I‘m relatively new to these headphone discussions (but I have had a few headphones over the years), and I’m curious why some models seem much more dynamic than others. Is there some measurement that quantifies this? Perhaps a relationship between the drive voltage and actual SPL output? I suspect that the relationship is not always linear.
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Headphone Dynamics
- Thread starter Bama214
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Poorly engineered headphones may compress dynamic range at louder output volumes :
https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/shure/srh-1840/
But most headphones don't suffer from that issue it seems.
So whatever the hell people mean when they talk about "dynamics" is unlikely to be found with actual dynamic range compression issues.
I would suspect that, as usual with headphones, FR likely is where the answer is to be found. But first we need to operationally define what "dynamic" means
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DVDdoug
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Right... Usually the dynamics of speakers or headphones are linear (a 3dB change in the input signal makes a 3dB change in loudness) unless you are over-driving it to the point of terrible distortion.
I'd guess that's what you're hearing. The louder headphone might seem more dynamic. That's "sensitivity"... The loudness with a given voltage. When level matched, the biggest difference between headphones is frequency response. And with a low-sensitivity headphone you are more likely to drive the amplifier into distortion.
I found the site https://reference-audio-analyzer.pro/en/param6.php#gsc.tab=0 where they measure the sensitivity of headphones (SPL/fr @ 1V). I picked a few that have comparatively more (Focal Clear, HFM Sundara) and less (HFM Ananda) but I cannot seem to correlate the comments from reviewers and these graphs - I could be totally offbase here
I suspect what many describe as headphone 'dynamics' (in the bass) is partly down to front volume seal (between the pads and the wearer's head and within the front volume itself) and so the acoustic impedance of the headphone. As Oratory describes here:
Open front volume headphones like many Sennheiser models are often reported to lack the impactful bass of closed front volume headphones such as LCDs, even when EQed. I believe the size of the venting hole Oratory mentioned that I highlighted above also means there are degrees of 'closedness' (/'openness') to the front volume which can result in varying degrees of bass impact.
I'm not certain that there is any consensus as to what is "bass impact". In general use of nebulous terminology rarely ever comes up with consensus with headphones IMO
. And more importantly I'm not certain that one's subjective assessment of the bass response is confined to only EQing headphones to match below 1kHz (if you're certain that they've been effectively equalised to the same response on your own head, which is another problem). It frequently happens to me that adjusting a few filters even above a few kHz results in my subjective impression of a pair of HP's bass response to change.
Finally I doubt that having bass extension down to far below humans' capacity to hear or most records' spectrum is of any consequence to our subjective appreciation of bass response.
The effect of venting holes / tuning ports (call them however you like) will be visible in the FR.
My recent experience with the DCA Aeon RT closed has me wondering about this too.
The first weeks I did hear the bass notes. Really good extension into the low end, but compared to a K371 or DT770pro there was just no punch/slam/dynamics.
Over the course of a week or so I started to hear the bass from the DCA more like the bass from my other bass-capable headphones (with dynamic drivers).
It seems to me that for some reason the bass from a planar is perceived differently from that of a dynamic driver. And over a short amount of time the brain has to "learn" the new input.
I do not have any multi BA IEMs but from what I read the sensation is similar when you listen to BA bass compared to DD bass. That is why for many IEMs where the bass is handled by BAs they tune it so that you get a bigger bass-shelve compared to what you would do when the bass is handled by a DD.
I have no idea why e certain frequency at a certain SPL level can sound different just because it is produced by a different driver technology.
With regards to headphone/IEM tuning I get the impression that the ones with a little more mid-bass tend to be perceived as having more slam/punch/impact/dynamics. It doesn't have to be an elevation in the mid-bass, just a little slower roll-off from the bass-shelve is enough. At least that's what I get from looking at graphs and listening to what YT reviewers say about certain headphones/IEMs.
The first weeks I did hear the bass notes. Really good extension into the low end, but compared to a K371 or DT770pro there was just no punch/slam/dynamics.
Over the course of a week or so I started to hear the bass from the DCA more like the bass from my other bass-capable headphones (with dynamic drivers).
It seems to me that for some reason the bass from a planar is perceived differently from that of a dynamic driver. And over a short amount of time the brain has to "learn" the new input.
