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IEMs with DLC, Beryllium and other "Exotic" Dynamic drivers (including hybrids)

OK1

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Watched this video where almost unanimously the Kiwi Ears Cadenza was preferred, and this was the 1st Beryllium dynamic driver IEM, that caught my attention. Are there any others? Just trying to appreciate how much impact such exotic materials make, to the end result. Of course its only one factor, but interesting nevertheless, and worth understanding better.

To those who have heard DLC(Diamond like Carbon) and Beryllium drivers, or made from other exotic materials, is there any correlation with improvements in perceived audio quality, or it's just "marketing", and "lipstick"/"makeup", and has no impact?

In the professional music industry, Focal's main claim to fame are their beryllium coated speakers, albeit beryllium is a toxic substance, not sure I want to stick that anywhere near my ear!!.

 
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Attributing the preference to the driver technology seems like a flawed conclusion when they will all have different tonalities from different frequency responses anyway. Like listening to speakers in different rooms and attributing the sound difference to the amplifier or dac.
 
Attributing the preference to the driver technology seems like a flawed conclusion when they will all have different tonalities from different frequency responses anyway. Like listening to speakers in different rooms and attributing the sound difference to the amplifier or dac.
Exactly. The most logical reason for the preference for the cadenza is it's FR. It's the only one of 4 of the 5 that is anywhere close to Harman (the B2Dusk is probably closer but wasn't on super reviews squig like the other 4). The other 3 are all kinds of wonky.

Nothing about the Cadenza FR that you can't find in other IEM at the price with other driver types and construction.

I might have missed it but I don't think there preference was solely on sound, assume comfort, fit and look were included but their comments on sound was interesting. But we don't know which if any they had a decent seal on.

That price is no proxy for performance is kind of a given round here.

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I believe frequency response and to a lesser extent distortion matter when we’re talking about sound quality.
EQ various transducers with different materials - even different technologies like planars and estats - to the same target, and no one will be able to tell them apart in a blind setting.
The variables like seal plus your individual head and ears have far more to say about the final outcome than any driver material.
 
I believe frequency response and to a lesser extent distortion matter when we’re talking about sound quality.
EQ various transducers with different materials - even different technologies like planars and estats - to the same target, and no one will be able to tell them apart in a blind setting.
The variables like seal plus your individual head and ears have far more to say about the final outcome than any driver material.

Yeah, I don't understand how a measurement would look different with "planar bass". I have 7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2s because they're cheap as heck and sound great with my Qudelix 5K. Then I see people touting planar IEMs with no relevant measurements. It's tempting, because buying something new gives me a dopamine hit and my imagination can run wild and tell me that if I buy the new audio thingy, the heavens will open and the Bach Collegium Japan will sound like its performing in my den.

The best audio improvement I ever got was bypassing the room and my pinnas with an IEM.
 
I believe frequency response and to a lesser extent distortion matter when we’re talking about sound quality.
EQ various transducers with different materials - even different technologies like planars and estats - to the same target, and no one will be able to tell them apart in a blind setting.
The variables like seal plus your individual head and ears have far more to say about the final outcome than any driver material.
One reason I started the thread is : Why does the manufacturer include such mention of the beryllium, and highlights it? When one reads the product descriptions, I'm trying to deduce, what aspects of the marketing burb are not relevant, or may me relevant.

Many IEM manufacturers make no mention of the material from which their IEM driver is made, so one never bothers to think of it.

Sure other factors may be more important, but the question I'm trying to answer is - does beryllium matter or not.

Reminds me of speakers, where for several decades, they make it their business to tell us what it's made of, paper, carbon fibre, woven whatever, or for example they would divulge that the tweeter was a silk dome, or beryllium tweeter, as examples. And they would mention materials like titanium or a diamond super tweeter. I'm more familiar with the speaker world, so as I begin to hear about these things, in IEMs and headphones, am wondering what impact these advertised materials may or may not have.
 
Why does the manufacturer include such mention of the beryllium, and highlights it?
Because it makes it an easier sell. People are convinced that drivers made of this and that fancy material MUST sound better (and things like *faster* etc.).
 
The variables like seal plus your individual head and ears have far more to say about the final outcome than any driver material.
^^^^ This ^^^^

One reason I started the thread is : Why does the manufacturer include such mention of the beryllium, and highlights it?
Because it makes it an easier sell. People are convinced that drivers made of this and that fancy material MUST sound better (and things like *faster* etc.).

^^^^ And this! ^^^^

There's enough b.s. in the audio business to make a used car salesman blush bright red. :)
 
I found some relevant information here. How authentic it is, I am not an authority on the subject, to judge.

 
I found some relevant information here. How authentic it is, I am not an authority on the subject, to judge.


Any differences (real differences, not imaginary differences) between transducers is measurable.

Designing headphones, IEMs or speakers takes a great deal of understanding on the part of the engineer. If the engineer does the job correctly, the listener will hear no differences between different materials. (Cutting corners on costs will, I am sure, have an effect of this.)

So a better lead-in sentence might be, "The sound of an earphone does not ultimately depend on the type of driver used in it." :)
 
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I've tried some IEMs with DLC drivers and I couldn't tell the difference.

I'd be surprised if planar IEMs really sound that different considering the diaphragm size gap isn't very large, and the air volume of the ear canal isn't very demanding to begin with. Of course I'm assuming roughly the same fr and decay being the only measurable difference.

That said, the driver material can absolutely influence the sound by a lot when the headphone driver is so underdamped the waterfall plot looks more like spiky grass, even when the fr and distortion seem fine.
 
Found this :


And this :


Things related to moving the resonance of the drive material, to higher frequencies, which we cannot hear.
 
Watched this video where almost unanimously the Kiwi Ears Cadenza was preferred, and this was the 1st Beryllium dynamic driver IEM, that caught my attention. Are there any others? Just trying to appreciate how much impact such exotic materials make, to the end result. Of course its only one factor, but interesting nevertheless, and worth understanding better.

To those who have heard DLC(Diamond like Carbon) and Beryllium drivers, or made from other exotic materials, is there any correlation with improvements in perceived audio quality, or it's just "marketing", and "lipstick"/"makeup", and has no impact?

In the professional music industry, Focal's main claim to fame are their beryllium coated speakers, albeit beryllium is a toxic substance, not sure I want to stick that anywhere near my ear!!.

Perhaps don't lik it? For sure do not vaporize it & inhale it.
I have several TT Cartridges with beryllium cantilevers. I have been told not to touch them or lik them numerous times by giggling people.
 
Found this :

And this :

Things related to moving the resonance of the drive material, to higher frequencies, which we cannot hear.
These videos are about technologies available to a transducer designer. They could help the designer make a better product in the end, but it’s no guarantee—there is no correlation.

Where the correlation absolutely exists is in your OP question: “…is there any correlation with improvements in perceived audio quality…”
Sadly, the vast majority of audiophiles will “hear” all kind of correlations between these technologies and what they perceive.
 
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