[Aevum]

lately we have seen groups of dynamic driver IEM´s making it to the market challanging armature based IEM´s, the C700, the Atrio M5, were seeing that some manufacturers have decided that armature drivers might not be worth it becuase of the narrow response frequency,

so, for the general public, and just to listen to your music, dynamic all the way, but if you´re an analitical listener, you prefer perfection and accuracy to emotional and fun reponse, you should avoid the dynamics and go to the armature drivers, you just have to make a balanced decision about the sound signature you like,

but you should also remember that were here to listen to the music, not the equipment,

 

[jinx20001]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aevum /img/forum/go_quote.gif lately we have seen groups of dynamic driver IEM´s making it to the market challanging armature based IEM´s, the C700, the Atrio M5, were seeing that some manufacturers have decided that armature drivers might not be worth it becuase of the narrow response frequency, so, for the general public, and just to listen to your music, dynamic all the way, but if you´re an analitical listener, you prefer perfection and accuracy to emotional and fun reponse, you should avoid the dynamics and go to the armature drivers, you just have to make a balanced decision about the sound signature you like, but you should also remember that were here to listen to the music, not the equipment,

thats harsh considering the atrio and c700 are only entry level iems effectively...only mildly more expensive than the likes of er6i's.

also you say fun sound can only really be had with dynamics but ive not had fun like what i get from my super fi 5 pro or se530, the only thing i think dynamics offer over armature is more power in bass, but even then...the bass is never cleaner than armatures (or rarely anyway)

 

[PiccoloNamek]

One, armature drivers do not have a narrow frequency response. It is possible for an armature to have a nearly flat response from 20 to 16kHz. Above 16kHz the response drops sharply, but it is not a disastrous effect.

Second, why would a dynamic driver be inherently more fun or emotional than an armature with equivalent measurements?

 

[jinx20001]

i have heard frequencies above 17khz with the se530, yes! the se530, ok yes they were pretty quiet but if i heard those frequencies loud then i cant imagine that would be too pleasurable for long term listening. thats one reason i actually like the highs of the se530 because it rolls it off in a effective way.

armatures certainly arent narrow and are actually possibly more accurate because they stay in the confines of human hearing perception

 

[sionghchan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek /img/forum/go_quote.gif One, armature drivers do not have a narrow frequency response. It is possible for an armature to have a nearly flat response from 20 to 16kHz. Above 16kHz the response drops sharply, but it is not a disastrous effect. Second, why would a dynamic driver be inherently more fun or emotional than an armature with equivalent measurements?

I do agree with you here. If armature drivers have only a narrow range of frequency response, then it will not be possible to have so many one armature driver IEMs like the SE110, 210, E3c, E4c, SF3studio etc.

In order to make it having only one driver, these drivers must be full range.

 

[Caribou679]

In some posts on Head-Fi it mentions that ipod and meizu mp3 player hiss! And that they hiss because the user has armature iems connected to them! When using dynamic driver , like Atrio, the thing hisses less or not at all!!

Anybody has a why for this?

regards,

 

[kramer5150]

Both have their strengths and weaknesses.

If I'm lugging around a vintage PCDP and amp in my backpack I like balanced armatures better. Their added fine-detail resolution, greatly rewards those who take the time to pursue lossless formats and synnergetic amps.

If I'm using a DAP, 192 bitrate MP3s and no amp I prefer a mylar xb or x3. Lately I'm really enjoying the xb, its bass-boost helps to balance out my bass-shy MP3 players.

There are good and bad sounding examples of both.

 

[kramer5150]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caribou679 /img/forum/go_quote.gif In some posts on Head-Fi it mentions that ipod and meizu mp3 player hiss! And that they hiss because the user has armature iems connected to them! When using dynamic driver , like Atrio, the thing hisses less or not at all!! Anybody has a why for this? regards,

Gain structure of the headphone amp. All amplifer circuits will hiss, or worse yet distort or go into oscillation/instability if they are presented with an impedance load that they are not optimally designed to handle. It makes no difference whether its a dynamic driver or a balanced armature. A 16 ohm load with 99db sensitivity IEM will hiss with an un-optimally designed headphone circuit whether its dynamic or balanced. I have plugged my e2c into many players that made it hiss, just as much as my 16 ohm d-Jays.

