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T+A headphone calibration process
- Thread starter Matias
- Start date
Soundstage makes very nice marketing videos for its advertisers--ahem--I mean, the companies whose equipment it covers.
solderdude
Grand Contributor
The result of this method is as can be expected... no Harman bass preference boost and different upper mids.
The P series have a warmish (full bodied) 'tilt' with an 'even' response.
Planar and around € 5.5k is not an easy buy for most enthusiasts though.
Less energy in the 2-6kHz range opposite Harman and no bass boost.
The lack of bass boost is perfectly explainable because of the reference being diffuse field which your average room is not.
The target does seem to get close to the S5X which, in itself, is interesting as both are trying to do a similar thing basically but not using humans but fixtures.
Makes it a good headphone to be used in treated studios as an alternative to monitors.
For home listening pleasure it might need some correction in bass and upper mids for 'the majority' of people.
Would love to hear the P and maybe even T series someday.
The € 1300.- closed BT version (T) could be interesting as it would be easy to use EQ internally to correct for that what cannot be achieved with tuning.
At least it has the option to switch in an 'Harman type' bass boost.
The P series have a warmish (full bodied) 'tilt' with an 'even' response.
Less energy in the 2-6kHz range opposite Harman and no bass boost.
The lack of bass boost is perfectly explainable because of the reference being diffuse field which your average room is not.
The target does seem to get close to the S5X which, in itself, is interesting as both are trying to do a similar thing basically but not using humans but fixtures.
Makes it a good headphone to be used in treated studios as an alternative to monitors.
For home listening pleasure it might need some correction in bass and upper mids for 'the majority' of people.
Would love to hear the P and maybe even T series someday.
The € 1300.- closed BT version (T) could be interesting as it would be easy to use EQ internally to correct for that what cannot be achieved with tuning.
At least it has the option to switch in an 'Harman type' bass boost.
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So poor frequency response consistency across different head sizes (which is not inevitable if the headband adjustability is competently designed for consistent caliper force at different settings); aiming for a diffuse-field target that has been shown in multiple blind studies not to be preferred by the majority of listeners, and absolutely is not the sound field produced by loudspeaker monitors in a studio (a good mastering studio is in fact a well-treated semi-reflective room, which the Harman target is based on); developed using an innacurate, error-prone methodology from the 80s? All for the low, low price of just €4800? No thanks.
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solderdude
Grand Contributor
The problem is this specific clamping force (and pad condition) thing (FR dependency) is quite common with most headphones regardless of the used test method and targets used.
It can be worse on some headphones than others.
Not many testers/reviewers test for this. I know just 3 that occasionally test for this.
Caliper force also is head-width dependent and mostly not user adjustable and is just one of the many reasons why headphone measurements are only indicative when measuring vs listening.
Such are the downsides of using humans (which can have various head widths) and fixtures which have a fixed width and need special add-ons to similate/test clamping force if that needs to be done scientifically.
The target itself is a different story.
It is good (essential) to have testing standards though.
It can be worse on some headphones than others.
Not many testers/reviewers test for this. I know just 3 that occasionally test for this.
Caliper force also is head-width dependent and mostly not user adjustable and is just one of the many reasons why headphone measurements are only indicative when measuring vs listening.
Such are the downsides of using humans (which can have various head widths) and fixtures which have a fixed width and need special add-ons to similate/test clamping force if that needs to be done scientifically.
The target itself is a different story.
It is good (essential) to have testing standards though.
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Yes. Upper midrange lower treble area is sucked out, kinda similiar to old audeze headphones.
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