It is crucial that you do not interpret this chart two-dimensionally but rather three-dimensionally using all axes offered. Optimally, this would be best presented as a sphere but in turn that would make it difficult to clearly see and read all the labels and sections. Thus, we are limited to two-dimensions for the sake of presentation and clarity. Please note that I tried my best to stick to the "classic" (more basic) sound signature & tuning characteristic definitions as used by recording professionals & audio engineers.
tgxear Tantalus MMCX Sound Signature Chart
tgxear Tantalus MMCX Sound Signature Plot
Primary = Mid-Centric - Warm
Secondary (Strong) = Neutral - Flat (balanced and reference-like)
Secondary (Strong) = Airy (nice sparkle sans sibilance)
Secondary (Strong) = Forward Mids (vocals focused sans boxy-shouty, hard-harsh, or aggressive)
Secondary (Weak) = Smooth (fatigue-free; slightly relaxed with a hint of darkness)
Tertiary (Opposing) = None
Tertiary (Complementing) = Sharp > Detailed > Critical (this signature delivers! well-timbred & resolute; can be overly critical with poor recordings)
Breakdown of tgxear Tantalus MMCX Sound Signature Plot
The
primary sound signature (red dot and red-shaded oval) of the
Tantalus MMCX is "
mid-centric - warm" with three (3) very
strong secondary sound signatures (blue shaded balloons) that reach out to "
neutral - flat"; "
airy"; and "
forward mids" and one (1)
weak secondary sound signature (blue shaded balloon) that reaches over to "
smooth" offering an overall relaxing, fatigue-free tuning that is ever-so-slightly "
dark" sounding. A prominent
complementing tertiary sound characteristic (green shaded arrows) reaches out to "
sharp" and "
detailed" offering greater resolution and realistic, natural-sounding timbre. This
complementing tertiary sound characteristic also has a tendency to reach even further out to "
critical" with certain sloppy (poor) recordings, music genres, and weak sources.
Why do I plot the tgxear Tantalus MMCX primary sound signature as "mid-centric - warm"?
Flathead earbuds'
primary sound signature are generally
mid-centric (please view the chart above as this area is quite large) as it is inherent of and intrinsic to this transducer medium's open-air (open-back like) design. That said many flathead earbuds can and do exhibit VERY strong secondary characteristics that pull their overall sound signature far away from the primary signature into other quadrants (other areas) on the chart (e.g. L-Shape (Basshead); V-Shape; Female Poison; etc.).
Other Flathead Earbuds Models Plots
The other plots indicated on the chart are of familiar earbud models and their
primary sound signatures only and are offered for comparison purposes.
