Cheap vs Expensive In-Ear Monitors - Part 1 of 3
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- Опубліковано 26 лип 2024
- Part 1 of a 3 part video where I compare a wide assortment of in-ear monitors. Not only will we look at frequency response, transfer function and phase, I also chat about cable types, connectors and setup so that you can listen to the differences between the various units.
In this video I test Ultimate Ears UE18+, Sennheiser IE4, Shure SE215, and Future Sonics MG6PRO, product links below.
In part 2 - Test the Audix A10, Steath Sonics C9, JH Audio Roxanne and begin testing the L-Acoustics Contour XO in-ear monitors. Part 2: • Cheap vs Expensive In-...
In part 3 - Test and listen to the L-Acoustics Contour XO, the low frequency EQ controls on the Contour and the Roxanne as well as listen to and compare to a $38 pair of CCAQ C10 in ears. Link to Part 3: • Cheap vs Expensive In-...
Huge thank you to J.T. O’Neal and Riarosa for the music!
Band : Riarosa
Song: Better Than Nothing
Produced by: J.T. O’Neal
Mixed by : Brian Edwards
Mastered: Voyager Mastering
• Riarosa - Better Than ...
/ @riarosa6083
open.spotify.com/track/2GFUih...
riarosaband?igs...
Test Software:
Smaart - www.rationalacoustics.com/sma...
Measurement Mics:
Audix TM-2 test mics - audixusa.com/products/tm2/
In Ear Monitors Tested:
Ultimate Ears UE18+ - pro.ultimateears.com/products...
Sennheiser IE4 - en-us.sennheiser.com/earbuds-...
Shure SE215 - www.shure.com/en-US/products/...
Future Sonics MG6pro - futuresonics.com/mg6pro
00:00 Intro
01:00 Ultimate Ears UE18+ description
02:05 In-ear cables
03:20 UE18+ pink noise test and setup description
07:08 In-ear frequency responses types
08:00 Listening test UE18+
09:30 Reference setup
10:18 Sennheiser IE-4 description and test
11:45 Sennheiser IE-4 listening and compare to UE18+
13:08 Shure SE215 description and test
14:15 Shure SE215 listening and compare to UE18+
15:45 Future Sonics MG6pro description and test
16:55 Future Sonics MG6pro listening and compare to UE18+
If you like this and other videos I do, please join this channel to get access to more videos, early access to videos as well as to be able to join my weekly zoom chats:
/ @daverat
Also check out:
www.ratsoundsales.com/
ratsound.com/daveswordpress/
www.ratsound.com/
www.soundtools.com
Probably the most useful pro-audio related channel on all of the internet
Wow and thank you!
Yup I love it when I discover someone who actually has a clue lol. Keep rocking Mr. Rat.. This content is extremely valuable. I'm mainly a church worship guitarist and in-ears are a requirement... Makes a huge difference when you find the right pair and dial the mix.
Cool cool and thank you Daniel!
@@DaveRat thank you for all the information you share. You deserve a much larger viewership. Fingers crossed that more people come across your channel.
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Where has this video been all my life?
Thank you, Dave, for a very interesting series on in-ear monitors. Besides all the invaluable technical information, it is neat to be able to compare the sound signatures of various models.
Fantastic job 😊
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I'm in a search for in-ears monitors. This video came at the right time. I appreciate it! 😊👍
Excellent!
Outstanding work -Thru as always. I love your videos. Midas vs Behringer was super informative as well.
Awesome thank you Tobias!
Judging by the title alone it's like you've perused my metadata, can't thank you enough for the content.
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Super awesome video Dave. First time I think anything like this has been done. Being able to hear the different tunings and quality of each in ear is really something else. Excellent demonstration/project. Thanks for sharing this incredible information with all of us.
P.s.
You're a living legend!!
Thank you Rick
This series is a real ear-opener.
Thanks Dave
Awesome and thank you!
