Sound testing
Now, let’s talk more about the dynamics of these headphones when introduced to different types of music. My taste in music gravitates towards smooth Jazz, Alternative, House, and various kinds of Japanese pop, but I will listen to pretty much anything that sounds “good” (wow, nebulous term there). While I do like acoustic sounds, I am also fine with Electronica. I think the Bose OEs sounded fine with anything I threw at it, but its greatest strength is probably acoustic music with strong bass (such as lounge Jazz with an acoustic double bass).
Comparative Set
To really get a good handle on audio reproduction for the OE TriPorts, I listened to a wide variety of songs that I will explain in greater detail in a moment. I will be comparing the TriPorts to a pair of Sennheiser HD 212 Pros. I realize the Sennheisers are about a third of the price, but they are the only comparable set I currently own in terms of size and type.
The Sennheiser 212s are a supraaural set designed for DJ use, and have a very bright, metallic sound to them. I find that they fall apart when playing tracks with lots of distortion, and work best to play “clean” sounds like Pop, Jazz and Acoustic. It’s peculiar that the 212s fall apart on distortion when electronica is all the rage, but that’s just the way they are.
Methodology
All tracks are played by Winamp and processed by an Auzentech Prelude. I did not use any DSPs for Winamp, and I disabled the equalizer. The chosen songs are encoded at bitrates from 224 to 320kbps, and I have the Prelude’s Crystalizer function set to 80%, which should help to add some range to the compressed mp3s. I further disabled CMSS-3D, as it creates a much better soundstage than the original recordings, and I am trying to judge the headphone’s ability to create a soundstage rather than the soundcard’s.
The listen tests
a-ha – Take On Me
I wanted to start off with the perfect New Wave track from the 80s. This song has many synthesized sounds, a fast beat, and a full male voice with a very impressive range.
The 212s gave a predictably crisp sound when it came to the synthesized elements, but I found the track grated on my ears after about a minute. The airy chorus of Take On Me was distorted and I ended up taking the headphones off. It was that bad. Like I said, the 212s tend to fall apart when you have a lot of distorted or electronic sound in the mix. In contrast, the OEs managed to provide a lot of energy without losing the vocals or the panning xylophone.
Jimi Hendrix – All Along the Watchtower
Now for some vintage Rock from the late, great Jimi Hendrix. I prefer the Hendrix version to that of Bob Dylan because of the guitar riffs. This version is overflowing with raw, raunchy guitar.
With the 212s, again, the sound was quite bright. I lowered the volume to make it less harsh on the ears, but the annoying metallic sounds remained. On the other hand, the guitar riffs came out well, as did Jimi Hendrix’s voice, and the drums were there in the back making a statement.
The 212s had a decent sound. However the Bose cans made me realize this track also has a bass guitar. The bass guitar was scarcely noticeable on the 212s. Adding it to the fabric of the song did not overpower the vocals or the guitar riffs, but it provided much-needed depth to the song. The triangle sounds remained intact, but they were not emphasized as with the 212s. This song definitely sounded better on the OEs.
Metallica – Enter Sandman
Next, I wanted to really make the 212s bleed with a track from Metallica. This song uses considerable guitar distortion as is typical of Metallica, but unlike some death/thrash metal bands out there, the distortion is executed crisply.
The 212s, to my surprise, actually gave a very respectable performance. They were especially good at the initial guitar riff before the introduction of the bass drum, but even the distorted guitars were faithfully reproduced. Overall, Enter Sandman sounded great on the 212s, but I barely noticed the detail in the bass. That’s fine. Metallica was never really about its bass.
The OEs imparted a fuller tonality thanks to the additional bass presence. And again, the bass was there, I felt it, but it never drowned out the rest of the song. The experience between the OE and the 212 was comparable, but the OEs still sounded better when all was said and done.
311 – Amber
Now for something slightly more Rasta. Amber has a nice and mellow Rasta beat that gets married to clear male vocals and solid drum work.
The 212s were very good on this track, and I caught myself nodding my head back and forth to the beat. The 212’s bright sound signature actually complimented this song very well and added a strong character to the drums and the Rasta-style guitar riffs.
That said, I like how the OEs delivered the sound. Rasta is all about beat and the OEs were superior in bassline delivery. The OEs did this without failing to produce metallic quality on the high hats. Another score for the OEs! I think they handle this genre well.
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