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Is IEM tech off topic?

post #1 of 5
11/13/12 at 7:08pm
Thread Starter 
Kinda wondering about why some IEMs sound so much better than others. How many manufacturers of drivers are there and does the enclosure make that much of a diff?

I picked up a pair of SHE3590s for $7 US a couple of days ago and they are phenomenal. Did Philips just get it right with the drivers? Is there some additional tech in there besides a moving coil?

I've studied some electrical and computer engineering at the grad level so I know something about signal processing though that wasn't my strong suit. Still, I am curious about what makes these different devices so good or so bad at the low end of the market. (I get the high end a little better).

Resources to find out more? Very interesting topic for me right now as I enter this world.

Thanks!

JJ
Edited by Johnny Jumper - 11/16/12 at 1:53am
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post #2 of 5
11/15/12 at 8:36am
Thread Starter 

Bump

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post #3 of 5
11/15/12 at 9:47am

I think Philips just got it right with the SHE3580/90 (if you mean 3590 rather than 3890).  Of course, the SHE3590 sounds great to some people but not everyone -- some people think it is too bright, or too forward, or something.  But I have heard 4 or 5 cheapy earphones (most from Asia-area) that all sound very similarly clear, balanced and nicely aggresive, so Philips doesn't have a corner on the market.

 

I have been tempted to buy a new pair every month for the next 6-9 months just so I will have some for years to come WHEN Philips decides to quit making them or mess with the good formula they have for them.

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post #4 of 5
11/15/12 at 12:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny Jumper View Post

Kinda wondering about why some IEMs sound so much better than others. How many manufacturers of drivers are there and does the enclosure make that much of a diff?
I picked up a pair of SHE3890s for $7 US a couple of days ago and they are phenomenal. Did Philips just get it right with the drivers? Is there some additional tech in there besides a moving coil?
I've studied some electrical and computer engineering at the grad level so I know something about signal processing though that wasn't my strong suit. Still, I am curious about what makes these different devices so good or so bad at the low end of the market. (I get the high end a little better).
Resources to find out more? Very interesting topic for me right now as I enter this world.
Thanks!
JJ

 

They all differ in sound and I know for a fact I can't say every possible variable that can count in changes in the sonic signature. I know the two big companies in making BA are Knowles and Sonion and for Dynamic I'm not too sure on which companies prevail. Though two IEMs with the exact same drivers CAN sound the same, they can sound very different from one another due to the acoustic filters and dampers that allows the change in sound. I don't know which ones exactly because I seriously couldn't care less about what drivers are in each single IEM, but I know that a few IEMs here and there share the same drivers but sound vastly different from one another due to 1. dampers and filters 2. impedance 3. usage of multiple drivers and crossovers (depending if it's a multi-driver config). 

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post #5 of 5
11/16/12 at 1:58am
Thread Starter 

Thanks..  I did mean the 3590s.  I just started using a pair of SE215s and still getting used to the darker sound.  The 3590s have more detail, I think, but i'm just breaking in the Shures.  The Shures seem more complex and have a shape that must affect acoustics, but the simpler 3590 sounds very good to me.  Widely different in price, though.

 

I'd like to learn more about the tech.  You've given me some good leads...

 

J

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