Hey Dave, our ears have natural resonances. There's the ear canal resonance at roughly 2 kHz. This helps boost intelligibility of speech. Note that in-ears that sit deep in the ear will result in a shorter ear canal, which will change this resonance. So these in-ears need to recreate the natural peak themselves to sound more natural.
There's a second natural resonance because of the pinna at roughly 6 kHz, which is weaker however. (This is strongly simplified because the pinna is more like a set of directional filters.) Note how in-ears _completely_ bypass this part of the ear.
Both together can easily result in 15 dB of gain at the ear drum vs. diffuse field. (In measurements of this you can see a smooth peak centered somewhere between 2 and 3 kHz. Note how this has similarities with the equal loudness contours.)
There's also the measurement side. Depending on how you couple the in-ears to the measurement microphone, you may get resonances at different frequencies than you'll get in your ears.
Interesting and thank you. So, let me ask you this, if the in ears are adding peaks to recreate the resonances, then theoretically, if I put in a pair of in ears with the peaks and compare the sound to a pair of flat headphones, they should sound perceptively similar, correct?
But, I don't find that to be the case. The in ears with peaks sound like they are brighter in the peak region. I will do more testing where where I put in one in ear monitor and over the other ear, headphones. Theoretically, based on the resonance concept, the headphones should match up with in ears that have peaks and the the flat in ear should sound duller than the headphones, right?
@@DaveRat it depends on the height and width of the peaks and the specific insertion depth into your ear. It's very possible that a given pair of IEMs at a given insertion depth may be too "peaky", and it's definitely the case that some IEMs just have too much gain in those regions and come off as "shouty".
But, it's also not the case that a flat pair of speakers at, say, 2 meters away sounds the same (FR-wise) as a flat pair of headphones on your head-your head itself changes the perceived frequency response. I think I have a good article explaining this; I will try to find it.
@@DaveRat Well, same frequency response at the eardrum should sound the same.
But there are some caveats, as always:
a) a blocked ear canal feels differently and even can be fatiguing, as this can lead to high static pressure on the eardrum even at moderate SPL which trigger the stapedius reflex
b) a lack of visceral impact of low frequencies especially vs speakers (usually compensated by boosted lows especially in in-ears)
c) this is just hard to achieve in practice because everyone's ears are different
It's not even easy to measure. In some studies where they do this, they use tiny microphones on wires that are very carefully positioned close to the ear drum. Because of this, most measurements are just made at the ear canal entrance (only works properly with over-ear headphones) or with dummy heads (which are just an average over a range of humans).
So even good headphone manufacturers design towards some average that doesn't really fit anyone specifically.
Let me repeat an important point again: identical coupling and proper seal is absolutely crucial to be able to compare headphones measurements.
Narrow peaks will always stand out acoustically because it's just very unlikely they will match your hearing's natural resonant frequencies, and we're more sensitive to peaks, and we're extra sensitive in the 2k - 6k range.
UA-cam seems to be hiding my comment because it has a link in it, but Dave: if you Google "crinacle graphs 101 how to read headphone measurements", I think you'll find it really interesting read about FR measurement.
Also, thanks for doing these videos-it's a pretty cool setup and gives a feel for the different IEMs :)
Thank you and will do!
When I saw your video post, I said to myself I want what you are on because that face could paint a thousand audiophiles images.
Presentation is everything!
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I'm watching/listening your video wearing a pair of UE-11. Very interesting test. I had Future Sonics in the past but they lost completely the low end over time and nowadays I wear them just as ear protection plugs. hahaha. I sent the video link to two sound tech friends of mine so they can also enjoy your analysis, Cheers.
Cool cool and thank you Rene!
What a Sunday! Thx Dave
👍Part 2 is out and 3 will be up in a few mins
Dude, thank you so much for sharing the knowledge.
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Awesome stuff Dave thank you!!!!!
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Thank you Dave. Good stuff!
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I'm looking forward to parts 2 and 3
They are both up
I just found your videos thank you for doing this type of video you saved me a lot of money. It's go big or go home.
