Spectrum Analyzeration
Mar 31, 2004 at 12:26 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 4

Sczervok

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Forget the title... I'm just making stuff up.. as usual.

Well, I finally got my dad to show my how his spectrum analyzer worked, so I set it upon myself to see how my various phones fared compared to each other.

I tested most of my collection... which includes

Sennheiser mx300, mx500
Koss Plug, KSC 50
Sony EX71

I used a Rio Chiba... my one, and only device that plays music (with the exception of my CD player... which is probably as old as I am, and has trouble spinning the CD to speed. 10 second ESP man, check it out)
I do figure I should have used a better device... but hell, it's all white noise, so what does it matter anyways?

Here's my initial direct line in, into the machine.

http://sczervok.t35.com/Spectrum_Flat-line.jpg
Spectrum_Flat-line.jpg


I tried to keep it as flat as possible with some EQ tweaks on the thing...

I switched it over to the mic, and plugged the mx300s in for my first impression of the thing.

http://sczervok.t35.com/Spectrum_Sennheiser_mx300.jpg
Spectrum_Sennheiser_mx300.jpg


At this point, I know barely anything about how to read these kind of 'graphs' if you will... all I can say, is that I agree with the lack of bass on the mx300s.

mx500

http://sczervok.t35.com/Spectrum_Sennheiser_mx500.jpg
Spectrum_Sennheiser_mx500.jpg


The treble section looks almost identical... but the lower end is extended, and a bit buffer. It conforms, the mx500s do show much more bass performance than the mx300s, though the treble remains just about the same.

The infamous koss plugs.

At first, the readings had treble even sharper than the mx300s, and absolutly nothing on the bass end. Nothing...
So I took the foamie off, reversed it to get the more squishy part to face the mic, and smooshed Koss Plug up with the mic (I suppose this is how far Koss Plugs go up your ear anyways...)

Take a look

http://sczervok.t35.com/Spectrum_Koss_Plug.jpg
Spectrum_Koss_Plug.jpg


There we go. Now, that is the reading that we are all familiar with. I had to turn the volume down so that I could see all of the spectrum... the bass is literally, bloated. Represented by that huge bump at the left end. The other bump at the treble side was a mod that I did on these plugs in my attempt to boost up the treble. Oh well... such crap.

Koss KSC 50.
Nice phones.
Just look at the beauty!

http://sczervok.t35.com/Spectrum_Koss_ksc-50.jpg
Spectrum_Koss_ksc-50.jpg


Such wonderful curves! The treble is properly accented, and the bass slides down at such a steady rate, not dropping too much, before rolling off at near sub sonic levels. How lovely!


Sony EX71s have a unique cone design, which allows it to go in and out of your ear easily, without any pain or wasting any time at all. However, because they go inside your ear, you must have a seal with them. The mic was a metal cyllinder, not an ear, so all I could get on the readings was a mx300 like treble section that was truncated at the bass end. Goes to show something about ear canal phones, and how they function in your ear.

Well... this is just 'interesting' stuff. Maybe it helps, maybe it doesn't... but all I know is that I'm kinda itching for a new set of phones again.

Edit: Sorry about the host... I guess they're kinda funky or something. You gotta copy and paste the link into a separate window or something...
 
Mar 31, 2004 at 1:22 AM Post #2 of 4
Your results really aren't that accurate, for one thing, the graphs are a picture of a analyzer on a receiver, lol.

Well...I could go on, but I won't. I will just point out that your ears are the best analyzers of all...don't fall for all the equipment. Besides, you need an anechoic chamber to do any real testing.
 
Mar 31, 2004 at 1:56 AM Post #3 of 4
Quote:

your ears are the best analyzers of all


Well said!!! You gotta trust your own pair of ear-o-meters and take all lab measurements/recommendations/reviews as grains of salt.
3000smile.gif
: However, lab results/measurements do help us to learn more about why some cans sound certain ways.

Nice work, Sczervok!
 
Mar 31, 2004 at 2:30 AM Post #4 of 4
I don't even know what a reciever is. I just took a picture of those rising and falling columns that are supposed to represent the intensity of all the frequency ranges... I think... maybe... it looked like an equalizer to me... not that it tells you much, but it just shows how each phone replicates the music. You need to see what happens to the thing as you move the mic in different positions near the phone to see how sound travels and stuff, but oh well. I would guess that the 'ideal' phone would create more of a flat line.

Anechoic chamber? What is that? A quiet room or something?... I would guess it to be one...

Oh well. I'm just screwing around. This equipment is about equivalent to my ear's power to hear this kind of stuff. Just goes to show how crappy I am. (I'm still working on it)
 

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