kiteki
aka Theta Alpha 1
aka Alpha Zeta 5
aka Alpha Zeta 6
aka Nanocat Systems
And many other aliases
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2010
- Posts
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Hello, I'm currently hunting for some new IEM's, and whenever I'm in-store and they let my test their earphones, or I meet a friend with some IEM's and I have a listen, this is the track I use to check their speed.
I already have the perfect headphones for speed (SA-5000's), but they are too precious and too large to use on the move, and I am a person mostly on the move these days, so now I have to invest in a perfect pair of IEM's.
Currently I'm in south-east asia and I didn't bring my headphones with me.
[I actually use another test as well, I choose a fast electronic, synthesized music track, and then in Foobar I use the impulse convolver with impulse response "Unitpulse2K.wav", I then adjust the mixer until I get the fastest response.
I will skip this testing method for now, and I can't use it when I'm on the move, since I'm in a store or meeting a friend bla bla, I do however HIGHLY recommend the impulse convolver in foobar].
So here's the track, it's speed-metal / symphonic-metal, and every time I test a new earphone (as often as I get the chance to), this is one of the tracks I will use via my portable player:
Versailles - Silent Knight - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWdgZRVnTmM&fmt=18
First of all, skip to 2:45 (unless you like the song
Second of all, instrument seperation isn't very good in this track, if you want to try to pinpoint the instruments (lead guitarist, second guitarist, bass, drummer) use the live recording instead, instrument seperation is really good here (yes, even on the youtube version, I added a code which bypasses youtube compression) and you should be able to seperate the instruments really easily with your 'phones.
Versailles - Silent Knight [Live] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUQi3hV3eM0&fmt=18&t=2m50s
Getting to the point, this is speed-metal, so naturally, I'm testing for speed, I know every note by heart (okay, not EVERY note
The intensity builds-up more and more after 2:45, so it's really fun to listen to (+I like the song).
Second, it's more about the isolation of the notes than the actual notes themselves, I listen for the edge of the notes, the start and finish, or the *air* inbetween, (the perceived millisecond of silence).
What I mean is that with super-fast passages like this (16ths at 220bpm or something? haven't checked) the notes don't sound isolated anymore, they're presented in smooth texture of 12 notes in a single sound, instead of 12 sounds, because the decay of the first note overlaps the second, and so on.
Here is an example of decay and attack which I drew in paint.
I personally don't like this smooth sound (the top one shown above), which is why I'm hunting for a new IEM. When I listen to fast complicated elec.guitar or violin passages I like the raw, dynamic fast sound, the microdetail of the stress on the horsehair or the musical attack of a kaleidoscope of colours, not the musical slurry of a sonata served via a slushy machine at seven-eleven.
Now that I've explained that, when you listen to this track, you should instantly know if it's a slushy-machine or a sonata!
[Side-note: the human eye can only see a certain amount of flashes per second until it becomes a slurry, something like 10-15 flashes per second, after that it's bat-country.
The human-ear can hear a lot more per second.]
So back on track. (the non-live version) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWdgZRVnTmM&fmt=18
2:47 - this is where it starts
3:01 - 3:16 - there are some crazy fast riffs here, what is that person doing.
3:27 - getting pretty chaotic here, can you hear the drummer and all three guitarists? I can't.
3:47 - what is going on
3:51 - omg that is fast
4:00 - What was that riff? damn that's fast. best part coming up though, even faster!
4:11 - 4:30 - most intense part here - milkshake or masterpiece? in my current IEM's it's a milkshake, in my SA-5000's it's a masterpiece.
live version (acoustics and instrument-seperation are excellent in this one, yes even on youtube, make sure you use my link with the fmt=18 in it!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUQi3hV3eM0&fmt=18&t=2m50s
3:00 - this is where it starts
3:59 - hell yeah
4:06/4:11 - huh? that doesn't sound like an elec. guitar, it sounds like a damn flute! I hate you, smooth IEM's!
4:23 - the best part, the elec.guitar sonata, sounds like a couple of talented flute players to me though (on these bad IEM's).
Now, for those interested, if you listened to these tracks, please rate your earphones!
1 ~ 11 on speed,
1 ~ 5 on instrument-seperation
+ 1~5 on reverb
(second one is optional, but this is also useful to know, applies only to the live version recording).
1 is milkshake, 11 is masterpiece, every note is it's own island, you can hear every raindrop in the sky.
1 is mono, 5 is you can hear the exact instrument location, and even the different parts of the drum, and the size of the stadium and the echoes off the walls and some yells and murmurs in the audience! only give 5 if you can hear all of that!)
and list which IEM's/earbuds/headphones you are using! Thanks!
extra rating secion added
Reverb - x / 5
1/5 = bathroom
2/5 = car
3/5 = studio
4/5 = club
5/5 = stadium
6/5 = horizon
Full-size headphones are better than IEM's in this department, but there are still good earbuds and IEM's when it comes to this, especially as technology and research advances, which goes hand-in-hand with the increasing popularity of IEM's these days.
I would give a "normal" IEM without fancy drivers or housing a 3/5, faithful reproduction of a studio recording, but failing to emerge the user in a club atmosphere or live concert type reverb.
Just like a car audio system can have amazing sound quality, so can an IEM with a limited spatial field, so 2/5 does not mean it's a bad IEM.
If I can close my eyes and feel like I am at a club, or a live concert, that is one hell of an IEM, so if you decide to give a 4 or a 5 please do it justifyingly!
Note: There is a difference between hearing a club atmostphere, and feeling a club atmosphere.
For example, someone calls you on their mobile phone, you can hear if they are in the bathroom, a car, a studio or at a club, but you don't feel like you are there with them.
_
Note 2: a good way for testing a club atmosphere with side-by-side comparisons of earphones is using the audio player foobar, installing the impulse convolver,
and then selecting the impulse file "club b.wav" and adjusting the mix (25% or so is ok), you can download club-b.wav here
