cannot express my gratitude enough for the thousands of hours of unpaid work to do this day in and day out while being active in the forums and keep it all together. Hats of to you and your endeavor to help experts to non-experts make decisions for themselves. Huge fan of your contribution to the community. You are a true legend. Thank you.
I used to think that it must be easier to get a flat frequency response with headphones than speakers because there's no room to deal with. Haha, the room has shrunk to a 10cm X 1cm cylinder, with an ear in the way. We live and learn.
Quality is measurable. Better should be measurable. Thanks for setting the bar. I’m hoping other reviewers begin following your example. It’ll help get our niche hobby mainstream.
Amazing info. I have an engineering and musical background, but no experience in Hifi audio, just started to investigate, this was very enjoyable and straightforward to follow. Thank you!
Another helpful video. How about a video on the $600 nano particle 3D Enhancer liquid (NPS-1260) that High Fidelity Cables are selling, I think it would be quite apt for April 1st.
Finally someone that said what I have been saying... "sound is deep and wide... but they are just really close to my head" I have all kinds of headphones and seriously none of them sounds that deep or wide like some other reviewers say they are.
Amir, why don’t you re-measure the headphones once again with your recommended EQ settings enabled? Wouldn’t that help determine how well the headphones respond to EQ. If the results were good, you might even help to convince some EQ non-believers 🙂. I know the results would never be perfect and that, by nature, these measurements are imprecise, but I think the results would still be interesting to a lot of people.
A new kind of review, what a breath of fresh air, thanks. Can you check the Hifiman Sundara ? the arch enemy to the HD6xx/650 and maybe to the 660s too (there is some controversy about it).
Amir, can your gear measure microphonics in headphone cables? Over the years, when using different headphones with their stock cables, I have noticed a difference in the amount of noise I can hear. Why are some headphone cables more sensitive to microphonics? What are the specs to look for in a headphone cable? Have you done any comparisons of expensive vs. cheap headphone cables? Are there any headphone cables that are recommended by ASR? Thanks for all the videos. I try to watch them all and I have learned a lot.
I can answer this one: no, with an asterisk. We can probably create some scenario using very loose cables for hundreds of meters long and coil them and... you get the idea... It is not going to be even measurable in real world scenarios. Headphone cables over all are the last thing to worry about, they are quite literally one of the easiest to do. You really can not fuck it up, if there are enough threads to keep the wire structurally intact it has enough gauge to not have any worries about sound quality of it... The kind of headphone cables you want are light and flexible, with smooth surface. That is because cable handling noises are several magnitudes of order higher than ANYTHING you can do with the electronic properties of a wire. You want to have lightweight and flexible as more weight means the mechanical vibrations in he wire caused by the wearers movement reflect better the more rigid and heavy it is. Smooth surface is to make it slide smoothly against your clothes. Clipping the wire to your clothes and lightening the pull, making it move less can help with cable handling noises. Those things matter. The electronic characteristics do not.
Ah, you are making me think! It is certainly easy to hear the microphonic effect. The trick would be measuring it and having it be above ambient noise level. And have the method be consistent. I will ponder that!
I'm so educated by your videos :) I actually use your EQ settings from your review of the HE-400i's. The oratory1990 autoeq made my sound very hallow and muddy. I use the FabFilter Q3 to EQ my music through EqualizerAPO, would you recommend using a Dynamic band for any peaks/dips? Like for example from your video, the dip at 4300Hz Also, the best way, at least for me, to test the "width" of a soundstage is in video games, believe it or not. If a headphone has a small soundstage, footsteps that are supposed to be further away, sound much closer, as do gunshots or explosions. With a wider soundstage, those footsteps sound further away. You just feel as if you're in a wider, more accurate space. I don't know how people test it with music though :)
Thanks for watching and kind remarks. I don't have a strong feeling about shelving filters vs PEQ. Shelving is quicker to dial in when I am dealing with broad region of interest. But otherwise, you may be able to do the same with PEQ. On soundstage, that is an interesting angle to use gaming scenarios.
That dashed preferred reference curve, I was surprised to see that when setting up a near-field system by ear. In this case a large set of tower speakers and sub on my PC. After much hand-wringing getting it to appear as neutral as possible, I went back and measured the response from my position. And what it showed was just that curve. While the elevated bass was set deliberately by me, the treble response had that same characteristic peaking in the 3-5kHz region, with a 4-5dB/decade falling response thereafter to 20kHz. Trying to flatten it after the fact with just the measurements results in a somewhat dull and tinny response. Did not expect that.
I think, but do not know, that humans may have different 'near field' vs. 'far field' hearing characteristics. There may be a large body of research by audiologists on the topic, but I'm not compelled to read it. Perhaps because I rarely need headphones.
