[DavidMorton]

So I bought these a few days ago, and I suppose I'm still burning them in, but I wanted to know if anybody who had a pair of these for a while could check something for me:

I'm using a Zune HD, and recently downloaded Norah Jones "Come Away With Me" to test the headphones a bit. I found some of her higher notes in specific frequencies sounded a bit distorted on the S4. I'm not sure if this is due to the sibilance that so many people have experienced (and has subsequently disappeared after burn-in), or if this is a limit of this particular IEM.

Could someone do me a favor and listen to the first track on this album ("Don't Know Why") and let me know if you hear some of this distortion at the following specific points in the song:

0:21 "LEFT you by..."
0:39 "WHEN I saw..."
1:13 "You'll be on my mind forever..." (a bit here)
1:33 "BUT I'll be ..."
1:46 "My heart is drenched in wine"
1:58 "You'll be on my mind forever..." (again, a bit here)
2:28 "SOMEthing has to..."
2:38 "FEEL as empty..."
2:54 "I don't know why..."

These were just the most notable points I found. I was curious if anybody who had the S4s for a while would find this familiar (and worked out with burn-in) or if this condition has persisted beyond the burn-in period.

Thanks! If nothing else, it's just an enjoyable track.

 

[tstarn06]

Listening right now, and at none of those critical points am I hearing a hint of distortion, I kid you not. I have the S4s with about 150+ hours on them, and Norah sounds as sweet as ever (for those who like her, as I and apparently you do).

My setup is Zune80, not HD (sorry, best I can do).
S4s with Ety bi-flanges (made for er6i)
Ripped at 192k WMA via Zune software.

I would hope its the harshness I experienced when mine came out of the box. But not here any more, not at all, unless a track is mastered with sibilance, a rarity in my collection.

Now, The Nearness of You is playing, and it sounds sublime.

Is it just that track? PM me and I would be glad to send you a copy of my track via email to test against your download.

 

[backtoreality15]

This album or track is known to be mastered poorly on CD from what I've read. I get distortion with any set-up and I'm using Lossless. I've had almost 100 hours of burn-in, however, if that's any consolation. I'd suggest using another album/track for testing.

Could you PM me a copy too tstarn06? I want to get to the bottom of this too.

Nearness of You sounds good tho.

 

[DavidMorton]

I've seen other issues with some other tracks that have some "known compression issues", namely the entire album, which was mastered very poorly and has some very bad distortion on several tracks.

That being said, I did search for some mastering issues online, but couldn't find anything about Norah Jones. Do you have any references?

It's mainly this track where I noticed it, yes, but then again, her voice is quite distinct. I might look into some other female tracks with similar vocals when I get a chance.

Thanks for the help. I'm open to anything else anybody might want to add.

 

[tstarn06]

Quote:

Originally Posted by backtoreality15 /img/forum/go_quote.gif This album or track is known to be mastered poorly on CD from what I've read. I get distortion with any set-up and I'm using Lossless. I've had almost 100 hours of burn-in, however, if that's any consolation. I'd suggest using another album/track for testing. Could you PM me a copy too tstarn06? I want to get to the bottom of this too. Nearness of You sounds good tho.

Sure, but I need your email address to send the file, via a service called Sugarsync. I know what you mean about that track, but when I listened to it on my Zune with the S4s, it sounded fine. Go figure. So PM me your email address and its yours. Give me 30 minutes or so.

 

[Jupiterknight]

You may be right about what you're hearing. I remember reading about this some years back.

Here's a link:
Hydrogenaudio Forums > What are some well-mastered cd's?

Here's a quote that can be found in the discussion from this particular page:

"Hey wait a minute..
Norah Jones? Are you serious?

The first track on the album, "Don't know why", has very audible distortion in her voice. It's one of those tracks that has bugged me the most, because clipping is completely uncalled for it this genre.

