[kiteki]

 
Quote:

I don't think you can really compare PC processors with headphone drivers, because the goal of CPU manufacturers is to make them as fast as possible and there is no clear end goal that will be achieved in the end. The faster the better.[...]

Ever heard of multi-tasking?
 
 
Quote:

With headphones however, there is a clear goal - to make the headphones reproduce the sound of real musical instruments as accurately as possible and we know what that accuracy would sound like because we know what the instruments sound like in real life. [...]

No, that's flat FR studio monitor speakers.
 
 
Quote:

You know what I mean?

 
Not really.

 
Quote:

Not sure how much sense this makes.

 
Nop.

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

I see what you mean but I wasn't comparing increase in speed to increase in sound. I was comparing the solutions of manufacturers in that having multiple core CPUs was a simpler route and having multiple BAs might also have been a simpler route in creating something better.

 
Hmm... perhaps you are right. Will need to think more about it.

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

Ever heard of multi-tasking?
 
And what are the end goals for multi tasking?

No, that's flat FR studio monitor speakers.
 
Ok, so if the goal of IEMs is not to reproduce real instruments as naturally as possible, then what is their objective goal?

 

[nikp]

Each speaker has its own frequency response curve (woofer is bass, squawker is mid, tweeter's treble). Combining the different drivers into one system improves the linearity over the entire human hearing range (20Hz to 20kHz). Therefore, allowing it for a greater fidelity for an audio signal. 

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

Each speaker has its own frequency response curve (woofer is bass, squawker is mid, tweeter's treble). Combining the different drivers into one system improves the linearity over the entire human hearing range (20Hz to 20kHz). Therefore, allowing it for a greater fidelity for an audio signal. 

 
I don't see how adding drivers can improve linearity. By linearity you mean frequency balance right? Well, I heard plenty of multi drivers that don't sound as balanced in frequency response as some some single driver IEMs. Also, you said yourself that each driver hes its own frequency response? So how does that help make the sound more linear when you combine them? I don't get it.

 

[nikp]

Quote:

 
I don't see how adding drivers can improve linearity. By linearity you mean frequency balance right? Well, I heard plenty of multi drivers that don't sound as balanced in frequency response as some some single driver IEMs. Also, you said yourself that each driver hes its own frequency response? So how does that help make the sound more linear when you combine them? I don't get it.

Multi drivers that are badly matched will sound unbalanced. By linearity I mean by the frequency response graph (a flat one). And yes, each driver has its own frequency response according to their "specialty." So when you combine them, you will hear every frequency at its best.

 

[kiteki]

Quote:

And what are the end goals for multi tasking?

 
To task... in M U L T I
 
Nikp made a perfect example of this with violins.
 
 
Quote:

Ok, so if the goal of IEMs is not to reproduce real instruments as naturally as possible, then what is their objective goal?
 

Since when is there one? Do you walk into an art school, and ask all the students, what is your objective goal in painting?
 
Do you ask an architect, what are all your objective goals, in construction?
 
 
Quote:

I don't get it.

 
 

 

[Sylafari]

Quote:

 
I don't see how adding drivers can improve linearity. By linearity you mean frequency balance right? Well, I heard plenty of multi drivers that don't sound as balanced in frequency response as some some single driver IEMs. Also, you said yourself that each driver hes its own frequency response? So how does that help make the sound more linear when you combine them? I don't get it.

Supposedly what one does is have for instance insert name of some three BA IEM, take one for low frequency use crossover to limit that BA to lower frequencies, repeat for mids and highs and try to optimize each segment to be as flat as its frequency response can be.
 
 

 

[wilzc]

Quote:

Maybe one day like headphones, we can just have one BA do everything and more :-D

There are Moving Armature types..  and of course the exotic dynamic driver diaphragm types that can do everything, and maybe more
I'm also hoping for some smartass to put orthodynamic drivers into IEMs.
 


Quote:

 
wilzc made a valid point that lo-fi can be more acute and perceptive than hi-fi and he made an interesting analogy to single drivers versus multi-drivers that single drivers (like the Ety ER-4) are akin to more acute lower rez material and thus easier for our mind to percept the detail.

 
Awww what..  ER4p is lo-fi. Damnit. Whats my thinksound ts02 then? crap-fi?
LOL

 
Quote:

I don't see how adding drivers can improve linearity. By linearity you mean frequency balance right? Well, I heard plenty of multi drivers that don't sound as balanced in frequency response as some some single driver IEMs. Also, you said yourself that each driver hes its own frequency response? So how does that help make the sound more linear when you combine them? I don't get it.

To each his own!! Some IEMs are tuned for monitoring, and others for music enjoyment. You seem to be into absolute audio accuracy. I'm more of an end-user, I listen and enjoy and be moved. Just like who gives a damn how my pc works as long as it will render some nice b00bage when I get my hands on The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. This was the same argument I had when I keep questioning recommendations for the use of active studio monitors for desktop PCs. I personally think that passive or active bookshelf speakers are the way to go for end-user listening. I've had nearfield monitors before. They're rather boring and I'm forced to listen to every detail, good or bad.
 

 

[wilzc]

 
Quote:

 
I don't see how adding drivers can improve linearity. By linearity you mean frequency balance right? Well, I heard plenty of multi drivers that don't sound as balanced in frequency response as some some single driver IEMs. Also, you said yourself that each driver hes its own frequency response? So how does that help make the sound more linear when you combine them? I don't get it.

There is a technical limitation in the dynamic frequency range that a single BA driver can handle. They're not jack of all trades. Forcing a single BA to cover the entire regular frequency range would stretch the driver's capabilities at the two extremes of highs and more evidently in the lows. The bass spectrum is not a particularly strong trait of a single BA to begin with. You can argue however that there are many really good sounding single BA's out there, but most of them apply artificial means to help improve the bass response ala Sleek Audio's ports..  or Klipsch Image x10/Etymotic's deep inserts. The ER4p is required to be inserted so deep into the canal with high sealing tips to close the distance between our eardrums and their drivers to absolutely prevent any form of soundwave loss, especially in the bass regions, for it to adequately produce bass. Any further away, or when proper seal is not made, ER4p sounds worse than an iBud....   Its not some magic super tuned flat super single BA driver, its a 20 year old driver technology, but inserted so deep into your canals that you hear exactly what is produced by it, regardless of how weak the signal strength is. Of course, ety tuned them flawlessly to their high standards, being a company with roots in audiology.
 
And even so, Ety's dont pump enough bass for me to sound 'natural' IMHO
 

 

[kiteki]

 
semi-relevant artcile, an important read nonetheless:
 
http://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/chasing_rainbows/index.html
 
 
 
 

 

[kiteki]

 
I TAKE BACK EVERYTHING I SAID ABOUT FINAL AUDIO AND SONY!!
 
 
Somewhere in this thread I said they follow the "one driver" principle, and ironically while they're two of my favorite brands, I certainly don't follow that principle...
 
 
NEWSFLASH SONY JUST RELEASED ELEVEN (11) DIFFERENT BALANCED ARMATURE IEM'S

 

[wilzc]

LOL did u magically get to hear a top end FAD?

 

[kiteki]

Not yet.

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

Since when is there one? Do you walk into an art school, and ask all the students, what is your objective goal in painting?
 
Do you ask an architect, what are all your objective goals, in construction?

 
So what do you think is the point in adding more drivers to IEMs then? Is it to make the sound more fun?