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Pioneer SE-Master 1 Measurements.

Discussion in 'Headphone Measurements' started by sorrodje, Jan 30, 2016.

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  1. sorrodje

    sorrodje Carla Bruni's other lover - Friend

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    FR ( HD600 as reference) :

    Pioneer Master 1 FR.jpg

    Distorsion :
    Pioneer Master 1 distorsion 2.jpg


    CSD plots:
    Pioneer Master 1 CSD 2.jpg

    Spectrogram:
    Pioneer Master 1 Spectrogram.jpg

    SUM UP : bass , spikes , ringings

    Specifications

    Type Open-air dynamic(Closed-front, open-back)
    Driver φ50 mm (neodymium magnet)
    Sensitivity 94 dB
    Frequency response 5 Hz to 85 000 Hz
    Maximum input power 1 500 mW
    Impedance 45 Ω
    Cable 3.0 m OFC litz wire
    Plug φ6.3 mm standard stereo plug (gold plated)
    Weight 460 g (without cable, tension rod)
    Accessories Tesion rod A: φ1.6 mm (product sold with rod A in place)
    Tension rod B: φ2.0 mm

    Package, Comfort and succint subjective impressions :

    - Nice package but for the price a balanced cable should have been included. Good quality overall.
    - Very Nice build . Coherent perceived quality in regard to the price.
    - Comfortable but somewhat not as light as the look could suggest. Tension rods are a good idea.

    I didn't listen to it that much so succint impressions should be taken with a huge grain of salt. That king of sound signature is not my cup of tea.

    - Bassy ( Basshead level) but bass sounds somewhat clean. For me it's awful and measurements are not good but I feel it's not that horrendous when one loves that kind of bass.
    - Harsh and sibilant.
    - Mids sound a bit weird and congested. that impression disappears a bit after a few minutes but any comparison with a good headphone is revealing of how those mids are fucked.
    - Didn"t dare to listen it enough to have an opinion about staging, imaging and resolution. My ears was in rescue mode.

    Conclusion :

    A 2500$ headphone I can't stand more than 10 minutes.

    YMMV though. Considering how I don't like that kind of signature, I'm probably highly biased. Measurements are horribad for such a pricey headphone though..... Moreover , some people claim cherry picked amp are mandatory to bring the best of that headphone.

    If you're a rich basshead , try it but I definitely think you should save more money and grab a pair of Abyss then ;) . The friend that loaned me that Pioneer bought the Abyss.


    Seems Tyll measured it recently and didn't like it much :

    Pioneer SE Master 1 - Oh my...I doesn't look good for the latest Pioneer flagship. The SE Master 1 has a pretty significant spike at 6kHz, but more worrying to me is the amount of ringing I see and hear. I'd characterize these as "zingy". I didn't hear the distortion in the bass, mostly because I wanted to stop listening. Zing!
    Read more at http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/innerfidelity-update-january-2016#YoCeim3BztXrxmIm.99
     
    Last edited: Jan 30, 2016
    sorrodje, Jan 30, 2016
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  2. Lurker

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    Lurker, Jan 30, 2016
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  3. obsidyen

    obsidyen Rando

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    Good job... I just don't understand how they sell such a technically bad headphone at a high price. It's like they're doing it because some people will believe more expensive=better sound and technicality. Such bad engineering.
     
    obsidyen, Jan 30, 2016
    #3
  4. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Yikes.
     
    purr1n, Jan 30, 2016
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  5. Hiyono

    Hiyono Rando

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    Hiyono, Dec 5, 2016
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  6. chj

    chj Rando

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    I agree with sorrodje. Unless (also I was) subject to a product variance, these phones are unfortunately not up to standard. The ugly peak at approx. 6kHz is unbearable. it was a giant relief to put on Focal Elear with a much more neutral frequency response, and those went home with me. I had planned for the Master1 and so: DISSAPOINTING.
     
    chj, Feb 7, 2017
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  7. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    I tried these at the AZ meet and took measurements. I also came to the same conclusion. I knew they would be bassy from previous impressions but once I played one song through them I just started chuckling because for that kind of money you could get a million better sounding headphones. Beats by Pioneer I guess.
     
    cskippy, Feb 7, 2017
    #7
  8. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

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    I shortly auditioned this headphone in Essen and on a moderate to low volume it actually sounds good. Not 2000 Euros good though.

    Things is, it is bling bling the connoisseurs of vintage design love so yeah the Pioneer attracts a certain crowd. (I have weak spot for vintage headphones which I suppress for my wallet.)

    Pioneer is rumoured to work on a Monitor 5 model in a lower price class but they have problem. Three to be exact: HD600, HD650 and the HD800 (S or Modified take your pick). When smart people like @Serious can make a now around 1000 Euros headphone sound better than most headphones in the venue, manufacturers cannot just slap a big price tag on every product. Even worse a modified HD650 is so affordable now...
     
    Deep Funk, Feb 7, 2017
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