

 

[SmOgER]

Quote:

I'm talking apples, and you're talking oranges.  I understand what you're saying though.  Musicians/producers have been using distortion to create effects and sounds for a long time.  I was speaking more about the op's question about pre mastered music, and unwanted distortion or artifacts that can be a much higher levels than the finished track.   Keeping your speakers/ headphones at a lower level is smart.

Your best bet was to stay silent, everything was kindly explained to you.
Not every distortion is bad, not every distortion is caused by HP clipping, not every distortion can damage them (regardless of volume).

 

[kramer5150]

Quote:

I'm talking apples, and you're talking oranges.  I understand what you're saying though.  Musicians/producers have been using distortion to create effects and sounds for a long time.  I was speaking more about the op's question about pre mastered music, and unwanted distortion or artifacts that can be a much higher levels than the finished track.   Keeping your speakers/ headphones at a lower level is smart.

... this is probably the key take away from the discussion.  Not all harmonic distortion is bad.  There is wanted THD and unwanted THD, and its totally subjectively up to the listener to decipher what is good and what is bad.  There are those on head-fi who preach the blanket statement that any distortion is bad, and thats just wrong.

 

[shadow419]

Your best bet was to stay silent, everything was kindly explained to you.
Not every distortion is bad, not every distortion is caused by HP clipping, not every distortion can damage them (regardless of volume).

Sorry you feel the need to preach, but when I responded I was answering the op's specific question. I never went about thumping that distortion is the devil lol

... this is probably the key take away from the discussion.  Not all harmonic distortion is bad.  There is wanted THD and unwanted THD, and its totally subjectively up to the listener to decipher what is good and what is bad.  There are those on head-fi who preach the blanket statement that any distortion is bad, and thats just wrong.

I'm in agreement with you. Many blanket statements fill thread after thread here. Tube sound, solid state sound generalizations being the most common

 

[PFULMTL]

hahahahaha

 

[davidsh]

Take the dt-770 for instance, a popular headphone for studios. Not an effective headphone, and according to specs it should only be able to handle some 200mW. Many headphones can handle more power than that and produce higher volumes according to specs.
 
The k701 is a bit more inefficient, compared to the dt-770, but it can also handle some 200mW's. Go figure.

 

[bassophile]

Basically, if monitoring pre-mastered material in 'rough' genres such as glitch-ey dance music, noise rock or garage punk, at a moderate-to-loudish (not excessive) volume level, are you going to damage your headphones?