[TychoBrahe]

A balance between clarity and listenability.

Solid and attractive construction.

Comfort and the ability to be portable, if necessary.

 

[inkling]

1. Sonic detail
2. Full range of sound reproduction
3. Lively, engaging sound. Not too 'laid back,' but not too small of a soundstage.
4. Not horrendously ugly?

 

[theodouma]

For me are the following things important on a earphone (in random sequence)


- build quality/Replaceable cable. I don't want loose my IEM's because the cable/connector breaks or the IEM itself is falling apart

- good isolation, the more the better, but it may not be active isolation

- comfort fit, also if worn more than four hours. I don't care if I can sleep with the IEM's

- price (in Europe) I live in europe, so I prefer a place in Europe where I can buy them and where I can go for any warranty.

- soundstage. I really like a wide soundstage with a good music/sound separation.

- Warm sound with a good treble and mids. I prefer a good mid and highsection over a good bass. The base must be also good ofcaurse, but it isn't as important to me as the mids and the highs.

 

[mr.khali]

What is important to me in a headphone? Hmmm..... I really don't think I will know until I hear it done perfectly. Sure I like a great midrange with smooth highs and enough bass to give the sound weight for numerous genres but that goes without saying. I believe the headphone maker needs to take the lead and show us something unique that separates it from the crowd. Not an envious job but a rewarding one if done right. It seems all the legendary headphones have done just that. All headphones will have their supporters and criticisms but to make a headphone that stands the test of time innovation would be the number one criteria.

 

[deacongreg]

Its interesting. I have discovered that everything matters. I was reading my Stereophile review on your headphones a while back. Upon going to your website, I was stunned the first time I saw your MS400s. The red and black just popped right of the site to my eyes. Bold, bright, colorful, I wanted a pair and of course I had no idea what they sounded like. Or, who here in NY or Westchester County carried them.
Along with comfort, some bottom end, and the ability to let the highs and mids reproduce clearly without distortion. So whether its Quincy Jones, Freddie Hubbard, Brian Auger and the Oblivion Express, or Diana Krall, Curtis Mayfield, Mahler`s 5th, Bruckner, Debussy or Rare Earth and Chicago, I want to hear everything. However, as I get older the look, design and build are important to me as well.........................Nice headphones!

 

[Rangiroa]

I think headphones should be smooth and liquid in the midrange and highs and punchy in the bottom end.

I think headphones should come with multiple accessories (I.E. extensions, adaptors, eartips, clothes clip)

Soundstage is also a bonus but i could deal with a small soundstage with a sound like a described.

 

[royalcrown]

Just tossing my opinion out to anyone who cares:

I like my headphones to be neutral. Obviously, that word has a lot of connotations, especially in the audio word when it has no defined meaning whatsoever. However, I personally look for the flattest frequency response possible. I like to think of my headphones as a kind of tofu, a neutral platform whereby I can play with the music myself, either to attain a flat frequency response or to color the sound as appropriate. I run all of my gear through a parametric equalizer, so I like to have as neutral of a platform as possible to adjust the sound accordingly. It might be too much of a McDonalds "anyway you want it" mindset, but it has worked for me so far, and I have never enjoyed my music more.

 

[Prevenge]

I'm not a headphone aficionado, per se. I spent $70 on a pair of Sony MDR-V6's [do not regret it at all] and buy a pair of $10 IEM's for the commute every year [I tend to lose those ... and I buy other things ... but if I was rich!]. However, the main thing that's important for me - perhaps even over sound quality [which is obviously important] - is longevity. I want to be hearing stories of people who dropped headphones in water and they were fine. I want to hear that, say, a car ran somebody's precious new headphones over and they still worked. If I spend $50+ on a headphone, I want it to be a sturdy headphone [so that over time it, in some way, 'pays for itself'].
I prefer my headphones to be neutral so that I can adjust the EQ if I want to, but I'm not particularly picky about that. I do need my headphones to block out outside sound - as a student with an hourlong commute I need to be able to block out unwanted noise so that I can ignore the outside world and fall into music bliss. The less outside sound intrudes into the noise, the less polluted the music is. I like just kind of trying out new bands, so being able to get a feel for them during the commute is a necessity.
Finally, price is very important to me, mainly because I have fifty thousand different interests. While quality sound is one of those interests, the product has to be better than a lot of other things in other, varying fields in order to win my money.
Thanks for reading, hopefully it helps [I'm not the normal head-fi member, so I dunno about that though, heh].