Hi Amir, talking about equalization, I don't know if you covered this subject or not before, could you please comment on Foobar 2000's MathAudio room eq plug-in approach and technical implementation in a future video? Best Regards,
Amir, I believe you should hold a Zoom class for some of our well intentioned TH-cam “reviewers” that really struggle with speaking to measurements. I learned quite a bit here. 👍🏻
I will probably delete my video about headphone neutrality now as there is no point, since this video exists and sums up the research far better. Anyone looking to qualify as a serious YT headphone "reviewer" should watch this video and fully understand the concepts here.
Since the load impedances of headphones can vary wildly between different makes, models, and across the audio frequency range, would it be useful to optimize the output resistance of the amplifier for each headphone for the most uniform and consistent power delivery? I did a simple calculation and found that power is delivered with the lowest deviation when the output resistance Z0 = SQRT(Z1 * Z2), where Z1 and Z2 are the lowest and highest load impedances of a particular headphone. At that point, power delivery at Z1 and Z2 should be the same, and power delivery is highest when load impedance = Z0. It's not too clear what the output resistance of the test instrument is. It probably doesn't matter too much in the end (a couple of dB difference), but it is a variable that can be controlled. Of course, this would increase the complexity of the test setup and may not be worthwhile, but it's something I was curious about in my studies of electronics.
Not sure if this would be a good idea, but maybe it would be appropriate to have a vertical dashed line at 8 kHz on the harmon curve to remind the amature audience that headphone measurement results above that frequency are unreliable. Just a suggestion.
Some people like second harmonic distortion. It's probably the reason tubes are so popular. So if a headphone has some second harmonic distortion in the mid range that doesn't necessarily make it a bad headphone.
Hi Amir, I have the Hifiman HE6-SE v2 and have an RME ADI-2 FS DAC as well. It seems loud enough but I keep seeing that these need at least 2 watts of power. I was thinking of buying the Topping A90 or the Singxer SA-1 to increase the power output but was wondering if this would be necessary or if the RME ADI-2 is sufficient. At -20db it's plenty loud but I see all these reviews saying you need headroom to really get the most out of headphones/spekaers. Would there be a noticeable increase in the quality of the sound output by upgrading the power or would it just play louder? Thanks!
@@AudioScienceReview I own a pair and they grown on me overtime. I use them with the Sabaj D5 in balanced mode and to me sounds better than single ended. What bugs me is to understand if this headphone sounds better balanced or is just the power of 1.3 watts of the D5 via balanced that make those to sound good. Thx for reading my monologue until next time ... Kind Regards
I still own hifiman he5se that I really like, although they aren't my headphone of choice here these days. Other than being heavy and not especially comfortable for long listening, they really have great bass, especially for their day! Top review here. Ty! 🎧
Thank you so much. I am a headphone enthusiast and found you video very helpful. I own the Hifiman HE-500 and I have taken of the metal grill and use only a thin cloth as dust protection. It made a huge a difference. Does the HE-6 also have a metal grill? I also have the Hifiman Ananda but have to say that I personally prefer the Hifiman HE-500 with the mod.
I think Amir and Gene from Audioholics should do some sort of collaboration and just turn all the snake oil people into truffle oil 🛢😉🤔🤭😋😇 Between both of your equipment analysis machines one can buy a small house!🙄🤪🤯 And between both of your audio knowledge credentials you can start a audiophile Academy!🤗😬
@@AudioScienceReview I have learned to believe what Amir says, and often to question what Gene @ Audioholics says. I believe that it's a matter of depth of understanding on the part of the pundit. -Just one man's view.
Fun to see the HE6 peforms well distortion wise because it has a rather heavy fooil by the looks of it. also seen in the efficiency graph.. being the most inefficient :) weight gives great damping. talking not much when talking planars but it sureley shows.
Hey Amir i'm curious, these low shelf and high shelf values you post. Do you use Q value as slope, or do you use db ? I don't have Roon, i use Peace and in Peace you can set the low and high shelf filter to either use db as a slope or the Q value. I don't know if Roon has that option.
@@AudioScienceReview Alright, thank you. Looks like i used the right one then :) Totally offtopic. Will you by any chance be reviewing the kali audio in-5 ? They'v been getting a lot of good rep so far, but i'm waiting on your review to see if they really are as good as some claim. I trust what you do, so no buying without hard facts for me. Thank your for what you do Amir, hope they clone you someday, heh :)
As there is soundstage mentioned around 38th minute, some headphones has it wide (Sennheiser HD25). Perhaps artificially wide (I’m not fan). Also it might be enforced by mastering techniques and Hall effect & its microphone positioning (and types of mics recording engineer use?) ?
