Audio in movies is exceptionally crucial. A good-quality dialogue is one of the stepping ladders of the actors’ performances. When filled with intense sound effects and a fantastic soundtrack, movies can be immersively mind-blowing. Although sounds fill a huge role in a film, the listener’s gear will determine its delivery.
When speaking of headphones, good music-making ones, such as Studio Headphones, should be fine for everything else, including movies. But, be aware of:
- The headphones emphasized frequency.
- Stereo limitations
- Earcups’ isolative capacity
- Comfort and position
- Movie genre
Even when presenting fascinating features and high-quality performance for many applications, Studio Headphones can have different approaches when the activity in question is watching movies. While considering things such as the pros and cons of headphones, as well as the movie to watch, an audiophile can make some precise decisions for audio-quality enjoyment in film.
The Headphones Emphasized Frequency
Be it for any application, studying a headphone’s strong points will be of use to any audiophile, especially when talking about strengths and weaknesses in the frequency range. When watching a movie, the volume levels and dialogue dynamics should be perfectly fitting. It would be highly unpleasant if an actor’s voice added sibilance to the mix or sounded muffled.
For this reason, when browsing through high-quality headphones, avoid overemphasized frequencies. Sennheiser RS 185 RF, for example, is an acclaimed studio headphone with tremendous high-quality algorithms and modern technology. However, the low-ends can become a little muddy in it, negatively affecting the actor’s voice.
Choosing headphones to portray ideal and steady frequencies can make a big difference when watching movies, especially those with fantastic dialogue scenes since a lot of the feeling is in the authentic speech of an actor.
Stereo Limitations
The Stereo field can offer disadvantages when comparing Home Studio’s features with Studio Headphones ones.
Headphones commonly portray a Stereo output, which means that sounds will be coming from two channels, left and right. Even if the gear offers incredibly detailed imaging of the stereo field, a headphone won’t replicate the number of channels a 5.1 or 7.1 HomeStudio gives.
A 5.1 monitoring arrangement means that five output channels will be around a listener, sourcing sounds from five directions to the audience. This setting and the 7.1, which follows the same principle but with seven channels, are commonly used in cinemas and fully-equipped HomeStudios.
Featuring five or seven sound sources, Home Theaters are tridimensionally sonic, giving the listener total awareness of sounds coming from the back, the diagonals, the sides, and the front. By being unable to provide this complete listener’s experience, Studio Headphones may hold a problematic artifact for audiophiles looking for a supreme audio experience.
Earcup’s Isolative Capacity
The earcups on a headphone will be a crucial object for improving the listening experience for films. As mentioned in an Audiophile Haven article before, earcups have various characteristics that can be studied and considered before selecting the ideal Headphone.
For movies, it’s vital to experience a steady audio performance, and isolating our ears from external sounds is a great way to keep the dialogue and sound effects in an appropriate and pleasant setting. When outer earcups surround our ears with incredible isolative capacity, we will less likely be hearing sounds coming from unrelated sources.
If a headphone is featuring poorly isolative earcups, the chances of getting acoustic interferences are high. Try looking for adaptative earcups that will fit nicely and isolate external sounds.
Selecting between open-back or closed-back earphones will also provide different experiences. Headphones featuring an open-back earcup can give a richer frequency range that may be adequate for action scenes with many ambient noises. On the other hand, closed-back headphones tend to centralize the sound more, making prominent frequencies stand out, delivering warmer dialogues.
Comfort and Position
When watching movies, it’s common to sit on a couch and lay down comfortably, sometimes switching between positions. When watching movies through monitors, TV speakers, PC speakers, or cinema, we have the option to change head positions comfortably without compromising any audio experience.
By wearing a Studio Headphone, which can be enormous, over your head, it’s likely that laying down and switching positions will be highly limited. Consider how comfortable will the headphone be and how it will affect the physical experience in terms of relaxation throughout the movie.
Studio Headphones often require wires to be connected to an amplifier. It’s crucial to consider the wires’ role in bringing some discomfort. Laying down on a couch with wires poking your sides is not usually comfortable; consider wireless headphones or somehow adapt the headphones’ wires in your movie setting adequately.
Movie Genre
Audiophiles should consider the genre of the movie before deciding how they are going to channel its sounds. With many film genres, it’s hard to assume that every movie will require a unique audio quality with pristine sounds. Sometimes movies do not need that much attention to sound, while sometimes they can be highly focused on soundtracks and audio in general.
Movies like Interstellar, for example, can provide a glorious experience when watched in a 5.1 or 7.1 home theater. The low protuberant sounds, impact effects, and fantastic cosmic noises are a digital imprint of the movie and can considerably increase the audience experience when treated adequately. With a high sense of space and presence, the listener can enjoy the full mix made for the movie, which was ideally engineered for cinemas.
Other movies, such as Disney’s Moana, won’t need a highly accurate setting for a spatial audio performance. Even though Moana is an acclaimed movie with intense sound effects and a fantastic soundtrack, it doesn’t feature an audio performance as extensive as Interstellar, for example.
Taking the genre into consideration can help to make an optimal decision for sustaining audio quality. Headphones can deliver the whole experience in some movies, while they may compromise sonic quality in others.