Ossic X, is it hi-fi

So in case you haven't seen it yet, there is a new kickstarter which claims to automatically apply HRTF to suit your specific ear shape. Whether or not is viable is a bit of a crap shoot at this point (I'll believe it when I hear it). I'm curious though, an HRTF based headphone should provide more positional accuracy, and approximate how we hear live music. Even if the response is not flat, the distortion is off the charts, etc, would it not be a more HiFi experience than anything else out there?

 

IMO, this just reminds me of a Razor or other gaming headset. Sure, it has a bunch of "features", but the actual quality can't beat a large diameter driver plain and simple. Although I am almost tempted to buy in at $215, I would probably be kicking myself.

 

I think I would sooner go to something a little more 'respectable' like the self-calibrating JBL Everest Elite 700. At least you know they have the resources for extensive R&D. The only concern about those however is their target calibration is unknown, though it may well be the original Harman curve.

Just my 2c.

 

Their marketing efforts certainly worked. For anyone trying to take them seriously quality wise, there's zero legit information, typical gamer marketing. But perhaps it's a gateway to better products.

 

Yeah, wow, these guys nailed it on the marketing front out of the gates. They basically got some press (or possibly sponsored articles) on a number of online sites (stuff, gizmag) in a single push. I'm going to give them the benefit of doubt as they weren't asking too much for their initial kickstarter round.

They don't say exactly how they go about measuring HRTF. Will you be able to measure your own HRTF or partial HRTF? this isn't explained. Perhaps they are using models for HRTF.

I'm glad people are interested in positional audio, as it is going to be a major component for VR and AR devices.

A decent dynamic driver, combined with this type of technology should create a unique experience.

Here is the issue, that running stereo music into a DSP type of effect may introduce certain artifacts that take down the overall sound quality at the expense of achieving its effect.

We are making compromises by listening to stereo music on headphones with respect to soundstage but at least the best headphones give you a fairly transparent window into fidelity.

Definitely interested in this, but after spending less then their Kickstarter asking price on a set of HD650s that sound absolutely devine with binaural audio - I'll think I'll pass for now.

 

Isn't AKG doing something like this with their expensive all-in wonder N90Q??

 

The JBL Everest Elite 700 has that same exact technology but is much cheaper. I'm actually not sure why JBL undercut the N90Q so much, I guess nobody was buying it anyway.

 

Has anyone reviewed them?

 

Not that I'm aware of.

 

There are a couple reviews over at Head-Fi. They seem to like the Elite 300 tonally over the Elite 700.

 

I just recently found out about Ossic. It's a very interesting idea, but my concern is that as good as any "measurement" of your HRTF can be, you are still forced to use their headphones. I personally don't think using multiple drivers to get positional audio is the right approach either and can cause more problems with driver interaction. Who knows, maybe it does work.

I think having to use their headphones will be the limiting factor unless the headphones themselves are stellar.

Yes, I am totally biased since we do the same thing, but allow you to use any headphones. I will admit that doing a real HRTF measurement is always going to sound better than a generic HRTF. But a properly done generic HRTF measurement is still better than an HRTF based simply on head size. I don't know exactly how Ossic is doing their HRTF measurement, but generally you need to have in ear microphones to do it accurately. I don't believe they are using in-ear microphones.

Should be interesting to check out though. They will be exhibiting at CanJam SoCal, as will we. Hopefully I'll have time to get a demo from them.