Hello everyone.
Im kind of confused about IEM drivers like BA DD etc etc i dont know what it means, can someone explain this for me?
Im new to IEMs but not audio so i of course know what dynamic, planar, electrostat etc etc but i dont know these.
Any help is appreciated.
Driver type, driver brand, driver count are not as important as tuning and implementation. So don't be too hard up about the driver type, as the final sound is the first priority.
Having said that, in general, the different transducer/driver types do have their inherent pros and cons, but there is no best driver type, it really depends on how it is implemented and what suits your preference. Companies can use the most premium of drivers like Sonions or Beryllium coated pixie dust or Uranium drivers, but if they can't tune it well, then that is a moot point. Conversely, good tuners can eke out the best performance from a cheap driver, even if it is not a branded driver so to speak.
There are exceptions of course, but in general:
1) Single DD (Dynamic driver)
- Usually are more coherent and move air/decay in the bass more naturally.
- Timbral accuracy is generally accepted to be more natural on DDs compared to other driver types
- DDs are usually vented, so there may be penalties in isolation compared to unvented BA types.
- DDs may not have as great upper treble extension as multi driver types or planars.
- Single DD types may have less technical performance than multi BAs at the same price point , especially in the budget segment (in general).
2) BAs (Balanced armature)
- BAs generally when used in a multiple configuration, may give better technicalities than a single DD.
- However, BA bass may sound less natural as it doesn't move air or decay as much as a single DD. Lately, the trend has been for vented BA bass, so as to give this bass movement of air, but they still don't sound 100% like DD bass.
- Speaking about vents, BAs generally are not vented and hence have better isolation than DDs.
- Single BAs are disadvantaged as these don't cover the upper treble and sub-bass as well as a multi-BA config. Arguably, single BAs are not too common nowadays cause of this reason.
- Cheap BAs may sound a bit less natural in timbre, especially with bass decay. YMMV, some are not particular about timbre, and certain music genres emphasize timbre more than others.
3) Hybrids
- These theoretically combine the best of both the DD and BA concept, with the DD handling the bass, and the BAs handling the higher frequencies.
- In practice however, there may be coherency or cross over issues - eg bass can sound much slower than the BA, or the timbre/note weight between the different drivers can sound oddly different.
4) Planars
- Planars IEMs generally have excellent transients and low distortion, they give excellent technical performance. Some of the planars at the $100 range can kick the behinds of higher priced DDs.
- However, some weaknesses (in general) would be that planar timbre doesn't sound as natural as DDs, possibly cause of the rapid transients/decay, and planar IEMs may have an issue with bass excursion. Planar IEMs have evolved rapidly in the past year or so, and I look forward to more refinement in the coming months, but they ain't the finished product.
5) EST (electrostatic?)
- While the term EST (electrostatic) driver is commonly used in IEMs, actually most of them are using a lower-voltage electret or magnetostatic driver, rather than a true electrostatic driver. Even the Sonion ESTs that are pricey are not true electostatic drivers per se.
- The true higher voltage electrostatic drivers (for example, something like the Shure KSE1500 or STAX SR series) actually have their own energizer amp or high voltage amplifier to drive them.
- So these lower-end electrets are already pre-charged, but they theoretically can lose their charge over time and may be rendered inoperable once the charges are depleted. Though we are talking tens of thousands of hours, and a new IEM would have arrived in the mail way before then.
- These electrostatics function similarly to BAs in providing good treble extension and details, but they are generally tuned smoother than equivalent BAs.
