Massdrop x Hifiman HE-350 Measurements

Discussion in 'Headphone Measurements' started by purr1n, Apr 26, 2016.

  1. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Massdrop x HiFiMan HE350 Measurements

    Massdrop x HiFiMan HE350 Frequency Response 0db = 100db SPL
    HE350FR.png
    Yeah, I swore I changed the sides for measurement. I double checked to make sure I did. Channel matching is fantastic.

    more on the way...
     
  2. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Massdrop x HiFiMan HE350 Harmonic Distortion D2, D3, D4 in Percentage
    HE350L HD.jpg

    HE350R HD.jpg
    The bass has a nice warm sound. Atypical in that third order harmonic is higher than second order (think Dharma headphone). It sounds much better than it looks and quite frankly I am a little bit surprised.
     
  3. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Massdrop x HiFiMan HE350 CSDs
    HE350L.jpg
    HE350R.jpg

    Subjectively, these headphones passed the Nirvana test for me. This is when I put on various Nirvana tracks (Lithium, Come as You Are) and crank up the volume. An early iteration of the K550 I could not stand and tore it off my head immediately. There are a couple of peaks here, but the HE350 passed this test. Fairly easy to explain, at least from my POV:
    1. There's a peak at 5.5kHz. This tends to add some edge, but going back to the Changstar days, peaks between 4-5.5kHz never seemed to bother me much. It's possible I have hearing damage in this area (I've read that hearing damage sometimes results in a null response around 5kHz).
    2. There is actually a lower treble depression. The area associated with sibilance (and pain to me) is inline with the midrange.
    3. There is a slight ridge at 9kHz. This peak might just be past the silbilance area and is more often associated with definition, tape hiss, tizz, etc.
    4. None of the ringing is particularly long lived. Most of the ridges don't go past 1ms, in fact, they stop well before.
     
  4. TMRaven

    TMRaven Friend

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    Looks like the frequency response of an HD800, minus that bass distortion. I'm assuming there's very little similar though.
     
  5. null

    null New

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    Looks pretty good considering the price. Wish we had more measurements for cans in this price range *wink wink*
     
  6. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Definitely warmer sounding (aided by distortion). The HD800's peak is 1kHz higher which results in more hardness or glare. The HE350 has light hint of that glare and light hint of sibilance. If the either of the peaks had landed at 6.5kHz or 8kHz, it could have been trouble. Tracks which are sensitive to treble irregularities like Talking Heads Naive Melody (remaster) do OK at normal listening levels, but not so well at loud volumes.

    TP mods could do wonders.
     
    Last edited: Apr 26, 2016
  7. null

    null New

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    Oof that distortion tho
     
  8. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    It's doesn't sound as bad as it looks. The HD650 has pretty crappy bass distortion too, although the nature of it is mostly second order and the distortion doesn't keep on as far up into the lower mids.
     
    Last edited: Apr 26, 2016
  9. mrweirdude

    mrweirdude Asshole lowballer - acquaintance

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    That EL-8 esque suicide drop @7-8khz, is it real or a measurement artifact?
     
  10. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Look ma! I fixed it.

    HE350TP.png
    HE350R TP.jpg

    Stop those ridges in their tracks! This is getting to be a really nice headphone for $99 and 2-ply toilet paper.
     
  11. TMRaven

    TMRaven Friend

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    Looks to be a measurement artifact. Notice how the response there quickly goes back to normal in the CSDs.
     
  12. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    The dip in the FR plot is a measurement artifact. Use the CSDs to verify.

    EDIT: What that dude ^ said.
     
  13. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    Screenshot_2016-04-26-20-24-00.jpg
    Edit: this was from a text conversation I was having with Marv. I'll have to hear them myself, but TP modded I suspect these will be the sleeper hit of the year.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 26, 2016
  14. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Here is the Sennheiser HD558 distortion measurement for reference:
    HD558 HD.jpg
     
  15. mrweirdude

    mrweirdude Asshole lowballer - acquaintance

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    @purrin Any chance you can lower the noise floor on the CSDs a bit and remeasure?
     
  16. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    This is with the TP mod. Floors at -48db and -60db.

    HE350R TP48.jpg
    HE350R TP60.jpg
     
  17. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    WTF, why would you people ask for CSDs at -60dB noise floor. Do you listen in a room that's a quiet as a mastering studio?
     
  18. Bill-P

    Bill-P Level 42 Mad Wizard

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    How does distortion look like after TP mod, Marv?
     
  19. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    Perhaps late night quiet house listening? Most of my headphone time tends to be after midnight.
     
  20. Bagged Milk

    Bagged Milk Friend

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    I live on a lake in a quiet neighborhood. The walls in my room are stuffed full of fiberglass insulation. So yes. It's very close to being that quiet I think.
     

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