Awesome video Amir! I think some reviewers should learn from this (won't name them, but we all know), and stop fantasizing those made up concepts they always do. Especially "love" the headphone comparisons based on months old memory from them :)
Hello Amir, would you be interested in reviewing the cheap koss headphones that everyone raves about? I want to get the ksc75 and Kph30i but they are cheaper if I were to purchase them on Amazon US and ship them to you for review since I am in Canada.
Hello OJ. I have a couple of them already that I will get tested soon. Been an owner of KOSS porta pro for decades. I have also bought the kph30i to test. So stay tuned! :)
Amir, Thank you for all that you do for us out here. Can you please tell us why plain old "SO", "SOOW", "SOJW" rubber 2 conductor cord would be a bad cord to use for speaker cables. As you know cable designs are getting out of hand and prices are crazy.
I don't know that they are bad for audio. As long as the gauge is heavy enough, it should work fine. I do have some fancy speaker cables that I will test soon.
@@AudioScienceReview Thank you sir. I normally use simple standard 2 wire "zip cord" speaker wire and I must be too hard of hearing to notice a problem. But, I did watch a recent interview with Galen Gareis who is a retired cable engineer from Belden. He says that there can be many audio issues including "time domain" issues with the delivery of current to the speakers if cables are not built for audio use. He also says he is the designer of the Iconoclast audio cable and he sure sounds like he's very knowledgeable in the field. Link to the interview: th-cam.com/video/_tgi7njiRSM/w-d-xo.html
@@petermilne9859 Thanks. That's my plan. I'm taking a roll of cheap zip cord and braiding to make it look cool 😎. "Fake it 'till you make it". Even if I ever "make it" I'll still research the facts and save $. Thanks again.
Does the amp compensate for the Fletcher-Munson curves and at what level, I think what they are trying to analyze or predict is almost impossible, besides it is not just your eardrum that hears the sound. Besides that every ear has a different shape almost like a fingerprint. The distance the diaphragm is from the ear, the material of the pad, what it is made of all kinds of materials. This was an interesting discussion.
As long as you listen to similar levels that were used when the music was created, the FM curves are part of the mix as it was created by the humans. Above and below that level, then yes, some kind of tone control -- automatic or otherwise -- is needed.
Although everyone has different sizes and shapes of ears, our brain "normalizes" our perception of the incoming "signal", and we all generally "hear the same". One thing that the shape of our outer ear & ear lobes help us to determine is the HEIGHT of a sound source. Try deforming your outer ears with your index fingers or some other unobstructive apparatus while trying to localize the Height of a sound source (birds in a tree, or airplanes, etc.). It will be difficult. But studies have shown that the brain can relearn/recalibrate for these height localization cues if your ears change in shape long-term, or stay in that "deformed" state permanently. In regards to the F-M/equal-loudness curve, many OEM Car Stereo systems use Active, Volume-Dependent EQ Shaping... Though, this is implemented at least as much to protect the cheap speakers/drivers that are used in OEM car stereo systems from excessive excursion & distortion, as it is to normalize the spectral balance when adjusting the listening volume. *Most* mixing & mastering engineers work at an average reference SPL of ~80dB at the listening position. Many will, of course, check the translation of their mix at lower & higher volumes as well. But 80dB to 85dB is the typical reference level. This obviously might change a bit depending on the genre of the music, etc.
That's like asking me what makes art pretty. It is the art or in this case, music itself. Our audio systems have the job of reproducing music, not creating their own effects. To the extent a device creates those effects on its own, it will overlay its signature on everything you play which is not a good thing. That aside, resolution is absolutely measured.
@@AudioScienceReview how is resolution measured. I've never seen you give resolution a value. The other aspects are about reproducing what's in the music. Frequency response just tells you about how the driver responds to steady-state tones. It doesn't tell you about its dynamic response. Imaging and soundstage are perceived similarly by most people.
Yeah, I also got the adorama he6se v2 (the blue colored set). Was better without the grill. So eventually got a less dense wire grill and transferred the old dust cloth from original grill.... tapped a glue-stick on the grill to make it stick. The earpads it comes with does best in taming the peaks. Tried using 3rd party HE dekoni sheepskin earpads; they gave better bass with no boominess, but made it sound peaky to me in the treble (and I had to add filter material to reduce the treble).......So I would suggest keeping the earpads it came with, it was perfect. Just EQ bass to your preference.
Depends on where you do you. I do EQ inside my Roon player which has a 64-bit pipeline. So no impact. Even 24-bit pipeline would be plenty good as you don't need all of those bits either.
Get headphones with flat bass curve. Sit on top of a subwoofer. Done. I am telling you, there are very few ways to get better sound. It just is not practical but if you can do that experiment, it is worth it.