I do not have any multi BA IEMs but from what I read the sensation is similar when you listen to BA bass compared to DD bass. That is why for many IEMs where the bass is handled by BAs they tune it so that you get a bigger bass-shelve compared to what you would do when the bass is handled by a DD.
I have no idea why e certain frequency at a certain SPL level can sound different just because it is produced by a different driver technology.
With regards to headphone/IEM tuning I get the impression that the ones with a little more mid-bass tend to be perceived as having more slam/punch/impact/dynamics. It doesn't have to be an elevation in the mid-bass, just a little slower roll-off from the bass-shelve is enough. At least that's what I get from looking at graphs and listening to what YT reviewers say about certain headphones/IEMs.
Not necessarily. There's some evidence that the static pressure in the ear canal (which is influenced by headphone/IEM front volume venting holes) affects the response of the auditory system (which will not be the same with the mics in a HATS):
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3015033/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4103952/
Yeah, maybe DCA does soemthing to their drivers that is different from other planar magnetic driver manufacturers. It sounded like what most people would conclude to be driver burn-in (which I highly doubt it is). By now I'm used to it and find the bass very enjoyable even without EQ.
Do you still think the Aeon2 closed bass sounds different to dynamic driver bass or even the LCD-3? Or was that only when it was new?
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I also want to know what the reason is behind "dynamics". Andrew Park over at The Headphone Show also calls this phenomenon "macro-contrast".
When I compare the Focal Clear MG and the Hifiman HE-500, Sennheiser HD600, or basically any other headphone I have, the Clear MG always comes out on top with the most hard hitting and quick response. It feels like the sound is more violently being pushed into your ears, like the sound is somehow being pushed faster and harder. It's not just one part of the frequency response, every part of the mix pops out more, whether that's the bass, mids, or treble. People have speculated this dynamic behavior can be found in normal FR graphs, but I'm not so sure. Maybe impulse response and CSD graphs can help figure it out, but that's just speculation on my part. It could also be how good of a seal you get, even with open headphones, that affects dynamics.
When I compare the Focal Clear MG and the Hifiman HE-500, Sennheiser HD600, or basically any other headphone I have, the Clear MG always comes out on top with the most hard hitting and quick response. It feels like the sound is more violently being pushed into your ears, like the sound is somehow being pushed faster and harder. It's not just one part of the frequency response, every part of the mix pops out more, whether that's the bass, mids, or treble. People have speculated this dynamic behavior can be found in normal FR graphs, but I'm not so sure. Maybe impulse response and CSD graphs can help figure it out, but that's just speculation on my part. It could also be how good of a seal you get, even with open headphones, that affects dynamics.
someguyontheinternet
Active Member
I was trying to make a test setup to look more into this vague term some time ago, but ultimately ran into different issues which I'm slowly trying to solve.
From theoretical stuff to the necessary tools there is a bunch of parameters that need to be sufficiently controlled. I'm still wrapping my head around bits and pieces as I find the time.
To summarize some of the core issues:
From theoretical stuff to the necessary tools there is a bunch of parameters that need to be sufficiently controlled. I'm still wrapping my head around bits and pieces as I find the time.
To summarize some of the core issues:
- how can the term "dynamics" be defined in this context?
- how can headphones be made comparable (if at all)?
- how can the individual factors of headphones be influenced (if at all)?
- what is the best way to control for non-visual factors in blind tests? How to handle side effects introduced by the modifications?
- how consistent are perceived correlations with existing measurements?
You have to look at distortion vs volume and snr.
Despite having better snr and lower distortion a headphone can sound less dynamic than another because we associate compression artifacts with a perception of greater dynamic.
What we perceive as more dynamic doesn't necessarily correlate with more dynamic headroom and lower noise, ie higher fidelity.
Despite having better snr and lower distortion a headphone can sound less dynamic than another because we associate compression artifacts with a perception of greater dynamic.
What we perceive as more dynamic doesn't necessarily correlate with more dynamic headroom and lower noise, ie higher fidelity.
Sorry to revive an old thread but wouldn't dynamic range just be the volume level of a frequency at a lower volume vs a higher volume when played at the same time once noise has been subtracted out. So let's say a very loud vocal with background high hats playing at a much lowered volume. I would think this would be easy to test by simply playing several frequencies at different volume levels and see the results to see if a headphone compresses the sound or doesn't. When people say dynamic range is poor, do they mean the headphones are compressing the sound? If so, then the test I stated would show this by starting with one low volume frequency peak, then adding frequency peaks at higher volumes then seeing if the low volume frequencies volume raises in level as you add higher volume level frequencies.
solderdude
Grand Contributor
I don't think headphones are actually compressing. Only at very high SPL compression occurs. This means odd order distortion.
