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Personally LPGD may be too bright or corse for me, LPGT is much better thoughLPGD must have been a nice pairing as well
Personally LPGD may be too bright or corse for me, LPGT is much better thoughLPGD must have been a nice pairing as well
As we understand, GRAS desired a system that would be somewhat backwards-compatible with their preexisting line of products. So the rings, sleeves, adapters (e.g. DB2012), etc. are all similar to what they've already had. However, they had many clients who desired a low-noise distortion measurement system that didn't produce spurious distortion spikes as a byproduct of the high-Q resonance of the coupler system. This is most important for ANC and TWS applications.
The more time and labor-intensive approach would be to re-model the acoustic transfer impedance of the outer ear, from the auricle to the tympanum. That's why we're excited by the development of the B&K 5128. Because we have a B&K 4128C HATS, we've been following the development of the 5128 HF-HATS for a while. Even B&K engineers, however, believe the 13.5 kHz resonance of the old 711 standard is problematic. In our opinion, the approach that B&K have taken with the 5128 is fundamentally sound. We're in an ongoing conversation with B&K to determine whether the 5128 system will be able to assist us in product development. Of course, new equipment acquisition is a substantial investment, so we are weighing all options. We have some small concerns about the external validity of the data acquired and whether it'll be suitable representative of a world population of individuals, but the effort they put into this project is admirable.
Here are a few of the more academic manuscripts put out by B&K and their research associates on the modeling of the human ear:
Our engineers tune products chiefly by ear, augmented by measurements, so if we desired a reference-level listening experience, we would make sure we could hear and distinguish all the musical elements we wanted to convey fully. As for the discrepancy between user perception and measured response, we've been investigating this phenomenon as well. While we don't have any definitive conclusions, we have a few ideas on the matter, including the way the high compliance PU surround reacts within a fully occluded ear simulator.
- Darkner, S., Sommer, S., Schuhmacher, A., Baandrup, H.I., Thomsen, C., & Jønsson, S. (2018). An Average of the Human Ear Canal: Recovering Acoustical Properties via Shape Analysis. ArXiv, abs/1811.03848.
- Jønsson, S., Schuhmacher, A., & Jorgensen, H.I. (2018). Wideband impedance measurement in the human ear canal; In vivo study on 32 subjects. ArXiv e-prints.
- Jønsson, S., Schuhmacher, A., & Jorgensen, H.I. (2018). Wideband impedance measurement techniques in small complex cavities such as ear simulators and the human ear canal. arXiv: Applied Physics.
Additionally, let's remember that @jude made bass measurements down to 10 Hz. The SPL at 20 Hz is the same as it is at 800 Hz. A -3.5 dB roll-off between 20 to 10 Hz is largely inaudible to most people aside from perhaps a mechanical transfer of energy to the surrounding soft tissues of the ear canal, and should prove to be acceptable when there is adequate sound pressure across the audible bass shelf. We did not tune LUNA to match a Harman-esque bass response. While Drs. Olive and Toole, and their associates did some amazing work on figuring out listener preferences, we do not feel it is necessarily the consensus in tuning. We targeted the bass response to be what we consider to be a happy medium --- not exaggerated, but not overly damped. It certainly won't satisfy everyone, but the vast majority of people wouldn't feel that it has "no bass" either.
Many thanks for that detailed reply. We have a similar opinion on the new B&K HATS system.
So @antdroid currently has the tour unit, huh? Any chance that somebody else on the US west coast might be able to jump on this tour?
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Many thanks @DUNU-TopsoundThe announcement and service terms for the tour was here, on page 18 of the LUNA announcement thread:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/int...our-announcement.919227/page-18#post-15507882
We chose to go the tour route for a few reasons:
Because of COVID-19's substantial public health concern and substantial impact to global shipping/logistics, we've been providing regular updates on the statuses of the respective tour areas. We post updates in the announcement thread, while impressions are deposited here.
- In-store demos were not ideal in an age of social distancing and stay-at-home orders (though we have in-store audition units available on both US coasts and several cities in Asia)
- We're unable to provide a large number of demo units because of the slow, meticulous rate of production and the higher than expected demand
- LUNA is a product that should be heard firsthand; even people highly experienced in measurement interpretation have been surprised by how it sounds relative to how it measures. We're not claiming night and day, but it is a bit different from what most people would expect. This likely has to do with the difference between the acoustic impedance of a real ear drum versus 1/2" pressure microphones, against the new driver.
- Most people seriously considering acquiring LUNA wish to listen for themselves anyway, rather than solely relying on reviews. One of those methods is our private loan program, which a number of individuals have chosen to do.
Our tour currently consists of three units: one for the EU, and two for North America (one for the US west of the Missouri and Mexico, and one for the US east of the Missouri and Canada). We were working on a tour unit for Southeast Asia, but that came to a halt as Singapore experienced a second wave of cases. We're now relying on local dealers to run very small scale events in areas which have controlled the virus well, such as Vietnam or Taiwan.
