Blue Headphone Fans: High Freq Notch needed?

zenaxe

Fractal Fanatic
I know in the last Headphone thread we had a lot of Blue headphone fans. I spend a lot of time using HPs and I have been using the Lola's of late which are the unpowered version of the Mix-Fi.

I know cans are crazy quirky and even less perfect than studio monitors, which is why I DO have a number of them but on this particular set anyway, it seems like they have this really pronounced 'thing' going on at like 8.5K in the sizzly overtone area and around the 'presence' type frequencies like 3.5K-4.5K that is kind of unrealistic and causes a couple of problems:

1. Those frequencies are extremely fatiguing and can sound harsh when there are too many present, just reduces enjoyment.

2. While there is a lot detail there which is nice, it is causing me to overestimate the amount of those frequencies and this area of some of my presets/sounds does not translate well.

So I guess I am curious what others think about the high end on these cans, I could just have a pair that are a little funky...

And I also wondered if any other folks regardless of what they are using do things like dial a correction curve when monitoring with 'phones? I am considering just monitoring with a couple of notches in those frequencies but am worried about getting stuck in some rabbit hole.

I am also considering switching 'phones, of course, but, ironically, I gravitate to phones that have lots of high end, generally, so a lot of them don't do it for me.
 
Don’t forgot the differences in people’s hearing thresholds for high frequencies. I see patients all day long that can’t even perceive 6k+ until it’s pushing 70dB or louder, so subtle differences between brands can be completely lost upon some folks, or things with spikes can be the only model that provides some degree of clarity, especially if they have less than flat thresholds.

Musicians in general have a lot of potential for noise induced hearing loss, and I think the reason there are so many debates and arguments over tone is that two people can hear things totally differently. One mans harsh ice pick is a tone that for once doesn’t sound muddy and muffled to another with more hearing damage.
 
I have the Lola's and recently bought the Mix-Fi's.

I was under the impression that the Lola's are exactly the same as the Mix(Mo)-Fi's without the amp, but they are quite different sounding actually. I was getting annoyed with that sizzly overtone so I figured I would order the Mix-Fi's and see if that problem area was still there. I know I could return them through the "try on" period if the sound was exactly the same. The Mix-Fi's are much more balanced sounding with my AxeFx III, and I don't get fatigued using them. I don't need to use the built in amp since the AxeFx III puts out plenty of power for them.

After I received the headphones I inquired to the Blue support team to answer a couple of questions. They told me that the drivers and a few components are different than the Mix-Fi's. (not just the amp)

I highly recommend the Mix-Fi's, they are highly regarded on the forum for a reason.

You could probably notch out the annoying frequency, but if you can, I would just return the Lola's and get the Mix-Fi's.
 
I don't need to use the built in amp since the AxeFx III puts out plenty of power for them.

Moreover, you get this airy hiss in the background if you try to used the built-in power amp with the III. I sent my III back for repair early on because I thought it was a defect. :confused:
 
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