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God bless you man, amazing video.
Thank you David!
Great experiment
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Amazing sound quality from those in-ear systems. I never used them, but as a bass player I can imagine how having the drummer a bit louder, would help keeping time. Also, bad acoustics from the venue will be muted. I remember hearing my bass and the drums bouncing in antiphase from a concrete wall. Timing became guesswork. 😮 On to the next video! 👍
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Thanks for making this awsome
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Would love to see 64 Audio in this lineup. But great video as always! Greetings from Sweden.
see what I can do
I own the 64audio a18s they sound amazing 18 drivers and the best headroom i ever felt from in ears
I never liked that most IEM seem to be playing the how many drivers can I fit in ear game. Reminds me of my father's furniture radio with 8 way speakers. Sounded nice but artificial, pull up the phase/response curves and woah. No thanks. Great work as always Dave
👍 Well, in vid 2 and 3 we see some multi driver units with the flattest phase of all
you are absolutely crazy ... and i love you to bits
Awesome Michail!!
Dave, your Mighty Headphone Quest from years back was a great help in me choosing my Shure srh840's. Any chance of another Headphone quest?
I will ponder that. Its a big endeavor.
I wish my college professors would have explained things as well as you do Dave.
🤙 thank you!!
Super super interesting
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Great video Dave. That was quite graphical both visually and audibly, The comparisons of cheap versus expensive in-ears. Is the purpose of in-ears, to replicate what is actually coming from the mixer board? Your representation clearly showed that they all don't do that! What would your approach be in getting In-ears for musicians and singers? Thanks.
Hmmm, I am remiss to generalize. In ears can be such a personal preference thing and challenging to optimize with so many factors. I did the vids to help get more info so people can make a better decision or see and hear what is happening with their current in ears and see other options. Personally, I really like the Stealth, the JH and the L-Acoustics are my favorite. But in talking to a monitor engineer friend, she says it really depends on the artist, how much ambient sound, how much low end, listening volume, do they use one or two in ears, and so on.
would love to see JH 16v2s on here. i'd almost mail mine out to you to make it happen. almost. i haven't tried any other high-end IEMs but i really like em so i'm curious as to how they compare
Yeah, have not tested any other JH than in the vid, but also, they make great products.
Great song!
Agreed! Give them likes and hits and so cool they let me use their music!
@@DaveRat definitely! I immediately shared the link to this song on my "Whatcha listenin' to?" group.
Yeah ... reminds me of when Indie Rock was fresh!
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Excellent!
Dave, I love this kind of video, is so relevant to me. Thank you from the coast of Argentina, Mar del Plata. can you try the HealthSonics?
Stealthsonics?
@@DaveRat Yes, hahaha I was wrong. That same brand.
Have you ever tried them?
Yes and I like them. I have more test videos on the member side that I will make public at some point with tests of the hybrid they make
@@DaveRat
Oh nice! Thank you very much for this type of videos, they are also useful and in my case they help me to educate myself.
Your tools are excellent, I hope they arrive in Argentina soon.
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Thanks for doing this. I also have a few brands so I can wear what the act/artist I’m mixing wears. I think some of your testing is skewed, though. I find that the probes aren’t able to couple in the ear, of course, and fit is key in getting a proper read on response. It seems that you have older models of some iem’s. I like my UE18, Westone ES60, FS MG6HX (I think yours are discontinued?) and a few universals from JH, Shure and Sennheiser and each has their strengths but only when the fit is 100% sealed. When we rested with the probe the tale wasn’t told because they didn’t represent what I was hearing. All great info but maybe adjust the process a little? Great stuff, as always, though!
I really spent time I during a good fit, and went through and tested them all, saved the curves and then re tested in the video and double checked against the saved curves. That said, there are many variables and especially with custom fit ears, every pair can sound different.
As far as the future Sonic's, I also tested a pair or MG6PROhx that I borrowed from a monitor engineer friend. The response was a bit different but similar enough to where I just returned them and used the MG6PRO
Question: What's your current headphone of choice?
