E_Schaaf

alright to be fair I can still catch the peak a bit with some repositioning on the EARS coupler, but both of the above measurements were with the same positioning so there's certainly a relative improvement even if it's not 100% fixed. Reduced if not eliminated peak, and brought more presence to middle and upper mids. Regardless, good enough to reach my tolerable level.

Lest we forget: https://bit.ly/3aRt5JD

Modding phones "out of spite" ... that's the SBAF way!

Just curious, if all confounders taken out from the equation, what's your takeaway for pure driver-level differences between 650 and 600?

@Vtory The only drivers that stand out as substantially 'different' sounding beyond unit variation is the brass ring OG HD580 / Early HD600 drivers which seem to have better bass distortion but also are hotter 3k and up. Still a minor difference though. That said haven't been able to control the brass ring drivers quite as well in the highs to suit my preference. Always tweaking...

600 vs 650 driver - 650 driver basically tilted downward 1 degree of slope. I don't think the dynamic nuance or staging ability is meaningfully different.

I'll get some measurements in the morning!

I'll remind you :)

That is about what I get from the metal ring around the driver to the top of the pads.

I'll post more specifics in the thread tomorrow when I'm not stuffed full of sushi and half asleep haha

Believe me, the pleasure was all mine. Thanks for letting me listen to them!

Interesting trivia, did you know her daughter is Maya Rudolph from SNL? Apparently talent is in the blood.

no I didn't know that, thanks for the tidbit!

I will concede the idea that theoretically flat can be a useful albeit boring point of reference for exclusively low-level listening ASSUMING the timbre is flawless, there are ZERO peaks or ringing of any kind above 4khz, the recording is masterfully produced, and no part of the chain adds any annoying colorations. But still I would prefer linear+sloped for higher level listening and with 99% of music.

least fav - https://i.imgur.com/4fKqNsc.png decent - https://i.imgur.com/yauZxf4.png enjoyable - https://i.imgur.com/QtFLaid.png

Maybe your ear shape and hearing are just more sensitive to the higher frequencies than most?

First Rule Of Club Room Is You Don't Talk About Club Room ;)

if I don't mention club room how will I remind randos that they're missing out?

I think I lean red, but I believe implementation is key of course. Knowing you they both sound damn good.

Tough one. If forced to pick one I'd go with red. V similar thoughts as @Merrick. Red excels at the things I prefer. Would like to hear both.

Update: I'm on team red among these two options but we're cooking up some tweaks to effectively split the difference across the board. I think that'll be perfect. Blue does have its charms.

Reported. Get that smut outta here.

The natural? 8k dip and overall slant is very smexy.

sexy curves for sure.

redacted, WIP tuning but damn they are smooth smooth smooth

Let us know if you need beta testers. :)

I could always record to my H4n - used this on low budget film sets. There was a time I almost bought a Sound Devices 633. Beautiful machines. The Zoom's mic input stage sounds like shit compared to a proper Sound Devices recorder.

Lynx Hilo, Burl Bomber, Lavry, Prism. You get what you pay for.

Apogee is always a favorite. I love Lavry, but it and Burl will have some flavor. So will the UA interfaces. The analog/digital studio here in town, Welcome to 1979, loves the Lynx ADC's. Palm may disagree, but RME ADC is really damn good.

May your punk be daft. I will give it a listen.

You deserve it!

At some point I will commission one! Just can’t right now.

A brick is the usual test piece.

My washing machine tried to do that yesterday... with just washing in it.

How does one fall into habitually watching washing machine destruction videos much less making them. Not judging, I like odd things but funny how that works. The youtube rabbit hole!

Holy crap, that's the best thing I;ve seen in a long time. That's Terminator-style grit.

Cheers. I sold over 100 Utopias. Wild.

That's awesome! Congrats.

Next time aim for 101 Utopias for heaven. :P

And certainly don't do all 3 together

What does it take to get a clone? Looking at the Firstwatt page it makes the F1 look tasty.

I bought mine from brencho who bought it from someone who built it on ebay in singapore I think? hifishark.com 'first watt clone' regularly.

on some totally smashed (clipped at like +5db) 404 flip tapes, never heard bass with so much satisfying growl. Not the tightest, but such addictive fuzz. Super dense heavy sound. If only I had a larger library of things to listen to...