The All Purpose Advice Thread

Thank you for all your feedback.

I'm thinking of Klipsch RP-600M as my entry into stereo-dom since it seems to have gotten decent reviews and has a relatively high sensitivity (96 dB) for small sized speakers. I'm planning to use them not in an expansive living room but in my bedroom, facing the bed. However, according to Stereophile, it actually measured at 89.6 dB, much lower than how it's advertised as.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/klipsch-reference-premiere-rp-600m-loudspeaker-measurements

But again, according to Stereophile, a single stereo Aegir seems to be able to drive the RP-600M quite well, as this pairing was strongly recommended. It was even paired with speakers with lower sensitivity such as Wharfedale Lintons, Harbeth P3ESRs, KEF LS50, only clipping on Maggie .7s.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/klipsch-reference-premiere-rp-600m-loudspeaker-measurements

So I assumed that 20W stereo Aegir would be more than enough to drive the RP-600M. But then again, I read somewhere in this forum that a Vidar is actually better than an Aegir for RP-600M? I thought Aegir is more refined than Vidar and should be considered when using sensitive speakers, while Vidar should be reserved for demanding low-efficiency speakers that Aegir would struggle to drive.

I should probably ask this question in the Aegir thread, but thank you.

 

Was trying to improve my understanding of audio jargon & reading through the stickies, couple terminology questions (sorry if this isn't the place, feel free to delete):

Is there an agreed-upon definition of "slam" (or what that pertains to re: transient response)?

What is "wobble" in a response curve? Vertical fluctuation? And is this something that can be heard, or just measured?

My prior understanding of timbre was that it was related to a "black" background & sharp attack/decay [leading to a strong sense of timing/tonality being on point], but if I'm understanding correctly it is more closely related to accurate reproduction of the instrument (& plankton)? Would "timing" be a more apt descriptor if I was referring to my prior idea? Or am I more so conflating the different aspects of transient response.

Lastly: trying to understand some of the psychoacoustic EQ settings Behringer uses in relation to the above terminology to help my understanding (specifically the "Exciter", which has the description "adds artificially generated overtones to the original signal, increasing presence and perceived loudness without significant increase in signal level") - would this reduce plankton (to allow for the boosted perceived loudness) & slow the attack/decay (due to added overtones)? Does this affect wobble(s)? If I'm off by a landslide any reference information would be appreciated. I read Psalmanazar's comment here Magni 3+ and Magni 3 Heresy released , but unfortunately I still don't 100% understand the implications of using a harmonic exciter and what it specifically does - my best understanding might be that it adds high freq distortion, I just don't understand how to interpret that for personal listening.

Thanks so much, have a great weekend!

 

I am also interested in this, not for myself but for an acquaintance. Hopefully someone can help us. In his situation besides synergy, the price is also a huge factor (the final price of both items) , which is normal but it's a limited budget.

 

Timbre has a well defined meaning and definitely not the word you were looking for. Have you seen this:
https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...ology-subjective-terms-used-on-superbaf.3400/

 

Sorry for any confusion, yeah I had read that, and it was what led me to ask here if there was a word to describe what I was initially looking for & confirm my understanding of the post.
Regarding timbre, am I still incorrect in saying it's "an accurate reproduction of the instrument"? I had meant to add the instrument's tonality but wasn't sure if that was an adequate description. Quick Edit: I think I am wrong in saying that after reading more into it, I was more so trying to understand how someone could separate something like the sound source's coloration while also commenting on timbre being good/bad (or relatively better/worse). I'll keep reading thanks.

 

Instruments have timbre, which is separate from the timbre of a piece of audio gear. Gear timbre affects the reproduction of instrument timbre, throughout the whole audio chain, but I don't think it makes sense to judge timbre as an absolute metric relative to some idea of "accuracy".

In my mind, the lines between frequency response, tonality, and timbre are a bit blurred; but I would consider timbre a more general term, accounting for multiple factors, such as FR, transient response, distortion, etc.

 

Yeah, so as others were saying, timbre is a thing that instruments and stuff have too.
In an instrument, timbre is mostly due to spectral content, ie the fundamental frequency behind played, and the harmonics (and levels of those) created by the instrument.
Timbre is the difference between a 440hz A on a cello, and a 440hz A on a flute.
In headphones/speakers it gets a bit more confusing though, and timbre is more like the general hard to quantify characteristics of a headphone.

 

You're looking at it the wrong way. Here's a good succinct explanation of timbre: https://www.simplifyingtheory.com/timbre/. In music, timbre refers to the sonic character that makes instruments sound different from each other. A trumpet and a piano can play a note at the same volume and pitch but they sound different because they produce a different mix of overtones, harmonics, resonance, etc. Note that timbre only involves the tone color of the sound and other factors such volume and dynamic transients are considered separately.

