Could these be the most natural sounding headphones? [Moondrop Para]
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Monday November 18, 2024
David Mellor
David Mellor is CEO and Course Director of Audio Masterclass. David has designed courses in audio education and training since 1986 and is the publisher and principal writer of Adventures In Audio.
Now to sound quality; these headphones are extremely enjoyable to listen to and they do sound, at least to me, very natural and neutral and when one considers the price as of June 21 (the summer solstice btw) of £200, this product is a no brainer to purchase. They are far better, in my opinion, than the entry level electrostatics costing four times the price. But remember, the Moondrop Para are not suited to mobile use due to their (very) open back design and susceptibility to damage in a transit environment.
All said, I rate the Moondrop Para 10 out of 10 for sound quality, but of course to really enjoy their sound quality you will need a 10 out of 10 sound source !! wink wink.
@raoufrumjaun8356: For a moment I genuinely thought Paul McCartney was doing a review video 😅
@jimbohnenkamp5082: If analyzing the most "natural" way of listening to music, it's problematic. Is it most natural to listen inside a room or a big auditorium? or outdoors? I think it's best to eliminate as much ambient sound as possible, and it falls within my subjective judgement to say headphones do that. Some may disagree.
@pablohrrg8677: Headphones is the most natural sounding way to listen to binaural recordings. (It should take size and shape of the head into account though)
There is no natural way of listening a recording, any recording.
@AntiNeoFeudalist: Awesome insights as usual! Perfect analogy about headphones.. Headphones have their place no doubt, but they just can't recreate a performance like a competently designed set of loudspeakers.. Thank you!
@C-man553: The Incarnation of Evil, AM. Generally full of crap, but amusing, which is his goal.
Dominant Mother recessive Father.
@NickLaslett replies to @C-man553: He is good for a chuckle and also informative. Surprised he hasn’t got more subscribers. Audio Phil should make appearance in product review videos.
@TrainsAndWellbeing: Headphones can never sound natural as you say, and in my opinion you can make the situation even worse!
One solution is the concept of Spatial Audio, or other headphone surround sound systems. I've spent more time with the Apple Spatial Audio which I think they developed with an ex-Dolby employee. Whilst many say the system is an improvement I personally can't tolerate it and go back to stereo meaning that it doesn't work for me. I'd be interested in your perspective of Spatial Audio.
@Popecody55: B&W PX2 E this is my headphones and j love it and the sound ❤
@Popecody55 replies to @Popecody55: https://youtu.be/nUockZ4vMAk?feature=shared
@thexfile.: $300 on Amazon.
@sato884: I really love how he answer the question at the beginning unlike others
@shipsahoy1793: The mantra of people today seems to beckon "the more unnatural the better."
@atoptip6193: Is it me or does the unboxing music synth, at 1m45, actually say, “we got the box…we got the box…”?
@edewolf1827: Have you checked out sound virtualization software like "Immerse Virtual Studio"?
@anahatamelodeon: Suggestion seen elsewhere to drive 8 ohm phones: use a speaker power amp, pot output down with 33ohm and 1ohm resistor. 30dB attenuation, amplifier sees 34 ohms which it can drive effortlessly, headphone is driven from a 0.97 ohm source which is low enough.
Also I recalled, before you said it, that the slew rate of a 741 is 0.5 V/µs. What a useless thing to be able to remember from 50 years ago!
@martinzuidema2249: For me their is only one brand, AKG.
@papagiorgio23 replies to @martinzuidema2249: Don’t underestimate Fiio.
@Three-Chord-Trick: I have HALF A MIND to invest in a pair of Mark Levinson 5909s and an RME ADI-2 DAC. Good investment or not? What would you advise? I want to play music loud, but in a way that wouldn't annoy the neighbours.
@ThePeaceableKingdom: But does it come in a 2000 ohm or greater version for us old radio guys?
@AudioMasterclass replies to @ThePeaceableKingdom: It’s time someone invented a cat’s whisker for digital radio.
@ThePeaceableKingdom replies to @ThePeaceableKingdom: @AudioMasterclass Aye!
