Headphone CSD waterfall plots - Page 12

Sorry folks for the interruption...

@arnaud: I only have Tyll's HF2 data on hand to compare with mine. Wondering the if LCD2 results exhibit similar behavior with Tyll's hardware/software applying some kind of progressive function over time. And no - Anaxilus didn't bring his portable 7kHz / 9kHz tone generator to purposely muck up my LCD2r1 results.

Tyll's data is in blue. The waveform is progressively appearing to be more and more of a sine wave over time. It also doesn't seem to be exponentially decaying (as least not as much.)

By request. HD800 with stock cable vs. TWag. The CSDs look the same too so I won't post those. Don't want to debate here on cables. I've never felt cable differences were measurable. The funky stuff in the bass area is from environmental noise.

LCD2 CSD zoom in comparisons. Overhead plots. From 1kHz up, to 3ms, down -36db:

LCD2

HD800 (Anax mods)

ESP950

      Quote:

Originally Posted by micmacmo 

With the LCD2, there's a ridge between 7 and 10KHz that I can only assume is piercing to hear. I've only briefly auditioned these cans and, like most, I was really impressed with them. Is that resonance really there or is it a testing artefact? (No offense directed at you purrin or the testing method...just neophyte curiosity.) 

That's a good question and one that I was concerned about too. Don't worry, I don't bite unless people invoke Nwavguy's name or don't bother reading and digesting the information in the actual posts.

I would say it's very unlikely the ringing is a testing or processing artifact (I hope I've fixed all the bugs in the program.) If it were a testing artifact, then it would have showed up in the other plots I tested along with the LCD2 (I'll always grab something with known measurements as a control for every new measurement session where I decide to post results.) Also, it's very hard to manufacture (either intentionally or by accident) ringing artifacts in the treble!

Some people are more sensitive to ringing than others. For this pair, I definitely heard it. Anax, who is very sensitive lower treble ringing, also heard it (LOL, he was pm'ing me in the middle of the night saying something to the effect of !@#@# #*$ regarding this.) I would say that it's only occasionally piercing (not like Grados which are almost always piercing - I do use a modded SR80i on occasion.)

The measured ringing is not that bad - it starts at a moderate magnitude and drops down / maintains a low volume afterward (and it's also shelved down in respect to the flat bass and midrange.) What complicates things may be production variance. I've actually owned an LCD2 where this ringing was much harder to hear. If you take a look at post 152, you can even spot substantial variation in the treble between the left and right drivers with this sample.

Someone will probably bring another r1 to the meet. So it would be interesting for me to get my hands on another one.

SR009 came it. I'm listening to them right now. They sound like they have really nice balance. My first impression is that the frequency response is similar to that of the Koss ESP950 (which I really like).

Who's ready for them...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Head Injury 

Have you heard any LCD-2s with ringing worse than this one?

There was one pair that was pretty bad that I heard at the last big meet up north. This one is on par. It's not tizzyness - that's happens in r2. I hear it most as bad sibilance on vocals (male and female). Anax may be able to add more, but I think he's overloaded right now with classes at the U.

--

009 measurements coming soon. FR looks good. Also channels are extremely well matched (0.5db variance max until well over 10kHz where it's 1db). I have no idea how the CSDs will look. It sounds relaxed and super clean, like good speakers.

STAX SR009

As expected, we the see minor hash on the floor which is a trademark of the STAX 'phones.

I've modified the windowing function and lowered the floor starting from the LCD2r1 plots a few days ago, therefore I will throw in appropriate comparisons on occasion using the newer visualization parameters.

ESP950

HD800

Overhead plots next... <OUT-OF-OFFICE>

SR009 Overhead CSD Plots. Zoomed in comparisons from 1kHz up, to 3ms, down -36db:

HD800 (Anax mods)

ESP950