IMHO, Thats the biggest sonic advantage of adding an amp, to present the player with an impedance load that it can drive cleanly.

If your player has a headphone amp circuit thats designed with low impedance loads in mind, adding an amp should (in theory) not alter the S/N performance of the circuit.

 

[kramer5150]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoomzDayz /img/forum/go_quote.gif is the statement that dynamics sound better at low volume true?

false. A poor sounding IEM will sound poor at any volume, and a good one will sound good... regardless of driver design.

 

[IPodPJ]

I think the main reason balanced armatures are utilized is to keep pretty good SQ in a small earphone. I am pretty sure if a decent size dynamic driver were used in an IEM type enclosure (16mm or larger), it could beat the SQ of a balanced armature IEM. The problem of course is that the IEM would be huge, and the whole purpose of IEMs are for portability and isolation. The biggest driver I know of is in the SF5pro EB and it is 13mm, and look how big those things are.

Dynamic definitely has advantages over armatures. They provide more punch and presence than armatures. After getting my full-size cans, I could never go back to listening to IEMs. The dynamics just weren't present.

I'm sure there is no experienced audiophile here on Head-Fi that will debate the fact that a good full-size can will beat even the best custom IEM in terms of SQ.

 

[meusickfrek]

Atrios entry level, is this true?

 

[tstarn06]

In one person's view, apparently purely using cost as a yardstick. Some still believe that price completely dictates quality. Others don't believe that. Personal preference, I guess.

 

[ricthaman]

Well,

I can assure you that Atrio's are no entry level IEM's. It's not beacause they're cheap that they are entry level. The sound is on par with most UE and Shure IEM's but only with a different signature to it.

Quality wise, top notch stuff!!

 

[mset]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramer5150 /img/forum/go_quote.gif If I'm lugging around a vintage PCDP and amp in my backpack I like balanced armatures better. Their added fine-detail resolution, greatly rewards those who take the time to pursue lossless formats and synnergetic amps. If I'm using a DAP, 192 bitrate MP3s and no amp I prefer a mylar xb or x3. Lately I'm really enjoying the xb, its bass-boost helps to balance out my bass-shy MP3 players.

My big problem is that unlike any other audio product I have ever purchased, I can't demo these things before buying them. Here in Toronto, I can't find many of these IEMs and the one store that has some of them won't let me stick them in my ears and listen, citing health issues, which I do understand.

The post above is relevant for me, since I am looking for an IEM solution for a particular problem. I recently got rid of my home land line (telephone) and I'm going with cell phone only (Blackberry 8830 World Edition). I use an 8 GB iPod Nano, and I use it a lot (I'm a musician and I am constantly listening to tunes I have to learn).

I have no desire to cart around a separate amp. So the question becomes, do the Blackberry and the Nano have enough of an amp in them that they can drive i.e. a set of UM2's or equivalent? If I am dealing with getting decent audio quality out of my Blackberry (with a Shure MPA-3C as a mic component and the IEMs running inline) and an iPod nano, with my mp3 files in unoptimized format, would that be a reason to go with dynamics?

(As an aside, I am indeed a bassist and I also have some hearing loss from too many years standing beside the damn drummer

. So the bass response does matter to me. And yes, I am aware that hearing loss affects the ability to perceive the higher frequencies first)

In the post above I quoted above, 'mylar xb or x3' is mentioned. I don't know what that means so I'm off to figure it out.

 

[navmau]

Don't know about you guys but the highs of BA drivers are just too harsh for my ears, can't listen longer than 1hr (at low volumes!!) without a break. I can listen to my future sonics IEMs just about the whole day without discomfort.

Also, I do agree with the comment that dynamic drivers sound better at lower volumes, I found the lower freq's of BA's dropped off when the volume was low whereas the FS IEMs retain the lower end perfectly fine.