[tinyman392]

Hey everyone, the Etymotic EVO demo unit arrived today. I know a lot of people wanted to see what it graphed like, so here you are:



For more detailed listening impressions, see my thread here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/precogs-iem-reviews-impressions.937468/post-16406982

That is a very odd looking plot, especially past the 1k mark. Etymotic's tend to have a larger spike at the 2.5k region. Though it also depends on what the DF target looks like on your rig though.

 

[redrol]

8K peak isnt really there.. 711 coupler resonance.

 

[rggz]

Can you tell us a bit more about the testing setup? I'm curious which ear simulator this is.

It's an IEC711 clone that's been pretty common among reviewers. The bad thing is that these clone couplers usually have a wide variance at their resonance peak 'intensity' and most reviewers tend to reach for an 8-9 kHz resonance peak to match crinacle's standard/methodology (or sort of). A good example for this variance is surfing through Etymotic models and famous models on https://squig.link and comparing to different databases (linked at the bottom)

He posted a graph with a bit deeper insertion on discord and the peak moves to 10k as expected changing the overall upper-treble response quite a bit.

But I hope he can chime in more in-depth.

 

[AnyDave]

8K peak isnt really there.. 711 coupler resonance.

Standard 60318-4 (711) is rated to 10kHz. The coupler resonance is typically higher (roughly 13.5kHz). I'm about to post a graph with different couplers. Working on it now.

 

[AnyDave]

It's an IEC711 clone that's been pretty common among reviewers. The bad thing is that these clone couplers usually have a wide variance at their resonance peak 'intensity' and most reviewers tend to reach for an 8-9 kHz resonance peak to match crinacle's standard/methodology (or sort of). A good example for this variance is surfing through Etymotic models and famous models on https://squig.link and comparing to different databases (linked at the bottom)

He posted a graph with a bit deeper insertion on discord and the peak moves to 10k as expected changing the overall upper-treble response quite a bit.

But I hope he can chime in more in-depth.

Thanks, that's helpful. If that coupler is anything like a standard IEC711, the eartip is not at the reference plane, which will cause that issue.

 

[AnyDave]

OK, this is just a single pair, not a high n overall average, but it's fairly representative. I was hoping to post this last week after my conversation with Zachi, but I didn't get to it.

For fun, I took data from four different ear simulators. They include:

GRAS RA402 - 1/2" mic, high-resolution coupler. 2-branch coupler rated to 20kHz. Suppressed peak at 13.5kHz

GRAS RA404 - 1/4" mic, high-resolution coupler. 2-branch coupler rated to 20kHz. Suppressed peak at 13.5kHz

Zwislocki DB100 - 1/2" mic, 4-branch coupler rated to 10kHz. This particular coupler has a higher than average spike at about 14kHz

GRAS RA0045 - 1/2" mic, 2-branch coupler rated to 10kHz. This is the industry standard for production testing, although the new high-resolution variants may eventually supplant it.

Historically, we've always used the Zwislocki as it's a bit better for recreating the impedance of the human ear (up 10kHz at least), but the increased bandwidth of the new GRAS couplers is compelling.

 

[AnyDave]

It's an IEC711 clone that's been pretty common among reviewers. The bad thing is that these clone couplers usually have a wide variance at their resonance peak 'intensity' and most reviewers tend to reach for an 8-9 kHz resonance peak to match crinacle's standard/methodology (or sort of). A good example for this variance is surfing through Etymotic models and famous models on https://squig.link and comparing to different databases (linked at the bottom)

He posted a graph with a bit deeper insertion on discord and the peak moves to 10k as expected changing the overall upper-treble response quite a bit.

But I hope he can chime in more in-depth.

Btw, do you have a link to that exact coupler? I may buy a couple of them for comparison. I've seen a number of them from China, but I'm interested in the one that is being used by reviewers.

 

[tinyman392]

Btw, do you have a link to that exact coupler? I may buy a couple of them for comparison. I've seen a number of them from China, but I'm interested in the one that is being used by reviewers.

If you do any sort of analysis on those couplers I'd love to see the results

 

[AnyDave]

If you do any sort of analysis on those couplers I'd love to see the results

I'm curious, too.

 

[rggz]

Btw, do you have a link to that exact coupler? I may buy a couple of them for comparison. I've seen a number of them from China, but I'm interested in the one that is being used by reviewers.

I have this version (https://aliexpress.com/item/4000789796521.html) and as you can see the store has some variants depending on the "quality" or model. But I'm pretty sure @crinacle @MRSallee @Precogvision can help you sending their specific models and where they got it from.

 

[donthuang]

Wow, the crossover point maybe lower than i expect.

 

[AnyDave]

I have this version (https://aliexpress.com/item/4000789796521.html) and as you can see the store has some variants depending on the "quality" or model. But I'm pretty sure @crinacle @MRSallee @Precogvision can help you sending their specific models and where they got it from.

So it doesn't need an external power supply? It just plugs straight in via 3.5mm plug?

 

[Makahl]

So it doesn't need an external power supply? It just plugs straight in via 3.5mm plug?

Most reviewers seem to use the 3.5mm variant connected to an Apple dongle + adapter for mic and headphone out. Example:
crinacle's rig

 

[AnyDave]

Most reviewers seem to use the 3.5mm variant connected to an Apple dongle + adapter for mic and headphone out. Example:
crinacle's rig

Thanks for posting that. Now I am even more curious.

Didn't crinacle upgrade to a GRAS? I'm pretty sure he did. Perhaps he made comparative measurements.

 

[MRSallee]

Btw, do you have a link to that exact coupler? I may buy a couple of them for comparison. I've seen a number of them from China, but I'm interested in the one that is being used by reviewers.

This is the Ali listing where I ordered my IEC711: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000789796521.html

I have the 3.5mm into a TRRS splitter into an Apple dongle, as someone else suggested.

There is definitely variance in the couplers, even from the same seller, though.