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Another_Moon

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Dec 22, 2021
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Location
Tver, Russia
It started with the fact that I was disappointed with the AKG K361 headphones, they seem to fit the Harman curve, plus I used the oratory1990 EQ, started listening and ... I didn’t like it. I think: well, how is it, here are the headphones, smartly made for the right purpose, they have much deeper bass than my Superlux HD668B, what's wrong? Okay, I've made peace with that. And so, recently I went to a large audio store with a specific goal - to listen to the best headphones in the world (low distortion, almost perfect frequency response, in general, not headphones but a song :) ) and finally hear that very sound. Of course, the consultant set me up, and stuck DCA into some shameful (like all tube amplifiers) "audiophile" tube amplifier, albeit an expensive one, well, I think he could more or less cope with them, in terms of power for sure, but in terms of distortion there everything is clear .. (in the pause I heard the whistle of harmonicas.. :facepalm: ). And now, the moment of truth .. and again - yes, very loud and clear (as far as the tube amplifier allowed) in comparison with my headphones, but the tonal balance is again somehow not the same, something is missing ... Of course, I was very upset and after a few days of reflection and existential longing I decided to try to figure out what was wrong after all. So, I opened up the measurments of the DCA Stealth, and started looking for flaws. Well, the loss at ~9.5 KHz immediately catches my eye, but I don’t think that this is exactly what I was missing, I check - I turn down on my Superlux with a 10 KHz equalizer by -5 dB (on top of the EQ from oratory1990, i.e. initially the frequency response as far as can be smooth) and I do not hear a strong critical difference. OK. I look further, and I see a hole at low frequencies from ~40 to 90 Hz, it seems to be small, from -1 to -3 dB, but I decide to make the same hole using EQ, and here I get - this sound, how can I to say "without punch", and if you think about it, this is probably my favorite range in sound, and here it is underestimated for nothing, although not much, but this "a little" as it turned out is strongly felt. I also decided to look at the K361 chart and the op - the hole is almost in the same place, but even deeper, an interesting coincidence, of course, my Superlux go exactly in this range. And then I have matured 3 questions: 1. why you Amir do not hear this flaw by ear, but I do. I guess maybe you only listen to very calm music? I love dense music: trance, rap and other electronics (Of course, I also like calm music :), and I even listened to such a track on Stealth, where there are almost only female vocals, and of course this track sounded better than the others), I think that's why I quickly caught this hole. 2. Why oratory1990 does not pay attention to such an important range and does not correct it with an equalizer. 3. Why are the powerest scientific sound producers like Harman, Mr. Speakers don't pay attention to it either. Well, it's not esoteric, it's not just me who hears it - the microphone, as you can see, also transmits it. I think if you fix it with an equalizer on these headphones, the sound picture will change dramatically. I may be wrong, but here is my observation. Thank you for your attention! Sorry for the crooked english, kick Google for it. :)
Superlux HD668B ORATORY1990 Measurement & EQ v2.jpg
Dan Clark Audio Stealth.jpg
AKG K361 v2.jpg
 
Considering your favorite genres are types of modern dance your analysis is reasonable, 60-80Hz should be important. I'd argue the same goes for modern rock. As far as others not seeing it as equally important, it has do to not just with taste in genres. But also taste in presentation. A leaner bass enhances details, arguably it's at the expense of other elements of the song but it's remained a popular tuning among enthusiasts. Me coming from a mixing context makes me kind of opposed to this detail chasing, bass is too important in modern music to ignore.
 
~1db isn't much of a hole. Are you running oratory's EQ on your superlux all the time? Without EQ it drops like a rock under 100hz.
 
~1db isn't much of a hole. Are you running oratory's EQ on your superlux all the time? Without EQ it drops like a rock under 100hz.
If you look at the heights around the dip, then it turns out that the drop is: 40 Hz -1 dB, 50 Hz -1 dB, 60 Hz -1.5 dB, 70 Hz -2 dB, 80 Hz -1 dB, 90 Hz -0.5 dB, i I agree, on paper it looks like nothing, but if you try to make such a dip on EQ a little stronger, then the difference is audible and seems to be similar to what I heard. Although I myself don’t know what to think, now I’m listening to A / B, with EQ at -3 db / without EQ and it seems not so critical, but audible. In any case, I didn’t like something about these headphones, for example, with Stealth it can be attributed to a bad amplifier, but AKG K361, they are active (BT version), and the situation is similar in sensations. And yes, the EQ is always on when listening to music.
 

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And yet, if we leave a review about these headphones, AKG K361-BT (bought for a girlfriend) - they sit on the ears well, but they creak enough, but the worst thing is that after a while the right channel began to play quieter, and then stopped working altogether (I think the speaker died, by itself), this is after 5 months from the start of use. About Stealth - they certainly feel cool in the hands - light, durable, but in terms of fit - there is too much cavity under the ear, and in order to get a normal point of sound, you need to sort of raise them on your head (the minimum headband mode is not enough, although the head is not very small ); the headphones are closed, but in fact not quite - there is a compensation hole, or a phase inverter (call it what you want) well, I think for sound insulation, both personal and external, this is not very good; also, the membranes rustled / clicked / crunched at any slight movement, which is not very pleasant, but this was my first experience of listening to isodynamic headphones, maybe this is the norm. Here:)
 
It is also interesting what oratory1990 preference rating shows.
k8goRj_YjSU.jpg
HWGYjqruz1U.jpg
C9A2AaiuT5Q.jpg
 
Имейте в виду, что AKG K361-BT звучит иначе, чем проводной AKG K361 из-за интеграции беспроводного модуля в объем чашки.
I understand, quite a bit, and only one cup. I read somewhere a review where both models were measured - they did not find much difference.
 
