mvw2
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2007
- Posts
- 1,879
- Likes
- 106
[size=18pt]Introduction[/size]
I got a few new earphones to try out recently. Joker was kind enough to let me borrow his CK90Pro for a little while. I picked up the RE-ZERO after reading some promising reviews that they fixed some of the issues I didn't like with the RE-0. I also bought the DBA-02 from the promising reviews and my own liking of the Eterna (v1).
Here are a couple of my other thread covering other earphones reviewed in the same manner:
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/478784/review-small-150-200-street-price-earphone-test-group-custom-3-ck10-re252-tf10-ok1
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/451954/top-tier-earphone-comparison-tf10-ie8-um3x-se530-ok1
[size=18pt]EQing[/size]
I typically EQ everything I use as there is no point being stuck with a sound signature if you don't have to. I do find a LOT of earphones benefit greatly from EQing, however, it takes a relatively comprehensive EQ to do the job smoothly and seemlessly. A basic EQ will mess up as much as it helps most of the time, hence most people's frustrations with EQs. I use software that allows nearly infinite adjustment so I can maintain smoothness and shape of the EQing needed for the hardware.
This test group is a rare exception. All 3 of these are very well balanced earphones that have a very flat response through most of the spectrum. The CK90Pro effectively runs dead flat across the board with an optional couple dB boost at 30Hz if desired. The RE-ZERO and DBA-02 both are ruler flat too through most of the range, only rolling off gradually on the low end, the DBA-02 a little earlier than the RE-ZERO but the RE-ZERO a little steeper.
The tests were done with every earphone EQed (ear) flat. Flat is relative to my hearing perception. I use a pink noise track and adjust by ear the frequency spectrum to equal intensity across the board. The goal was to get something I felt correct and not biased to a particular day or listening. Pink noise is tricky in that it's relatively easy to tune for smoothness of response, but it's hard to tune for tilt of response and you end up with a bright or warm signature instead of flat. It tends to take some time to balance your ears/mind unless you use pink noise tests on a regular basis. Again, these are not absolute responses. They are merely what my ear hears as flat across the spectrum. Tests were done at a medium volume similar to common listening levels. This is important as our ears hear differently between quiet and loud volumes, and the "flat" response changes shape.
My choice in EQing is to take out variation between the earphones. Frequency response plays a sizable role in perception, and this variation can many times overshadow smaller details and differences between earphones. EQing them equally lets a person more readily hear the differences.
[size=18pt]Testing[/size]
Testing was done with my laptop but using a PCM2702 DAC via my Meier Corda 2Move bypassing the laptops sound card. EQing was done via software and a virtual loop through to incorporate a relatively infinitely adjustable EQ. Each earphone was listened to using its own EQ setting geared to (ear) flat.
Music selection was varied, a lot of random music over a wide range of genres. Live recordings of some classic rock to modern music was included along with simple vocals to "noisy" rock to full orchestra and orchestra accompanied music. The main goal was to have a variety of music to go through but also have some that challenged or could point out various weaknesses. I've never really put together any specific test group and prefer to have a relatively shotgun approach to the process. I repeat music listening to every earphone one after another on the same song. I jot down little notes for what I hear, mainly audio characteristics like dynamics, impact, level of detail, thickness of note, sense of sound stage depth, locational cues, etc. I repeat this for every earphone and every song and sort of build up a master list of my impressions that generally describe how they sound to me. I then translate this to general impressions of the earphones as to how they perform. I'm going to follow the same format as my last test to kind of keep the process along the same lines.
[size=18pt]Listening Impression[/size]
Fischer Audio DBA-02
Bass: clean, well controlled, decent punch, excellent speed but short note with very little body, ok depth with EQing but lacks a good sense of bottom end, gradual roll off in sensitivity starting at the lower midrange makes overall presence a little light without some low frequency boost
Mid: open, slightly lean on the low end, upper end shares the same energy and presence that the treble has, aggressive and fast paced
Treble: good energy, sparkle, excellent extension and speed, somewhat aggressive
Stage: good left to right orientation, some forward perception, weak sense of depth and distancing, within the head and slightly small without good depth, a bit forward and compact but not really tiny sounding or closed in, excellent separation due to a very clean note
Location: some sense of location of sounds, good side to side sense but is limited due to the limited sound stage space to work with, most things are pretty up front
Clarity: aggressive, excellent speed, good level of detail but lacks articulation/texture, brings forward many details within the music, well separated and clean with complex information, definition relies on aggressive note energy and great speed, has a sense of delicacy at times with the short notes.
