>There are more than a few headphones that are guilty of this trick. I wouldn't confuse upper midrange hotness with increased transparency. Glad to see that I'm not >crazy
i rather take uppermidrange/midrange emphasized than recessed from mids/uppermids...
smiley face response is good for non-audiophiles since you can turn volume up without it hurting so much ears LOUD =GOOD
and when it comes to headphones... hrtf's play big part for your match with headphones diffuse field equalization.