[ttorbic]

The drums in this sample are highly compressed though the timbre in relatively natural. The problem with compression and druma for judging how realistic reproduction capabilities are is that compression naturally changes the decay on things like cymbals which can hide sibilant peaks that an uncompressed or less compressed cymbal crash for example might expose. Compression also leaves bass drums and toms sounding unnaturally punchy with a truncated post strike decay and a lack of sustain. This is sometimes sought in recording to add presence and power to the drums and control them better in the mix by limiting sustained resonance. Again, this presents a problem for judging the technical and reproductive performance of a transducer because it can add an artificial sense of punch, articulation, and control specifically in the mid bass and low mid regions that may not be am actual property of the transducer itself.

Unfortunately compression is ubiquitous in modern recording and it's hard to find tracks that don't carry it to some extent. However, this track has particularly high levels and I would categorize this as worse than average by a good bit for use judging the percussion reproduction abilities or general technical performance of a transducer.

As a drummer who hates hearing drums be compressed and otherwise manipulated into a very one dimensional, non-dynamic instrument rather than the powerful driving force they were meant to be, this track was difficult to listen to the druma on. What a classic song though. Bon Jovi has been performing this at every show without fail for decades because drunk fans attending his shows to reminisce demand it lol!

Ooooh what a great reply! Can I ask for your thoughts on this recording?

Do the cymbals sound natural? I thought it wasn't too bad, but I understand it is on Spotify (so not lossless) and I'm no drummer.

P.S. I'm a jazz fan and just love this whole album. Any other jazz fans on here?

 

[o0genesis0o]

The drums in this sample are highly compressed though the timbre in relatively natural. The problem with compression and druma for judging how realistic reproduction capabilities are is that compression naturally changes the decay on things like cymbals which can hide sibilant peaks that an uncompressed or less compressed cymbal crash for example might expose. Compression also leaves bass drums and toms sounding unnaturally punchy with a truncated post strike decay and a lack of sustain. This is sometimes sought in recording to add presence and power to the drums and control them better in the mix by limiting sustained resonance. Again, this presents a problem for judging the technical and reproductive performance of a transducer because it can add an artificial sense of punch, articulation, and control specifically in the mid bass and low mid regions that may not be am actual property of the transducer itself.

Unfortunately compression is ubiquitous in modern recording and it's hard to find tracks that don't carry it to some extent. However, this track has particularly high levels and I would categorize this as worse than average by a good bit for use judging the percussion reproduction abilities or general technical performance of a transducer.

As a drummer who hates hearing drums be compressed and otherwise manipulated into a very one dimensional, non-dynamic instrument rather than the powerful driving force they were meant to be, this track was difficult to listen to the druma on. What a classic song though. Bon Jovi has been performing this at every show without fail for decades because drunk fans attending his shows to reminisce demand it lol!

Excellent reply, mate. Thanks for the insight. I need to dig out some Dr. Chesky records to hear proper drums again.

Edit: So I just dug out the dynamic compression tests of Dr. Chesky. And now I feel embarrassed that I couldn't hear the compression in the video clip before

 

[o0genesis0o]

bro, where do you get that DIY ie900?

I wrote about it extensively here. I strongly disagree with the folk who shares the Aliexpress link telling people that this DIY is not as resolving as Blessing 2, btw. Not as resolving as S12, sure. Not as resolving as Blessing 2? Nope. Anyhow, that guy managed to track down my review on Aliexpress to find the product and share the link when I deliberately hide the link to avoid advertising that store, so have to give it to him for amazing detective work there.

Anyhow, this kind of "DIY" is frown upon on Head-Fi, so we better not discuss it further.

 

[fooltoque]

This is a question for all the folks who own earbuds, headphones, and IEMs: what's the % of listening time split between the three? I sold my Sundara after getting the Alter Rider 1 because 1. Earbuds were much comfier, 2. Much more portable, 3. Staging was competitive and timbre was very good. But now I have a handful of IEMs that aren't getting much use either! So overall, would probably be 75:25 split in favour of earbuds, and would've been higher if I didn't have a noisy open plan office

If I'm at my desk, my HD560s is on my head. I can wear it all day without really noticing it. It never leaves my desk though. Anywhere else in the house, on the street, in stores, etc., I am using earbuds. Trains get the IEM. So I would say 50% over ears (has to be open back), 50% earbuds, and 5% IEMs.

I did the math and it checks out.

 

[fooltoque]

Question for anyone who has listened to the FiiO FH3 IEM. I owned one and gave it to my daughter, since the fit was bad for me. But I really liked the tuning. Anyone know any good earbuds which are similar in tuning to those?

 

[syazwaned]

This is a question for all the folks who own earbuds, headphones, and IEMs: what's the % of listening time split between the three? I sold my Sundara after getting the Alter Rider 1 because 1. Earbuds were much comfier, 2. Much more portable, 3. Staging was competitive and timbre was very good. But now I have a handful of IEMs that aren't getting much use either! So overall, would probably be 75:25 split in favour of earbuds, and would've been higher if I didn't have a noisy open plan office

I rotate my usage of iem and earbuds weekly. This week iem, then next week earbuds. I have 6 iems and earbuds, so it is going to take 6 weeks to complete the rotation.

