captione
100+ Head-Fier
19-21 Drivers: Impressions/Comparisons and Findings
Well, if you guys know, this comparison is long overdue LOL.
A bit of background:
So for the past months, I've been tracking and collecting the big solder "19-21s", from any possible local seller listings. So far I have only collected 4 variants (the other ones won't matter sound profile-wise, as you'll find out), which is 2 normal ones (32ohms red and green dot) and the titanium plated ones (64ohms black dot and 32ohms pink dot). I've been trying to collect my thoughts and impressions about them but I got a bit sidetracked and don't know what I'm supposed to do next. Until @vygas posted his findings about the OP139's big solder drivers and his finds on Taobao, so I digged a bit deeper about the particular drivers because IDK, it's a really interesting rabbit hole!
Some finds I gathered:
Now for the impressions! Now with graphs from the driver manufacturer!! (disclaimer: tuned with normal cresent horseshoe foams on shells and I assure you, it actually reflects the graphs!)
1. Normal Red dot 32 ohms
Overall sound profile is very warm and balanced. Good bass extension, smooth until the highs. Good for chill sessions IMO.
2. Green dot 32 ohms
Basically a leaner, less bassy version of the Red dot. If you look at the graphs, they basically share the same graph execpt the green dots have lesser bass extension, although still present and more tighter to me IMO. Might be sibilant because of its leaner presentation.
3. Pink dot 32 ohms Ti-Plated Diaphragm
The most v-shaped of all variants, just look at the graphs. Good bass and warmth amount and a more sparkly treble. Very energetic and dynamic among all of the big solders I own here, too bad I broke mine... If you're gonna buy these don't buy the metal mesh version to save you from reshelling it to fit into MX500 shells. I assure you, it will save you money and time if you find their normal MX500 faceplate versions.
4. Black dot 64ohms Ti-Plated Diaphragm
No graphs shown but just imagine the heightened 20-500hz of the Pink dot but with a more linear or lesser highs from the 5khz-10khz that is present in the other 32ohm big solders. Dark and smooth, almost intimate but the most non-fatiguing of them all! Very good sub bass and mids compared to those other mention IMO.
Man, this was a wild ride to a rabbit hole. I hope this info helps others!
Personally for me, I think those 4 that I mentioned are the ones that definitely worth collecting and provides a different signature for each. Maybe add the OP139 too for the ultimate big solder collection
Thank you for reading!
edit: fixed the bugged number list and some formatting... kinda made this @ 4am without sleep, forgive me
Well, if you guys know, this comparison is long overdue LOL.
A bit of background:
So for the past months, I've been tracking and collecting the big solder "19-21s", from any possible local seller listings. So far I have only collected 4 variants (the other ones won't matter sound profile-wise, as you'll find out), which is 2 normal ones (32ohms red and green dot) and the titanium plated ones (64ohms black dot and 32ohms pink dot). I've been trying to collect my thoughts and impressions about them but I got a bit sidetracked and don't know what I'm supposed to do next. Until @vygas posted his findings about the OP139's big solder drivers and his finds on Taobao, so I digged a bit deeper about the particular drivers because IDK, it's a really interesting rabbit hole!
Some finds I gathered:
- I found an Alibaba manufacturer that makes and sells a buncha 15.4mm drivers in bulk, including the big solders. This is where all the findings and info for those big solder drivers came from. They're called "Shenzhen Haoyun Electro-Acoustic Co., Ltd.
Trading Company". They even OEM those MX760 Fosters that were featured in ShoonTH earbuds, including a titanium plated version!
- So these newer 19-21 drivers were labelled as fake, according to the taobao seller of the OP139s that vygas linked. It seems that manufacturers like Haoyun, (not sure if there are other ones) were copying the likeness of the old 15.4mm Foster big solder drivers found in early Senn MX500s and Kenwood/Sharp earbuds with a different shell where actually, the unusual OP139 shells were derived from, according to this taobao listing of the drivers of those (which also counts as a "science thread" according to the google translation).
- As far as reading the translated writings, I feel like the person is right but at the same time, feels like a nostalgic angst and banter over a rare, out-of-production Foster drivers from the 2000's against its fakes lol. You could read about the history of the Foster drivers there, but please take it with a grain of salt because yeah, it's just translated. Maybe my impressions on its writing and validity aren't as accurate as I think.
- I also found out that the big solders were actually one of the first variants of them Foster drivers according to the taobao seller, being the first variant of the Sennheiser MX500 released in 2002, and production of this variant ending in 2004, changing the PCB as the typical Foster drivers we know today (PCB extended from coil vent, 2 solder dot with small solder points) till the end of Senn MX500 production. The seller also stated that those small dot drivers were inferior to the big solder, sound, build and production-wise. I personally think they're just both horrible in their newest forms when modding (especially when removing its faceplate and the durability of the epoxy used LOL). They also stated that the OP139s are the most accurate representation of those OG big solders.
- Now with that aside, if you look at Haoyun's listing of the big solder drivers they made, it seems that they make the green, pink and those red dots in beryllium and graphene cones with different faceplate options. What's weird is I don't see any black dot 64ohms Ti in their list, so that will probably remain a mystery for now....
- The red dot plated cones variants actually graphs just the same as the normal red dot in that listing. The graphs on the Be and Graphene are a bit skewed and weird but still translate to the graphs I saw on the normal red dot. Maybe the nuances are different, but you could still guess the overall sound profile with the graphs provided. Only the sensitivity of those cone plated are different @103db vs normal 98db.
Now for the impressions! Now with graphs from the driver manufacturer!! (disclaimer: tuned with normal cresent horseshoe foams on shells and I assure you, it actually reflects the graphs!)
1. Normal Red dot 32 ohms
Overall sound profile is very warm and balanced. Good bass extension, smooth until the highs. Good for chill sessions IMO.
2. Green dot 32 ohms
Basically a leaner, less bassy version of the Red dot. If you look at the graphs, they basically share the same graph execpt the green dots have lesser bass extension, although still present and more tighter to me IMO. Might be sibilant because of its leaner presentation.
3. Pink dot 32 ohms Ti-Plated Diaphragm
The most v-shaped of all variants, just look at the graphs. Good bass and warmth amount and a more sparkly treble. Very energetic and dynamic among all of the big solders I own here, too bad I broke mine... If you're gonna buy these don't buy the metal mesh version to save you from reshelling it to fit into MX500 shells. I assure you, it will save you money and time if you find their normal MX500 faceplate versions.
No graphs shown but just imagine the heightened 20-500hz of the Pink dot but with a more linear or lesser highs from the 5khz-10khz that is present in the other 32ohm big solders. Dark and smooth, almost intimate but the most non-fatiguing of them all! Very good sub bass and mids compared to those other mention IMO.
Man, this was a wild ride to a rabbit hole. I hope this info helps others!
Personally for me, I think those 4 that I mentioned are the ones that definitely worth collecting and provides a different signature for each. Maybe add the OP139 too for the ultimate big solder collection
Thank you for reading!
edit: fixed the bugged number list and some formatting... kinda made this @ 4am without sleep, forgive me
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