Thanks Dave, these are very informative!!!
I still use my Denon D2000 as preference.
I'm ok with the shure 840 and 940 but they are not so durable.
I've heard good things about the Neumann NDH 20 but not heard them. May be worth a listen
Great way to compare. Which port did the Future Sonics have installed ?
The smallest port
While listening, the expensive ones started sounding like something that was low fatigue versus the others with the shrillness. Also love to know max SPL after seeing some people's usage of IEMs.
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Earlier this month I had a dream I was at a multi tenet facility in Rochester NY attending a meet and greet with Mike Portnoy and John Petrucci. On my way to my car I saw Dave Rat at his car and was like OMG. You asked me if I was a musician and we chatted a bit about sound and music. You were renting space in the same facility they were doing the M&G.
Yes, now lets do some real shows too!
Yes!!!
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I have two sets of in-ears - the more expensive ones do sound different in the way this test shows in my experience
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Great video. Love the music! Thanks. I have a pair of Klipsch X11 buds that sound pretty good. I also have a set Future Sonic Atrio’s which also sound decent. Any thoughts on either of them? I am a bass player….. The ones you tested seem a bit wonky in the mids..
Not familiar with the Klipsch but do have 2 pairs of future sonics. They definitely need more EQ than most of the other brands I have. Did some vids testing the FS and others higher end ears. Would need to look and see if the vids are public, 8f not, will release at some point
@@DaveRat Thanks for the reply, Dave. I am subscribed to your channel so I should get a notification if/when you release the vids on the FS’s. I will say the FS’s cover the bottom end very well. I finished watching your entire IEM shootout. There were a couple that sounded really good. Their cost reflected that. I was tempted to buy some cheaper ones (SE215). After watching your videos, I am glad I didn’t. You saved me a some $. Is the tune you used in the IEM shootout available for download? Thanks.
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I recommend the CCA C12 !
They are Chinese and affordable, but well built and sound great! Compared to the SE215 costing 100$, you'd think you're listening to +200$ In Ears , while only spending 40$
I tested some CCA models. The issue I noticed was the hard plastic hollow shells seemed to have more sound bleed and cable noise, also pretty peaky in the 2 to 4k range. That said, they are cheap and things get expensive fast when you want higher quality multi driver units. The Shure units are pretty lack luster for the cost.
I got Shure 215. Was convinced they were defective, such an awful sound, had better free buds in airplanes and museums. Digging out the frequency response graph and just putting the inverse in on the graphic EQ worked out well. You still would not use them for listening to music or podcasts, but along with the bass from a PA system, they work for monitoring and stay put in my ears.
Great point, pa speaker don't make a great home hifi and pa in-ears don't make great ipod buds.
Except for the top end gear like L-Acoustics where the speakera and in-ears work awesome for both!
I think darker in ears are better for loud stages. If you have to crank you in ears, the high frequencies can get brutal fast.
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Fantastic subject. I still have a pair of koss /Realistic LV10 headphones and the still sound great .Got rid of my AKJ and my Sony .Funny thing how you get fatigue from some and pleasure from others.Cant affor headphones with 7 drivers and need their own amplifier to drive them !
You're probably better off without the super complex headphones. Beauty in simplicity.
The only time I could see the seven driver headphones being exciting is if there was seven stereo amplifiers and seven separate stereo signals in the recording that truly recreates a live sound
@@DaveRat imagine they would make Dolby 7.1 in headphones ???Would be an interesting concept for surround sound for movies and Pink Floyd or yes concerts or other prog rock greatest that had Quad recordings
That could be cool especially for watching movies but I don't like watching movies with headphones.
For video games it would be amazing for special awareness
@@DaveRat exactly for video games and movies .You can add one of those micro drivers under the couch so you can feel the music .That's the problem I have with headphones .There is no feel but spatial awareness is good even with 2 channel stereo .Imagine a hardwired system or a Bluetooth system .Someone made a body sub that you strapped on to your chest .Don't know how well that went .Without feel it's not music it's only part of the music
Yeah I've got one of those The company gave me to test. It's called subpac
It's okay but not impressive
Great video, Dave! However are those signals from different IEMs exactly gain matched? If they aren't gain-matched precisely, that may affect perception.
