Headphone recommendations for listening to Linda Ronstadt please.

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by heartbreaker, Apr 7, 2021.

  1. heartbreaker

    heartbreaker Prisoner in Disguise Thread Starter

    Location:
    UK
    I have about 70 Linda Ronstadt albums, both original & compilations. CD & vinyl, remasters & standard, audiophile & awful, from European to Japanese releases.

    But I want to hear Linda loud & clear, not her band & backing vocalists drowning her out. Please can you recommend any good pairs of headphones for me to listen to my favourite songstress singing.
     
    Alright4now likes this.
  2. CoolJazz

    CoolJazz Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eastern Tennessee
    If you buy quality headphones and quality amplification, then you'll get greater separation between the singers and musicians. That widening and deepening of the soundstage, allowing greater distance between, will allow you to follow the part (Linda) you want to focus your mental listening on better.

    I'd recommend that line of approach over trying to get something that restricts bandwidth or any other idea.

    Do yourself a favor and try to get to a shop that sells quality and try them for yourself. Headphones are very personal in there sonic appeal (or not) and the comfort of how they happen to fit your head and ears. How clear you can hear into music with good equipment is very revelatory!

    CJ
     
  3. aorecords

    aorecords Forum Resident

    What that guy said.
     
    WapatoWolf and heartbreaker like this.
  4. Carl Swanson

    Carl Swanson Senior Member

    You'll probably get close to your desired results more easily and inexpensively by tweaking the EQ in her vocal range, but even that's not gonna work across the board.
     
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  5. Black Elk

    Black Elk Music Lover

    Location:
    Bay Area, U.S.A.
    Highend Headphones
     
    F.U.B.B and heartbreaker like this.
  6. Drew769

    Drew769 Buyer of s*** I never knew I lacked

    Location:
    NJ
    This looks like a job for...Schitt Loki.

    That and a decent pair of headphones that won’t let Linda rip your eardrums out. HD-650?
     
    heartbreaker, bhazen and wavethatflag like this.
  7. Ham Sandwich

    Ham Sandwich Senior Member

    Location:
    Sherwood, OR, USA
    LOL
    I consider the Sony MDR-V6 to be the worst "good" headphone for music listening. I put good in quotes because it manages to get recommended as a good music listening headphone. Somehow.

    The MDR-V6 and MDR-7506 are monitoring headphones. Best used for monitoring live in mono. It's actually a good headphone for monitoring in mono in live environments. It is good for highlighting sibilance and for evaluating EQ in mono at the soundboard for a live performance. But it fails for stereo listening. It is one of the very few headphones I've tried that mess up binaural stereo recordings. A headphone that messes up the sense of space and sense of localization in binaural recordings is a spectacular style of fail for a headphone. Spectacular level of fail. How does a headphone mess up binaural? Even the original Apple ear buds that shipped with the first iPod managed to do binaural better than the V6 and 7506.

    The MDR-V6 is just fail. It fails at imaging separation and depth. It fails at anything involving stereo imaging and separation of sonic layers. It is one of the worst recommendations possible for the OP.

    Meanwhile, I consider the HD600 one of the best affordable headphones when paired with paired with a good amplifier and source. The HD600 does stereo imaging and layering and binaural wonderfully. It just requires a suitable amp that costs more than the headphones.
     
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  8. Jamey K

    Jamey K Internet Sensation

    Location:
    Amarillo,Texas
    Start with the first Nelson Riddle album. You can hear her breathe.
     
    WapatoWolf, heartbreaker and D-rock like this.
  9. harby

    harby Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, OR, USA
    There needs to be a greater appreciation for hearing music flat. Not affected by a sound signature. Burn in your ears on it for a while. Sit in front of Yamaha, Genelec, Adam, Blue Sky, and then pop on Sennheisers, and it's like someone turned up the "mud" knob.

    My preference over cans is IEMs; Shure 3 or 4 series, or as a second choice, Klipsch or Etymotic. Dial them in to your head with the "olive" foam tips. Then your binaural (recorded with some other dummy's outer ear) will also work.
     
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  10. Ham Sandwich

    Ham Sandwich Senior Member

    Location:
    Sherwood, OR, USA
    LOL
    The claims of the Sennheiser veil that sounds like mud.
    There is no Sennheiser veil if you use a good audiophile amp. Listen to the HD600 with an SPL solid state amp, or HeadAmp GS-X. Or a high-end audiophile tube amp. There is no veil.
    The HD600 actually measures closer to the subjective headphone neutral than the V6 or 7506.

    I know what subjectively flat sounds like with headphones. I'm not willing to chase flat frequency response if that means flat imaging, flat layering, and uninspiring listening. I listen for music enjoyment. Not for chasing flat frequency response. I'll choose enveloping headstage and immersive 3D imaging over flat frequency response.

