THE COMPOSER OPEN BACK FLAGSHIP by AUSTRIAN AUDIO

[ThEvil0nE]

Before judging, you should always take a closer look at the matter and, above all, listen to it in person

NOMAX

PS.At least that's how I always do it

Here lay the issue, you always throw out that same line. Yes sound is what matters but you refuse to acknowledge the fact of a not well conceived driver. To you that might be a sign of good engineering but to some it’s just a terrible driver made to sound good.

 

[Nomax]

Here lay the issue, you always throw out that same line. Yes sound is what matters but you refuse to acknowledge the fact of a not well conceived driver. To you that might be a sign of good engineering but to some it’s just a terrible driver made to sound good.

Why are you talking about something you don't know...in this case the Composer? Boredom
(Important that you know what a well conceived driver is )

NOMAX

 

[ThEvil0nE]

Unfortunately you can't have a say about the Composer....you know why or not?

NOMAX

Fortunately I can classify what a poorly designed and engineered driver is from a proper one and you can’t

 

[shabta]

Reasonable. I missed the part about AA sending foam to customer, I thought customer had to send to dealer. Still, I think the foam being torn is result of poor design choice that increases chances of significant damage by accidentally poking fragile tuning foam through earpads or when earpads are off.

It's not especially poor design, you're just adding extra stuff again. The foam shouldn't tear under normal use.if you actuslly saw a composer i seriously doubt you be throwing shade on it's construction.

 

[shabta]

Fortunately I can classify what a poorly designed and engineered driver is from a proper one and you can’t

Is it the driver? Or is the foam a clever way to reduce undesirable ear cup resonance?

 

[Nomax]

Fortunately I can classify what a poorly designed and engineered driver is from a proper one and you can’t

Then you're sure to find a job with one of the manufacturers as a clairvoyant

NOMAX

 

[GREQ]

Make earpad rolling a thing of the past. We just need foam and more foam to roll. Plus it’s way cheaper.

Ooof... no thanks.

Earside foam is almost always a best/worst compromise, because it works, and it's cheap, and there is no doubt that a super thick piece of foam like the one in the Composer is doing a lot of heavy lifting for the tuning.
But in 99% of cases, the foam will either turn to dust or get gummy and sticky and clog up the baffle and driver unless it is replaced every 3-10 years (depending on how heavy the use is).

Having disassembled, cleaned and refurbished over 200 vintage headphones, I can safely say that foam is not something we need to see more of, especially in flagship tier headphones.
Abyss for example uses aluminium 'foam' in the AB1266 - obviously it's on the rear, not ear-side, but that's still the kind of innovation we need to see more of.

 

[Nomax]

Ooof... no thanks.

Earside foam is almost always a best/worst compromise, because it works, and it's cheap, and there is no doubt that a super thick piece of foam like the one in the Composer is doing a lot of heavy lifting for the tuning.
But in 99% of cases, the foam will either turn to dust or get gummy and sticky and clog up the baffle and driver unless it is replaced every 3-10 years (depending on how heavy the use is).

Having disassembled, cleaned and refurbished over 200 vintage headphones, I can safely say that foam is not something we need to see more of, especially in flagship tier headphones.
Abyss for example uses aluminium 'foam' in the AB1266 - obviously it's on the rear, not ear-side, but that's still the kind of innovation we need to see more of.

This foam can never affect the Composer transducer...because it is protected

NOMAX

 

[shabta]

Ooof... no thanks.

Earside foam is almost always a best/worst compromise, because it works, and it's cheap, and there is no doubt that a super thick piece of foam like the one in the Composer is doing a lot of heavy lifting for the tuning.
But in 99% of cases, the foam will either turn to dust or get gummy and sticky and clog up the baffle and driver unless it is replaced every 3-10 years (depending on how heavy the use is).

Having disassembled, cleaned and refurbished over 200 vintage headphones, I can safely say that foam is not something we need to see more of, especially in flagship tier headphones.
Abyss for example uses aluminium 'foam' in the AB1266 - obviously it's on the rear, not ear-side, but that's still the kind of innovation we need to see more of.