@@AudioScienceReview @SquidCaps I'm a drummer, and when performing on stage, of course, we all typically use IEMs. But it is becoming more popular to also incorporate a "Bass Shaker" tactile transducer (like the original AuraSound Bass Shaker Pro used for home or professional theaters) in/on the drummer's throne to monitor & feel the kick drum, bass line, and/or a "click track" for timing. It definitely enhances the visceral feel of the low end when just using IEMs or headphones (that you would otherwise have, but to a lesser degree, with traditional bass speaker cabinet monitors blasting at your back or feet). www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/BC2RoundBun--porter-and-davies-bc2-tactile-drum-monitor-with-round-throne-top-and-base thebuttkicker.com/pro-audio/ They also make "High-End" chairs for video gamers that incorporate these. They are like High-End and very comfortable "office chairs". Amir, maybe you should upgrade your current "desk chair" to an *Arcadeo Gaming Chair* haha!? :-P www.arcadeo.com/en/
Mr Amir, what is the reason behind your censorship of my comments (three points of critique) that I posted here last night? Is this the way you operate, to filter out negative but thoughtful and constructive critiques and pass through the positive and praising ones? As a subscriber to your channel I deserve an explanation. Thank you. Babak, Hi-Reality Project
No because whoever mixed your music is also human and produced the content with appropriate level in that region. In other words, both recording and playback are according to the same, highly non-linear response so they back each other out (more or less).
@@AudioScienceReview wrong Amir, what a gift this video was, probably your best, like a true scientist you are not afraid to state the limitations of testing headphones, but it is quite clear that among all reviewers in TH-cam you are the closest to be to an adequate review of headphones, by very very far....
Whath is wrong with me if i like a dac that messure lover then a dac that u think messure great. I liked smsl m400, but lumin d2 is so much better in my Wien. In a/B Friend of me and fans 7 fanatic of u agree with me. But smsl messure better.
Your videos are essentially lectures. I’m an electrical engineer and I’m loving it.
Thanks for watching and kind feedback Mohammad.
@@AudioScienceReview what headphone would you recommend for mixing music, also can you analyse the sennheiser hd 280 pro mkii
Amir, it was worth to wait for this video ;-) THANK YOU. Others on YT tried hard to describe it - you nailed it
Thank you kindly!
cannot express my gratitude enough for the thousands of hours of unpaid work to do this day in and day out while being active in the forums and keep it all together. Hats of to you and your endeavor to help experts to non-experts make decisions for themselves. Huge fan of your contribution to the community. You are a true legend. Thank you.
It's not unpaid..
Unpaid work? This is his job.
I used to think that it must be easier to get a flat frequency response with headphones than speakers because there's no room to deal with. Haha, the room has shrunk to a 10cm X 1cm cylinder, with an ear in the way. We live and learn.
Indeed. Headphones do have an advantage on distortion though as they don't have to produce loudness that speakers do.
Well done- you have a gift for explaining all that you do with your measurements and listening methods!
Amir, Science is wonderful. Thanks for your effort(s) reviewing audio stuff.
Mr. Pete---------->
aging hippie
Excellent, thank you! Can't wait for more Hifiman reviews!
Thank you Amir, another great educational video. Appreciate it!
My pleasure. Thanks for watching.
Quality is measurable. Better should be measurable.
Thanks for setting the bar. I’m hoping other reviewers begin following your example. It’ll help get our niche hobby mainstream.
Amazing info. I have an engineering and musical background, but no experience in Hifi audio, just started to investigate, this was very enjoyable and straightforward to follow. Thank you!
Thank you so much for all your reviews! I’ve been hooked on them and they are like a breath of fresh air to this industry!
Another helpful video. How about a video on the $600 nano particle 3D Enhancer liquid (NPS-1260) that High Fidelity Cables are selling, I think it would be quite apt for April 1st.
Great video! Your ability to talk off the cuff for so long is impressive.
Thanks Tom. :)
Finally someone that said what I have been saying... "sound is deep and wide... but they are just really close to my head" I have all kinds of headphones and seriously none of them sounds that deep or wide like some other reviewers say they are.
Placebo is real, or they have different standards, I guess.
Amir, why don’t you re-measure the headphones once again with your recommended EQ settings enabled?
Wouldn’t that help determine how well the headphones respond to EQ. If the results were good, you might even help to convince some EQ non-believers 🙂.
I know the results would never be perfect and that, by nature, these measurements are imprecise, but I think the results would still be interesting to a lot of people.
A new kind of review, what a breath of fresh air, thanks.
Can you check the Hifiman Sundara ? the arch enemy to the HD6xx/650 and maybe to the 660s too (there is some controversy about it).
You need to send them to Danny at GR to swap out the internals with quality parts and add his signal blocking cables.
Amir, can your gear measure microphonics in headphone cables? Over the years, when using different headphones with their stock cables, I have noticed a difference in the amount of noise I can hear. Why are some headphone cables more sensitive to microphonics? What are the specs to look for in a headphone cable? Have you done any comparisons of expensive vs. cheap headphone cables? Are there any headphone cables that are recommended by ASR?