Listen at 1:13-1:14. It's not hard clipped, the damage was probably done by a soft clipper during mastering. I've noticed there are people who consider soft clippers to be "spectrally clean", which is absolutely not true.
1:45, 1:46 likewise, 1:55-1:58 - basically all the times she sings loudly. If you don't notice it in speakers, try headphones, but it should be audible. "

I only have a fairly hq rip from a Quiex super vinyl release, and I don't hear any clipping by this listening to a Flac file through pc with my Image S4. Testing this particular rip and release with the TT Dynamic range meter also shows an acceptable dynamic range of 11-12 db.
But you can try testing your file with this tool that can be downloaded for free.

 

[tstarn06]

Thanks Finn. I sort of remember hearing distortion on that track in the past, but for whatever reason, it doesn't show up with the Zune80 and S4. I did send the file to the OP, but he hasn't checked in yet.

 

[Jupiterknight]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tstarn06 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks Finn. I sort of remember hearing distortion on that track in the past, but for whatever reason, it doesn't show up with the Zune80 and S4. I did send the file to the OP, but he hasn't checked in yet.

I think my version has been remastered somehow so the clipping doesn't come up.

Here's actually another link where they actually state that moderate amount of compression has been used on this Norah Jones song, could have be done on those parts where OP have noticed the issues on his version, but it's certainly not as bad as what they did to the Rihanna song used as a similar example in the article I have linked below

http://www.masterworksound.com/Loudness%20Article.pdf

 

[tstarn06]

You are right, I think I got a remastered track too, maybe from a CD, can't remember. I thought I had ripped it, but I just listened to most of the CD on the Sony X with the S4 and no distortion.

 

[DavidMorton]

I'm listening to the other version... I'm still hearing the same clipping. I'd love to know if anyone else hears the same clipping in the same track, and if it's just simply the quality of the master. In the meantime, I'm setting the Zune to 20 and random, and leaving it overnight to continue burning in.

Thanks again.

 

[jleewach]

I'm not sure how accurate this is, but I've heard a few people mention that the Zune HD seems to have inferior sound quality to previous generation Zunes, and I seem to remember a PCWorld lab test on the HD, where it showed a decreased rating in crosstalk, harmonic distortion, SNR, freq response, etc... compare to the previous 2 generation Zunes. Maybe that has something to do with it?

 

[backtoreality15]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidMorton /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm listening to the other version... I'm still hearing the same clipping. I'd love to know if anyone else hears the same clipping in the same track, and if it's just simply the quality of the master. In the meantime, I'm setting the Zune to 20 and random, and leaving it overnight to continue burning in. Thanks again.

I hear it on my Lossless rip. I sent tstarn06 a PM for a second listen from a different file. I suspect it'll still be there on the S4 or any other decent headphones. Will get back soon.

 

[DavidMorton]

jlee,

If that's the case, I'd be really disappointed. That said, I've actually felt the sound quality of the HD is better than it's predecessors.

I really really hope it's just this particular track, and it is an artifact with the recording itself. That's a terrible shame also, if it is... kinda makes me want to scream for a real remaster on CD. Her voice is beautiful.

Nevertheless, it's still there this morning, but of course, I still have a good 50 or so hours to go with these phones before I can consider them "cooked". I'll be listening to them today at work, then cooking them again overnight.

I'll keep everyone posted.

 

[backtoreality15]

Yep the clipping/distortion is present on both my Lossless rip and tstarn06's wma.

 

[omega52]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidMorton /img/forum/go_quote.gif snip Could someone do me a favor and listen to the first track on this album ("Don't Know Why") and let me know if you hear some of this distortion at the following specific points in the song: 0:21 "LEFT you by..." 0:39 "WHEN I saw..." 1:13 "You'll be on my mind forever..." (a bit here) 1:33 "BUT I'll be ..." 1:46 "My heart is drenched in wine" 1:58 "You'll be on my mind forever..." (again, a bit here) 2:28 "SOMEthing has to..." 2:38 "FEEL as empty..." 2:54 "I don't know why..." snip

Listening on a Nano 5g with Custom 2s & hear no distortion. Her voice is right on the edge of sounding sibilant at the points you mention, but on my setup it comes across cleanly. Sorry, my Zune 80 is in the car. Maybe the Custom 2's are rolled off more than the S4's, but I can see how that recording could be reproduced with a lot of sibilance.