It's not really possible to exactly gain match sources that have different frequency responses.
You can level match a certain frequency or you could level match the overall RMS energy but regardless of what you do or what frequency you level match there will be differences that affect perception if you level match overall energy and one has more sub low energy then it will turn that one down compared to the other and it'll sound quieter but boomier same thing if one has a mid-range peak that one may sound that one may sound louder.
And since this test is all about perception and preference then...
@@DaveRat thanks for detailed explanation! :) Totally makes sense, I guess it could sound totally level-equal on your headphones and feel off on mine.
Very true!
Uff mí friend! Try the l-acoustics countour xo jeje
One question, I saw your name on websites especially in l-acoustics and EAW What do you prefer the l-acoustics k1 or the eaw anya?
A hug from me!!!!
L-acoustics is tested in part 2 and 3. The L-Acoustics and Anya are quite different. We mainly use L-acoustics but Anya can be very useful and sounds great.
I'm currently wanting to get higher end in ears but im technologically illiterate. I'm a drummer and really want to protect my hearing after almost 30 years of playing. Is it worth the extra expense to get custom fit in ears? And are all the drivers in some of the high end products worth the extra expense?
Custom fits are awesome because they tend to be easier to get in and stay in.
That said, some lower cost generics may be a good way to start.
Definitely wise to get your ears protected if you want have some hearing as ya age.
Not all expensive ears sound good.
I would look at stealth Sonic's, JH Audio and 64 audio as good starting point. Look at the lower line stuff and look toward getting fitted ears.
It's cool to have quality stuff for your profession or passion.
I've used the Shure 215 for years now, but always found them to be a bit too harsh in the high-mids. Maybe it's time I get myself something more rounded. Which ones would you recommend?
Take a look at Stealth products
Been running 215s, then 535s then 846s. the 215s & 535s have zero low end compared to the 846’s
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I haven't had a chance to watch all of these yet, but I'm curious whether or not any of the in ear monitors you tested incorporate the ADEL technology created by Stephen Ambrose. I presume you're familiar with it, for everybody else, it's a secondary membrane behind the driver to compensate for changes in pressure on the ear drum. Ambrose believes that in ear monitors with a tight seal cause stress on the eardrum, and that the ear bones draw back in self protection, reducing sensitivity, and causing the listener to increase volume in compensation - a vicious cycle.
There are a lot of interesting concepts out there. As well as a vast assortment of needs and applications. Volume levels, isolation, fidelity, and cost are just a few. I could see that high isolation in ears may cause more fatigue but also offer the ability to run at lower volume levels. Pressure changes are interesting to address. I think in my personal life, the most drastic pressure changes I have experiences have been scuba diving and sky diving. With motor cycle riding and driving a convertible or car with the windows down on the freeway being up there as well.
Standing in front of subwoofers and drag races even with ear muffs too.
Its a cat and mouse game with in ears trying to get volume and isolation and avoid fatigue and damage over time I do agree
@@DaveRat If you get a chance, check out Steven Ambrose's video addressing Brian Johnson of AC/DC, and how using an offshoot of the ADEL technology, a balloon that's inflated inside of the ear canal, and was able to actually restore hearing in certain cases.
It's very definitely unrelated to this particular video, but it's fascinating. I know a young guitarist who, due to a birth defect called Goldenhar Syndrome is missing the external parts of one of his ears, and I've been looking at the ADEL concept to see if it will work for him.
Cool stuff and thank you will do!
Would it be possible to compare the Stealth sonic C9 to the U2? :D
Hmmm, it will be a while before I dive back I to in ear testing. I have taken down the setup and moved on to new adventures
The reason IEM's don't measure a flat response is because they compensate for (bypassing) your ear's pinna (outer ear).
