So I was travelling again today and i broke. I wandered through the electronics store and i bought some new headphones. I think I mentioned that on a recent trip i lost a plug for my headphones. i have other plugs, which work just fine. But i saw them, the latest model of the same kind. Sony in ear buds. Slightly better, slightly easier, they have a non tangle strip instead of the usual round cord connection lead. They have a silver side panel.
Completely unnecessary. But then, it is very important to me to listen to music as often as i can. i travel a lot, and to be honest, i think i would have hurt myself or someone else if it wasn't for the ability to close out the rest of the world and listen to some great tunes.
You may scoff, but I doubt it yes? You are reading a blog written by a music obsessive. So, I bet you need good headphones as well. Mine are not particularly expensive. i saw a pair today at 255 euro duty free. Mine were 45 euro. Which is a lot I know. But they are important.
So, i wanted to try out my headphones. I wanted to make sure they were that little bit better than the pair that were perfectly good sitting in my jacket pocket. Soon to be consigned to the headphone drawer . . oh yes, i forgot to tell you that didn't I. I have a problem throwing away headphones. Now i sound completely disturbed. But stay with me here. If your current favourite headphones break, which happens a lot. Then you need a back up pair, or two. Until you can get to a suitable store with a big enough range to satisfy the need. So I keep them , just in case. It is not like you can give them to the orphans in Guatemala is it now.
I digress into an area best reserved for a truly world class psychiatrist.
Which songs should you listen to when determining a good pair of headphones? Which songs show you that a pair of headphones are great. You need to test the range. Simply easy. But how? Where do you start?
You start here, with Tool
This is a great song, because not only does it have the strung out separate notes at the beginning, it reaches a crescendo with Maynards voice going nuts. Great headphones make this a tune worth listening to on headphones.
Then what you need is an ambient song. One that has the ever so subtle textures of a deep rythmic track, overlaid with something soaring in the high end of the scale, trying to fly almost. like this actually, by Aphex twin.
I can't find the full track anywhere - It is called curtains and It is worth every moment you spend trying to find . it is brilliant.
There is also this by Brian Eno and Harold Budd
If your headphones have so far passed the test. Then you are on a winner to be honest. But there are still some places left to go. How do they deal with bass? I mean proper bass.
That is sly and the family stone doing sex machine. Which is awesome. You could of course also look to the electronic world for some heavy bass.
Or just for the hell of it what about this?
(Ok not much bass there I admit - cool song by the fabulous Juno Reactor though.)
Here is more Juno, just because I miss Juno
Now your headphones are either passing the test and you are having a fair bit of fun. or your bought a dud, and it is time to try again.
The last test for any headphones is Slayer. If your headphones do Slayer well, in conjunction with the above then stick with them. Stick with them forever
It is all about that bit 45 seconds in with this song.
If you have headphones that do all of this , and do it to your satisfaction, maybe you should write to me and let me know?
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