JVC HA-SZ2000
- This is not a review it's an argument for calling this set of cans the hardest hitting on the consumer market. That claim needs data. Others need to be able to confirm and compare their cans. Give me some time.
- Everything is based on changing the original pads to a firmer pleather
Making the case
Everything in the robust sub-bass region is related to a "Kelton Subwoofer".
Kelton Theory
- The output of the active speaker combined with the resonance of the outer enclosure's tuned port causes the passive element to move in sympathy with the changes in audio signal. This effectively creates an outer enclosure of varying size, complimentary to the audio signal, restoring some response to low end of the ported enclosure while taking advantage of the smooth response and tight transients of the sealed active speaker. Overall, the system is tuned, without a crossover, to a range, or band, of frequencies, hence the "bandpass sub-woofer" description.
The HA-SZ1000/2000 around ear headphones unveil new “Real Sound System” innovations including the “industry first” Stream Woofer DB (double bass-reflex) combining the Kelton approach with double bass-reflex architecture. This separately dedicated Stream Woofer DB system also allows the incorporation of an ideal-sized mid-high frequency driver mated to a carbon nanotubes diaphragm for mid-high range reproduction free from bass interference. Stream Woofer DB is a dual bass reflex woofer system that features Dual Stream Ducts and two separate chambers for not only richer bass, but also suppression of quality instabilities in mid and high range reproduction. The ingenious design and placement of the dual ducts and dual chambers also allow sufficient space for the large 55mm driver unit while maintaining compactness. The separately dedicated sub-woofer also let JVC engineers optimize the driver for mid to high range reproduction, and exploit the high-frequency characteristics of the carbon nanotubes diaphragm for exceptional audio purity. The result is stylish premium headphones that promise rich bass quality without interference with mid-high audio reproduction, and the enjoyment of delicate high range and solid mid-frequency sound without compromising the bass experience.
Exploded view
(The second panel from front shows the cover under the pads. It's twisted to 2:30 instead of 6:00 where the bass ports come out
Who the **** does that? This is JVC in a visual. You go all out to make something special and **** 1 little thing up. That's JVC in a nutshell. Every layer is tech awesome and you throw some shallow pads on the top.....tha fuu??)
55mm Carbon "Sub-woofer" and 30mm cnt (Carbon nanotube )
SZ1000 (L) SZ2000 (R) <<Uses brass housing for strength and to deter resonating
The Stream Woofer DB is secured in a highly rigid vibration damping cylinder to suppress undesirable vibrations. The premium HA-SZ2000 model adopts a cylinder made of brass, which has enhanced vibration damping performance.
Driver check.
Drivers responding clearly at low gain to human hearing thresh hold (18-20Hz)
SUB-BASS
(20-60Hz)
- 20Hz
- 30Hz
- 40Hz
- 50Hz
- 60Hz
MID-BASS
(65-120Hz)
- 65Hz
- 75Hz
- 85Hz
- 95Hz
- 100Hz
- 110Hz
- 120Hz
UPPER-BASS
(125-250Hz)
- 125Hz
- 150Hz
- 175Hz
- 200Hz
- 220Hz
- 250Hz
Mp3Skull Bass test tracks
250-2k (Mids)
2k-16k (Highs)
Testing
- Testing will be done using music tracks. (Hip Hop).
- There will be NO basstronica, Trance,Instrumental/synth-centric tracks.
- Sine-sweeps and tone loops are only used to confirm driver response thresh-hold.
- The "Cool Story Bro" crew will be put to sleep with video demo's. They are invited to try and replicate demo's with their own cans.
Testing Equipment
- Cowon iAudio 10
- FiiO e12 Mont Blanc
- JVC-HA-SZ2000
Regular mid-level goods. Total cost $500-600 (Cans+Amp+DAP)
Preview of visual aides
Lvl 1 test
(Shows energy being transferred by driver to cage)
Not
common but not
rare. Any 50mm+ driver with low,mid,high end bass should be able to do this. Some 40mm possibly as well.
This test can be
gamed and the paper size and material can greatly effect the visual display of energy.
Lvl 2 test
(Shows energy being transferred up through ear padding and air pressure change within area between driver and ear)
This is very
un-common. That paper is analogues to human skin and the energy being felt by it. It's not a perfect analogue but the point is made fairly well.
The final video will be an unedited one showing exact settings prior to display. As this it will be a Cowon at 34 volume with a flat 5 band eq mach3bass at 10 and BBE at 8. Fiio e12 amo with bass boost on, gain on and volume knob at approx 50% (all will be clearly seen in final video).
