The Last Bass Outpost
Main Forums => The Outpost Cafe => Topic started by: ack1961 on November 12, 2010, 01:48:49 PM
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Hey all,
I'm not into starting threads about nothing, but I've been curious about this topic for a while.
After reading a few threads on LBO regarding music, it's safe to say that there's quite a diverse group of music fans here.
I'm also no audiophile, but I love music (on good sounding stereo equipment), but I don't get into the specifics other than trying to match good speakers with good amps.
Like quite a few folks here, I was already into music when Dark Side of the Moon came out (meaning: I'm no spring chicken), and back then I didn't have a great stereo to play music on - my brother's headphones sounded a million times better than my first speakers. As instructed, I grabbed a pair of headphones, hit the light-switch and got prone. Needless to say, there's quite a bit of goodies within the grooves of Dark Side. It really changed the way I listened to music - I started listening deeper. I also started going backwards in time, too. Early Yes, Procol Harum, Floyd, etc...other bands came along that seemed to beg for headphone play - ELP, King Crimson, Nazareth, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Flash & the Pan, Clutch, etc. - there are lots.
There have been some great songs that, to me, are amazing to listen to on the headphones - I've even find some tremendous moments by bands that I truly dislike (I won't go there - unless asked - most people love the bands that I can't stand).
So, tell me the songs (or albums) that blow you away with headphones on.
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Well, the ones that I've always gotten a different perspective from on headphones were:
Led Zeppelin II (my favorite high school headphone album)
King Crimson - Lark's Tongue in Aspic
Captain Beyond (has that out of phase split guitar track thing)
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Close to the Edge
first 3 tony Levin Crimson albums
Electric Lady Land
pass the duber
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Bladerunner s/t
Filmore East (ABB)
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Steely Dan - Aja
Yes - 90125 (the vinyl blows away the CD version)
Chicago Transit Authority (the original double LP on Columbia 360 Sound labels)
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Electric Ladyland " 1983 a Merman I Shall Turn To Be" especially.
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I was just listening to Shine on Brightly by Procol Harum a couple days ago. Great album in general, and a fun listen through headphones. Some interesting mixes to be heard there...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E12YAuAYjLQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biaQyFxzIi0&feature=related
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Tago Mago is another stereophonic gem...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_9LJCKOvQE&feature=related
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Furious Pig
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciDSIsjDcKU
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My fave headphones album:
(http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/2313/littlefeatfeats.jpg)
In comparison to Dixie Chicken & Last Record Album, Feats has a kinda muddy mix but when played with the headphones on all that's buried in it is revealed .............. :thumbsup:
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Funny. I've never divided my collection into headphone albums or non-headphone albums ;D
I do remember, when the Walkman made it's entry, a whole world of hidden instruments revealed itself when I pedaled my way to school. :)
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the first record that i remember using headphones for was hendrix, axis bold as love. that album was made for headphones.
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I guess I mainly listen to music in the car. Anyone else around here NOT in the habit of using headphones for music listening?
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I guess I mainly listen to music in the car. Anyone else around here NOT in the habit of using headphones for music listening?
I have good headphones but rarely use them. I'd rather listen through good speakers.
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My favorite lps for headphones - or stereo and stereo panning effects if you will - are SF Sorrow, Magical Mystery Tour and Little Games. The psychedelic stuff is interesting and fun for that, and if you have the US mono copy of Little Games you are in luck! The mono lps are really stereo. The truth is I hardly ever listen with headphones, and over time have grown to prefer mono. Some stuff is dreadful in stereo, like every Rolling Stones record up till Aftermath (and even then they didn't "get it" until Jimmy Miller, and all the Lovin Spoonful stuff got ruined. Some mid 60s jazz is nice for good imaging, like the stuff from Blue Note and Fantasy as they really got the idea of stereo and never got into weird mixing. That is funny as jazz people tend to hate stereo.
A good tangent is "what is your favorite headphone?" I have a few of the Realistic Koss ones, but the one I love is the KV open air ones.
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i have not used them since college weed and wax experiments. i to prefer speakers, plus headphones can't be good for my already bad hearing.
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Yeah, the days of laying around with a pair of headphones are long gone.
I do wear them when I mow the lawn or when I'm drowning out my son's band in the Jam Room.
It's too bad. I used to get a great sense of solitude lying down with a pair of phones on and listening to great music.
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I guess I mainly listen to music in the car. Anyone else around here NOT in the habit of using headphones for music listening?
same here. not sure i even know where my headphones are. no ipod either. over 2000 cd's
once in while i listen to songs on the pc. especially when trying to learn a tune. easy to jump around..
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Some stuff is dreadful in stereo, like every Rolling Stones record up till Aftermath
Like Aftermath & Their Stanic best in Mono too .......