Tone: slightly upper mid and treble emphasis, normal songs sound lean and thick songs sound normal.
Dynamics: decently aggressive with good energy in the notes, lacks some dynamic breadth to portray range of subtle to loud, somewhat compressed, quiet stuff is brought forward, has good energy on the peaks of notes but lacks a serious sense of power and authority without bringing up the low end which makes the whole presentation a bit loud
Audio Technica CK90Pro
Bass: excellent low end extension, has no problem getting to 30Hz, moderate low frequency presence with a BA expected decay but a thick note which is an odd mix, slightly sloppy notes at time (loose sounding)
Mid: slightly warm/full presence, well balanced through the range, decently natural sound but always warm with the thicker presence
Treble: excellent response extension, warm and thick in presence but retain sensitivity and a little sparkle
Stage: sense of openness and space with a decent sense of side to side and forward depth, perceived a little outside the head, depth isn’t perceptibly limited
Location: while not pinpoint in placement, there is a general sense of direction and distance which fills in the multi-dimensional space well, pretty natural sense of distancing.
Clarity: unusually warm/smoothed for a BA setup which creates a unique sound, subtle sense of details that get somewhat overshadowed by the smooth note, retains a good level of details but details are lost in the thickness, a bit laid back to really articulate and define a note
Tone: very flat sensitivity all the way through which creates excellent balance, notes carry good weight and fullness, the thick, warm note emphasizes the lower midrange and bottom end a bit, the thick presence is unusual for a BA design, not a dynamic driver thick, but a thickness with a BA type of sound, different
Dynamics: decent impact on notes and sounds, good energy that shows through the thick presence, very pleasant and non-fatiguing
HighfiMan RE-ZERO
Bass: rolls offer under 125Hz, feels a little constrained and lacking slightly in dynamic breadth (side effect of heavy damping), overshadowed slightly by the mids and treble at times but good midbass presence, excellent clarity, impact, clean, well defined, some decay but quickly damped
Mid: very natural sound, slightly lean, open and with a decent sense of air, neutral presence with a flat response, clean, with good edge/definition
Treble: clean, doesn’t quite sound limitless up top but sensitivity does extend well, good note edge, open, with some air and some sparkle, calm at the very top end that makes it non-piercing, non-fatiguing but limits the air/sparkle that could be there
Stage: slightly forward presence but well spaced with good depth, relatively in the head but depth sounds bigger, very well rounded space, distancing sounds a little “pulled in” towards the listener
Location: sounds have a decent sense of location in the stage space, not pinpoint but is perceived that the sound is emanating from a location
Clarity: clean, good edge, good articulation of note but with a taught sound, very controlled notes and excellent speed, brings out subtlety and small information well, excellent separation
Tone: neutral, natural, slightly dry, excellent balance due to a very flat frequency response, leans out on the low end a little only due to the heavily damped driver
Dynamics: good sense of range, can portray subtle information well as well as carry a moderate amount of energy and presence, natural sense of body, taught presence that can slightly lean/weaken the presence from what one might expect, only limited somewhat in articulation and range from the high driver damping.
[size=18pt]Final Comments[/size]
The DBA-02, CK90Pro, and RE-ZERO represent some of the most balanced earphones I’ve used in terms of frequency response (along with MTPG, RE252, and Custom 3). However, these are some vastly different sounding earphones. It goes to show that frequency response isn’t everything and BA vs dynamic isn’t everything either.
The DBA-02 is a very unique sounding earphone. it took me a while to understand the sound signature because it was so different from anything else I’ve used. The DBA-02 has an aggressive presence that is driven by high note energy and high driver speed. This makes for a relative lively and aggressive sound. The dynamic range is a little compressed. This sounds bad, but it has the added benefit of bringing the quiet parts more forward which helps make it more revealing and involved. Articulation and dynamic breadth does become less though, and the overall presence is a little “noisy.” Notes are quite short with good energy but very lean in body. In some ways it sounds almost delicate. It also makes separation during complex passages a breeze. The thin notes due tend to lean out the low end presence and in some cases can also come across slightly weak.