@antdroid just finished; it's now transferred to the next person. There was one person originally on the west coast tour who dropped out, so you may try to sign up for the vacant spot at https://www.dunu-topsound.com/loan-tour, or you may wish to visit The Source AV (you can contact @TSAVAlan ), which should be in your vicinity and about to re-open for more regular operating hours (they were open on an appointment basis until Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a partial re-opening).
FWIW, my hearing impressions for the bass line up with what the FR measurements show. The LUNA doesn't have weak sub-bass, I can feel the rumble, but the mid-bass is definitely more emphasized. Also, in terms of overall tonality balance, the sub-bass is relatively behind everything else.Many thanks @DUNU-Topsound
I completely understand your pre-amble w.r.t. covid-19. You're very wise to be cautious. But it seems we have the minority view. Most people where I live are out protesting for their constitutional right to drown in their own lung fluids. (And of course, to be able to pass on that experience to their local grocery-store workers and health-care providers.)
I signed up for the tour, but there was no option for me to request a specific slot. It would be awesome if you could squeeze me in while the tour unit is still relatively close to me?!? If not, I understand. I did sign up very, very late.
What has me curious about this earphone is the claimed difference between measurements and impressions in the bass. The treble I'd understand as we have differing canal lengths, resonant peaks, etc. But I've never encountered discrepancies like that with the low frequencies. Not unless there wasn't a proper seal in the ear canal or coupler, and that would be such a noobish mistake to make, I think there's zero chance Jude would have done that. All our coupler brands and variants tend to agree closely in the bass frequencies, so like I said, I'm curious...
I'd be very surprised if what you're saying weren't true. The low-frequency measurements are usually the more reliable part of the spectrum. Some people genuinely prefer to have a sub-bass that rolls off a bit, and there's nothing wrong with that, if that's what you like. I usually prefer sub-bass > mid-bass, but I should hold back judgement since I've not yet heard the LUNA.FWIW, my hearing impressions for the bass line up with what the FR measurements show. The LUNA doesn't have weak sub-bass, I can feel the rumble, but the mid-bass is definitely more emphasized. Also, in terms of overall tonality balance, the sub-bass is relatively behind everything else.
Again, I encourage everyone to read my eartip comparison. I cannot stress enough the importance of the eartip with the Luna. To achieve the maximum sub bass it is imperative.FWIW, my hearing impressions for the bass line up with what the FR measurements show. The LUNA doesn't have weak sub-bass, I can feel the rumble, but the mid-bass is definitely more emphasized. Also, in terms of overall tonality balance, the sub-bass is relatively behind everything else.
Again, I encourage everyone to read my eartip comparison. I cannot stress enough the importance of the eartip with the Luna. To achieve the maximum sub bass it is imperative.
I'm not able to find any review from you on the LUNA. In any case, while I'd agree with you that to achieve maximum sub-bass it's imperative to get a proper seal, in every IEM I've ever seen and heard, eartip type (once a proper seal has been achieved) is basically irrelevant to the bass. (Certainly not irrelevant to the upper frequencies, but irrelevant to the bass.) You may be able to throw foam tips on it and reduce the treble and therefore make it tilt slightly warmer, but that's not because you've changed the bass. If you were to align those spectra, the bass wouldn't change at all.Again, I encourage everyone to read my eartip comparison. I cannot stress enough the importance of the eartip with the Luna. To achieve the maximum sub bass it is imperative.
I'm not able to find any review from you on the LUNA.
The Source AV (you can contact @TSAVAlan ), which should be in your vicinity and about to re-open for more regular operating hours (they were open on an appointment basis until Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a partial re-opening).
Hey buddy, our showroom is still open by appointment! Feel free to hit us up about trying the Luna. Foot traffic has been super down for obvious reasons so if you want to come in for a private demo with our Luna feel free.Many thanks @DUNU-Topsound
I completely understand your pre-amble w.r.t. covid-19. You're very wise to be cautious. But it seems we have the minority view. Most people where I live are out protesting for their constitutional right to drown in their own lung fluids. (And of course, to be able to pass on that experience to their local grocery-store workers and health-care providers.)
I signed up for the tour, but there was no option for me to request a specific slot. It would be awesome if you could squeeze me in while the tour unit is still relatively close to me?!? If not, I understand. I did sign up very, very late.
What has me curious about this earphone is the claimed difference between measurements and impressions in the bass. The treble I'd understand as we have differing canal lengths, resonant peaks, etc. But I've never encountered discrepancies like that with the low frequencies. Not unless there wasn't a proper seal in the ear canal or coupler, and that would be such a noobish mistake to make, I think there's zero chance Jude would have done that. All our coupler brands and variants tend to agree closely in the bass frequencies, so like I said, I'm curious...