Anyone who has bought a pair of bass cans because they were told their "face will melt", "eyeballs will shake" or any # of wild claims only to get the cans... put them on and be absolutely underwhelmed in the face melting, eye ball shaking dept......will appreciate the effort I put into SHOWING what it does v.s. saying what it does.
This display is not near distortion levels. I like my cans. I do not need to damage them for entertainment. The work they do under elevated but not insane levels is clear enough/beyond most if not all.
This section is reserved for a video of cans that display equal to or exceeding energy
transfer through the pads. Lower padding held down by opposing cup or object. 3 sides
left unimpeded.
Using this track 3:40-4:02 to be exact. Anytime. PM me.
Test Tracks
Why this track?
Because it is like a Hip Hop producer channeled Phil Spector's
"Wall of Sound".
It is waves of layered bass hits underpinned with a sub-bass stroke that will keep the driver busy at all times.
This track shines on the sz in a way that puts other heavyweights to shame. It articulates and reproduces all of the mastered track with authority. If you listen and you think.."meh...just another hip hop track" you're not listening loud enough or your cans just won't bloom under the crushing pressures this track puts on the driver diaphragm.
100 million You-tube hits and I'll bet a good portion are pure breed bassheads.
Why this track?
Because it is the classic bass hit. An atomic blast dressed up like a proper bass hit. It's also nostalgia for me. This hit destroyed/exposed your favorite can.
If you do "A" "B" comparatives between cans while they're together (only way it should be done) then this will make one stand out. The Yamaha 500 and Ultrasone 900 do this hit well because it is good at mid/upper bass showcasing but the sz still takes this slice of cake.
What is a safe listening level? Is this too much? This track at high gain will make you ponder such deep questions.
Why this track?
Because it is a high gain track. It pulls mids and highs and ties them to the bass smoothly if bass is raised by +15dB. It is new. Well mastered and displays a punchy hit usually reserved for a slightly higher Hz but places it lower. (Maybe aimed at Car Audio heads) One of my newest fav's
Why this track?
Because this is a track that seems to have 2 layers of low end bass response however it has 3 clearly. The 3rd is only heard at very high low end gain. It sounds like a different song on these cans. Without mentioning cans I'll say my 2nd favorite start to echo while these rigid housed drivers keep it together. This is similar to the Wiz track in that you are always being hammered and sometimes with multiple magnificently mastered low end spikes. While the Wiz is pinned with a low tone this is hung with higher hits while low 20-35Hz punch you in between. It's like an inverted Wiz track.
Science n' stuff
Echo and Reverberation
When a wave reaches the boundary, a portion of the wave undergoes reflection and a portion of the wave undergoes transmission across the boundary. Reflection of sound waves off of surfaces can lead to either an echo or a reverberation.The human brain keeps a sound in memory for up to 0.1 seconds. If a reflected sound wave reaches the ear within 0.1 seconds of the initial sound, then it seems that the sound is prolonged. The reception of multiple reflections within 0.1 seconds of each other causes reverberations.
Reflection of sound waves also lead to echoes. Echoes are different than reverberations. Echoes occur when a reflected sound wave reaches the ear more than 0.1 seconds after the original sound wave was heard. In this case, the arrival of the second sound wave will be perceived as a second sound rather than the prolonging of the first sound. There will be an echo instead of a reverberation.
This is where the 77's end...along with the Pro 900 and ANY other 40mm driver and most 50+ with plastic housing. Just before both the 57mm JVC and the 40mm titanium Ultrasone physically distort they start a resonance/echo chamber acoustic downfall...and then immediately begin distorting
<<<Your ear is here.
Sound waves are longitudinal waves (Red line is your driver)
The SZ is using chambers to force high freq sounds out by filtering them naturally since high frequency
waves reflect easier than low frequency waves.Low are longer and wider. They deemed the 55mm driver a "Sub-woofer". It is essentially working in that fashion. Having a driver dedicated and forced to fight through chambers is assuring a powerful low frequency response since the driver is technically only being tasked with that duty. Mastering these headphones to get the two drivers to cooperate is the user end challenge. For Hip-Hop (to this user) these are perfect. They are the ultimate "Basshead" cans though most bassheads have never heard of them. They do not look the part and were not even marketed in that way.
