[Covenant]

I came across this and thought the folks here might find it informative:

How Balanced Armature Drivers Work

Not sure if it's been posted already or not, but anywhos.

 

[ucrags84]

Thanks, I'm watching this with my X5 BAs now.. haha

 

[carmatic]

aaahh... thats why IEM's tend to lack bass, even in the diagram it doesnt look like the diaphragm has alot of room to move

still, its quite interesting to see that something which works in such a convoluted and indirect way compared to dynamic drivers can be so successful...

am i right to assume that all BA iem's have better isolation than dynamic driver iem's ?

 

[ucrags84]

You meant to say ba iems lack bass? Because there are dynamic and ba IEMs.

The X10s do not lack bass. I know it has a 'bass reflex' system. However, I suspect that they go in pretty deep since they are so small and provide a good fit. These would help with bass.

While its true several dynamics have a warmer character which ba's don't exhibit, according to this video that metal sheet is not the end game in moving the air. It seems to build up some pressure in that enclosed box, and more when it ports out through a smaller opening.

Just my thoughts..

 

[ucrags84]

You meant to say ba iems lack bass? Because there are dynamic and ba IEMs.

The X10s do not lack bass. I know it has a 'bass reflex' system. However, I suspect that they go in pretty deep since they are so small and provide a good fit. These would help with bass.

While its true several dynamics have a warmer character which ba's don't exhibit, according to this video that metal sheet is not the end game in moving the air. It seems to build up some pressure in that enclosed box, and more when it ports out through a smaller opening.

Just my thoughts..

 

[Covenant]

They followed that up with another educational video on iems, it seems, this time on 3-way crossover drivers:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f175/v...phones-455378/

 

[Gbjerke]

From the description:

"How Balanced Armature Drivers work inside high-end in-ear headphones. They don't move air like cheap dynamic drivers. Also because they are micro sized, we can pack a woofer, a mid range and a tweeter driver inside the tiny earpiece. That allows to a 3-way crossover with 3 drivers inside each earbud. The result is the best sound we have ever experienced and they will beat high-end full-size headphones by a long shot. Noise isolation is higher and of superior quality than Bose headphones because they isolate much more. Check it out."

 

[carmatic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ucrags84 /img/forum/go_quote.gif You meant to say ba iems lack bass? Because there are dynamic and ba IEMs.

ahh yes thats what i meant... i blame the lack of sleep

anyway, i have been reading the Wikipedia article about balanced armatures... it says that the armature itself would normally get sucked towards the magnets on either side so you need something which keeps it centered...
from the video it looks like he's trying to draw a springy-type object which would hold its shape.... but it takes up alot of room

i have an idea tho... what if the chamber was sealed and smaller in size, and the air pressure keeps it centered? without a huge spring in the way, it means there can be more articulation of the diaphragm, and since the magnet chamber takes up less space, the port chamber could be bigger.... both of which should mean more bass... that its sealed should also mean better isolation, too

 

[Sayajin]

Great stuff
Thanks. Very informative.

 

[scootermafia]

That description is hilarious. Especially the part about being better than Bose.

 

[Sovkiller]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gbjerke /img/forum/go_quote.gif From the description: "How Balanced Armature Drivers work inside high-end in-ear headphones. They don't move air like cheap dynamic drivers. Also because they are micro sized, we can pack a woofer, a mid range and a tweeter driver inside the tiny earpiece. That allows to a 3-way crossover with 3 drivers inside each earbud. The result is the best sound we have ever experienced and they will beat high-end full-size headphones by a long shot. Noise isolation is higher and of superior quality than Bose headphones because they isolate much more. Check it out."

Where these guys get those conclusions??? Even while it is true that we have right now very good IEM's, I can not disagree more here. I have never heard any armature driver (nor any IEM of any kind) multiple drivers or not (indeed I prefer some single drivers I have heard to all the multiple ones) to beat any full size headphone of a decent sound quality properly amplified. That is a really bad simplistic generalization from whomever stated it.

IMO and for my very personal taste they have two major flaws, bass is not as deep, and while it is, is not as controlled and tend to be overpowered, and highs are not as real, clasps for example sound fake to me in all IEM I have heard...

 

[carmatic]

im thinking that it should be possible to construct a kind of driver that is halfway between dynamic and balanced armature.... like as in, using a force acting on the diaphragm instead of a spring to center the driver, maybe it could be the tension on the diaphragm, or maybe it can be air pressure like some speaker designs... but still use the perpendicular articulation and the pushrod of balanced armatures...

because i think that the spring is the limiting factor, in terms of bass because it takes up room and it limits the travel of the diaphragm, and in terms of transients because of the intertia and flexibility of the spring...

 

[qusp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sovkiller /img/forum/go_quote.gif Where these guys get those conclusions??? Even while it is true that we have right now very good IEM's, I can not disagree more here. I have never heard any armature driver (nor any IEM of any kind) multiple drivers or not (indeed I prefer some single drivers I have heard to all the multiple ones) to beat any full size headphone of a decent sound quality properly amplified. That is a really bad simplistic generalization from whomever stated it. IMO and for my very personal taste they have two major flaws, bass is not as deep, and while it is, is not as controlled and tend to be overpowered, and highs are not as real, clasps for example sound fake to me in all IEM I have heard...

and indeed you I could say, although you have stated it is your opinion and more importantly in your experience and I cannot argue with that; in MY experience, my JH13 possess superior bass extension and control than my modded and woody D2000. they also wipe the floor with my HD600 in extension at both ends.