The CK90Pro was an earphone that I never knew existed before Joker suggested this to me and said I might enjoy it. He let my borrow his pair before he put it up for sale, so I figured why not give it a try. The CK90Pro is a very unusual sounding BA earphone. The presence is uncharacteristically warm and smooth for a BA. It’s kind of like a poly cone home or car audio driver where crispness is traded for smoothness, and you get this thicker, warmer presence. Mind you the notes are not thick, but the presence has an underlying thickness. The CK90Pro has the flattest frequency response I’ve used in an earphone so far. I can’t add or cut 1dB anywhere to improve it short maybe a couple dB way down at 30Hz. This earphone trades the usual BA dynamics and detail for a smooth, almost lush sound with details that rise out of this lush sea with good energy albeit minimal micro detail and limited dynamic range. Small details are obviously lost in the warmth, and it is not a particularly dynamic or articulate earphone. It is uncharacteristically smooth and warm with is quite special in a BA format.
The RE-ZERO is an impressive earphone deviating from its RE0 brethren. I was never a fan of the RE0, although I could value it for its relative lack of major faults. I found the notes to moderately lack dynamic range which made for a rather tiny, weak signature. The sound stage was pretty bad as well having very little sense of location and space outside of vague left, center, right areas. The RE-ZERO is a massive improvement in these areas and makes for a quite capable earphone. The overall sound signature is neutral and natural to the ear, perhaps a hair dry. Dynamic range is quite good for heavily damped driver, and there is good articulation of note and micro detail. The sound is clean, energetic, and taught. The sound stage is much improved with a decent sense of space and now the perception of sounds in actual locations in space. These are major upgrades in my book over the RE0. Plus the frequency response is flatter across the board. My only real gripe with this earphone is how heavily damped the driver is. This tends to make the dynamics slightly constrained and less effortless, plus lower frequencies thin out and weaken in presence. I could see a little looser driver perform a little more naturally throughout the spectrum, although it would trade off some of the control and cleanliness during complex information. I think the RE-ZERO fits a niche that needs to be filled, so it’s fitting the way it is.
I got a few new earphones to try out recently. Joker was kind enough to let me borrow his CK90Pro for a little while. I picked up the RE-ZERO after reading some promising reviews that they fixed some of the issues I didn't like with the RE-0. I also bought the DBA-02 from the promising reviews and my own liking of the Eterna (v1).
Here are a couple of my other thread covering other earphones reviewed in the same manner:
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/478784/review-small-150-200-street-price-earphone-test-group-custom-3-ck10-re252-tf10-ok1
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/451954/top-tier-earphone-comparison-tf10-ie8-um3x-se530-ok1
[size=18pt]EQing[/size]
I typically EQ everything I use as there is no point being stuck with a sound signature if you don't have to. I do find a LOT of earphones benefit greatly from EQing, however, it takes a relatively comprehensive EQ to do the job smoothly and seemlessly. A basic EQ will mess up as much as it helps most of the time, hence most people's frustrations with EQs. I use software that allows nearly infinite adjustment so I can maintain smoothness and shape of the EQing needed for the hardware.
This test group is a rare exception. All 3 of these are very well balanced earphones that have a very flat response through most of the spectrum. The CK90Pro effectively runs dead flat across the board with an optional couple dB boost at 30Hz if desired. The RE-ZERO and DBA-02 both are ruler flat too through most of the range, only rolling off gradually on the low end, the DBA-02 a little earlier than the RE-ZERO but the RE-ZERO a little steeper.
The tests were done with every earphone EQed (ear) flat. Flat is relative to my hearing perception. I use a pink noise track and adjust by ear the frequency spectrum to equal intensity across the board. The goal was to get something I felt correct and not biased to a particular day or listening. Pink noise is tricky in that it's relatively easy to tune for smoothness of response, but it's hard to tune for tilt of response and you end up with a bright or warm signature instead of flat. It tends to take some time to balance your ears/mind unless you use pink noise tests on a regular basis. Again, these are not absolute responses. They are merely what my ear hears as flat across the spectrum. Tests were done at a medium volume similar to common listening levels. This is important as our ears hear differently between quiet and loud volumes, and the "flat" response changes shape.
