Amps and software can both do crossfeed. My amp does it very well.

It's called crossfeed. Pretty much any amp worth its salt will do it. Or you can do it in software. Not exactly some unknown thing that human ears pick up the same sound through both ears at different times and the brain mixes the two together, as http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUDTlvagjJA demonstrates.

Have any evidence for that claim?

What other headphones have you tried for comparison? I've owned and tried several from $10 to $1000, and I felt more confident about my Koss KSC75 clip-ons than I would about Beats.

Stereo mixing is built into the majority of recordings. Only old recordings from the 60s and sometimes 70s when stereo was new will have hard panning that sounds unnatural. A lot of recordings today are actually made specifically for headphones, because that's how most people listen. There's also binaural recordings that are considerably more rare, but can definitely recreate a surround sound or speaker effect using headphones.

Good headphones will also be able to pick up subtle spatial cues like reflections, and give more depth to recordings than you would think possible. They actually pick up on these easier than speakers, because speakers have so many other obstacles in their path like room acoustics.

Then there's also HRTF-related programs like Creative's CMSS-3D and Dolby Headphone that can mix channels in certain ways to create depth. I wouldn't use these for music, though.

Not all audiophiles buy into pseudo-science. The headphones themselves ultimately come down to preference and word of mouth because they're so difficult to measure, but I'm not ever going to buy an amp or DAC without measurements and necessity again. I bought a cheap little tube amp once. It sounded nice and all, but I'm sure it butchered the signal. Why pay money for distortion?

Cables are a joke, and not a drop of objective fact suggests they make a difference in any but the most extreme cases.

http://www.machinadynamica.com/

Ha ha. We have a comedian in the thread, folks.

And if you believe that website, I have a Blu-Ray rewinder to sell you.

Really?! I've been looking for one of those forever, but they're so hard to find. I haven't seen a single one in my thrift shop. Do you think you could ship it here by next Tuesday? I really want to play Uncharted again.

Just remember, because of the differences in laser wavelength, the Blu-Ray Rewinder is not designed to work with DVDs or CDs. We at Phox Industries recommend you purchase our DVD and CD Rewinders for all your disc-based rewinding needs.

Plus, a limited-edition Vinyl Rewinder is in the works, with patent-pending technology that lets you listen to your vinyl in a whole new way!!

(I really should make a Vinyl Rewinder...)

Hmm, they don't seem to have the exact model anymore, but the closest I could find to the ones I use is http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12918029&retainProdsInSession=1. I think mine were $10, though.
(Not sure of the brand, actually.... there isn't one on the phones themselves. Heh. But they've been working a good long time... I've had to replace the earpads several times.)


Not into the whole "shove something in your ear" earbud thing, and those giant puffy circumaural ones....... I guess I should find somewhere to try them, but I can't help but think they'd be uncomfortable.

I love these
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cIuM42dRC90/TuFa0uS8xbI/AAAAAAAAAJA/Yk7VEwHvuuk/s1600/will.i.am.jpg


Or any low-end Sennheiser headphones will do.

I wonder if the shades come pre-installed on the headphones or if you have to glue them on yourself.

They don't, but the headphones come with an inflated sense of self-worth and the ability to look down on anyone not using Beats by Dre headphones.

And partial deafness if used continuously.