jaakkopasanen
100+ Head-Fier
You can get convincing externalization with any half-decent speaker but if you want timbral accuracy, nothing can really replace good speakers in a good room. An affordable option would be to get a single JBL 305P MkII speaker which costs about 120€ in Europe.Hey guys... I'm already at my personal endgame with headphones, and I have the EQ settings I want to stick with forever (or until aging drastically changes my hearing). Meanwhile, I don't know the first thing about speakers or the speaker market. I don't own any speakers except for a passable bluetooth speaker to connect to my phone. I don't have any treated rooms or anything like that. Could anyone give me an idea what it would cost and how much trouble it would be for me to try to do the measurements for Impulcifer on my own? Would there be enough people like me to justify some kind of speaker loaner tour? Are people finding any noticeable difference between the different Sound Professionals microphones; is there good enough reason to go above the $20 model? Or would anyone happen to be near USA - SC? I'd gladly pay a few bucks to use someone else's setup.
I'm also wondering whether this can be used to make sense of how and why peoples' preferences in headphone FR differ from the Harman Curve. I've dialed my midrange preference in very clearly: it begins rising gradually in the lower mids, it doesn't begin the steep rise seen on the Harman Curve until past 2kHz, and it looks like Harman with a few dB less peak from 3kHz onwards. Might measurements like these help clarify whether I have different preferences from people that like the Harman Curve, or need a different headphone FR to have the same FR delivered to my ear drum that fans of the standard Harman Curve are getting delivered to theirs? Might binaural measurements together with Harman Curve FR calibrations be used to quickly dial in any given person's most preferred signature?
The sound professionals SP-TFB-2 mics work well. A cheaper option is two Primo EM258 mono modules from FEL Communications with the added benefit of being able to connect these directly to two RODE VXLR+ adapters. Just make sure to buy mics that fit at the entrance of your ear canal. There are models on the market which are too large for this.
Room treatment isn't necessarily so important since it's the speakers which dominate sound above ~300 Hz and Impulcifer can get the low frequencies in control with room correction and reverb management. You will need a measurement mic for this but it's a lot cheaper option than room treatment. Of course many people listen to speakers without any room treatment or EQ and enjoy the music just fine.