Since you don't know what foam AA is using and by using language in an ominous fashion, you create a sense of serious doom.But that is just your spin.

My HD800 needs new pads every 4-5 years. It's a total pain to replace. Ever replace pads on an SR007? It's not fun. What about the damping material that is in nearly every TOTL headphone. Most of it is completely user inaccessable. It's degrading as we speak.

 

[ThEvil0nE]

Ooof... no thanks.

Earside foam is almost always a best/worst compromise, because it works, and it's cheap, and there is no doubt that a super thick piece of foam like the one in the Composer is doing a lot of heavy lifting for the tuning.
But in 99% of cases, the foam will either turn to dust or get gummy and sticky and clog up the baffle and driver unless it is replaced every 3-10 years (depending on how heavy the use is).

Having disassembled, cleaned and refurbished over 200 vintage headphones, I can safely say that foam is not something we need to see more of, especially in flagship tier headphones.
Abyss for example uses aluminium 'foam' in the AB1266 - obviously it's on the rear, not ear-side, but that's still the kind of innovation we need to see more of.

I’ll say AMEN to that in caps. Tho foam in front of a driver will work it also adds too many undesirable variables that can change or degrade the sound down the road.

Is it the driver? Or is the foam a clever way to reduce undesirable ear cup resonance?

That’s where the earpad selection and or design comes in.

 

[plakat]

If that foam were used for making a bad driver acceptable (which is a completely unfounded assumption), the wedge form might not be the best way to do this… the handling of reflections sounds more plausible.

And no, it does not tear without force. And yes, applying brought force you can damage everything. What’s the story here? The Composer is neither an especially volatile construction nor intended to be used as a door stop.

 

[shabta]

That’s where the earpad selection and or design comes in.

Well have you looked at the csd plots of a bunch of socalled totl cans? So there's clearly room for innovation.

It is a design choice that AA made. And obviiusly better that some (look at some of the photos nomax posted up thread).

 

[ThEvil0nE]

The GOOD the BAD and the UGLY of foam..
Foam dampen sound waves, affecting the overall clarity and accuracy of audio reproduction. The foam absorbs some of the energy from the driver, leading to a loss of high-frequency details.
Foam alter FR depending on the thickness and material of the foam, certain frequencies may be attenuated or emphasized.
Foam can trap heat around the driver. And dynamic drivers being mechanical does produce some type of heat. How much heat only the driver knows, probably negligible but enough to introduce unwanted distortion faster.
Foam are prone to wear and tear. They can become brittle, crack, or deteriorate over time, especially if exposed to heat and humidity. Add adhesives in the mix and it can be worse.
Cleaning foam is tricky. Dust and debris can accumulate in the foam’s pores, add humidity to that and it’s almost impossible to clean without degrading and affecting the foam’s efficiency.

So sure.. use foam but make it easy and straight forward to replace, shouldn’t be rocket science.

 

[Fegefeuer]

That foam feels very brute forcish, something I'd expect in a prototype to reach a certain target good enough to agree on the overall sounding and advance from there to reach it with more clever choice of material, cup design via overall less acoustic impedance. Just speaking from a tester's viewpoint, not engineer. Normally I expect for headphones in that price range that are wildly claimed to have a peerless industria in design to have less of that clunky filtering approach.

Take a look what Jupiter Audio did by perfecting the legendary HD 800. There's no simple filtering going on like most of the known mods and that's by a student with far less budget. Sure, he didn't invent the HD 800 himself but he improved upon it in way nobody ever did before and with a good jump through clever design. I'm wildly speculating the Composer will win in bass power and extension but lose everywhere else. I will make sure I get my personal loaner post High End 2024 Munich to confirm that or be surprised for the opposite.

 

[ThEvil0nE]

To add and you can correct me me if I’m wrong.. Resovle did mention about Composer and distortion. Who knows.. part of that could be the foam trapping heat

PS: just speculations