Since my commuting days, which ended some 18 years ago, I hardly ever use the headphones these days unless I'm digitising ol' vinyls. Used to use them a lot in the old days because my dad often went to bed early to get some sleep before the night-shift .......... Because of those headphones sessions I did seriously get bored with a lot of psych and sold off some records ( The Eyes Of The Beacon Street Union and Graffiti to name a few, no that anyone will know those monsters :mrgreen: ) that took me years to get "new" copies of ..... :-[
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i had a copy of 'beacon street' but for the life of me i can't remember what they sounded like. ???
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS34eyOb3Ic&playnext=1&list=PLC469F9E7E8C819DD&index=2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0JBxK8xbUQ&feature=player_embedded
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I don't presently own any...
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Now that I've prompted a deviation in this thread........
My preference for 'phones is the Sony MDR-V600's (http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR-V600-Studio-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B00001W0DI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1289764457&sr=1-1) for home listening. They're a sealed design and the ear cups are big enough to go completely around the ear, not on it. I dislike phones that sit ON the ear - with extended listening that always makes my ears sore. The 600's are a bit larger than the phones I use for field work.
For field work, the Sony MDR-7506's (http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR7506-Professional-Diaphragm-Headphone/dp/B000AJIF4E/ref=dp_cp_ob_e_title_2) are my pick - I've used them for 20+ years for field audio work. They give a very slight bass boost, but as long as you're aware of that it's cool. For casual listening IME that's a feature, not a bug.
I use ear bud phones only for listening on an airplane or when I'm out to lunch - they work well with my smart phone. They're OK and I have some decent ones, but they don't give much in the way of acoustic isolation. Definitely a step down for me.
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Sony 7506's are WAY hyped in the high midrange and highs. That's why they are ideal for field work; they'll cut through lots of background noise. I've gotten to the point where I'll use them if I have to, but for the same money, the Sennheiser HD280 Pro's are far superior and less ear-punishingly fatiguing. Once you've found a good set of cans, you also need en equally good amp driving them. Most headphone outputs are just cheap little IC power amps with a pretty high output impedance, not a good recipe for tone. An easy way to tll if your heaphone amp isn't up to snuff is if you can turn your headphones up to the point of distortion, especially on lows.
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Jamiroquai's first two albums "Emergency on Planet Earth" and "The Return of the Space Cowboy" ..... Stuart Zender's lines are absolutely outstanding.
For Rock, Zeppelin's "Physical Graffiti" and "Presence" still do it for me. Really love putting the phones on to In the light, Bron Yr Aur, Ten Years Gone and Achilles Last Stand. Terr and I are soooooo on the same page re: LZ.
Blues - SRV's "Texas Flood" - still his best work, IMO. So much depth to his playing.
I will say that the "headphone experience" is really quite different than running tunes through speakers for me ..... you just pick up on so much more of the music, all the nuances and layering.
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i have not used them since college weed and wax experiments. i to prefer speakers, plus headphones can't be good for my already bad hearing.
Yeah, I put mine on now and then but that's it. My hat is off to the Procol Harem selection, the headphones are great on that stuff. It does wonders for the music , and the vocal work is just outstanding. The vocals just hang in the air , kind of haunting.
Rick
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My headphone of choice is the Realistic LV-10, which is a Koss HV-10 with a different badge. They sound really wonderful, and are comfortable. Radio Shack sold almost as many Koss headphones as Koss did under their own name. I also have a pair of Koss K6's and a pair of Nova 20 phones, which were the classic brown early 70s Koss/Radio Shack ear cups. These have that old school vacuum feel to them, so I don't use them that often, but they are really great for recording stuff where you have to shut out the room. There is also a pair of Soundesign 355 on the wall. I don't like them that much but they really look cool on the wall. Kind of functional art.
I prefer a good pair of speakers, and I think I really use headphones when editing videos and doing recording work. I think my headphone usage glory days were back when my LV-10s were new.
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Led Zep - Presence
Yes - Relayer, Drama
Jon Anderson - Olias Of Sunhillow
Rush - 2112, Hemispheres
King's X - Gretchen Goes To Nebraska, Out Of A Silent Planet, Faith-Hope-Love
ELP - Tarkus, Brain Salad Surgery
Pink Floyd - Everything :D but my faves are Meddle, The Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here and Animals
Genesis - Live (73), Trick Of The Tail, Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
Peter Gabriel - Plays Live
Vangelis - Bladerunner, The Friends of Mr. Cairo
The Alan Parsons Project - I Robot
Gary Wright - The Dream Weaver
Robin Trower - Bridge Of Sighs
Steve Miller - Book Of Dreams
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My headphone of choice is the Realistic LV-10, which is a Koss HV-10 with a different badge.
I think I still have a pair of those kicking around...but I decided that I prefer the closed-ear designs.