mvw2
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2007
- Posts
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Klipsch Custom 3
Dual driver
Crossover: 1500Hz
I've toyed around with EQing of this earphone in the past and kept running into an issue with the design. In the past, I didn't really care about it too much, knew it was there but decided not to deal with it. However, I figure it might be useful to the Custom 3 owners out there.
Klipsch uses a crossover point of 1500Hz with the Custom 3 earphone. One thing they do is create a gap at the x-over point. This can at times be useful as a sound tool to separate sounds, however, it can also make for a little bit of incoherence in the sound across the x-over point. I want to highlight the issue to clarify what's going on with the earphone. Below is a response graph of the Custom 3 relative to what I discern as flat using a pink noise test track. The graph is normalized at 1kHz = 0dB
The gist is of course the crossover point has a significant gap from the x-over spacing between the drivers. This can also happen if the polarity of the drivers are inverted. The gap can be fixed via EQ. An inverted driver can be boosted, but they typically remain disconnected from one another across the x-over range due to being out of phase. The x-over doesn't come across disconnected, so I assume it's simply gapped that way for a certain sound or because if some inherent limitation of the drivers being used.
What this type of setup does gain is that it more distinctly separates bass and treble, and your focus transitions more towards the lower mids and midbass and the high mids and treble due to the void created in the middle of the vocals. As long as the void is narrow enough, it isn't perceived as missing. The difference is certainly noticeable once EQed of course, but even without EQing, the earphone doesn't sound off, just different. By default, the earphone emphasizes warmer vocals and distinct bass and treble sound. EQed, the sound is more bland. The emphasis goes away, and the whole sound is just neutral and even. The evening of the midrange does improve on certain sounds and instruements in that range that is otherwise lost with the default setup. Stock is a little more fun as it emphasizes warmer mids and midbass and treble. EQed is more natural and coherent through the midrange though. The drivers used in this earphone are quite good, so using them in their best light is important.
Dual driver
| Tweeter: | KG723 |
| Woofer: | KG731 |
I've toyed around with EQing of this earphone in the past and kept running into an issue with the design. In the past, I didn't really care about it too much, knew it was there but decided not to deal with it. However, I figure it might be useful to the Custom 3 owners out there.
Klipsch uses a crossover point of 1500Hz with the Custom 3 earphone. One thing they do is create a gap at the x-over point. This can at times be useful as a sound tool to separate sounds, however, it can also make for a little bit of incoherence in the sound across the x-over point. I want to highlight the issue to clarify what's going on with the earphone. Below is a response graph of the Custom 3 relative to what I discern as flat using a pink noise test track. The graph is normalized at 1kHz = 0dB
The gist is of course the crossover point has a significant gap from the x-over spacing between the drivers. This can also happen if the polarity of the drivers are inverted. The gap can be fixed via EQ. An inverted driver can be boosted, but they typically remain disconnected from one another across the x-over range due to being out of phase. The x-over doesn't come across disconnected, so I assume it's simply gapped that way for a certain sound or because if some inherent limitation of the drivers being used.
What this type of setup does gain is that it more distinctly separates bass and treble, and your focus transitions more towards the lower mids and midbass and the high mids and treble due to the void created in the middle of the vocals. As long as the void is narrow enough, it isn't perceived as missing. The difference is certainly noticeable once EQed of course, but even without EQing, the earphone doesn't sound off, just different. By default, the earphone emphasizes warmer vocals and distinct bass and treble sound. EQed, the sound is more bland. The emphasis goes away, and the whole sound is just neutral and even. The evening of the midrange does improve on certain sounds and instruements in that range that is otherwise lost with the default setup. Stock is a little more fun as it emphasizes warmer mids and midbass and treble. EQed is more natural and coherent through the midrange though. The drivers used in this earphone are quite good, so using them in their best light is important.