    Nobody listens to Genelecs or Yamahas or Adams for listening enjoyment. The purpose of those monitors is to allow the audio engineer to do a job. To be able to make recording and mixing decisions that translate to other listening gear. They aren't intended for audiophile listening enjoyment. Same with the Sony V6 and 7506. They're headphones designed to do a job and for people who need them to do that job. They aren't designed for music listening enjoyment.
     
  11. heartbreaker

    heartbreaker Prisoner in Disguise Thread Starter

    Location:
    UK
    That's what I want!
     
  12. Mbe

    Mbe Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    With Phones :)

    AKG K240 Sextett
    [​IMG]

    Pioneer Monitor 10
    [​IMG]
     
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  13. timind

    timind phorum rezident

    Man, she was a cutie:love::love:
     
  14. Ham Sandwich

    Ham Sandwich Senior Member

    Location:
    Sherwood, OR, USA
    What level of budget are you able to do?

    A good option is likely to be a headphone with a clean midrange that does vocals well
    An amp suitable for those headphones
    An outboard graphic EQ so you can bring out the vocal (it will need to be an outboard EQ so you'll also be able to EQ the records)

    What to suggest will depend on budget
     
  15. jcn3

    jcn3 Forum Resident

    Location:
    NH
  16. heartbreaker

    heartbreaker Prisoner in Disguise Thread Starter

    Location:
    UK
    Any particular Schitt Loki? Treble & bass or better adjustments, not none, please.
     
  17. heartbreaker

    heartbreaker Prisoner in Disguise Thread Starter

    Location:
    UK
    Say £500 GBP

    My most modern headphones are Bose QC25s, run off my CD player or integrated amp. I wear glasses so need long but not too broad cans. Open or closed, whichever is better. Sony have been too broad fitting in the past. NC & wireless are not needed.

    I have 2 Audio Fidelity Linda CDs remastered by Steve Hoffman (Heart Like A Wheel & Greatest Hits I, am looking for an affordable GH II). The rest are MFSL & Japanese remasters, or standard releases. "What's New?" DVD-A is awesome.
     
    wavethatflag likes this.
  18. head_unit

    head_unit Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles CA USA
    Ah yes! I don't see a system profile-what are you powering the headphones from? Headphones are very tricky because most headphone sources have a not-zero output impedance, and that affects the frequency response. Then the headphones interact with your ear, and that affects the frequency response. So yes something like a Schiit Loki or ha ha a Cello Palette could be useful. But a better strategy before spending on a Loki or even an amp is blow all the money on really good headphones, then save up if you need a special amp and EQ.

    With such idiosyncracy, a simple return policy is indispensable.
     
    heartbreaker likes this.
  19. lobo

    lobo Music has always been a matter of Energy to me...

    Location:
    Germany
    I use the Sextett :) . Is it still considered good?
     
    Mbe likes this.
  20. all24bits

    all24bits Mature Adult

    Location:
    USA
    Probably one of the Senn 600 or 650 or the ATH-m40x does vocals GREAT.
     
    heartbreaker likes this.
  21. wavethatflag

    wavethatflag God is love, but get it in writing.

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    In 2018, I went from Bose QC25s to a Schiit headphone amp and Massdrop Sennheiser HD6xx, and it really was like night and day. I’m still thrilled with what I hear out of those. (The HD6xx is basically the HD650)

    Get a Schiit Vali 2+, the Massdrop (now just Drop) headphones I mentioned, and a Loki mini + and you’ll be all set. The whole setup will be a little over 500 US. I don’t know if Schiit sells in the UK, though. I think they might.
     
    heartbreaker likes this.
  22. Joker to the thief

    Joker to the thief Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    The Focal Elegia is around £599, is very easy to drive, and has an upper mid-forward sound that compliments female vocals. For a closed back the soundstage is pretty good too.
     
  23. caracallac

    caracallac Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ireland
    For vocals nothing beats Stax headphones. But forget your budget.:angel:
     
  24. Spy Car

    Spy Car Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    I agree with your previous posts in the main, but with thousands of hours listing on my Genelec studio monitors under my belt, I'll dissent from the position that these aren't designed for audiophile listening enjoyment. Yes, they are used mainly in studios by audio engineers--that's true--but they also serve as exceptionally good near-field monitors IMO.

    I also enjoy my non-muddy Sennheiser 6xx (650 variants) driven by a Schiit Asgard 3. Together one of the great values in audio reproduction in my estimation.

    Listening to the Linda Ronstadt/Nelson Riddle album What's New at the moment and she sounds fantastic.

    Bill
     
  25. Hardcore

    Hardcore Quartz Controlled

    Location:
    UK
    “When the snow starts a fallin there’s a man you should be callin, that’s KL5-4796”
     
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