My choice in EQing is to take out variation between the earphones. Frequency response plays a sizable role in perception, and this variation can many times overshadow smaller details and differences between earphones. EQing them equally lets a person more readily hear the differences.
[size=18pt]Testing[/size]
Testing was done with my laptop but using a PCM2702 DAC via my Meier Corda 2Move bypassing the laptops sound card. EQing was done via software and a virtual loop through to incorporate a relatively infinitely adjustable EQ. Each earphone was listened to using its own EQ setting geared to (ear) flat.
Music selection was varied, a lot of random music over a wide range of genres. Live recordings of some classic rock to modern music was included along with simple vocals to "noisy" rock to full orchestra and orchestra accompanied music. The main goal was to have a variety of music to go through but also have some that challenged or could point out various weaknesses. I've never really put together any specific test group and prefer to have a relatively shotgun approach to the process. I repeat music listening to every earphone one after another on the same song. I jot down little notes for what I hear, mainly audio characteristics like dynamics, impact, level of detail, thickness of note, sense of sound stage depth, locational cues, etc. I repeat this for every earphone and every song and sort of build up a master list of my impressions that generally describe how they sound to me. I then translate this to general impressions of the earphones as to how they perform. I'm going to follow the same format as my last test to kind of keep the process along the same lines.
[size=18pt]Listening Impression[/size]
Fischer Audio DBA-02
Bass: clean, well controlled, decent punch, excellent speed but short note with very little body, ok depth with EQing but lacks a good sense of bottom end, gradual roll off in sensitivity starting at the lower midrange makes overall presence a little light without some low frequency boost
Mid: open, slightly lean on the low end, upper end shares the same energy and presence that the treble has, aggressive and fast paced
Treble: good energy, sparkle, excellent extension and speed, somewhat aggressive
Stage: good left to right orientation, some forward perception, weak sense of depth and distancing, within the head and slightly small without good depth, a bit forward and compact but not really tiny sounding or closed in, excellent separation due to a very clean note
Location: some sense of location of sounds, good side to side sense but is limited due to the limited sound stage space to work with, most things are pretty up front
Clarity: aggressive, excellent speed, good level of detail but lacks articulation/texture, brings forward many details within the music, well separated and clean with complex information, definition relies on aggressive note energy and great speed, has a sense of delicacy at times with the short notes.
Tone: slightly upper mid and treble emphasis, normal songs sound lean and thick songs sound normal.
Dynamics: decently aggressive with good energy in the notes, lacks some dynamic breadth to portray range of subtle to loud, somewhat compressed, quiet stuff is brought forward, has good energy on the peaks of notes but lacks a serious sense of power and authority without bringing up the low end which makes the whole presentation a bit loud
Audio Technica CK90Pro
Bass: excellent low end extension, has no problem getting to 30Hz, moderate low frequency presence with a BA expected decay but a thick note which is an odd mix, slightly sloppy notes at time (loose sounding)
Mid: slightly warm/full presence, well balanced through the range, decently natural sound but always warm with the thicker presence
Treble: excellent response extension, warm and thick in presence but retain sensitivity and a little sparkle
Stage: sense of openness and space with a decent sense of side to side and forward depth, perceived a little outside the head, depth isn’t perceptibly limited
Location: while not pinpoint in placement, there is a general sense of direction and distance which fills in the multi-dimensional space well, pretty natural sense of distancing.
