Music that sounds GREAT on stereo but SUCKS on headphones (the reverse of the usual)

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

I'm talking about ear-splittingly bad production mostly.

This is a pointless thread.

I mean, what do I expect? For you to just list albums that fit the bill? What's the fuckin' point of that?

― That Jerk What Won't Log In, Saturday, 23 July 2005 04:34 (twenty years ago)

coltrane quartet on impulse. obv i'm NOT talking about bad production - its just the stereo separation of the band members makes headphone listening difficult for me. sounds great in a room. on headphones - coltrane over there, rhythm section over there. nah.

― mullygrubbr (bulbs), Saturday, 23 July 2005 04:46 (twenty years ago)

Hell yeah, hard stereo separation, not least when it quickly alternates 'psychedelically', can be excruciating. I seem to recall noticing this on countless Beatles songs as a pup.

― Nag! Nag! Nag! (Nag! Nag! Nag!), Saturday, 23 July 2005 06:26 (twenty years ago)

I seem to recall noticing this on countless Beatles songs as a pup.

Which is why I won't rip any of my Fab Four stuff to my iPod Shuffle. Unlistenable whilst in transit.

― Tantrum The Cat (Tantrum The Cat), Saturday, 23 July 2005 19:07 (twenty years ago)

Franz. Bastard. Ferdinand.

For some reason the album sounds great on most sets of speakers around my apartment/car, listenable on the worthless white ipod earbuds, and terrible on quality headphones.

― Telephonething (Telephonething), Saturday, 23 July 2005 19:20 (twenty years ago)

A lot of 70s Miles stuff is much better through speakers than headphones. "Go Ahead John" from Big Fun is the ultimate example, On The Corner the exception (it's amazing on headphones).

― pdf (Phil Freeman), Saturday, 23 July 2005 20:48 (twenty years ago)

fun house

― The Brainwasher (Twilight), Saturday, 23 July 2005 20:51 (twenty years ago)

The Ramones' first album. It's got that hard stereo separation - guitar only in one ear, bass in the other. If I want to put songs from it on my minidisc I "remix" them first using CoolEdit.

― Colonel Poo (Colonel Poo), Saturday, 23 July 2005 21:29 (twenty years ago)

Any radio edit, ever. The ultra-compression might sound fine in a car or on a shitty stereo, but in headphones it's awful! It's like the entire recording is a giant truck driving down one lane of a four lane highway with three empty lanes!

― mike h. (mike h.), Sunday, 24 July 2005 01:43 (twenty years ago)

The Pin Group - Retrospective (well, the production's not great anyway but it sounds immensely better on stereo)

― Kitten, the body needs it, the body cries out for Ian Riese-Moraine! (Eastern Ma, Sunday, 24 July 2005 02:06 (twenty years ago)

Listening to Daniel Johnston right now and it pretty much fits the bill. Great songs, tho, esp. "Death Scream" and "Chord Organ Blues," and "The Beatles"-- probably my favorite song written about them despite the glaring factual error (which is still not as grim as Run-DMC's famous "there's three of us" flub).

― Ryan Pitchfork (Ryan Pitchfork), Sunday, 24 July 2005 03:56 (twenty years ago)

god bless them for what they done

― Zack Richardson (teenagequiet), Sunday, 24 July 2005 04:52 (twenty years ago)

well you know, johnston is famed for being a documentarian so i can see how that could be upsetting.

― jack cole, public enemy #12,344,334,978 (jackcole), Sunday, 24 July 2005 06:06 (twenty years ago)

didn't Lester Bangs write a piece about how great fun house sounds on speakers and how terrible it sounds on headphones? Ow was it vice-versa?

― Seuss, Sunday, 24 July 2005 06:22 (twenty years ago)

― Seuss, Sunday, 24 July 2005 06:25 (twenty years ago)

i'll nominate the united states of america's album for this -- the drums are hard-panned to the right on EVERY SONG, which drives me insane. it would probably be okay on headphones otherwise, though.

― spastic heritage, Sunday, 24 July 2005 09:19 (twenty years ago)

yes yes yes yes - FRANZ FERDINAND. Yes! I thought the album sucked till I played it on the stereo at a party.

And MIA? In my experience? Maybe it's because my headphones are all too 'good'.

― sean gramophone (Sean M), Sunday, 24 July 2005 10:04 (twenty years ago)

I find it hard to listen to the entire Go Team's album on headphones. On the stereo? Loud, raucous, dishevelled fun. On 'phones? It's a bit too trebly and hurts my ears.

― brittle-lemon (brittle-lemon), Sunday, 24 July 2005 11:46 (twenty years ago)

>(which is still not as grim as Run-DMC's famous "there's three of us" flub)

Why is this a flub? At the time the rhyme was written, there were only three Beatles left.

― pdf (Phil Freeman), Sunday, 24 July 2005 15:25 (twenty years ago)

Neutral Milk Hotel only works for me at full volume on a crappy stereo. It craves distortion.

― Robin Wilks, Monday, 25 July 2005 18:20 (twenty years ago)

how come stuff like the ipod doesn't have an option to mix down the amount of separation?

― Tumililingan (ex machina), Monday, 25 July 2005 18:29 (twenty years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.