I have a general question about the XC in an effort to understand and put to words what I am hearing. (This was so intriguing to me, I took the XC out of the box to try it again)
I happen to use Beastie Boys - Sabotage as a common busy rock song to test headphones.
On the XC it sounded harsh (this is one of the things that generated the harsh comment above) and a bit anemic. On the Zen it’s intense and full with just the slightest hint of harshness. This is noticeable during the first 30 seconds and the harshness is largely around the “singing”.
What I want to understand is why? What about the frequency response would indicate that effect?
(Also generated the burn in question)