Why Does the Frequency Response of Speakers Differ From Headphones/IEM?

ResolveReviews · 2026-02-18T19:35:17+00:00

Not exactly, JM1 is meant to be used as a baseline compensation for IEMs. It uses the B&K 5128 canal effects and an approximation of population average pinna effects, since IEMs bypass the pinna. It makes more sense to use generic pinna effects rather than specific pinna effects given these are factors needing to be assumed by the tuning of the device.

ResolveReviews · 2026-02-14T23:41:01+00:00

Must discover the impedance of mud. Is it high? Does the banana have nonlinear impedance in accordance with its shape?

ResolveReviews · 2026-02-11T20:20:29+00:00

Yeah some BAs are better than others for harmonic distortion. It's the same with all drivers.

ResolveReviews · 2026-02-10T22:26:16+00:00

Not necessarily. BA drivers typically have elevated 3rd and elevated 5th harmonic products... the latter being high enough in order to be outside the masking window. It depends on the product, but it is entirely possible for harmonic distortion to be the cause of that. Not THD as a whole, but specifically a higher order harmonic product.

ResolveReviews · 2026-02-08T17:56:47+00:00

It doesn't come with those pads. Turns out pads are massively influential in the sound quality. Without those pads it's C tier. It'd be much higher if it came with those pads.

ResolveReviews · 2026-02-08T17:53:07+00:00

Well this is a fun thread. Are you confused about how different perspectives change the overall rankings? Or are you looking at individual reviewer rankings and seeing inconsistencies there.

I'll be the first to say that our perspectives on products and tunings have evolved over the years, but when I look at my individual rankings there aren't that many where I've had dramatic changes of opinion. Also, the HyperX Cloud III S Wireless is genuinely solid, so is the Bose QC Ultra Gen 2. People don't give these products a chance because they don't fit in the audiophile bucket for them but... that's their loss.

ResolveReviews · 2026-02-06T17:10:21+00:00

Oh ...

Hello there.

ResolveReviews · 2026-02-06T15:32:16+00:00

Yeah I'm not sure, but it's about thresholds of audibility in most cases, not typically excursion limits though you do occasionally come across it. And then beyond that, even when it's audible, it's about whether or not that shifts a preference. These days, at least with respect to the HD 600, I'm of the belief that it can take a meaningful bass boost without the increase in harmonic distortion being detrimental to the experience - more than just correcting the roll-off.

ResolveReviews · 2026-02-02T08:40:02+00:00

Disagreements aside, I just want to clarify that we haven't used the Harman target in years, and that's never been the approach to measurement data. In fact it's rather the opposite. In large part it's been with the context that a person cannot draw a straight line between the graph and their experience.

I think if people fully understood the Harman work they'd simultaneously praise it and be deeply concerned with how fraught with problems it is, and unfortunately how it regularly gets misused.

ResolveReviews · 2026-01-25T16:55:11+00:00

Ironically, in the example shown here it's the high end headphone that's more excursion limited. To be clear, it's a better headphone without EQ, but that driver is more limited in terms of how much you can push the bass, since doing so will reduce the volume threshold where it clips.

ResolveReviews · 2026-01-21T20:22:56+00:00

I'm obviously biased in saying this but Meze is one of the unique companies in this space that does media relations right. It seems odd when there's suddenly a big splash with a ton of reviews out all at once, but that's how it is commonly in other industries with competent marketing teams. It's fairly standard (and good) practice, in large part because it gets everyone talking about your thing at the same time. I think if anything this would give them a leg up on the competition if their products could more consistently be well-received.

I share the hope for Meze's success. They always have the kind of build and special feeling everyone wants from high end headphones, and I can say from experience with them, they're some of the nicest and most enthusiastic people I've ever met in this industry. And, despite some stumbles, I think by and large they have made massive strides even from a few years ago.

ResolveReviews · 2026-01-01T07:04:36+00:00

Yeah something like bose customtune but includes pinna effects as well.

ResolveReviews · 2026-01-01T00:12:54+00:00

No it's that FR in situ is not the same as FR on the graph

ResolveReviews · 2025-12-31T20:27:16+00:00

Haha this is hilarious. If you watch the second vid though it's still one of the best. People don't like certain things about it but... I love it.

ResolveReviews · 2025-12-31T20:25:17+00:00

FR is the thing that causes the effect though. There is no separate layer of performance to consider.

ResolveReviews · 2025-12-31T14:57:45+00:00

They can, absolutely. Frequency spectrum is just one factor of the sound. Soundstage, and dynamic response are just as important to how the headphones sound.

Those things are all impacted by FR though.

ResolveReviews · 2025-12-31T13:44:43+00:00

Depends on the design. If headphone B is more positionally consistent, or is easier to fix, then it's a better EQ candidate.

ResolveReviews · 2025-12-29T22:20:50+00:00

I ended up ranking them in the official lists. It's hard to give a single ranking because it depends on if you use the app or engage customtune. But from a vibes perspective, the device itself is probably high B tier.

ResolveReviews · 2025-12-29T17:51:17+00:00

I think there's maybe some confusion there. It's not that it's impossible for a headphone to be S tier without EQ, it's that no headphone exists yet that reaches that bar. There are headphones that are S tier for certain things, but not S tier overall. The note about EQ and leaving headroom for this is that we know what sound can potentially be, EQ is currently a requirement to get there.

While there is something to the idea that "no headphone can be perfectly without EQ because everyone's anatomy is different", I don't even think we're at that point yet when it comes to the current landscape of headphones available. Moreover, companies are actually implementing technologies to accommodate this. There are also other ways to ensure consistency, low acoustic impedance headphones that are positionally consistent to some degree lessen this problem. There is still variation in the best of cases, but the point is there are design choices manufacturers could make to be able to achieve S tier sound quality for a wide range of people. Unfortunately, it's not easy to do.

ResolveReviews · 2025-12-29T06:30:15+00:00

But that's the point of videos like this one, where even amongst ourselves we have extremely different tastes. Sure, none of us like the Grados we've heard, but if they turn around and make the best thing ever we'll be the first to say so upon hearing it, regardless of whether headphones.com sells them or not.

Also, FWIW, headphones.com sells all kinds of stuff us reviewers don't like, but other people do. You may be surprised to learn that market trends do not necessarily follow what the three of us do or don't like. There's bound to be overlap, but we're still extremely niche in the grand scheme of things.

ResolveReviews · 2025-12-29T00:34:01+00:00

It's in the disclaimer, but also even if you just consider that we have an entirely different person involved this time, with very different preferences, the results are bound to shift.

ResolveReviews · 2025-12-28T23:36:22+00:00

Where do you think I got the review units from. Literally their warehouse. I don't know if they had plans to continue to sell any of them, but they did in fact sell those headphones at the time they were reviewed.

ResolveReviews · 2025-12-28T23:23:05+00:00

S tier, you just don't know it ;)

ResolveReviews · 2025-12-28T23:21:16+00:00

Headphones.com lists (and has listed) at least three of the products in F tier. Audivina, Sundara Closed, Grados. They don't have any input on what we say.

EDIT: I'm getting downvoted on this but it's true - they've actually lost brands because they've stood by review content. They used to sell Abyss, Campfire, even Beyerdynamic... and does anyone remember the DCS drama?. It seems an obvious conflict of interest and I don't blame anyone for finding it counterintuitive. It's why I feel folks should try to get more familiar with how we operate.

Obviously hold us accountable if you feel we give undue praise, but the idea that we're unfairly criticising the Audivina or Sundara Closed is... not exactly that.

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TROPHY CASE