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Balanced armature vs dynamic

post #1 of 49
1/3/09 at 4:23pm
Thread Starter 
So just what is the difference with all these drivers, not just in tonality but in how they work, i know how your typical speaker works with it's voice coils etc but im at a total loss with armatures.

And just how different do they sound, im thinking armatures sound more relaxed and don't respond as fast as a dynamic driver.
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post #2 of 49
1/3/09 at 4:28pm
BA is WAY quicker than dynamic, usually fails at producing a solid bass impact, and produces great detail.

I like dynamic better because it sounds more natural to me.
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post #3 of 49
1/3/09 at 4:30pm
other way around friend, dynamic drivers dont respond as quick as armatures, this is why most...''most'' expensive IEM's use balanced armatures because they generally give a faster more detailed sound.

i would love a company to release a multiple dynamic driver IEM as it would be brilliant to see how it compares to multi armature phones but for now i think multi armatures are simply a more advanced technology and the use of multiple drivers generally results in lower distortion rates and clearer sound.

if you want to know a bit more about how an armature works then check this out.

Headphones - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

and ofcourse scroll down to driver types.
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post #4 of 49
1/3/09 at 4:35pm
Multiple dynamic drivers would result in one enormous IEM...
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post #5 of 49
1/3/09 at 4:36pm
oh check this out also, you will find out exactly where they come from and how they work and why they are good or bad

Balanced Armature Technology :: Knowles
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post #6 of 49
1/3/09 at 4:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by i_don't_know View Post
Multiple dynamic drivers would result in one enormous IEM...
i know yeh, but if its one behind the other pretty close then i reckon it could be done.
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post #7 of 49
1/3/09 at 4:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by i_don't_know View Post
Multiple dynamic drivers would result in one enormous IEM...
Wrongo, the IE8 uses two dynamic drives, and I wouldn't call it a huge IEM to be honest.
I wonder what those crafty Germans will come up next with
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post #8 of 49
1/3/09 at 4:40pm
Thread Starter 
Don't ue use one dynamic bass driver and one ba for their super fi 5 eb's?

But from what ive heard the bass driver has a job keeping up?
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post #9 of 49
1/3/09 at 4:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bonthouse View Post
Wrongo, the IE8 uses two dynamic drives, and I wouldn't call it a huge IEM to be honest.
I wonder what those crafty Germans will come up next with
I thought it used one in each. Where did you hear two?
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post #10 of 49
1/3/09 at 4:41pm
If balanced armatures are technically better then dynamic drivers how can earphones like SA6 and IE8 can compete with the highest end of the earphones if they use a technically worse driver? I still dont get that. And how much tweaking can you really do with just a single driver?

What defines the SQ? Is it the amount of drivers? The type of drivers?
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post #11 of 49
1/3/09 at 4:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bonthouse View Post
Wrongo, the IE8 uses two dynamic drives, and I wouldn't call it a huge IEM to be honest.
I wonder what those crafty Germans will come up next with
where did you get this information from?? i dont think it does use dual dynamics to be honest. a multiple layer driver maybe but not 2
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post #12 of 49
1/3/09 at 4:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by montell View Post
If balanced armatures are technically better then dynamic drivers how can earphones like SA6 and IE8 can compete with the highest end of the earphones if they use a technically worse driver? I still dont get that. And how much tweaking can you really do with just a single driver?

What defines the SQ? Is it the amount of drivers? The type of drivers?
First of all, SA6 uses a BA driver.


And the answer to your question is masterful engineering.
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post #13 of 49
1/3/09 at 4:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by i_don't_know View Post
First of all, SA6 uses a BA driver.


And the answer to your question is masterful engineering.
precisely, a balanced armature is only technically better because its more able to reduce distortion and so on, but that isnt saying a company couldnt hone a dynamic driver to sound brilliant, it just takes more work to hone a dynamic driver because its naturally not as quick
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post #14 of 49
1/3/09 at 4:50pm
Thread Starter 
Well perhaps it's not just the driver but the shape of the port that alters the frequency response to give it the necessary sound, a bit like what sleek do to their sa6.

There's a similar principle with car tuning, it's called pulse tuning, it's very complex so much so that most folk go by years of trial and error and experience as there's many subtle things that can make all the difference.
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post #15 of 49
1/3/09 at 4:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by i_don't_know View Post
First of all, SA6 uses a BA driver.


And the answer to your question is masterful engineering.
Ok my bad. And I even own the SA6. Talk about being dumb
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