Thanks for all the videos. I try to watch them all and I have learned a lot.
I can answer this one: no, with an asterisk. We can probably create some scenario using very loose cables for hundreds of meters long and coil them and... you get the idea... It is not going to be even measurable in real world scenarios. Headphone cables over all are the last thing to worry about, they are quite literally one of the easiest to do. You really can not fuck it up, if there are enough threads to keep the wire structurally intact it has enough gauge to not have any worries about sound quality of it...
The kind of headphone cables you want are light and flexible, with smooth surface. That is because cable handling noises are several magnitudes of order higher than ANYTHING you can do with the electronic properties of a wire. You want to have lightweight and flexible as more weight means the mechanical vibrations in he wire caused by the wearers movement reflect better the more rigid and heavy it is. Smooth surface is to make it slide smoothly against your clothes. Clipping the wire to your clothes and lightening the pull, making it move less can help with cable handling noises.
Those things matter. The electronic characteristics do not.
Ah, you are making me think! It is certainly easy to hear the microphonic effect. The trick would be measuring it and having it be above ambient noise level. And have the method be consistent. I will ponder that!
@@AudioScienceReview Thank you.
Each video a masterclass in insight and common sense. Thank you!
I'm so educated by your videos :) I actually use your EQ settings from your review of the HE-400i's. The oratory1990 autoeq made my sound very hallow and muddy.
I use the FabFilter Q3 to EQ my music through EqualizerAPO, would you recommend using a Dynamic band for any peaks/dips? Like for example from your video, the dip at 4300Hz
Also, the best way, at least for me, to test the "width" of a soundstage is in video games, believe it or not. If a headphone has a small soundstage, footsteps that are supposed to be further away, sound much closer, as do gunshots or explosions. With a wider soundstage, those footsteps sound further away. You just feel as if you're in a wider, more accurate space. I don't know how people test it with music though :)
Thanks for watching and kind remarks. I don't have a strong feeling about shelving filters vs PEQ. Shelving is quicker to dial in when I am dealing with broad region of interest. But otherwise, you may be able to do the same with PEQ. On soundstage, that is an interesting angle to use gaming scenarios.
Amir Outstanding education for me as I just bought my first headphones Focal Elegia. Thanks you for this insightful review.
Amazing headphones Hifiman HE-6. Its little sister HE-500 is brilliant too.
Hi Amir, great video as usual. Question: what do you think of crossfeed filter for headphones
That dashed preferred reference curve, I was surprised to see that when setting up a near-field system by ear. In this case a large set of tower speakers and sub on my PC. After much hand-wringing getting it to appear as neutral as possible, I went back and measured the response from my position. And what it showed was just that curve. While the elevated bass was set deliberately by me, the treble response had that same characteristic peaking in the 3-5kHz region, with a 4-5dB/decade falling response thereafter to 20kHz. Trying to flatten it after the fact with just the measurements results in a somewhat dull and tinny response. Did not expect that.
I think, but do not know, that humans may have different 'near field' vs. 'far field' hearing characteristics. There may be a large body of research by audiologists on the topic, but I'm not compelled to read it. Perhaps because I rarely need headphones.
Thanks for the nice video, Amir! Is it possible to make a video about understanding AMP measurements? Specifically, the concepts of 'power'.
Hi Amir, talking about equalization, I don't know if you covered this subject or not before, could you please comment on Foobar 2000's MathAudio room eq plug-in approach and technical implementation in a future video?
Best Regards,
Amir, I believe you should hold a Zoom class for some of our well intentioned TH-cam “reviewers” that really struggle with speaking to measurements.
I learned quite a bit here. 👍🏻
Good idea. I sure hope they watch these videos and modify their ways. I think some are thinking about it already.
I will probably delete my video about headphone neutrality now as there is no point, since this video exists and sums up the research far better. Anyone looking to qualify as a serious YT headphone "reviewer" should watch this video and fully understand the concepts here.
Since the load impedances of headphones can vary wildly between different makes, models, and across the audio frequency range, would it be useful to optimize the output resistance of the amplifier for each headphone for the most uniform and consistent power delivery? I did a simple calculation and found that power is delivered with the lowest deviation when the output resistance Z0 = SQRT(Z1 * Z2), where Z1 and Z2 are the lowest and highest load impedances of a particular headphone. At that point, power delivery at Z1 and Z2 should be the same, and power delivery is highest when load impedance = Z0.
It's not too clear what the output resistance of the test instrument is. It probably doesn't matter too much in the end (a couple of dB difference), but it is a variable that can be controlled. Of course, this would increase the complexity of the test setup and may not be worthwhile, but it's something I was curious about in my studies of electronics.