 

[ScuderiaHeadFi]

PRaT. (Pacing, Rhythm, and Timing.) I do have opinions on how extended sound should be in either frequency extreme; I also have opinions on the balance between transparency and tonal body, and of course a large soundstage that allows your brain to breathe is likewise important. However, once those attributes are more-or-less balanced, I find nothing brings more enjoyment to my listening experience than a transducer's ability to GET UP AND GO. In rock music this leads to the ability to distinguish and be swept up by the beats of the drums, crash of cymbals, and pluck of guitar chords CLEARLY, allowing oneself to be enveloped by the strokes of each instrument separately and the music of the performance holistically. In dance music, this means being able to follow the thump (which of course should have satisfying depth) without getting suffocated in thickness or bass overhang, while in the mid and treble racing forward at the speed of a motorcycle engine winding through its highest revs. Even with more down-tempo jazz or classical, a system which gives you PRaT allows for the music's steady speed to envelope you and overwhelm you. If you can keep the rhythm clear, you can keep the music clear--AND involving. (is it any wonder why I prefer titanium or aluminum drivers to paper or Kevlar, etc.?)

 

[srisaikat]

Here is my entry...........

Like many others music is fun for me, of course there are many others way to describe it, for some people it is serious fun. But making or designing a headphone is not so funny but need a serious involvement and love for music to make it such that one can get maximum fun or enjoyment from it.

So what should preferences or characteristics of headphone as it is the last and final gear that make directly contact the listeners to their favorite performer with an privacy and intimacy (as it is headphone not speaker) and we might want to listen little more live details with such intimacy. So my first demand will be the detailing of performance with every bit of sound instrument with same intensity on which the music was created, details would be an eye opener for any listeners so they will began to trust and fall in love with their headphone immediately. Secondly frequency wise today most people enjoy bass heavy music, so revealing the right texture of low frequency instruments would make the headphone more popular, but a conscious calibration to be made so that it should not sound boomy as it would over shadow rest of details and frequency, thirdly the mid or vocals should be a little bit emphasized but not overpowered at all, in that way it will sound more touching and solid especially for movies.

So a headphone with good instrument separation with a little bit middle emphasized but over all smooth-neutral curve characteristics would be a highly recommended.

My fourth demand would be the quality of the materials so that it can last long, now my fifth and last but not the least demand would the comfort or ease of use.

 

[Aslan123]

With sound quality, the most important thing to me is accuracy and transparency. I don't mind having a coloured sound as long as I like it, but if I have an unlimited budget, I would want the headphone to produce exactly what the artist intended.

With comfort and build quality, quite simply the headphone must be both lightweight and strong, and have a very natural fit and shape. We often forget that comfort is basically as important as sound quality with a headphone, and an uncomfortable headphone would be difficult to listen to, regardless of the sound quality.

However, I think most important thing for a headphone is to make the listener forget that they are wearing them, and let them focus completely on the music. For this you need a combination of excellent sound quality along with excellent comfort, as not having either will lower the experience.

 

[Drosera]

What I look for in a headphone is a sort of Platonic ideal of balance, neutrality and perhaps a smidgen of 'fun' (colouration). And I also know no one headphone is ever going to do it for me. So in the end it's about a game 'variety, compromise and synergy'.

