LCD3 Measurements

[purrin]

Finally got another LCD3 in. Here are the uncompensated FR measurements. CSDs on the way. Left and right channels.
 
My pair is green/red.
New pair is black.
 
I measured the new pair twice at different sessions. Will make those available upon request. I forgot the gate the second measurement so the bass is a little bit jaggy.
 

 

 

[purrin]

Waterfall plots.
 
Left channel comparison (my pair on left, other sample on right)
 
 
Right channel comparison (my pair on left, other sample on right)
 

 

[KingStyles]

The new pair seem to have more bass roll off and a nice boost in the 3k range. On the waterfall though, it seems it has more?.... ringing? at 3k?

 

[Argo Duck]

@purrin - how do they sound compared to yours? Different?

 

[purrin]

The thing I don't like most on my pair is the excessive low bass - just too thick sounding. This sample I just obtained has a better bass presentation more similar to the r2. Note that after the TP mods, the bass on my LCD3 is similar to this sample. The sample is more of a mid-centric headphone and reminds me a little bit more of the LCD3 of that I heard at the mini-meet. That 3-4k ringing is noticeable, but it's in a region where resonances tend to be benign (e.g., ringing at 8kHz is horrible, 4-5kHz not so much.)
 
Resonances are always a bad thing, on the other hand, the little midrange bump on the sample is desirable and one factor (the other the bass response) that makes it sound less veiled than my pair.
 
Keep in mind the FR graphs above are uncompensated (the headphones have more bass than they measure), and note the graph axis ranges on the CSDs.

 

[rhythmdevils]

 

[purrin]

Quote:

H-O-S (inside joke)
 

 

[rhythmdevils]

 

[rhythmdevils]

 

[Questhate]

I guess that means we can eliminate Tyll's measurement gear as a variable, seeing that we now have two different samples measuring differently on two different measurement systems. 

 

[arnaud]

So marv, you're basically saying that grado had it right all along? i.e those nice ridges in the mids are preferable to an overly dark signature?! That's shocking news to me .
 
 
Another thing: I can see the pads severely influencing the response below 100Hz ( as if  you had a better seal on your first pair, softer pads?). But this new 3kHz resonance?? 

 

[purrin]

Quote:

So marv, you're basically saying that grado had it right all along? i.e those nice ridges in the mids are preferable to an overly dark signature?! That's shocking news to me .
 
 
Another thing: I can see the pads severely influencing the response below 100Hz ( as if  you had a better seal on your first pair, softer pads?). But this new 3kHz resonance?? 

 
They would if the measurements were on the solid plate (for a seal). These were not sealed measurements.
 
I do actually like a bump there, but without the ringing. Examples would be R10 and V-moda M-80.
 

 

[Tyll Hertsens]

Say Marv, would you do me a favor and measure them a few times once a day to see if they change day-to-day.
 
(HD 800 mods post coming soon!  )

 

[purrin]

ROFL 

 I know where this is coming from. 
 
I actually do use my HD800s as a baseline for calibration on average once a week. I don't bother saving the data because it looks "close enough." It's more ad-hoc rather than a formalized operating procedure. It's definitely not scientific. Sure there are measurement errors, but they are limited to small isolated parts of the spectrum, not entire swathes across the frequency band. I'll be posting a third measurement of my LCD3s soon. But I'm sure it won't be enough and there will be reason for a fourth, and a fifth, etc. As you know, ambient temperature also plays a significant role in the measurements, so I may as well record those. As well as the alignment of the sun and the moon.
 
Yes, it's shades of grey. But it's sure looking more one color than the other. My ears already had their say anyways.
 
In any event, as someone who pm'd me said, "What the heck is up with that ringing on the 2nd pair?"

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

As you know, ambient temperature also plays a significant role in the measurements, so I may as well record those. As well as the alignment of the sun and the moon.

New thread idea, "Climate control solutions for LCD-3".  I wonder what a Trane does for the treble....