What is the measured effect of that “linearizer?”HEDD Type 20 MK2 Listening Tests & Equalization
I started listening with the port closed as that was where I left off in measurements. My first female track sounded stunningly good! Not only was the tonality on the mark, it has a level of detail and presence which was a delight. I switched the linearizer on and off and the latter effect definitely diminished with it off.
Well, power is only a part of the puzzle. Midrange and tweeter are too dissimilar to compare directly without any further data, however given that the HEDD has almost 20% greater volume and is ported the woofer performance does seem disappointing indeed.looking at those numbers (KH310s peak 390W vs Type 20s 900W), I expected the Type 20 to be able to go much much louder than the KH310 without distortion.
AFAIK, it unwraps the phase response of the speaker so it effectively doesn't have group delay or phase rotation. Not entirely sure how that works, but...What is the measured effect of that “linearizer?”
Yep, Neumann stuck a big driver in a small box. You'll notice of course that the HD of both of them goes through the roof down low, so that's less than amazing - but for the Neumann, where there's no port, it does make sense. For the Hedd, I have to wonder about driver quality.Well, power is only a part of the puzzle. Midrange and tweeter are too dissimilar to compare directly without any further data, however given that the HEDD has almost 20% greater volume and is ported the woofer performance does seem disappointing indeed.
Doing some estimating based on pictures by measuring pixels (breakthru scientific methods those are) the Neumann KH310 woofer has an outer surround diameter of about 188mm whereas the HEDD has about 148mm. That equals an area of 278cm² for the Neumann and 172mm² for the HEDD.
Now the results make a little more sense - the woofer on the HEDD is 7" if you include the very wide edge of the cage.
Performance isn't great even then, it still gets shown up big time by the 6.5" midwoofer on the KH150 that has numerous disadvantages working against it in that comparison.
In fairness: These are meant for use nearfield. I would not expect to need them to get particularly loud - remember, 96dB is for one speaker. I don't expect to listen that loud.Not audibly distorting seems like something to expect from a modern studio monitor in this price class. So I was surprised at the recommendation.
you think if there was a high pass for using with a sub the speaker would still struggle at high volumes ?Of course. Strangely, if you set the CoP control to closed, you get the distortion at higher playback levels. But if you leave it in the open setting, it can play much louder.
As far as I know, after Sonarwork`s curve is saved into speaker memory, Ethernet connection is no longer necessary. So yes, it works offline.So if there is no internet connection they quit working altogether or is it actually useable offline then?
It's just that they wanted to get an mk1 out and figured 'let's just throw in this 3x300W IcePower backplate, it'll be more than enough'. By the time you hit max input at medium gain, the low end gets audibly distorted, but that's way louder that you typically want - I couldn't turn it up that high at the desk, I've only done it when sat the other end of the room, and even then it hurts after a short while. The new amplification solution should be much more appropriate, with plenty of power and at the same time should have less floor noise, which is worthwhile with sensitive AMTs in particular.The HEDD Type 20s size and design looks not too far off from the KH310 (Type20: Woofer 7", Midrange: 4", Tweeter: AMT Tweeter) but it's stated power is 300W/driver. That is 900W! Looking at these numbers (KH310s peak 390W vs Type 20s 900W), I expected the Type 20 to be able to go much much louder than the KH310s without any audible distortion.
What is the measured effect of that “linearizer?”
It does sort out phase response - quite an interesting effect once you notice it: if you listen to some heavily produced recording has been adjusted in the DAW to have everything perfectly beat-aligned, it really sounds like it.AFAIK, it unwraps the phase response of the speaker so it effectively doesn't have group delay or phase rotation. Not entirely sure how that works, but...
I think that makes sense as there are substantial tweaks in the clarity region in the above graph. I find guitar tones are strongly affected too.My first female track sounded stunningly good! Not only was the tonality on the mark, it has a level of detail and presence which was a delight. I switched the linearizer on and off and the latter effect definitely diminished with it off.
That ultimately makes no difference, because the bit that matters most is the relative alignment of mid and tweeter, not the tweeter direction.Thanks @amirm for another great review. This one, while performing on the OK side, it’s a hard pass for me because you can’t rotate the tweeter to place it vertically like you can do with the Adam A8H. Not to mention that seems a bit overpriced compared with offerings from Neumann and Genelec.
The speaker is very well engineered within the bass range SPL limitations & I agree there is nothing wrong with this -----> as long is the company is forthright about it.Made for listening in a studio, 8 hours a day at around 85 dB max. Nothing wrong with this.
Who cares about Harmonic Distortion at these levels.That mid runs essentially from 300 Hz to 3 kHz. I am surprised at how unhappy it gets, with broad distortion in the 500 to 800 and 2 - 3 kHz range.
HD is a somewhat pointless test of distortion beyond looking for obvious flaws. It is produced for so many different reasons and doesn't always indicate limits or audibility.@amirm something interesting I noticed in your review. You say that distortion makes the speaker difficult to listen to at louder volumes, yet with the Behringer B2030p:
Behringer B2030P Studio Monitor Review
This is a review and detailed measurements of the Behringer B2030P Studio Monitor, 2-way speaker. It is on kind loan from a member. Note that this is the passive version, not active. It has been discontinued and I can't find the original price in my search. I see one on sale on ebay for US...www.audiosciencereview.com
we see higher levels of distortion, but you say the B2030p can 'play quite loud without bottoming out. With a single speaker playing, I had no issue enjoying music at levels that I desired.'
What is your answer to this perceived difference, is it that the distortion on Behringer is at 200-500hz and the Hedd is higher up the spectrum or something else?
I think Geddes said something similar. There must be some kind of rhyme or reason as to why one speaker, with seemingly higher distortion, sounds perceptibly less distorted than another with what, on the surface, looks like lower distortion measurements. Any insights?HD is a near pointless test of distortion. It is produced for so many different reasons and doesn't always indicate limits or audibility.
I have experinced this many times as I often measure it for fun because it is easy to measure and I like to measure stuff.
Many times a speaker with slightly higher HD will actually sound very clean.