Led Zeppelin + headphones = frustration ??? or is it avoidable?

My fav LZ albums for can listening: RL LZ II, and PG - Side 3.

 

I wish more albums these days sounded like this.

 

I dont listen to headphones anymore except to mix, and even then, just for short periods of time, to check the balance and the bass.

Trust me - from somebody who has hearing issues after years of stage and studio ear abuse - headphones are your hammer stirrup and anvil's enemy.

Give them up and you'll be much happier later in life.

 

Just not grokking that there’s a problem here. To me it seems like his brain is telling the OP, “I’d rather be listening to Aja.”

On the other hand there’s a lot of music I don’t like to listen to on headphones, like pretty much all mono recordings. Or Led Zep, where the physical punch is not something I particularly enjoy when it’s trapped inside my head instead of rattling the windows.

 

It's not the lack of punch that bothers me; it's the red-lining in the first album. It comes off as clippy, which I don't enjoy. The other albums seem fine, except for a couple moments on II.

 

That sound you are hearing is THE SOUND.

Personally I think all this clean, pristine, clinical sound beads were able to achieve with the great modern equipment of the 80's on killed rock and roll. I don't need clean sound out of LZ 1 or Exile on Main Street.

 

OP, depending on the hardware you're using in your PC (i.e. your "sound card"), that could be the culprit more than anything else. I've been using Emotiva studio monitors run through an Akai EIE Pro for months now, so when I tested my roommate's rig, which was just headphones run straight out of her computer's primary headphone output... "Cringe-inducing" doesn't begin to describe it. I'm sure there are a handful of exceptions and some system or motherboard manufacturers actually put some care and craft into that part of the circuit, but most of them are garbage throwaways.

It may be the equipment more than the recording causing your grief - though I will concede that, even under the best of circumstances, LZ I & II are primitive recordings of rather loud music.

 

I have the Piros cuts of I and II and while neither is an especially "loud" record, they both have far more dynamic range than the remastered LPs, and are thus eminently crankable. They sound especially good on my Grado headphones.

 

It's new to me says the guy who was just listening to the LZ 1 mastered by Diament, and ripped to lossless files. My recondition $22 Panasonic sound just fine when connected to my work PC's headphone jack.

 

LZ I pushes limits in spots. The Classic 33 that Grundman cut would send my cartridge flying out of the grooves at the start of " Good Times Bad Times". I had to adjust vtf and anti-skate. I think the album sounds great, but I only listen on full sized speakers, the way God intended.

 

Led Zep sounds good to me with earphones, without earphones, early vinyl, late vinyl, remastered vinyl, Diament, Marino, or Davis cd's.

 

Listening to Dazed and Confused from LZ1 on headphones is amazing! Drums all over the soundstage. Nothing wrong with that.

 

With a decent dac and amp, your 580's might amaze you.

 

Wait a second. The posting was a put on, right? Please tell me it was a put-on...

And by the way, why would anyone listen to Zeppelin on a CD? That's like putting gasoline into a diesel engine. It may run, it may not. But if it does run it won't be the way G-d intended.

I happen to be listening to Page's remix right at this very moment. The only criticism I've ever had is the manner in which the volume will sometimes jump too high into the red after a lull in the song. It gives the disc an occasional jerky motion. But as someone already noted this is Led Zeppelin. If you don't like an occasional ragged turn I saw a Toto album real cheap on Discogs.

 

When did Pagey ever put out remixes?

 

If you want polished music, put on a Steely Dan record. I like Zeppelin to have some emulsion

To the OP, the early Zeppelin albums have that crunch, distortion and compression in the mix. That's what makes them great

 

If I want to listen to Zep and enjoy the sound quality I'll probably hop to Presence, ITTOD or HOTH. Those three to me simply sound amazing in any shape or form (currently recent remasters and vinyl).

 

Listen on vinyl.

 

I enjoy listening to LZ with headphones, too. I don't care if there is a bit of distortion. If there wasn't, I would have thought they weren't trying hard enough . I don't get fatigued from listening to them, I may listen to 1 album, but not for hours in one sitting, then it would be fatiguing to me, but that's just me.

 

I don't think anyone has pointed this out yet, but zeppelin LPs (the originals) are some of the most heavily compressed recordings I know of from the 70s. and things really get wild starting with IV, on which the compressor probably deserves a performance credit. there are points on that album where I can clearly hear the compression levels being manipulated, so I'm expecting this was during the mastering stage.

but it sounds great to me. this is the textbook difference between heavy use of analogue versus digital compression. its was standard practice on most 70s rock I've heard (deep purple comes to mind) to use it liberally add extra power to the master, but it's really off the charts on later LZ records.

anyway, the distortion on the first album sounds to me like they were redlining right on the desk. it's subject to the compression and doesn't seem to follow it, but it is emphasized by it.

 

Compression is very audible on Zep albums. Everything louder than anything else. Bonzo sounds like he's using 2×2's on The Ocean. I can imagine leaving the studio with ringing ears after being exposed to it!

 

I listen to music through headphones about 95 percent of the time. I have listened to the first 6 CDs through my Sennheiser 205 headphones (I need to upgrade them) numerous times. I have the recently remastered versions.

The first one takes a little getting used to. It sounds rough and a little hard on my ears at times. I think it's just how it was recorded. I have gotten used to it by now.

IV was the one I had the hardest time with. The highs come in somewhat harsh to my ears. Overall it's a great sounding cd once I got accustomed to the highs.

 

I agree with the OP and add that, in my experience, the better the headphones, the more frustrating the listening experience. To those vinyl purists out there: goodie for you. Many of us listen to music exclusively in some (gasp!) digital format these days (for an infinite variety of actual reasons). So, the "you're doing it wrong, OP!" response is only partially helpful. I think the Zep catalog is the body of work best suited to that little disclaimer the labels used to print on the CDs: "Because of its high resolution, this CD can reveal the imitations of the source tape..."

 

It's intentional overload inherent in the recording/mix. Some mastering mitigates that, but you'll find it in any LP or CD versions until someone remixes their catalogue (heresy!!!). I must say I find it unpleasant only in few cases, where the sound should be cleaner, in my opinion. Off the top of my head, the vocals in Going To California.

 

Actually it's why so many got rid of their turntables