[trunolimit]

I see certain in ear headphones have 2 drivers per ear or three drivers per ear. I guess the idea behind it is one driver does the bass the other does the mids and another does the highs. In theory i think this would make for a better sounding headphones but does it deliver in real life? Or are the single driver headphones just as good? Or am I a total dusche and that is not what they mean by dual drivers or triple drivers?

 

[derek8555]

You are absolutely right on the idea, and yes they do deliver in real life (plenty of examples).

The idea is like this, imagine producing the frequency range needed for a music is like the process of making a humberger, we get:
bass = make the burger
midrange = pack the burger
treble = deliver the burger
Now it would be much difficult to find a single guy that can do all those jobs perfectly, than to find three guys that can each handle one of the tasks perfectly (they can suck in other tasks but you don't give a damn anyways). So if you form a team of three such guys you can make a perfect burger, theoretically (given you can also coordinate them perfectly -- that's what the crossover circuit do in those multi-driver IEMs -- it separates the frequency).

So similar if you can make an earphone with such three drivers that each can handle one range of frequency perfectly, then you get a pair of perfect earphones, theoretically!

 

[dragoonf144]

i agree with derek. If multidrivers could be made to work at their true potential through crossovers, it would kill the single driver competition.

However, imo, this hasn't been achieved (atleast through the ones i've tried). Single drivers like the ER4's from etymotic can easily match the competition like the SE530 and triplefi in terms of SQ. Sound sig is a different story though.

(P.S. I'm only speaking about universals, not customs as i've never tried one)

 

[Opentoe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dragoonf144 /img/forum/go_quote.gif i agree with derek. If multidrivers could be made to work at their true potential through crossovers, it would kill the single driver competition. However, imo, this hasn't been achieved (atleast through the ones i've tried). Single drivers like the ER4's from etymotic can easily match the competition like the SE530 and triplefi in terms of SQ. Sound sig is a different story though. (P.S. I'm only speaking about universals, not customs as i've never tried one)

I've never heard any single driver model sounding better than a 3 driver model. I've had many high quality single and double models and was not until I listened to a couple of three's that I started to appreciate the sound. I'm talking about 10-12 different models.

 

[FYJX]

Dual, triple, or Quadruple driver earphones/IEM's aren't just "better" because they have more drivers, but rather have a potential of being better. If a manufacturer doesn't tune or split the crossover to the range that each driver specializes in then it could end up being worst than a perfectly tuned single driver.

 

[derek8555]

Yep so It's a combination of perfect driver selection + perfect crossover circuit to make a perfect-sounding IEM.

 

[FYJX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by derek8555 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yep so It's a combination of perfect driver selection + perfect crossover circuit to make a perfect-sounding IEM.

Definitely, a perfect driver that has perfect tuning out classes a sub-effort dual driver anyday

 

[chicagojammer]

the IE8 is single and seems to be one of the top ones out there

 

[Matthew.C]

ER4p,s,b.. all three of them are single drivered.. with an amp, they can instantly kill some double or even triple drivers earphones.

 

[mvw2]

The IE8 is a dynamic driver, a little different from a balanced armature.

The number of drivers have the ability to improve the frequency response of the product. A single BA tends to lack at the very least on one end or the other.

However, it isn't as simple as that. It still requires a good driver to make good sound. Two crappy drivers still equals a crappy sound. Poor implementation still equals a flawed sound.

The right drivers and the right implementation makes the right sound.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Not necessarily.

A lot depends on the crossover and every crossover is a compromise, at best. You also have to worry about the phasing of the drivers and a host of other issues.

Try a good pair of singledriver speakers some time. You'll be surprised at the coherency and the way the music doesn't phase depending on speaker placement.

Even better, they're usually efficient and you can run them off a low power single-ended amp. There's nothing better.

 

[mvw2]

Understandable, but even that is its own compromise.

 

[royhendo]

How do people explain Andy Sciach, founder of ACS, saying he prefers their 2-driver T2 to their triple driver T1?

Surely it's all about the 'plug tunin', no?

You have to think that, as the number of drivers increases (to 6 in the JH13 Pro already), their size decreases, and their quality/availability/ubiquity increases, that it'll be the quality of the cross over and fine tuning that separates the wheat from the chaff.

It's interesting to watch the market develop. It fits the general consumer tech hardware pattern nicely - in 10 years' time it'll be possible to pick up something of the JH13's quality for £100, and there will be a healthy secondary market for 2nd hand customs through reshelling services becoming more widely available, and a healthy 'armature recycling' phenomenon as hobbyists get serious and tuning skills flood into the market.

Interesting times ahead for music lovers. Everyone will have easy access to customs in a few years.

 

[royhendo]

How do people explain Andy Sciach, founder of ACS, saying he prefers their 2-driver T2 to their triple driver T1?

Surely it's all about the 'plug tunin', no?

You have to think that, as the number of drivers increases (to 6 in the JH13 Pro already), their size decreases, and their quality/availability/ubiquity increases, that it'll be the quality of the cross over and fine tuning that separates the wheat from the chaff.

It's interesting to watch the market develop. It fits the general consumer tech hardware pattern nicely - in 10 years' time it'll be possible to pick up something of the JH13's quality for £100, and there will be a healthy secondary market for 2nd hand customs through reshelling services becoming more widely available, and a healthy 'armature recycling' phenomenon as hobbyists get serious and tuning skills flood into the market.

Interesting times ahead for music lovers. Everyone will have easy access to customs in a few years.

 

[FYJX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matthew.C /img/forum/go_quote.gif ER4p,s,b.. all three of them are single drivered.. with an amp, they can instantly kill some double or even triple drivers earphones.

i'm still hesitant on that. The ER4 has lots of potential in analytical listening and the details of the frequency, but i think the Er4 whether it be amped or unamped lacks depth in the frequency, making them sound anemic a lot of the time.

Don't take me wrong, the ER4 is one of the top-tier single drivers out there a long with the Klipsch Image X10 and the lot