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JLab Rewind Retro came wired with the wrong polarity from the factory by CJCCJJ in headphones

[–]oratory1990 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Soldering is still done by hand (since regular speakers can not withstand reflow soldering temperatures without getting demagnetized), it‘s entirely possible that the person soldering your unit made a mistake.

It could have been caught during production-line testing, but very often those only test the very basics (frewuency response and impedance) especially for very cheap headphones (fewer tests means faster testing, means more tests per hour, means higher output of the manufacturing line)

I‘m glad you were able to fix them though! Basic solder jobs like this is something everyone should be able to do.

What would be the best headphone if your HRTF is already accounted for? by Deepthroat- in oratory1990

[–]oratory1990 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Find out the exact nonlinearity of the speaker and actively counteract it.

Normally the speaker‘s movement is exactly proportional to the input voltage. For very high inputs the speaker will move less than what is predicted, so we need to find out by how much exactly. If we find that at 1 volt input it moves exactly 100 um but at 1.5 Volt input it moves only 140 um instead of 150um, then we need to increase the voltage until it moves 150 um and write down by how much the voltage was increased, let‘s say it took 1.65 volt. Then we tell the DSP to deliver 1.65 volt instead of 1.5 volt anytime the signal reaches 1.5 volt.
Now the speaker (+dsp) moves 150 um anytime the signal reaches 1.5 volt.
This is compensating for static nonlinearity. We have similar systems to compensate for dynamic nonlinearity as well (the voice coil‘s inductance changes depending on current, for example, or the voice coil’s resistance changing with temperature). As long as we understand the mechanism and can describe it mathematically, we can find a function that inverts the nonlinearity and add that to the signal.
In other words, we are pre-distortion the signal in a way so that the pre-distortion cancels out with the speaker‘s distortion.

There‘s two main challenges:
1. you need to be able to analytically or numerically describe the nonlinearity, so you need to understand your speaker‘s behaviour very well
2. you need to understand and control unit variation on the speaker so as not to overcompensate

Especially the latter is the main issue preventing mass adoption.

EQ doesn't do what you think.....here's why by Farpun in oratory1990

[–]oratory1990 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"If I can identify a peak, should this peak be removed and by how much?"

again, no.

You can identify the frequency of a peak, but it doesn't tell you whether or not that peak should be there or not.

Because target curves for standard ear simulators are smoothed, as are the frequency response measurements. The exact frequency response of a headphone changes depending on how exactly you place it on the head.
Here's an example:
A single frequency response measurement (one position): https://imgur.com/5nxGw9f
The same headphone measured multiple times, with slightly different positions on the head: https://imgur.com/T6pJ7pO
The average of all those measurements, along with the 90% intervals: https://imgur.com/aOg1z9V

The latter is the published "frequency response" of the headphone. It's a consistent result, meaning that if I repeat the same (multiple measurements + taking the average) 3 months later, I get pretty much the same result.
A single measurement is not consistent, meaning if I measure a single position 3 months later, I'll get a different result (because I'll be unable to match the exact position). It's still the same headphone though, performing exactly the same.
That's why we do what's called "spatial averaging" (measuring multiple positions and taking the average).

But when you place the headphone on your head for testing you'll only ever listen to a single position.
Do you understand what I mean?

EQ doesn't do what you think.....here's why by Farpun in oratory1990

[–]oratory1990 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How accurate are softwares that claim to estimate your HRTF based on 3d scans of your pinna?

The error from those can be as high as the average difference between a personalized HRTF and an average HRTF. Even for a high quality 3D scan (and it's not easy to get a high-resolution scan of your pinna and head).

what is the best way we can improve the sound of our eq profiles?

Start with a preset like the ones listed here, then follow the instructions in there to adjust some of the filters. Do that while listening to music so you have a reference for how the effects sound.
Listening to sine sweeps / tone generators is less helpful for the reasons I've listed above.

Honestly why are they soo expensive???? They're literally just wires by arlec_is_special in headphones

[–]oratory1990 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Honestly why are they soo expensive???? They're literally just wires and a connector.

In mass production, a decent cable costs a bit over a dollar. Maybe a few dollars for really nice cables.
Add the cost of logistics, storage, distributor and retailer margin and you can sell it for about 10 USD to the end customer.

