Periodic Audio Be

Discussion in 'IEM Measurements - La Cenric's IEM Playhouse' started by Crinacle, Oct 13, 2017.

  1. Crinacle

    Crinacle Friend

    Staff Member Pyrate IEMW MZR
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    Foreword: Periodic provided me a B-stock of their lineup for sampling, measuring and review. The Be is their current flagship at $300, making use of a Beryllium foil diaphragm as its name suggests.

    Frequency Response
    FR (CM).png

    Scaled to manufacturer-provided graphs
    FR (CM) (PAscale).png


    Impulse
    Impulse (L).png Impulse (R).png

    CSD
    CSD (L).png CSD (R).png

    THD
    THD (L).png THD (R).png

    Impedance Response

    Dead flat. No point posting a reactivity plot.
    Analysis
    • V-shaped but not aggressively so. Warm-ish tone and excellent timbre.
    • Channel matching is acceptable. Not amazing, but definitely within tolerance.
    • Clean sound with little offensiveness.
    • Low THD as expected of its driver.
    • Satisfying amount of rumble in the subbass. Haven't heard this level of articulation in a while.
    • Overall, a stellar performer. Does many things proper and little wrong.
     
  2. Stuff Jones

    Stuff Jones Friend

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    I see they only have B-Stock online. What were the blemishes on yours?
     
  3. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

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    Kind of reminds me of Rins EX1000 measurements but bassier. How’s the 5~6k spike on the ears?
     
  4. Crinacle

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    The Be I got was more-or-less perfect but the others had some very minor misalignments in the faceplate placement or some glue peeking out. Examples below.

    IMG_5394.JPG IMG_5392.JPG

    Interesting comparison. The spike doesn't seem as large as on the EX1000 (I have not tried it before but I have experience with the MDR7550) and if my memory serves me right, definitely not as bright as the 7550.
     
  5. LSW

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    Thanks for your review. I've been enjoying mine for quite some time now. If I'm being honest I prefer them to my Campfire Vegas :S , at least with single flange silicone tips on the Be. The Vega sounds better with comply foam though, and is therefore better in situations needing isolation in my opinion. Too much treble roll-off with the Be and foam.
     
  6. LSW

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    Also, was wondering what tips you used for your evaluation @La Cenric ? I have done quite a bit of tip rolling with these and think I've finally settled on medium spiral dots.
     
  7. Stuff Jones

    Stuff Jones Friend

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    I got these. They are a little v shaped but really transparent at their price range. The bass is great. Deep, textured, fast and controlled. I'm using JVC spiral dots. I have no idea which is left and which is right.
     
  8. M3NTAL

    M3NTAL Friend

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    When I tried these out - they were far too V-Shaped with Spiral Dots. Try using the included foam tips. It helps them out quite a bit. At the "B-Stock" price, they are pretty good.

    Edit: Left and Right is identified by the screen color in front of the driver if I remember correctly
     
  9. LSW

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    Yeah I actually quite like them with the spiral dots and found them to be too dark (rolled off in treble) with comply foam T400's, I'll try the included foam again to get another impression. I do prefer a V shaped sound signature generally, though. I actually like the included large silicone single flange the best but they fall out too easily from even small head movements. Overall much prefer these to my Etymotic ER-4 and even my Vega, being honest.

    I even bought the lower end periodic Mg model b-stock to try for workouts and found it to be pretty similar in sound but less V-Shaped. I could see some audiophile types actually preferring the Mg. There is less bass for sure and a hair less clarity. The b-stock was just for some glue smearing on the endcap so it's a pretty good deal at $70. Unfortunately cable microphonics are pretty terrible for workouts, even when wrapping the cable around the ears and clipping the cable to your shirt.
     
  10. drez

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    :-( I was hoping these would be half even in the frequency response. This looks way too uneven for me.
     
  11. Stuff Jones

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    I'm really enjoying these after several months. Burn in (brain and/or diaphragm) and comply tips have brought the mids out to where they're not obviously v shaped. Timbre is right and bass slams hard while being controlled. A clean and revealing sound at the price range too.

    Build quality seems a little patchy as I've already lost a filter and the cable protector by the ears looks vulnerable.

    At 200 a buy, at 300 maybe not considering build.

    For me as a DD-head, the 200 to 400 dollar price range looks to be the value sweet spot these days.
     
    Last edited: Mar 18, 2018

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