You can think of audio equipment as musical instruments and apply the same concept of timbre. Different audio systems can have different timbre. Some more obvious examples are that the characteristic sound of tube equipment or coloration from speaker cabinets can be described as a difference in timbre.

 

I'm looking for travel/storage cases for medium to large-sized headphones including the HD650, HD800, LCD-3, and HE-6.

Is there anything out there that has a good balance of price and quality? I have the old Pelican case from Audeze which is nice but is a bit bulky and on the pricier side. I think it's the Pelican 1300.

If the cases are stackable that'd be a plus.

 

This is the frequency response curve I measured for hd650. With other people's index of measurement results, my curve shifted 1kHz to the left in the high frequency part. What is the reason for this? For example, the correct peak should be at 3kHz, while mine is at 2.3khz. Please help me



This is the artificial ear that I use to measure. Its drive is a Panasonic wm61a.

 

Did you even read the following when signing up here?

https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/what-is-sbaf-10-articles-for-behavior.5555/

Not trying to be rude but from perspective we don't know you and this is your first post.

 

This is the dt1990 curve that I measured. Compared with rtings' measurement, the treble of my curve is still shifted to the left.......

 

[QUOTE =“ YMO，帖子：321564，成员：6068”]在这里注册时，您甚至还阅读以下内容吗？

https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/what-is-sbaf-10-articles-for-behavior.5555/

并不是想表现出粗鲁的态度，但是从角度来看我们不认识您，这是您的第一篇文章。[/ QUOTE]

好的，我会仔细阅读。对不起，我的英语很差。我知道这个论坛上有很多来自国外的专家，所以我来这里提问。请原谅我做的不好。

 

OK, I'll read it carefully. Sorry, my English is poor. I know that there are many experts from abroad on this forum, so I come here to ask questions. Please forgive me for not doing well.

 

The images don't show up. Maybe host them in imgur.com and use the "insert image" button here, or just paste the URL.

Frequency response curves present MUCH differently depending on a lot of factors like position, seal, and probably ambient noise as well. The bigger difference (presuming competency of execution) is measurement equipment and headphone manufacturing tolerances though. Sennheisers are usually a good reference, but Beyerdynamic has a bit of a reputation for not being the most consistent

Unless you're using the exact same measurement rig as RTINGS I wouldn't expect similar results. What's important is that you are consistent with your own methodology and understand your own measurements.

Also, do note that RTINGS uses a compensation curve, so bass may be underrepresented and treble is going to look slightly off. You'd be better off comparing raw measurements, but unless you're using the same artificial ear (cannot see it), it would be best not to expect the exact same results even then.

Edit: just saw images and yeah they were comparing uncompensated to uncompensated, whoops.

And don't worry, being ESL (English as a second language) can be very difficult. @YMO means well— he's just keeping people who just randomly post whatever they want in the wrong sections in check. Don't mind the dislikes, they're not the end of the world

 

Thank you Lyander very much for your reply. I have replaced the images with imgur. I hope they can be displayed normally.

Thanks to YMO for reminding me. I'm a little ashamed and I seem impolite.

 

I'd say don't worry about it, the massive treble spike is there and if you build a large enough database you'll be able to determine the Panasonic's quirks and unique features. The treble spike does seem to have been transposed down a fair bit, but similar things have been noted with others who use pinnae couplers. I remember @Serious has measurements that show the HD800 (or was it another headphone?) spike at a different location than as appears on a flat plate coupler? This was taken using an in-ear microphone, and so individual artefacts and features associated with our own ears can therefore be presumed to affect how we perceive things (though it's also believed that our brains may compensate for some of this and also for cup reflections in front of the baffle, which is why @purr1n brought back free air measurements to examine treble).

Again, that looks like a very neat bit of measurement kit and I think you can do great things with it. What matters is developing a consistent methodology and gathering enough data so you can determine what features are attributable to individual headphones and what are due to your test rig. Luck!

 

Greetings.
Can somebody throw few suggestions at me?
I want to upgrade my modi3+magni3+650+600 (modded).
I'm looking for best quality possible for the buck (duh) yet I want to stay under 500 usd ballpark and don't want 'just another sidegrade'. I heard that dx7s is a good option but I also heard from many people that it is nothing but a Chinese trash based on a low quality parts. So I'm looking for extra DAC+AMP combo options. Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/new-members-introduce-yourself.17/
https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/what-is-sbaf-10-articles-for-behavior.5555/
https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/new-members-introduce-yourself.17/

 

Drop Liquid Carbon X. It has the same pass through as the 789.

thanks!