Hi @pennstac Thanks for spinning this off. Speaking for myself it is an interesting topic, especially as it relates to the best headphones in the world.
The measurable frequency response of an instrument, the materials it is made, in what space it was recorded, and with what microphones and their placement all influence our perception of an instruments timbre. It is neither mystical or simple! It is by and large measurable I suppose, but the human mind is really adept at taking in the sum of all parts.
If we remove the overtones of a handful of instruments, leaving the fundamental frequency only, we are left with a sinewave and absent the complicated information in its overtone structure, the pitches have no identity. They are “anonymous” tones. When the unique set of overtones, harmonic and inharmonic, are introduced we get a complicated set of fundamentals, overtones, and partials (from inharmonic overtones) that give an instrument its identity and character.
If you look, for example, at the rich wall of sound produced by a sitar with its dozens of sympathetic strings, you see a complex set of sound rich in overtones and partials that are of greater amplitude in decay than the fundamental itself. The same pitch struck on a nylon string guitar produces a comparatively simple structure with relatively even overtones it its decay. This is perfectly measurable even if out of love of music’s rich history I feel romantically about it! It is one of the most beautiful aspects of music listening for me, so I tend to focus on it.
The human minds auditory organs (healthy) are sensitive to these nuance, and the characters of an instruments sound structure have been played upon and manipulated throughout all of musical history. It is part and parcel of the experience in the same way as rhythm, harmony, melodic development.
My comments earlier were to suggest, if I keep all other things equal, source, gain, etc, I prefer the detail with which the Raal reproduce this nuance.
I also agree with @Nuance that the recording space and microphones pre-determine a lot of what a specific recording will capture. I spend a lot of time listening to recordings of my brother in law on violin. He makes his own recordings of Bach performances and is constantly experimenting with microphone placement. It has fallen on me to comment on the dozens of different variations! He has played a very old Bergonzi for a long time, so this is relatively constant. He has settled on gut A and E strings and a specific brand of microphones. All of that makes an important difference. But ultimately, moving a microphone up above the violin by 1 foot, or back further into the room, changes the set of overtones and partials the microphones can pick up. And I have know this violin for decades. It was his fathers, I have heard it live hundreds of times, I have performed with it live myself, crawling inside of its sound structure to insert my own and line up my fundamentals (in tune) and avoid asymmetrical beat waves (out of tune).
All that is to say, the way it is recorded matters. I remember @Torq made recordings of his own pianos and noticed differences in if the window coverings were drawn or not! I would not speak for him, but wonder if he’d agree not all equipment displayed the differences in those recording in equal measure.
Perhaps to express my thoughts more clearly and objectively, I find the SR1as frequency response communicates to me more information, nuance, and detail of the complicated sound structures of acoustic instruments. Combined with its attack and speed, I find this especially rewarding with piano which makes up a majority of my listening. The greatest western musicians wrote some of their greatest works for piano! However, the same detail is invaluable when listening to West African kora, Northern Indian sitar, or the violently asymmetrical overtones of a Balinese gamelan.
I am also open minded to the idea maybe it is an exaggeration compared to other headphones frequency responses. But I have a lot of roll off above 15 kHz, so maybe I need “help” up there!