Not sure if this would be a good idea, but maybe it would be appropriate to have a vertical dashed line at 8 kHz on the harmon curve to remind the amature audience that headphone measurement results above that frequency are unreliable. Just a suggestion.
When you're comparing headphones how do you volume match?
Some people like second harmonic distortion. It's probably the reason tubes are so popular. So if a headphone has some second harmonic distortion in the mid range that doesn't necessarily make it a bad headphone.
Hi Amir, I have the Hifiman HE6-SE v2 and have an RME ADI-2 FS DAC as well. It seems loud enough but I keep seeing that these need at least 2 watts of power. I was thinking of buying the Topping A90 or the Singxer SA-1 to increase the power output but was wondering if this would be necessary or if the RME ADI-2 is sufficient. At -20db it's plenty loud but I see all these reviews saying you need headroom to really get the most out of headphones/spekaers. Would there be a noticeable increase in the quality of the sound output by upgrading the power or would it just play louder? Thanks!
Thank you for teaching us all this good stuff!
Quick question: Richard Grey Power, super expensive surge protectors... Yay or nay?
If i may suggest i wish to see the Hifiman 4xx balanced. This will be so useful for a lot of us i believe.
I will be on the look out for one.
@@AudioScienceReview I own a pair and they grown on me overtime. I use them with the Sabaj D5 in balanced mode and to me sounds better than single ended. What bugs me is to understand if this headphone sounds better balanced or is just the power of 1.3 watts of the D5 via balanced that make those to sound good.
Thx for reading my monologue until next time ...
Kind Regards
I still own hifiman he5se that I really like, although they aren't my headphone of choice here these days.
Other than being heavy and not especially comfortable for long listening, they really have great bass, especially for their day!
Top review here. Ty! 🎧
hey, amir! is there a particular reason you measure before you listen?
Thank you so much. I am a headphone enthusiast and found you video very helpful.
I own the Hifiman HE-500 and I have taken of the metal grill and use only a thin cloth as dust protection. It made a huge a difference. Does the HE-6 also have a metal grill? I also have the Hifiman Ananda but have to say that I personally prefer the Hifiman HE-500 with the mod.
I am not an expert in these mods but from what the owner has told me, yes, people have come up with mechanical ways to reduce the treble exaggeration.
I think Amir and Gene from Audioholics should do some sort of collaboration and just turn all the snake oil people into truffle oil 🛢😉🤔🤭😋😇 Between both of your equipment analysis machines one can buy a small house!🙄🤪🤯 And between both of your audio knowledge credentials you can start a audiophile Academy!🤗😬
We have been talking about what makes sense to do. Thanks for the kind encouragement. :)
@@AudioScienceReview 😬
@@AudioScienceReview I have learned to believe what Amir says, and often to question what Gene @ Audioholics says. I believe that it's a matter of depth of understanding on the part of the pundit. -Just one man's view.
Loving the content Amir. I wonder what Abyss would say about that Diana.... glad I have an Arya
wow this is great hopefully you can compare this to the new he6seV2 also will u consider starting a wall of fame like Tyll used to on inner fidelity?
Thanks. Would like to have an explanation on speaker reviews, too.
I have done a couple of those already. You can start with this one: th-cam.com/video/JkHNhSRDqqw/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=AudioScienceReview
This is just so good.....
Fun to see the HE6 peforms well distortion wise because it has a rather heavy fooil by the looks of it. also seen in the efficiency graph.. being the most inefficient :) weight gives great damping. talking not much when talking planars but it sureley shows.
Great video. Please make one on Room EQ-both Frequency and Time domain/impulse adjustments in Roon. Thanks
Thanks. That is on my TODO list. It requires a lot of prep so I am not there yet. I may do part of it sooner than trying to do it all at once.
@@AudioScienceReview Looking forward...
Thanks for the explaination m8
My pleasure. Thanks for watching.
nice informative video
and agree
reading raw data is far important
and thanks a lot
Hey Amir i'm curious, these low shelf and high shelf values you post. Do you use Q value as slope, or do you use db ? I don't have Roon, i use Peace and in Peace you can set the low and high shelf filter to either use db as a slope or the Q value. I don't know if Roon has that option.
I do use Q value but I always set it to 1. Anything higher creates peaking which completely defeats the purpose of using them.
@@AudioScienceReview Alright, thank you. Looks like i used the right one then :) Totally offtopic. Will you by any chance be reviewing the kali audio in-5 ? They'v been getting a lot of good rep so far, but i'm waiting on your review to see if they really are as good as some claim. I trust what you do, so no buying without hard facts for me. Thank your for what you do Amir, hope they clone you someday, heh :)
Got to learn so much 🚀 Thanks
Loved your video... thank you so much
You are very kind. Much appreciate you watching and commenting.