Your ear resonates at certain frequencies and your brain correct those.
But when you take your outer ear out of the equation, you need to counter-correct your brain.
Harman did a lot of research into this and came up with correction curves followed by the majority of the industry.
I pondered that, so I then powered up a pair of Denon 3000 headphones with my dual output Pono player. I plugged differing sets of in ears into the other output. I put the headphones over one ear and tried various in ears in the other ear.
The in ears with the peak sounded brighter than the headphones while the in ears without the peaks sounded closer to the headphones in the highs.
You're right, there is still something as too much highs.
I'm just pointing this out because many of us are familiar with an 'ideal' speaker response of flat linearity. But in IEM's, that's not the case: a theoretical linear response would just sound bad.
I would like in ears that sound like my favorite headphones.
@@DaveRat It's all a matter of context and purpose. On stage i'dd like my IEM's to bring balance to live sound, that usually means more emphasis on bass and intelligibility. Comparing HiFi purspose products with stage specific IEM's is an 'apples to oranges' story.
To demonstrate, Westone splits their lineup (W an UM) for this very reason.
And also there are a wide variety of applications. A bright pair of ears may work for a stage with lots of low end, but a duller set may be preferred for high volumes and younger musicians.
Awesome! Whats the name of the software for the analysis?
Smaart
Would you be able to do a test with the sennheiser ie40/400/500
I will look at expanding the tests to include more in ears at some point
@@DaveRat thank you!
Which headphones will give me the sound of the original signal?
Hmmm, I would say the JH Audio and the Contours
As far as buds I would want to listen to music on the shenhizer sounded the best AT $69. The eu18 had more midrange witch I'm sure would come in handy for stage use for a vocalist. But I can't imagine someone wanting that flat midrange for casual listening it just seems bloated in the midrange. But I do like a v shaped sound personaly. I'm sure if I were singing or playing an instrument I would want a flat response on stage. But if you offered me a free pair of in ears and told me to chose between the 3 I would chose the cheapest ones you just auditioned the shenhizer
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I'm surprised u didn't want to try kz
O bought a pair and will test and see if they are worth posting about
Then what I do buy 1more quad Driver or shure 846 or jh audio ?? HELP
Depends on you budget and application. Maybe look at Stealth in ears as well
@@DaveRat what low budget and expensive budget IMEs are some sound??
Well, I did several videos comparing and pretty much showed all the in ears I have used and familiar with already in those videos. There maybe 10 or more vids on in ears. So that would be your best source of info from me
@@DaveRat i already watched all video but i can't understand which one should i buy.. so, can you tell me which is best for perfect pitch balanced sound ever you checked??
I'm asking because I don't have lot headphone earphone and IMEs that you have to.
You could try buying some cheap ones and see if they work for you, then figure out what ya need
What song is that from Jt ONiel?
Here is the info on the two songs I used
moossmann - Have I Ever www.moossmann.com/
Pure Predication - I’m on my own purepredication1234.bandcamp.com/album/junk-shit-for-brains
@@DaveRat nah the one at 8:15
Hi Dave, I think your a bit on the wrong train by trying to make the sound of a headphone or in ear listenable over speakers or another headphone. First of all, after your experiment, a complete flat fr curve would be ideal. But headphones with a completely flat curve would sound horrible. Instead a pair of headphones is received "flat" when you have the same level in every part of the frequency range as in a diffuse field with pink noise. Headphone manufacturers do theses tests where they put listernes in a diffuse field room and play back 1/3 octave bands of pink noise. then they put on a hedphone with the same 1/3 octave of pink noise and change the loudness, until the headphone has the same perceived level as in a diffuse field. You start at the band at 1k and go down in 1/3rd octaves, then again back to 1k and going up in 1/3rd ocateves. For our german computermag c't I tried to mimic this with a neutral sounding second headphone, because we dont have a diffuse field room. So we take a sennheiser HD 600 as a neutral reference and compare the levels of all 1/3rd-Octave bands with the headphone to measure. I described this process in an article (sorry, its german and behind a paywall, but drop me a mailadress and Ill send it to you). www.heise.de/select/ct/2018/15/1531717800978265. The other thing is, that hearing sound from a very close source of headphones always sounds different from hearing the same sound (with the same frequency curve) from a pair of monitors, because the are farer away. And as someone below explained before, every measurement system will give out a different FR curve, because you get different resonances. So always print out a reference curve of a well known neutral headphone so that you can compare it with the new measured headphone.