@stephendenagy3396: Utterly worthless review. Merely a rant against headphones, and a strong effort to pursue British (in his view) humor. This is NOT a review in any form
Except, if you count his preferences on headphone suspension and preference for plastic. And, well, nothing else of note.
@AudioMasterclass replies to @stephendenagy3396: Haha. And you call my review a rant!
@mysock351C: Well, to be fair speakers are way off the mark as well unless there is some form of XTC and psychoacoustic processing. Even in two channel recordings almost all the spatial cues get lost in the shuffle and basically its a simple weighted average of the relative intensities between the two channels with a phantom channel in the middle. That said, my big beef with most Chinese headphones is down to reliability. The PARA is a bit short on bass like many other planars, and my experience is they don't like even having the response extended let alone EQd to the Harman target. My Sundara's sounded AMAZING on the Harman target, until they didn't because the LF extension trashed the membranes in the drivers. Otherwise its ok without EQ, but it will sound a bit treble centric otherwise. Maybe that works for you, maybe it doesn't. Edit: Of course one would be correct in saying that them dying after EQ is not entirely the mfr's fault, but there are other issues like build quality. At least with the IEMs you're only out a small amount of money.
@spirosolimpiakos4522: That was barely a 2 minute video. The information is useful but the creator extremely verbose
@AudioMasterclass replies to @spirosolimpiakos4522: Here’s a hint - Click the dislike button and go watch some cat videos.
@bubbabubberson2702 replies to @spirosolimpiakos4522: RIP attention spans
@shipsahoy1793 replies to @spirosolimpiakos4522: quit bitching ... you have attention deficit disorder.. in other words, you are a byproduct of the stupid modern.
@artysanmobile replies to @spirosolimpiakos4522: You must be new here. The man has a well-deserved fan base for his wicked humor while sacrificing nothing factual whatsoever. It’s an acquired taste and I, for one, am hooked.
@OrangeMicMusic replies to @spirosolimpiakos4522: @AudioMasterclassbrilliant 😂
@erictheis6093: Be sure to get an audiophile class headphone hook.
@stevenewtube replies to @erictheis6093: 👍😂😂
@AudioMasterclass replies to @erictheis6093: Hmm, the most expensive hook Google can find today costs just £24, so definitely not audiophile. Stand, £142. A bit amateur if you ask me.
@slikyviky replies to @erictheis6093: @AudioMasterclassnow now o think ykur cheaping out kn your £142 headphone "hook" a real audiophile needs to spend atleast £700 on airsuspended anti magnetic dc blocking headphone stand 🤨🤨
@marxman00: Smack my unbox up !
@fuzonzord9301: Does it smell of dollar store?
@AudioMasterclass replies to @fuzonzord9301: I don’t know. But I can pop into Poundland to get a perspective.
@RosemarySoriano-n6v: Cool, thank you so much!😊
@danrussell9357: Liked the video - Thanks for headphone content!
@AudioMasterclass replies to @danrussell9357: As a beginner with my Koss PRO4AA, with the thingy sticky out whatsits not the MkII, I feel that I have started the course, and am still on the track.
@danrussell9357 replies to @danrussell9357: @AudioMasterclass I appreciate the thoughts and insights from a mixing standpoint. Being rated at 8 ohms, maybe it should not be used in a studio setting in case 2 friends plug in their headphones in parallel and make it a 2 ohm load.
@AudioMasterclass replies to @danrussell9357: You (re)make the case for high impedance headphones in the studio, wired with XLRs so they don't short on insertion, and driven from a power amplifier.
@utube4andydent: Agree the sound stage is different with headphone. Nothing new as people who own Walkmans will advise you. Some headphone are better than others. A good test place headphone if you feel you are wearing headphones then this is not a good sign. I have two sets of headphones a 32 ohm and a 259 ohm pair for when I’m working. Another test is how light are they. Are replacement parts available. DT250 are good for this.