Hey Amirm, could you make a video talking about how to set a listening room
1-4k is stage. THANK YOU!!!
Is it possible to use GRAS 45CA to measure speakers? Would like to see how it compares to Klippel Near-field Scanner (NFS) in-room response.
As there is soundstage mentioned around 38th minute, some headphones has it wide (Sennheiser HD25). Perhaps artificially wide (I’m not fan). Also it might be enforced by mastering techniques and Hall effect & its microphone positioning (and types of mics recording engineer use?) ?
Oh for sure. Content by far set the tone for sound staging and spatial effect. Everything the speaker/headphone do is secondary to that.
That was a great video! I learned something for a change :)
Awesome video Amir! I think some reviewers should learn from this (won't name them, but we all know), and stop fantasizing those made up concepts they always do. Especially "love" the headphone comparisons based on months old memory from them :)
Thanks. I watch a lot of reviews from others and I just can't fathom what people get out of them other than passing the time.
Thank you for sharing.
Hello Amir, would you be interested in reviewing the cheap koss headphones that everyone raves about? I want to get the ksc75 and Kph30i but they are cheaper if I were to purchase them on Amazon US and ship them to you for review since I am in Canada.
Hello OJ. I have a couple of them already that I will get tested soon. Been an owner of KOSS porta pro for decades. I have also bought the kph30i to test. So stay tuned! :)
@@AudioScienceReview I see, looking forward to it!
totally agree with your comments in regards to headphone sound stage.
Ah, that's a relief! Thanks for chiming in.
Audio Science Review... the forum where Solderdude hangs out? Must watch...
Amir, Thank you for all that you do for us out here. Can you please tell us why plain old "SO", "SOOW", "SOJW" rubber 2 conductor cord would be a bad cord to use for speaker cables. As you know cable designs are getting out of hand and prices are crazy.
I don't know that they are bad for audio. As long as the gauge is heavy enough, it should work fine. I do have some fancy speaker cables that I will test soon.
@@AudioScienceReview Thank you sir. I normally use simple standard 2 wire "zip cord" speaker wire and I must be too hard of hearing to notice a problem. But, I did watch a recent interview with Galen Gareis who is a retired cable engineer from Belden. He says that there can be many audio issues including "time domain" issues with the delivery of current to the speakers if cables are not built for audio use. He also says he is the designer of the Iconoclast audio cable and he sure sounds like he's very knowledgeable in the field. Link to the interview: th-cam.com/video/_tgi7njiRSM/w-d-xo.html
@@welderfixer None of the differences that he measures will be anywhere near audible. Save your money!
@@petermilne9859 Thanks. That's my plan. I'm taking a roll of cheap zip cord and braiding to make it look cool 😎. "Fake it 'till you make it". Even if I ever "make it" I'll still research the facts and save $. Thanks again.
Does the amp compensate for the Fletcher-Munson curves and at what level, I think what they are trying to analyze or predict is almost impossible, besides it is not just your eardrum that hears the sound. Besides that every ear has a different shape almost like a fingerprint. The distance the diaphragm is from the ear, the material of the pad, what it is made of all kinds of materials. This was an interesting discussion.
As long as you listen to similar levels that were used when the music was created, the FM curves are part of the mix as it was created by the humans. Above and below that level, then yes, some kind of tone control -- automatic or otherwise -- is needed.
Although everyone has different sizes and shapes of ears, our brain "normalizes" our perception of the incoming "signal", and we all generally "hear the same".
One thing that the shape of our outer ear & ear lobes help us to determine is the HEIGHT of a sound source.
Try deforming your outer ears with your index fingers or some other unobstructive apparatus while trying to localize the Height of a sound source (birds in a tree, or airplanes, etc.). It will be difficult.
But studies have shown that the brain can relearn/recalibrate for these height localization cues if your ears change in shape long-term, or stay in that "deformed" state permanently.
In regards to the F-M/equal-loudness curve, many OEM Car Stereo systems use Active, Volume-Dependent EQ Shaping...
Though, this is implemented at least as much to protect the cheap speakers/drivers that are used in OEM car stereo systems from excessive excursion & distortion, as it is to normalize the spectral balance when adjusting the listening volume.
*Most* mixing & mastering engineers work at an average reference SPL of ~80dB at the listening position.
Many will, of course, check the translation of their mix at lower & higher volumes as well.
But 80dB to 85dB is the typical reference level. This obviously might change a bit depending on the genre of the music, etc.
Thanks again.
You are very kind.
What tests can you use to measure resolution dynamics soundstage and imaging? If we don't have any then isn't it time someone did the research.
That's like asking me what makes art pretty. It is the art or in this case, music itself. Our audio systems have the job of reproducing music, not creating their own effects. To the extent a device creates those effects on its own, it will overlay its signature on everything you play which is not a good thing.
