Switching between speakers and headphones

[mdyde]

Hello Doug,

This post covers how to suggest enhancements: viewtopic.php?f=23&t=12099

[Just in case it's relevant, in a future Hauptwerk version we do hope to allow organs to have multiple sets of rank routing and voicing, so that people can switch quickly and easily headphones and speakers, for example.]

Everyone I know, says the headphones will sound just as good as the speakers…. And I have found that NOT to be even close to true! It still always sounds too “electronic”

Funny: my experience is the exact opposite. I have decent studio monitors which are known for having a neutral response, but 9/10 I find headphones much more satisfying because the level of detail I can get in the sound is quite a bit more. This has been the same throughout multiple setups including multiple models of studio monitors and various sets of headphones. The downside is the headphones can get rather warm…

Everyone I know, says the headphones will sound just as good as the speakers…. And I have found that NOT to be even close to true! It still always sounds too “electronic”

Funny: my experience is the exact opposite. I have decent studio monitors which are known for having a neutral response, but 9/10 I find headphones much more satisfying because the level of detail I can get in the sound is quite a bit more. This has been the same throughout multiple setups including multiple models of studio monitors and various sets of headphones. The downside is the headphones can get rather warm…

I absolutely agree with Romanos. Unless you have a very large room, and I mean a VERY large room, I advise people to stick with Headphones unless they see the need to practice with other live instruments/musicians. I always try to get people to understand that putting it through speakers is effectively the same thing as trying to put THE ACTUAL PIPE ORGAN in your livingroom/office. Imagine a 50 rank Cavaille-Coll in your living room. It would be disastrous because you simply cannot bend the laws of physics enough to make that sound "as good as the real thing." You will ALWAYS make some sort of trade off in that pursuit and that is fine, so long as you understand that. Now, put Hauptwerk in a giant space, and it can be ASTOUNDING! At home, I don't even have speakers hooked up to either of my Hauptwerk rigs. I always play under headphones. At church, however, it's all live and over 56 channels. Both are equally glorious to my ears.

I always try to get people to understand that putting it through speakers is effectively the same thing as trying to put THE ACTUAL PIPE ORGAN in your livingroom/office.

I get what you mean, but isn't this refusing to have a good simulation because it falls short of an idea of perfection?

HW is a pipe organ simulator, not a pipe organ. My multichannel audio sounds much more realistic than headphones in my tiny 17 x 17 x 17 ft room. Audible room acoustics aren't necessary because the simulation is good enough. I'm not trying to squeeze a pipe organ into a room, I'm making the virtual room what's important and mostly ignoring my physical room.

If I want a flight simulator, do I refuse to buy it because the actual airplane doesn't fit in my den?

If you're happy with headphones, great! Some of us get a lot of enjoyment out of speakers.

I always try to get people to understand that putting it through speakers is effectively the same thing as trying to put THE ACTUAL PIPE ORGAN in your livingroom/office.

I get what you mean, but isn't this refusing to have a good simulation because it falls short of an idea of perfection?

HW is a pipe organ simulator, not a pipe organ. My multichannel audio sounds much more realistic than headphones in my tiny 17 x 17 x 17 ft room. Audible room acoustics aren't necessary because the simulation is good enough. I'm not trying to squeeze a pipe organ into a room, I'm making the virtual room what's important and mostly ignoring my physical room.

If I want a flight simulator, do I refuse to buy it because the actual airplane doesn't fit in my den?

If you're happy with headphones, great! Some of us get a lot of enjoyment out of speakers.

Sure, perhaps I will clarify.

Getting it to sound decent over mutlichannel is easy enough. Getting it to sound GOOD is a LOT of work. Getting it to sound fabulous is a science. And unless the person has audio knowledge, chances are, it will be a constant game of diminishing returns - that has been my experience in most cases. I get TONS of emails, phone calls and Facebook messages, "can you help me make my multi-channel setup sound good," and I just can't explain enough to get people to understand. Of course, it is also impossible to help solve much of this kind of thing remotely.