Clarity: unusually warm/smoothed for a BA setup which creates a unique sound, subtle sense of details that get somewhat overshadowed by the smooth note, retains a good level of details but details are lost in the thickness, a bit laid back to really articulate and define a note
Tone: very flat sensitivity all the way through which creates excellent balance, notes carry good weight and fullness, the thick, warm note emphasizes the lower midrange and bottom end a bit, the thick presence is unusual for a BA design, not a dynamic driver thick, but a thickness with a BA type of sound, different
Dynamics: decent impact on notes and sounds, good energy that shows through the thick presence, very pleasant and non-fatiguing
HighfiMan RE-ZERO
Bass: rolls offer under 125Hz, feels a little constrained and lacking slightly in dynamic breadth (side effect of heavy damping), overshadowed slightly by the mids and treble at times but good midbass presence, excellent clarity, impact, clean, well defined, some decay but quickly damped
Mid: very natural sound, slightly lean, open and with a decent sense of air, neutral presence with a flat response, clean, with good edge/definition
Treble: clean, doesn’t quite sound limitless up top but sensitivity does extend well, good note edge, open, with some air and some sparkle, calm at the very top end that makes it non-piercing, non-fatiguing but limits the air/sparkle that could be there
Stage: slightly forward presence but well spaced with good depth, relatively in the head but depth sounds bigger, very well rounded space, distancing sounds a little “pulled in” towards the listener
Location: sounds have a decent sense of location in the stage space, not pinpoint but is perceived that the sound is emanating from a location
Clarity: clean, good edge, good articulation of note but with a taught sound, very controlled notes and excellent speed, brings out subtlety and small information well, excellent separation
Tone: neutral, natural, slightly dry, excellent balance due to a very flat frequency response, leans out on the low end a little only due to the heavily damped driver
Dynamics: good sense of range, can portray subtle information well as well as carry a moderate amount of energy and presence, natural sense of body, taught presence that can slightly lean/weaken the presence from what one might expect, only limited somewhat in articulation and range from the high driver damping.
[size=18pt]Final Comments[/size]
The DBA-02, CK90Pro, and RE-ZERO represent some of the most balanced earphones I’ve used in terms of frequency response (along with MTPG, RE252, and Custom 3). However, these are some vastly different sounding earphones. It goes to show that frequency response isn’t everything and BA vs dynamic isn’t everything either.
The DBA-02 is a very unique sounding earphone. it took me a while to understand the sound signature because it was so different from anything else I’ve used. The DBA-02 has an aggressive presence that is driven by high note energy and high driver speed. This makes for a relative lively and aggressive sound. The dynamic range is a little compressed. This sounds bad, but it has the added benefit of bringing the quiet parts more forward which helps make it more revealing and involved. Articulation and dynamic breadth does become less though, and the overall presence is a little “noisy.” Notes are quite short with good energy but very lean in body. In some ways it sounds almost delicate. It also makes separation during complex passages a breeze. The thin notes due tend to lean out the low end presence and in some cases can also come across slightly weak.
The CK90Pro was an earphone that I never knew existed before Joker suggested this to me and said I might enjoy it. He let my borrow his pair before he put it up for sale, so I figured why not give it a try. The CK90Pro is a very unusual sounding BA earphone. The presence is uncharacteristically warm and smooth for a BA. It’s kind of like a poly cone home or car audio driver where crispness is traded for smoothness, and you get this thicker, warmer presence. Mind you the notes are not thick, but the presence has an underlying thickness. The CK90Pro has the flattest frequency response I’ve used in an earphone so far. I can’t add or cut 1dB anywhere to improve it short maybe a couple dB way down at 30Hz. This earphone trades the usual BA dynamics and detail for a smooth, almost lush sound with details that rise out of this lush sea with good energy albeit minimal micro detail and limited dynamic range. Small details are obviously lost in the warmth, and it is not a particularly dynamic or articulate earphone. It is uncharacteristically smooth and warm with is quite special in a BA format.
The RE-ZERO is an impressive earphone deviating from its RE0 brethren. I was never a fan of the RE0, although I could value it for its relative lack of major faults. I found the notes to moderately lack dynamic range which made for a rather tiny, weak signature. The sound stage was pretty bad as well having very little sense of location and space outside of vague left, center, right areas. The RE-ZERO is a massive improvement in these areas and makes for a quite capable earphone. The overall sound signature is neutral and natural to the ear, perhaps a hair dry. Dynamic range is quite good for heavily damped driver, and there is good articulation of note and micro detail. The sound is clean, energetic, and taught. The sound stage is much improved with a decent sense of space and now the perception of sounds in actual locations in space. These are major upgrades in my book over the RE0. Plus the frequency response is flatter across the board. My only real gripe with this earphone is how heavily damped the driver is. This tends to make the dynamics slightly constrained and less effortless, plus lower frequencies thin out and weaken in presence. I could see a little looser driver perform a little more naturally throughout the spectrum, although it would trade off some of the control and cleanliness during complex information. I think the RE-ZERO fits a niche that needs to be filled, so it’s fitting the way it is.