When a headphone does not have elevated lower mids and also has a small bump in the 1-3kHz region there is an emphasis on clarity and things like drum hits are over emphasized, voices sound 'closer' than real life and instruments sound more 'lively' as the harmonics are reproduced a bit louder.
This can also happen when there is an 'upward tilt' in the mids and no elevated midbass.
The opposite of this will give the headphones a less dynamic impression of a headphone.
So I don't think it is an actual dynamic something but a tonal balance thing. Play around with EQ and see what it does for you.
When a headphone does not have elevated lower mids and also has a small bump in the 1-3kHz region there is an emphasis on clarity and things like drum hits are over emphasized, voices sound 'closer' than real life and instruments sound more 'lively' as the harmonics are reproduced a bit louder.
This can also happen when there is an 'upward tilt' in the mids and no elevated midbass.
The opposite of this will give the headphones a less dynamic impression of a headphone.
So I don't think it is an actual dynamic something but a tonal balance thing. Play around with EQ and see what it does for you.
I'm just getting confused when someone says some headphones have poor dynamic range. What exactly does this mean and how do we test for this? I do know speakers with internal DSP will limit the amount of bass at a certain volume so as not to distort the woofer. I didn't think this occurred with headphones.
solderdude
Grand Contributor
It does and have measured it. (Amir did too)
You measure the frequency response at various levels and overlay the plots.
70dB, 80dB, 90dB and 94dB
With some headphones it starts to occur above 70dB SPL (see example above), in better headphones it might only occur above 110dB SPL. This leads to (odd order) distortion and does not sound like 'dynamic compression' (due to the way the hearing works) but sounds like distortion... simply because it is distortion (peaks being 'soft limited')
When people talk about 'compressed' sound they actually refer to tonal issues of the headphone/speaker.
Ok, so according to this chart, as you go up in volume from 70db, the frequencies in general between 20 to 200 hz go down in volume for this specific headphone? So an ideal response would have the blue, yellow and red equidistant across the curve and rising in that order above the green line. So an ideal situation would have the blue line above the green, the yellow above the blue and the red above the yellow?It does and have measured it. (Amir did too)
You measure the frequency response at various levels and overlay the plots.
70dB, 80dB, 90dB and 94dB
With some headphones it starts to occur above 70dB SPL (see example above), in better headphones it might only occur above 110dB SPL. This leads to (odd order) distortion and does not sound like 'dynamic compression' (due to the way the hearing works) but sounds like distortion... simply because it is distortion (peaks being 'soft limited')
When people talk about 'compressed' sound they actually refer to tonal issues of the headphone/speaker.
solderdude
Grand Contributor
Yes, as is the case with the vast majority of headphones. One would only be seeing the 'green' line basically. like so:
60dB SPL with 95dB SPL 70, 80 and 90dB traces hiding behind the 60dB trace.
Do note that this happens for low frequencies around the resonance frequency and the hearing gets less sensitive to lower frequencies at lower SPL as well the 'soft limiting' is not perceived as relatively less bass at higher SPL but rather as distortion and IM distortion, as the higher frequencies riding along with the large excursions will be 'modulated' with the bass frequencies.
Ok, now I'm confused. If you're increasing the volume shouldn't the ideal response of the lines be parallel and above each other as the volume goes up for each line? Are you simply dropping the higher volume level lines down to compare them? I'm assuming, I could be incorrect on this, each line is a frequency sweep plot at different volume levels on your amp. Are you stating when someone is discussing dynamic levels they are actually talking about frequency response at different volume levels for sweeps?Yes, as is the case with the vast majority of headphones. One would only be seeing the 'green' line basically. like so:
60dB SPL with 95dB SPL 70, 80 and 90dB traces hiding behind the 60dB trace.
Do note that this happens for low frequencies around the resonance frequency and the hearing gets less sensitive to lower frequencies at lower SPL as well the 'soft limiting' is not perceived as relatively less bass at higher SPL but rather as distortion and IM distortion, as the higher frequencies riding along with the large excursions will be 'modulated' with the bass frequencies.
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