7 drum hits -> What do you hear?
Jun 18, 2011 at 12:13 AM Post #46 of 109


Quote:
The fear of placebo having an effect on my hearing when it comes to higher end products is one of the main reasons why I'm trying to stay clear of spending more on the hobby.  :frowning2:  
Going from intel hd audio to the music streamer already wasn't that great of an increase in audio quality, but I felt the purchase was more than justified because it took away all the buzzing the internal amp creates when the computer is active.  We'll see how tube rolling turns out.
 
I took the test with the crappy 2.0 speakers that come stock with the 27 inch iMac, and there was a distinct difference in the way it sounded, and it was considerably more akin to the first pic than the second, although the space on left wasn't quite as great as right.  Driver mismatch?  Either way I can see how the test is geared for speakers setups now.  I wonder why the headphones sound so different.

 
 
I think I may have a theory explaining whats going on. The first time I took the test I used my Grado SR60is which are known for having decent detail and forward mids. I just came back and took the test again using a completely different animal (Sony XB 700) for headphones. The XB 700's have recessed mids and rolled off highs with a far wider sound stage then the Grado's and is a far warmer can with real deep slamming bass. Spatially the thumps were just slightly wider spaced apart due to the wider sound stage of the XB 700 but I was still able to pinpoint the drum positioning by far better with the Grado then with the Sony. The interesting thing about the Sony is the three most center thumps sounded slightly more closer together in perportion to it's sound stage then on the Grado but the Sony gave me far more separated thumps on the outer edges I'm guessing that's again due to its sound stage. Even though there was a slightly noticeable difference with the XB700's and I was able to come come closer to the second picture my final judgement still points to me hearing the first picture. My guess is headphones which are known to be neutral,detailed small sound stage and have more forward mids will give you a sound more akin to the first picture while warmer, cans with recessed mids and wide sound stage will start to lean more to the second picture.  Where am I going with this huge schpeal? The short of it is what your hear in the sound clip comes down to the drivers in your headphones and how they've been tuned to handle the frequencies. I'm curious what a AKG 702 would sound like using this test. Considering it's known for being treble happy and has a huge sound stage coupled with high detail the results might be interesting.
 
Of coarse this is just a theory. I could just be blowing smoke out of my butt not knowing what I'm talking about.
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Jun 18, 2011 at 12:13 AM Post #47 of 109
As a last resort, I took my astro mixamp and hooked it up to the music streamer.  First I tried my AD700s with dolby processing on.  Sure enough, the drum spacing looked more like image 1, and all were equally spaced apart.  I felt the extreme sounds of the first and last drums were more smoothed out to mesh better with the rest of the drums, while the inner ones were more spaced out.  The extreme depths in the soundstage of the first and last drum hits weren't there, but the soundstage as a whole was very external sounding, and it felt as though the drums reverberated to the front and over my head, all equally spaced apart.  Next I tried the DT990/600.  It won't be properly driven, but sufficient volume could be achieved anyways.  Its soundstage with dolby headphone wasnt as deed as the AD700, but accuracy was about the same, and the drums seemed to be a bit closer to me.  Again all the drums were spaced out.
 
 
Something like this: DT990/600 w/o dolby headphones at top, AD700 w/ dolby headphpones in middle, and DT990 w/ dolby headphones at bottom.
 
Jun 18, 2011 at 12:21 AM Post #49 of 109
Using the 225i + TBH I easily heard the first graph. 
 
Jun 18, 2011 at 12:38 AM Post #50 of 109
AKG K702 plugged directly into iMac - definitely second; the first and the last kicks are much farther apart from the rest. I suggest listening several times as at fists I also though it's closer to the first graph...
 
 
 
Jun 18, 2011 at 1:39 AM Post #51 of 109
AD900s plugged into an Essence STX, it sounds like the second picture, when I turn Dolby on it moves the drums farther away and gives me image 1.
 
Jun 18, 2011 at 6:38 AM Post #53 of 109
Hmmm... interresting. 
 
Mac Book Pro --> Optical --> LiTe DAC --> Concerto --> SR325i I hear the first one clearly. 
 
With
 
Mac Book Pro --> Optical --> LiTe DAC --> Concerto --> HD650 I am closer to the second one. 
 
Turning ON Cross Feed on the Concerto equals the distance between the drums and thus becomes closer to the second one. 
 
Jun 18, 2011 at 4:29 PM Post #54 of 109
Audirvana on MacBookPro -> Optical into NuForce icon HDP DAC -> RCA into Schiit Asgard -> Sennheiser HD598
Closer to 2nd picture, most left and most right have larger distance than the middle ones.
 
Same setup with icon HDP as DAC and amp -> same result
 
Both tests done with Ultrasone Pro750 -> same result
 
Hope it helps,
K
 
Jun 18, 2011 at 5:21 PM Post #57 of 109
Koss Porta Pros
HD595
HD650
 
All hooked to my XPS M1530, my better setup is not available. With all of the above I hear the second image, although with 595 the hits were further apart, and 650 sounded the closest to the first image of the bunch, but still the first and last hits are L/R hard panned. I find it hard to believe that people hear the first image on headphones with those hard panned samples.
 
Using Isone Pro all headphones clearly recreate image 1. Still, I don't prefer using it during listening sessions.
 
Jun 18, 2011 at 5:22 PM Post #58 of 109
When plugged into my setup, all of my headphones sound like the 2nd graph.
 
When plugged straight into the PC's headphone jack, they become the 1st.
 
My guess is that my amplification modifies the sound positioning somewhere (which is reasonable, as I have a known "coloring" amp instead of a "clear" one).
 

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