Oratory1990 has REMEASURED a load of headphones and updated his pdf's

[solderdude]

Ha, that's insane! What's the deal with the mouth guard thing, is that somehow a mic in there, but I don't understand why you'd want a design like that??

It's an 'air purifier' that is supposed to clean the air you are breathing.
In certain cities it may actually not be such a bad idea. You would have to replace filters regularly I reckon.
There is a little fan inside the cups (and why they are so thick).
The NC is kind of important to reduce the sound of the fans.

 

[Robbo99999]

It's an 'air purifier' that is supposed to clean the air you are breathing.
In certain cities it may actually not be such a bad idea. You would have to replace filters regularly I reckon.
There is a little fan inside the cups (and why they are so thick).
The NC is kind of important to reduce the sound of the fans.

Ha, that is funny though! If I think of bad air pollution I think of China/India, maybe places like that it could have a market, it's very niche and kind of nostalgic for post pandemic people who enjoyed wearing the masks!

 

[wunderkind]

Mouth piece is optional I think. And it looks better on a blonde girl

View attachment 340084

Joking aside, I'd say not a bad first attempt from a company that manufacturers vacuum cleaners. We have seen headphone manufacturers do worse

Does it suck out ear wax?

 

[MacClintock]

Yep, it shouldn't yet many seem to do this.


Yet, the Stealth only reaches 95/100 with EQ ... somehow.

I don't know why, but the Stealth is not EQed below 500Hz (at least not in the graph), so no wonder his preference rating does not improve by much.

 

[MacClintock]

Theoretically 114 is possible based on the original preference rating formula.

What is the exact formula for this?

In the newer graphs however, Oratory is using the formula that is normalized to 100. Here is an example:

Sennheiser HD660S2.pdf

Shared with Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

That does not seem correct, the EQed FR still deviates significantly from the target and still get's a 100 from 100 rating?

 

[Dazerdoreal]

I don't know why, but the Stealth is not EQed below 500Hz (at least not in the graph), so no wonder his preference rating does not improve by much.

In his FAQ he wrote:

I create the EQ not solely based on the measurement, but I also listen to the headphones and fine-tune the settings by ear.

index/faq - oratory1990

r/oratory1990: Mostly covering topics like headphones, in-ear headphones, acoustics, electroacoustics, acoustic tuning, headphone design …

www.reddit.com

Oratory1990 does not opt for the highest possible score but to make the headphone sound good for as many people as possible.
My guess is that he kept the bass boost because the Stealth is a closed headphone and probably dependent on seal.

On a measurement fixture, the bass is measured under test conditions (= perfect seal) but for example, people with thick hair or glasses often do experience a slight loss.
I think he takes stuff like this under account when he builds his profiles.

 

[Robbo99999]

Does it suck out ear wax?

I'd buy that!

 

[IAtaman]

That does not seem correct, the EQed FR still deviates significantly from the target and still get's a 100 from 100 rating?

There isn't significant deviation between 50Hz and 10KHz range which is the range the score is calculated over.

 

[solderdude]

My point was that the rating and sound quality as well as tonal balance and many other aspects are pretty pointless to rate when the goal is to find the best sounding headphone.

 

[IAtaman]

My point was that the rating and sound quality as well as tonal balance and many other aspects are pretty pointless to rate when the goal is to find the best sounding headphone.

If you are looking for an objective list of best sounding headphones, AE/OE headphones that score 80+ in Predicted Preference Rating is the best place to start in my opinion to give yourselv the best change of finding the headphones you like as fast as possible.

 

[solderdude]

I don't know... There are also ones that score much lower and sound great with EQ.
Not all headphones can be EQ'ed that well though but some are and might be quite comfortable as well.
Above 80 is in no way a guarantee that I (or someone else) will like/prefer a headphone, even without EQ.

 

[IAtaman]

I don't know... There are also ones that score much lower and sound great with EQ.

That's true. EQ is bringing a handgun to a knife fight though
In the presence of widely available EQ, what would be the main characteristic that effects sounds quality in your view. Lack of distortion and resonances maybe?

 

[IAtaman]

Above 80 is in no way a guarantee that I (or someone else) will like/prefer a headphone, even without EQ.

No, it is not a guarantee for sure. That's why I said it is a good place to start.
I went through the list till 80 just now. There are a few headphones I have not heard, but overall, haven't seen any bad recommendations, at least in terms of sound quality.

 

[solderdude]

That's true. EQ is bringing a handgun to a knife fight though
In the presence of widely available EQ, what would be the main characteristic that effects sounds quality in your view. Lack of distortion and resonances maybe?

Seal, driver resonances, jagged treble response (membrane break-up), frequency extension (both sides), cup resonances, compression (at medium SPL already), nulls, driver differences, production spread/tolerances, silent revisions, pad wear.
While it is true that some of these are 'visible' in FR and one could attempt to compensate FR related effects the causes are not addressed.