Miura
Ordinarily steel components are cold pressed - punched out of steel sheets without applying heat. They are fabricated with brute force, so to speak. At the molecular level, you can see that components are structurally riddled with deformations that have a negative impact on the sound. We decided to apply heat treatment to the steel used in the magnetic circuitry of the HA-SZ2000. Heat treatment at temperatures reaching near 950 degrees Celsius followed by gradual cooling lasting over a day ensures that the molecular structure was relatively free of deformation. With the adoption of heat treatment, my last concern disappeared, and I could state with confidence that our product reproduced premium audio quality. Because efforts like these came so close to the end of development, they did not even make it into the product brochures (laughter).
Quote:
So these are not headphones for bass enjoyment?
Miura“At the product launch press conference, we were asked that question, and we responded that our aim was crisp clarity across the entire audio range - high fidelity reproduction of not only bass, but also the mid-to-high range. That is why we have achieved a product that reproduces music with a “live” quality and can let you hear even the smallest breath of the performer.”
For f__ks sake...Embrace the bass.
Miura“I have spent over 30 years as a speaker engineer, so for me, the sound that comes out of the speaker is something that I create. I had always wanted to create headphones that could reproduce the same audio quality that comes out of large floor model stereo speakers. Great audio from speakers requires consideration of the room in which they are enjoyed. In addition, it is generally not possible to turn up the volume of speakers in ordinary homes and enjoy their full potential. Headphones, on the other hand, let you listen to any music you like and as loud as you want, anywhere without concern about bothering others.
So they built a Sub-woofer based set to be played loud but it's not for
bass enjoyment????
O.K., Sure.
That's why folks got 40mm single driver celebrity endorsed basscans on their heads which will crumble and distort long before the ones you guys spent ages to build because you couldn't embrace the bass? How about...mmmm..I dunno....market them just a little to the tween-er crowd that uses moms money or what they saved at McDonald's working part time to buy the baddest ass headphone bass monsters on the planet. Now you got folks rec'ing (
insert ****ty can here) because they don't even know what the **** you built. Accidental Einsteins ...awesome
The thing...I was trying to tell/yell at folks for 2 months was what was the big deal. These really do shake your eyeballs. They vibrate the upper neck as well.
After having these for 3 months it's clear to see,the way a bass can delivers the sensations beyond the pads is related to the human skull. The rear of the pad vibes but your skull...it's thick. The area in front of the pads like your cheeks and the short jump to your orbital area and your meat filled neck......if you tune these right and have solid pads you are going to be very impressed. It is a unique experience
Analysis
Above is an SMS DJ PRO which...
Performance
On deep bass tracks, the Audio Street DJ shows off its power. This is definitely a pair for bass lovers and not for purists. At top volumes on tracks with challenging sub-bass content, like the Knife's "Silent Shout," the Street DJ doesn't distort, and it delivers some ferocious rumble.
Below is the sz
Can shaking hit on Kendrick Lamar's
MAad City (above)
Massive bass bomb from
Rah
SMS
SZ
**This was on a reduced gain because the SMS could not reproduce this hit without distorting/crackling unless I lowered the gain. That lowered gain is the same for the sz snapshot. It's an apples to apples comparison.
I'll revisit this hit later to see what the sz can do before it's own limit is reached.
Deficiency Notes
Denon has an
entire industry built around it's cans and the improvement of them. Take a diamond...shine it up...I get it.
Many great headphones have deficiencies that are adapted to and overcome by loyal owners who see the profit in further investment.
This is great...I wanna make it greater kinda thing.
The SZ2000 must have a pad change. End of discussion.
You wanna hear the mids and listen to Jazz? Get some Beyer pads/HM5's
You wanna vibrate your neck? Get a pair of JVC 55XX grab the pads and toss the rest in a river and tell yourself it's an offering to the bass gods and never look back.
Sometimes you gotta do ****. Suck it up and go the extra step.
Pre-conclusion conclusions
- The Carbon diaphragm is allowing for a stronger low frequency response. It has characteristics that caused JVC to use it for their "sub-woofer".
- That brass
- Hardened ass end reflecting almost all energy forward via direction (bass tubes) or reflection (metal driver housing)
DEAR LORD
Yup.
Ya missed the entire thread devoted to the cans.
While I wasn't looking these cans became highly controversial..
Sub-bass cannons with vids on vids showing it not saying it...and it's contro..........like I said "DEAR LOOOOORD"!!!
Great write up by a Non Hip hop head
***to be continued (The Case for Bass is approx 60% complete as of 7/12/14)
