When I first got some monitor headphones, I listened to one of my favorite classical orchestra albums, and for the first time I could hear the wood of the stage floor creaking and the score pages flipping. In a moment of silence I could hear the faint sound of birds tweeting in the distance (it was recorded in an old Italian building, a large cathedral possibly, so maybe some birds got in? Idk).
Yeah that’s it. It was originally two albums (concertos 1 to 6 and 7 to 12). It’s a very special recording because several of the concertos have hypothetical reconstructed parts for woodwinds and brass that are thought to be missing in the surviving manuscripts.
We are spoilt these days - there are lots of options. You can get that level of resolution from $20 in ear monitors. But, if you’re after that level it’s not just the headphones - it’s the whole chain (assuming you’re listening to digital):
you need a decent DAC - again, it does not need to be expensive - a $10 Apple USB-C to 3.5mm adaptor will do it (but the built-in one in your laptop, or older phone, may not).
you need decent, or preferably no, compression. Turn up the bit-rate in whatever streaming app you’re using or preferably use CD or uncompressed (FLAC).
perhaps most importantly, and most overlooked, you need good source material. Lots of music out there has been horribly recorded and/or mastered. With low quantity reproduction this isn’t an issue, but once you’ve taken care of the rest and you’re spending time really listening to your music you will find yourself from time to time thinking “this sounds horrible”, and you know you’ve done everything at your end and it turns out you’re listening to a bad master. There are forums dedicated to discussion about the relative merits of various versions of different recordings.
It’s a huge rabbit hole, which stereotypicaly is very expensive - but doesn’t need to be.
I’ve only scratched the surface, but with my old, damaged, ears there’s no point digging further.
When I first got some monitor headphones, I listened to one of my favorite classical orchestra albums, and for the first time I could hear the wood of the stage floor creaking and the score pages flipping. In a moment of silence I could hear the faint sound of birds tweeting in the distance (it was recorded in an old Italian building, a large cathedral possibly, so maybe some birds got in? Idk).
You can’t just say that and not provide the album’s name
Ah sorry. It was early music ensemble Modo Antiquo’s recording of Corelli’s op. 6 concerti grossi.
Found this on youtube. Would you mind confirming it’s what you were referencing?
Yeah that’s it. It was originally two albums (concertos 1 to 6 and 7 to 12). It’s a very special recording because several of the concertos have hypothetical reconstructed parts for woodwinds and brass that are thought to be missing in the surviving manuscripts.
Album schmalbum. Which headphones are this good?
We are spoilt these days - there are lots of options. You can get that level of resolution from $20 in ear monitors. But, if you’re after that level it’s not just the headphones - it’s the whole chain (assuming you’re listening to digital):
It’s a huge rabbit hole, which stereotypicaly is very expensive - but doesn’t need to be.
I’ve only scratched the surface, but with my old, damaged, ears there’s no point digging further.