[zenki]

Even if BA bass is boosted, it won't sound like DD bass

 

[RikudouGoku]

Even if BA bass is boosted, it won't sound like DD bass

Maybe except for the ones by Sony. like IER-M7/M9. Heard that they do sound like a DD.

 

[csglinux]

Even if BA bass is boosted, it won't sound like DD bass

That's a very good point, and I agree that's entirely possible, but there are explanations that don't require interventions from the Norse God of marketing fluff

It's extremely difficult to auto-eq one headphone perfectly to another, so the most likely issue here is you'd never perfectly match the FRs. Even if you did, BA drivers have much higher levels of (odd-order) harmonic distortion. That usually doesn't matter, but the bass is one place where it can have an effect, because you could intentionally play a very loud signal whose fundamental starts to get buried below our hearing threshold (~20 Hz), leaving the harmonics audible. For example, these differences in THD levels between a Beyerdynamic Xelento and a Moondrop S8:

translate to about 80 dB below the fundamental for the Xelento (basically irrelevant), and about 40 dB below the fundamental for the S8. That 40 dB delta can effectively shrink further if you have a loud fundamental, because our perception of it will drop away at very low frequencies.

 

[yorosello]

Maybe except for the ones by Sony. like IER-M7/M9. Heard that they do sound like a DD.

Hm, for me they still got a hint of BA vs u12t.
M7's bass is not as good as M9 also

 

[Precogvision]

Hey all, I've been doing some tip-rolling on the Darling - something I generally don't care for - so I thought I'd share some quick findings. First, as has already been noted by MRS, the insertion depth with which the tips are fit doesn't particularly matter in terms of sound (at least with the stock tips). The thing about the Darling, though, is that it has a very strong treble peak at around 17kHz. And when you have a peak this high-up, how it's perceived tends to be unpredictable. Individuals with hearing that doesn't quite token this frequency range will in all likelihood find the Darling dark (as there's very little lower-treble and it rolls-off by 17.5kHz); on the contrary, others might find it quite zingy.

I fall into the latter camp, so I figured it'd be worth playing around with some tips:

Spoiler: FR Graph

• First, I tried the CP145 which was a quick nope. I regularly run these on my U12t to get the most of the 15kHz peak, and likewise, they emphasize the Darling's 17kHz peak to the point of which it's downright sibilant to my ears. On the other hand, however, you might try using these tips if you can't quite hear the peak and want some more spice up top.
• Next, I tried the CP100 which sit somewhere between the CP145 and the stock tips in terms of air. I found these to also tighten up the bass and midrange (perhaps by virtue of pulling up the upper-midrange a hair more); however, I think I prefer the stock tips for a little more physicality to my sound. Probably a happy medium for most listeners, and I found these tips to be quite comfortable. YMMV as usual.
• The Final E tips made the biggest difference for me. It noticeably pulls back the upper-midrange and kills a good deal of the 17kHz peak. So, you get a much darker sound with some more "tinny-ness" to the treble (likely from the minor 8-10kHz peak contrasted to the lack of air), but it's smoother and noticeably less fatiguing to my ears. The trade-off? Pseudo treble air goes hand-in-hand with imaging to some extent, and I do think the Final E tips kill some of the Darling’s imaging chops.

Overall, my preferences still skew towards the stock tips, but I do think it might be worth playing around with tips on the Darling if you already own one. For more brief impressions of the overall sound of the Darling, I posted some on my thread here too, and I'll likely have the review up sometime next week.

 

[redrol]

You are really actually talking about 17k?! Thats not a sibilant freq dude. Not even in the ballpark.

 

[IEMusic]

You are really actually talking about 17k?! Thats not a sibilant freq dude. Not even in the ballpark.

He’s a young‘un and may be able to hear it. I know I can’t any more. However, I think it is probably the 9-10KHz peak if it’s causing any sibilant-like effects. 17KHz would only be ambient overtones, if I’m not mistake.

 

[redrol]

The 17k is gonna sound like an old TV or an electronic device. Not music. It's just such an odd thing to talk about being sibilant. Most recorded music has VERY little info in that range.

 

[zenki]

That graph is enough

 

[redrol]

That graph is enough

I figured what that was about. Listen with your ears, not eyes.

 

[Precogvision]

You are really actually talking about 17k?! Thats not a sibilant freq dude. Not even in the ballpark.

You're right, sibilance is defined as a hissing sound. I understand it generally tokens much lower frequencies - that is, the vocal constants - so I don't think it's quite correct in this instance. Perhaps just plain "sqeaky" or resonant would be more apt.

He’s a young‘un and may be able to hear it. I know I can’t any more. However, I think it is probably the 9-10KHz peak if it’s causing any sibilant-like effects. 17KHz would only be ambient overtones, if I’m not mistake.

Yeah, regarding my hearing, I suppose some transparency can't hurt haha. My left ear can hear over 19kHz; I've verified this running sine sweeps on stuff like the U12t and the Andro 2020. The Andro 2020 actually goes over 20kHz if I'm not mistaken. My right ear, however, is not as good. It starts rolling off post-17kHz, runs up to around 18.5kHz at most. We all lose some hearing eventually, and I don't think there's anything wrong with admitting it!

 

[H T T]

The 17k is gonna sound like an old TV or an electronic device. Not music. It's just such an odd thing to talk about being sibilant. Most recorded music has VERY little info in that range.

15.625 kHz is the frequency of the CRT squeal frequency from the transformer.

 

[tgx78]

got the Oxygen again after selling one last year. I won’t make that mistake again.

 

[IEMusic]

got the Oxygen again after selling one last year. I won’t make that mistake again.

How do you like it compared to the Hana, NM2+, and Believe? How’s the imaging?

 

[tgx78]

Imaging is very good. Not as good as the NM2+ but close.
I will compare them soon but I already know tonality wise 1. Oxygen 2. Believe 3. NM2+ and Hana tied.