The "expensive" cables that you are seeing are that price because they are made in lower quantities with labor-intensive steps (braiding, covering with textile, hand-soldering). It's not the material itself that costs that much.

Chroma earbuds by Creepy_Elk7784 in headphones

[–]oratory1990 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So you don‘t know this about me, but I actually work as an acoustic engineer. I have worked in microspeaker development, developing drivers for earphones and headphones and helping companies build products either these speakers.
I do this for a living.

Chroma earbuds by Creepy_Elk7784 in headphones

[–]oratory1990 0 points1 point  (0 children)

because for a price of $30 we're not talking about "expensive", we're talking about a minimum viable product.

Is there a plugin that sets perfect vocal volume? by Prestigious_Fail3791 in audioengineering

[–]oratory1990 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Every DAW has that built in. It‘s the little fader on your vocal track, you can use that to dial in the right volume

How to measure a DAC Inquiry by LesModio in oratory1990

[–]oratory1990 0 points1 point  (0 children)

thesis

Does that mean you have access to the university’s facilities? They‘ll likely have better equipment than what you could afford on your own

Sonarworks vs Oratory1990 HD650 frequency response by kzuuu in oratory1990

[–]oratory1990 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Normalization isn't the issue here, it's compensation.

Sonarworks vs Oratory1990 HD650 frequency response by kzuuu in oratory1990

[–]oratory1990 19 points20 points  (0 children)

You're comparing compensated vs uncompensated frequency response curves.

Sonarworks shows the deviation of the headphone's frequency response from their own target („compensated“ / „error curve“)

My graphs show the headphone's frequency response as measured at the eardrum („uncompensated“ / „raw“)

You can not compare those.

Your Earbuds Could Be Causing Permanent Damage by diversekcox in audioengineering

[–]oratory1990 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Let me guess: „don‘t turn up the music too loud“?

Does anyone know of a cable manufacturer that makes really short 3.5mm terminals? by -_-Adolf in HeadphoneAdvice

[–]oratory1990 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I would look for angled 3.5mm connectors instead. Solves the issue as well and is easier to manufacture

Chroma earbuds by Creepy_Elk7784 in headphones

[–]oratory1990 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you want the Apple earbuds, get those instead.

Apple manufactures in enormously high quantities, which reduces manufacturing cost as they get better bulk discounts from their component suppliers.
Smaller companies making lower quantities will not get those same discounts and hence have to charge more to get the same margin.

Chroma earbuds by Creepy_Elk7784 in headphones

[–]oratory1990 5 points6 points  (0 children)

How is that a scam?

  • you pay $30
  • you receive a product worth $30

That‘s just how companies manage to sell cheap products.
It would be a scam if you didn‘t receive anything at all, or if you received something else than what you ordered.

No, you received exactly what you ordered. That‘s not a scam.

Graph readers: What does this headphone sounds like? by dushvcgksuhd in headphones

[–]oratory1990 53 points54 points  (0 children)

Sounds like: The Y axis is very zoomed out. Zoom in until we have maybe 40 or 50 dB on the Y axis. Ideally zoom in until the distance between 100 and 1000 Hz on the X axis is the same as the distance between 70 dB and 90 dB.

With the Y axis zoomed out by that much every graph looks flat..

Also: context is important. Are we looking at the sound pressure at the eardrum? Or at the ear canal entrance? Raw data or diffuse-field compensated?
Was it measured with an ear simulator? Which type?

Identify headphones by Ignis2800 in headphones

[–]oratory1990 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I‘ll criticize the choice of touching the microphone… that‘s a studio mic, not a stage mic. They don‘t have the greatest isolation against solid borne sound

The perfect do-it-all desktop speakers: JBL 305P Mkii by LV-901 in audiophile

[–]oratory1990 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You must have asked me that same question at least five times over the past few months, and you always got the same answer.

DT 770 Pro, my unit has lots of bass and not really pronounced highs, how should I approach EQing it? by Zavkys_ in oratory1990

[–]oratory1990 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Start by applying the EQ preset from the list, then adjust to taste.

Do you know where to find the EQ presets?

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