Compromise, not a very inspiring word, but every headphone ever developed is a compromise solution to the very complex problem of making that strange device sound good. Which in turn explains the amount of variety available in headphones, something we all probably see as both a blessing and a curse. Finding the right one is enormously rewarding, but the road can be very long.
This leaves synergy. And the synergy I'm talking about here is not that between the regular audio components, but between the headphone, my mood at a particular moment and the music I want to listen to at that moment. The headphones that manage that synergy frequently enough for me, deserve a permanent place in the stable. The ones that don't do it often enough, will have to go eventually.

 

[Hot0m]

There are several important features in my headphone or earphone. The ability to accurately reproduce audio recordings is the most important. I look for the dynamic headroom, soundstage, and balanced sound without any coloration. I love the deep bass reproduction of drums, the distinct crispness of vocals and the brilliant detail of cymbals. I listen to an array of genres such as acoustic, jazz, jpop, kpop, contemporary R&B, electro pop, and classical. Demanding users are looking for low distortion, high sensitivity as well as efficiency.

Another important feature is comfort. In order to enjoy my listening experience, I do not want to be bothered by its pressure or weight on my ears and head. The headphones should be adjustable or self-adjusting to the wearer despite shape or size. Therefore, premium padding materials such as leather or velour on ear cups and band are recommended.

Headphones should be durable. The frame should be made of lightweight and rigid materials such as carbon fiber, kevlar, aluminum, magnesium or titanium. Cables and the voice coils should be made of premium materials such as OFC. Cable insulation material should be of durable material with low handling noise. Consumers look for 3 year warranty, serviceable repair parts & manufacturer support. A case should be provided or available for the ease of transporting and protection.

Due to recent economic times, a headphone product line should appeal to a variety of customers. On the inexpensive consumer line there should be a headphone or earphone which is affordable/portable to teenagers to college students and be created to appeal to their type of music.
Another line of headphones intended for studio/home use and finally a line of headphones which would appeal to an audiophile.

It is important to be able to demo the headphone before buying to wear & listen. While specifications can provide precise measurements and details but it cannot compare to listening to your favorite tracks with your own ears.

Finally, the headphone needs to look aesthetically pleasing in size and design with matching colors and textures.

 

[Hifihedgehog]

Sound quality seems to be the most important factor in a headphone.

Head-Fi'ers spit out words like neutrality, transparency, soundstaging and involvement all the time when describing what they term to be "the best" headphone. Yet, I feel quality of sound comes down to a few meager elements: (1) hitting the appropriate frequencies in the listening spectrum, and (2) providing a smooth waveform to the ear (soundstage).

Headphones drawing the most popularity in the years - at least in the audiophile community - provide those two elements. Case in point: the Sennheiser HD800. A quick look at its frequency graph even displays a bit of coloration around the lower treble regions. The point here is that it focuses are the important areas. Bass is defined and smooth, the midrange seductively warm, and the treble extended to the highest regions. With this response, elements of the music are allowed to come through, such as a slight cymbal tap, or the faintest bass note. Yet again, these areas hit the appropriate way, and not with complete accuracy. Rather, the sound is represented colorfully and tastefully, so that each piece of the user's music is enjoyable and involving - hence, hitting the right frequency.

Second, the HD800 has a solid waveform in the spades. Simply producing a flat sonic response does not work in headphone design (Etymotic ER-4B). Rather, a headphone must interact correctly with the natural functions of the ear to produce the most desirable effect. To do so, each of the headphone's drivers must angle itself to the outer ear in a such a way as to mimic the delays and reduction of the ear. A headphone can try to reproduce this effect with a mechanism of its own. However, time and trial have shown that angled driver technology does measurably better.

And with each of these elements - an involving response and clean waveform - the headphone is sure to be a top-box seller.

 

[calvinjai]

The most important factors of a good headphone imo is the ability for it to help the user lose themself in the music. I assume that most people in this hobby are semi-serious to serious about headphones and most of the time listen to headphones without doing other things at the same time. Such users would get the most enjoyment out of music if the headphones entranced the user.

With that said, i think soundstage, smooth mids, punchy bass are the most significant factors. Of course detail, clarity and speed would be a plus as well.