I don't use iem for isolation. Because I need to listen to outside noise. Most of my music listening period are during early morning while I am doing my study.

 

[yaps66]

Interesting thing is: when I am wearing earbuds, I still can't hear my wife asking me if I want to take out the garbage......

That’s the phenomenon called tuning out the white noise!

 

[WoodyLuvr]

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Interesting thing is: when I am wearing earbuds, I still can't hear my wife asking me if I want to take out the garbage......

That’s the phenomenon called tuning out the white noise!

@Ronion
@yaps66
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[samandhi]

This is a question for all the folks who own earbuds, headphones, and IEMs: what's the % of listening time split between the three? I sold my Sundara after getting the Alter Rider 1 because 1. Earbuds were much comfier, 2. Much more portable, 3. Staging was competitive and timbre was very good. But now I have a handful of IEMs that aren't getting much use either! So overall, would probably be 75:25 split in favour of earbuds, and would've been higher if I didn't have a noisy open plan office

I can't give any percentages, because I switch (frequently) to whatever strikes me at that moment. I may put some headphones on and decide within 2 minutes that my ears aren't in the mood for those that day (or that moment). I have quite a few contrasting head gear so that I can always find something to fit my current desire. This is why I purposely seek head gear that is unique sounding compared to the ones I already have.

Having said that, when I have some new ones, I tend to try and listen to them (exclusively) for a couple weeks (which doesn't always work out that way though). Also, there are a few sets that are best for all-rounders. To qualify this statement, I feel the need to explain that I rarely ever pick a band and just play that. Normally I will hit "shuffle" with my 28K library, and just listen (hitting "next" on stuff that I am not in the mood for at that moment), and when I run across something that tickles my eardrums, I will either play similar to that, or go into that band and play it for that time.

I work in temperature controls/building automation (programming), and I work frequently in boiler rooms/mechanical rooms. While I would love to be able to use IEMs to seal out the noise, because I am in a hazardous environment, I need to hear my surroundings. Most times I will wear buds in this situation, or TWS with "hear-through". That would be the only time I am limited in the head gear that I wear.

 

[samandhi]

That’s the phenomenon called tuning out the white noise!

Actually, I think that would be called "tuning out the WIFE noise", wouldn't it?

 

[yaps66]

Actually, I think that would be called "tuning out the WIFE noise", wouldn't it?

 

[yaps66]

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@Ronion
@yaps66
Posts have been reported to your spouses. Good luck!
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Haha! Thankfully mine is not the biting sort!

 

[yaps66]

This is a question for all the folks who own earbuds, headphones, and IEMs: what's the % of listening time split between the three? I sold my Sundara after getting the Alter Rider 1 because 1. Earbuds were much comfier, 2. Much more portable, 3. Staging was competitive and timbre was very good. But now I have a handful of IEMs that aren't getting much use either! So overall, would probably be 75:25 split in favour of earbuds, and would've been higher if I didn't have a noisy open plan office

Interesting. Wonder if this is the first ‘buds survey?!

I am relatively new to buds and still building up my experience but that is not to say I am an iem expert either, though I do have significantly more iems than buds. Slowly remedying that! Whereas I only have one headphone (Hifiman HE400i).

I would say I spend equal amount of time with both iems and buds and it really depends on my mood. You could say I love my iems almost as much as I love my buds!

Ooooh what a great reply! Can I ask for your thoughts on this recording?

Do the cymbals sound natural? I thought it wasn't too bad, but I understand it is on Spotify (so not lossless) and I'm no drummer.

P.S. I'm a jazz fan and just love this whole album. Any other jazz fans on here?

I‘m a jazz fan too and I love your Tony Allen rec! Listening on Tidal now and will add to my list of albums to purchase!

 

[Stevehamny]

P.S. I'm a jazz fan and just love this whole album. Any other jazz fans on here?

Right here, but I'm sure I'm not the only one. Acoustic music is what led me down this rabbit hole in the first place!

(No complaints, because it was really trading one rabbit hole for another, after already trading the headphone rabbit hole for the IEM rabbit hole. I think I'm finally home now!)

Quick jazz story while we're talking about it. I met Kareem Abdul Jabbar at the Edgar Awards banquet a couple of years ago. (Among everything else, he also co-wrote two books in the Sherlock Holmes universe.) I already knew that he was a very thoughtful and reserved man, which is a hell of thing to be when you're over seven feet tall and everyone in the world knows who you are. I was sure that most people who meet him go right to basketball, or even some dumb joke about how freaking tall he is, so I shook his hand and said, "What's your favorite jazz club in New York City?"

That led into a long conversation about the Blue Note, Village Vanguard, Iridium, etc. I think he ended up feeling more at home, and it was a real kick for me, too. And it made the world feel a little smaller.

 

[syazwaned]

Actually, I think that would be called "tuning out the WIFE noise", wouldn't it?

oh my god you just didn't...