@zloboslav_: One evening I quickly recorded a guitar idea on my cheap zoom stereo recorder while my wife was in the room talking about something. Few days later I listened to the recording on my affordable open back 560S and I got fooled that my wife is talking to me and I started responding. It was hilarious. Then I tried recording outside and any time I listened at the same spot my brain made it sound real. Funny stuff. :)
@artysanmobile replies to @zloboslav_: @zloboslav_ I’ve done a LOT of recording outdoors, and on major releases. Dogs barking, traffic, trees rustling, and maybe most importantly birds are all parts of the daily human condition. Including those sounds is a powerful tool to attract listeners. The French have a word for it - music concrete - same spelling, different pronunciation. The meaning is inescapable.
@nitromcclean: Almost always I completely agree with you and sometimes I can add something or I have a question. But this time I really have a hard time agreeing with you that headphones by definition cannot sound natural. I can give a similar argument for listening to speakers. If not only the sound of the musicians is recorded but also the acoustics of the room they are playing in, I ultimately hear the acoustics of the recording and the acoustics of the listening room. Not natural.
But in my opinion this is a rather pointless approach to listening to music. Listening back to a recording never sounds exactly the same as the original performance, for reasons like you describe for headphones and like I describe for speakers. Recording engineers and mixing engineers take this into account and try to make the experience as pleasant as possible for the listener. They create a kind of "new reality", so to speak.
Even more so, there are also recordings that sound very natural when you listen to them with headphones; binaural recordings.
@AudioMasterclass replies to @nitromcclean: I appreciate what you’re saying but for the purpose of my video I did define not natural as sound entering the ears from zero distance. Anything else, one could argue what’s natural and what’s not but that would need another video to explore.
@michaeldeloatch7461: Thank you for a nice review. I like the visual appearance of these cans, and really, what else matters? The perforated headband is great I bet for ventilating the old noggin.
@AudioMasterclass replies to @michaeldeloatch7461: I agree. There’s nothing worse than a sweaty head.
@FilipNone: I own and daily use the HiFiMan Edition XS and are my way to go to listen to music ar anithing related to sound, I even prefer them over my The New Advant Loudspeak speakers!
@Astrodicted replies to @FilipNone: Good headphones kinda ruined speakers for me.
@MrSlipstreem: How close to natural doesn't matter. What does matter is as close as possible to how it's intended to be heard. I chose Sennheiser HD280 Pro headphones as they're a popular choice in recording studios. They sound very pleasant to me.
@AudioMasterclass replies to @MrSlipstreem: You make a good point. This is why anyone seriously into 80s music should invest in a pair of Yamaha NS10M, and of course the necessary toilet paper.
@MrSlipstreem replies to @MrSlipstreem: @AudioMasterclass Absolutely!
@andymouse replies to @MrSlipstreem: @AudioMasterclass Wish I understood that joke ! but I'm not an audio expert.
@ac81017: You might like the Sennheiser Orpheus HEV90 ? I'm sure Audio Phil has something on that level?😅
@AudioMasterclass replies to @ac81017: Pearls before swine for me probably but one would hope that Phil finds them sufficiently resolving.
@jimawhitaker: Unfortunately, I've never heard a set of planars that I truly liked to me. They have kind of a. I don't know a machine-like sound....
@shaggings replies to @jimawhitaker: Can I Ask what planars have you heard? I personally have enjoyed The HiFiMan Sundara (with it's faults like the sometimes harsh S sounds.) and More recently, absolutely love the HiFiMan Arya Organics, they sound so natural with a lot of detail and Giant soundstage when comparing to My older Sundaras.
@garymalone547: FR looks a little tilted up for me.
@gwine9087: I have to wonder about the future of actual speakers. In a recent poll on how people listen to music, only 8% used speakers. The rest use some type of in- or on-ear gear.
@AudioMasterclass replies to @gwine9087: I plead guilty. I enjoy music best on headphones, particularly walking in my local woods. Earbuds or IEMs though only when I need their small size for practicality. But movies… Only my monster B&Ws will do.
@gwine9087 replies to @gwine9087: @AudioMasterclass As a music guy, you should be ashamed of yourself for only using speakers for movies. 😊
@AudioMasterclass replies to @gwine9087: @gwine9087 I’m a concert-goer. Speakers are a scary happy valley.