That aside, resolution is absolutely measured.
@@AudioScienceReview how is resolution measured. I've never seen you give resolution a value. The other aspects are about reproducing what's in the music. Frequency response just tells you about how the driver responds to steady-state tones. It doesn't tell you about its dynamic response.
Imaging and soundstage are perceived similarly by most people.
@@AudioScienceReview and when it comes to art people pay far too much for stuff I could do in my sleep.
Love the he6se once the grills are swapped out
I have an HE-6SE coming for testing....
Yeah, I also got the adorama he6se v2 (the blue colored set). Was better without the grill.
So eventually got a less dense wire grill and transferred the old dust cloth from original grill.... tapped a glue-stick on the grill to make it stick.
The earpads it comes with does best in taming the peaks. Tried using 3rd party HE dekoni sheepskin earpads; they gave better bass with no boominess, but made it sound peaky to me in the treble (and I had to add filter material to reduce the treble).......So I would suggest keeping the earpads it came with, it was perfect. Just EQ bass to your preference.
Well .. Headphones or Adam monitors .. T8V :) replace your subwoofers. Great video! Thanks.
Thanks. I think both headphones and speakers can do things the other cannot do. So nice to have both.
Good video/review, but if you EQ you lose bits.
Depends on where you do you. I do EQ inside my Roon player which has a 64-bit pipeline. So no impact. Even 24-bit pipeline would be plenty good as you don't need all of those bits either.
The recording, mixing and mastering Engineers use gating, EQ and compression. I wouldn't morn the loss of some bits of the music they produce.
Good video...
What's the region that makes female voices really agressive and shouty?
Essex
James Barber I think you meant Yorkshire! I have proof at home!
@@leonardobenitodevalle814 I'd have thought NY. 😊
You should have explained why you don't measure headphones flat like you do speakers.
Amir did explain.
♥
Why don't you test headphones by comparing them to properly EQ'd studio monitors?
compare how
Get headphones with flat bass curve. Sit on top of a subwoofer. Done. I am telling you, there are very few ways to get better sound. It just is not practical but if you can do that experiment, it is worth it.
I imagine that works well. The only issue is everything else around you going crazy hearing that sub. :)
@@AudioScienceReview
@SquidCaps
I'm a drummer, and when performing on stage, of course, we all typically use IEMs.
But it is becoming more popular to also incorporate a "Bass Shaker" tactile transducer (like the original AuraSound Bass Shaker Pro used for home or professional theaters) in/on the drummer's throne to monitor & feel the kick drum, bass line, and/or a "click track" for timing.
It definitely enhances the visceral feel of the low end when just using IEMs or headphones (that you would otherwise have, but to a lesser degree, with traditional bass speaker cabinet monitors blasting at your back or feet).
www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/BC2RoundBun--porter-and-davies-bc2-tactile-drum-monitor-with-round-throne-top-and-base
thebuttkicker.com/pro-audio/
They also make "High-End" chairs for video gamers that incorporate these. They are like High-End and very comfortable "office chairs".
Amir, maybe you should upgrade your current "desk chair" to an *Arcadeo Gaming Chair* haha!? :-P
www.arcadeo.com/en/
Mr Amir, what is the reason behind your censorship of my comments (three points of critique) that I posted here last night? Is this the way you operate, to filter out negative but thoughtful and constructive critiques and pass through the positive and praising ones? As a subscriber to your channel I deserve an explanation. Thank you. Babak, Hi-Reality Project
HE6SE V2 on blast
Hmm ... interesting. About B&K's new model .... it seems head-fi.org has gone full hog on it.
If the ear is sensitive around 2.5 kHz, then the logical thing to do is to tone it down a few db?
No because whoever mixed your music is also human and produced the content with appropriate level in that region. In other words, both recording and playback are according to the same, highly non-linear response so they back each other out (more or less).
@@AudioScienceReview in which case, the target frequency response for the headphones should be flat, no?
@@giriprasadkotte9876 With speakers. Headphones don’t measure like speakers, they need something resembling the Harman curve to achieve that.
For the algo
If a bass boost doesn't sound good and create boom then the actual driver itself is trash
New video yay!, i'm first
You realize I am too cheap to give gifts for being first, yes? :)
@@AudioScienceReview wrong Amir, what a gift this video was, probably your best, like a true scientist you are not afraid to state the limitations of testing headphones, but it is quite clear that among all reviewers in TH-cam you are the closest to be to an adequate review of headphones, by very very far....
@@Lauren080508 Thank you kindly. It means a lot to me.
Whath is wrong with me if i like a dac that messure lover then a dac that u think messure great. I liked smsl m400, but lumin d2 is so much better in my Wien. In a/B Friend of me and fans 7 fanatic of u agree with me. But smsl messure better.
Amir's clown fud show 🤡