Maybe you like the sound of the distortion present in the Superlux HD668B that is not very present in K361 and definitely not in the Stealth. Maybe someone else could chime in.
 
Usually with Bluetooth headphones they have PCBs in both ear cups. One side with charging/battery and the other with controls, radio, antenna, DAC and processor. There are a lot of conductors in the wire that runs across the headband to the other cup.

Example: Beats headband wire
beats headband wire.jpg

These smaller conductors break after being flexed to many times or worn through by the headset adjustments. Changing angle or extending/retracting.

It's easy to test if the circuit is bad with a multimeter and the wired cable if you have one. Just compare resistance of tip + sleeve and ring + sleeve.
 
Usually with Bluetooth headphones they have PCBs in both ear cups. One side with charging/battery and the other with controls, radio, antenna, DAC and processor. There are a lot of conductors in the wire that runs across the headband to the other cup.

Example: Beats headband wire
View attachment 258098

These smaller conductors break after being flexed to many times or worn through by the headset adjustments. Changing angle or extending/retracting.

It's easy to test if the circuit is bad with a multimeter and the wired cable if you have one. Just compare resistance of tip + sleeve and ring + sleeve.
Yes, that's why the Beats have the power connector on one cup and the jack on the other, while the AKG has everything on one cup.
72318a7d975c688aa3e0b57130bf029b0225381ac71ffb39e59b35c32b53e276.jpg.webp
fefec465173ada5fc8b6e2be9f52b998f8c46e7bfb9965675db9e7b1d4d58159.jpg.webp
 
Maybe you like the sound of the distortion present in the Superlux HD668B that is not very present in K361 and definitely not in the Stealth. Maybe someone else could chime in.
Speaking of low frequencies, this assumption makes some sense, but no. I also have in-ear multi-driver KZ ZS10, where there is obviously little distortion in the bass, and at the same time the bass is represented quite a lot, there is also a 15" inch "hi-fi" subwoofer, where there is also little distortion (except that some furniture rattles:)), and that's all I like it, although it has no distortion. Also, in principle, I feel these distortions in Superlux, you can hear it is obvious that they are hard in this regard.
 
Yes, that's why the Beats have the power connector on one cup and the jack on the other, while the AKG has everything on one cup.
72318a7d975c688aa3e0b57130bf029b0225381ac71ffb39e59b35c32b53e276.jpg.webp
fefec465173ada5fc8b6e2be9f52b998f8c46e7bfb9965675db9e7b1d4d58159.jpg.webp

I doubt it's all in one cup but maybe. I've looked at a decent amount of Bluetooth headphones and it's always been both cups had something. Could be single board + small battery and weight in other cup only for balance.

Could be though as same looking wire on the outside at least. Won't know until it's opened up though
 
Last edited:
It started with the fact that I was disappointed with the AKG K361 headphones, they seem to fit the Harman curve, plus I used the oratory1990 EQ, started listening and ... I didn’t like it. I think: well, how is it, here are the headphones, smartly made for the right purpose, they have much deeper bass than my Superlux HD668B, what's wrong? Okay, I've made peace with that. And so, recently I went to a large audio store with a specific goal - to listen to the best headphones in the world (low distortion, almost perfect frequency response, in general, not headphones but a song :) ) and finally hear that very sound. Of course, the consultant set me up, and stuck DCA into some shameful (like all tube amplifiers) "audiophile" tube amplifier, albeit an expensive one, well, I think he could more or less cope with them, in terms of power for sure, but in terms of distortion there everything is clear .. (in the pause I heard the whistle of harmonicas.. :facepalm: ). And now, the moment of truth .. and again - yes, very loud and clear (as far as the tube amplifier allowed) in comparison with my headphones, but the tonal balance is again somehow not the same, something is missing ... Of course, I was very upset and after a few days of reflection and existential longing I decided to try to figure out what was wrong after all. So, I opened up the measurments of the DCA Stealth, and started looking for flaws. Well, the loss at ~9.5 KHz immediately catches my eye, but I don’t think that this is exactly what I was missing, I check - I turn down on my Superlux with a 10 KHz equalizer by -5 dB (on top of the EQ from oratory1990, i.e. initially the frequency response as far as can be smooth) and I do not hear a strong critical difference. OK. I look further, and I see a hole at low frequencies from ~40 to 90 Hz, it seems to be small, from -1 to -3 dB, but I decide to make the same hole using EQ, and here I get - this sound, how can I to say "without punch", and if you think about it, this is probably my favorite range in sound, and here it is underestimated for nothing, although not much, but this "a little" as it turned out is strongly felt. I also decided to look at the K361 chart and the op - the hole is almost in the same place, but even deeper, an interesting coincidence, of course, my Superlux go exactly in this range. And then I have matured 3 questions: 1. why you Amir do not hear this flaw by ear, but I do. I guess maybe you only listen to very calm music? I love dense music: trance, rap and other electronics (Of course, I also like calm music :), and I even listened to such a track on Stealth, where there are almost only female vocals, and of course this track sounded better than the others), I think that's why I quickly caught this hole. 2. Why oratory1990 does not pay attention to such an important range and does not correct it with an equalizer. 3. Why are the powerest scientific sound producers like Harman, Mr. Speakers don't pay attention to it either. Well, it's not esoteric, it's not just me who hears it - the microphone, as you can see, also transmits it. I think if you fix it with an equalizer on these headphones, the sound picture will change dramatically. I may be wrong, but here is my observation. Thank you for your attention! Sorry for the crooked english, kick Google for it. :)View attachment 256831View attachment 256832View attachment 256833
Well what doesn't have more bass than Superlux?
 
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