Hmmm and also these videos allow you to listen to the differences between various in ear using the same setup to hear aspects and sound differentials. Also, the differences in sound that you hear in the video match the differences I hear when I put in the various in ears. As in, the brighter in ears actually do sound brighter. The high frequency peaks are hears as high frequency peaks exactly at the same frequencies both in the video and when the in ears are worn. The volume differentials also are similarly audible.
While I do agree that wearing the in ears is the best way to know what they sound like, the ability to preview the characteristics of the in ears, I believe is both useful and interesting.
The issue is that visual reference curves offer very little real world info as to what something will sound like and the value of actually hearing should not be underestimated.
@@DaveRat Hi Dave, I listened to your comparissons again with a high quality headphone (Fostex 909 for 1800 Euro, they are very linear below 1 kHz and push the heigths a bit above 5 kHz). My impression is, that all the In-Ear-Recordings sound much too dull and have very uneven mids when played back via headphones and if I would plug them in directly into my ears, they wouldnt sound as dull. So what happens is, that the linear recording comes to my ear and is only influenced by the headphone im wearing. Where as all the In-Ear recordings have the influence of the In-ear-Playback, the recording system and my headphone. Its not astonishing that even the most expensive IEMs sound really bad in this setting, and they probably wouldnt if I would wear them directly. But none the less, its a cool experiment and I like your way of thinking out of the box and trying things out, you're a real science guy :)
Did you watch videos 2 and 3? Some in ears get very close to the original signal. But more importantly, rather than whether they sound good or bad through the test, the differences between various in ears are quite drastic.
You don't want the freq response to be flat...
For what application? Flat just means that what is sent is what is reproduced.
There are good arguments for having pre EQ'ed in ears and good arguments for having in ears that reproduce what is sent to than and altering the sent signal to the desired eq
Listening to SE215 on SE215 seems like double shit to me.
Ha! Funny
Is it just me, or did the $80.00 Sennheiser in ears just blow away the $1500.00 ones???
Hmmm, I did not really hear anything really "blow away". That said, ideally listening on a high quality flat pair of headphones should give you the best perspective. The Sennheiser did lack lows and highs compared to some of the others except the future sonics which have quite a significant midrange peak and lacked lows.
@@DaveRat yeah it could have been my headphones throwing me off, but I just did not hear a $1400.00 improvement over the sennheiser. That being said, live instruments through these might make all the difference. Anyway, thanks so much for taking the time to do these comparisons. I have learned so much from your videos. Keep up the great work!
Yeah, a $1400 diff in sound is a tough hear! Many other aspects like max volume, acoustic isolation, quality of fit for custom molds, unit to unit consistency and ability to deliver custom product quickly to anywhere in the world are just a few aspects that drive those prices up for the top level stuff.
The IE 4’s sound awful and we’re unusable for me. They came with my Sennheiser in-ear transmitter/receiver set. Metallic and harsh.
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Great test, thanks Dave. As far as I can hear, all of these devices are shit!
Check out vid 2 and 3 as things get more interesting
In other words everything sounded better than the UE 18 ! Just my opinion
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how bad is meth?
Hmmm, both interesting and concerning that you are seeking assistance with your drug ponders from a group of audio engineers.
But perhaps this link will help with your quest.
lmgtfy.app/?q=why+am+i+an+idiot%3F
@@DaveRat i wanted to ask a man with experience
Got it. So just to clarify:
"Boy who refers to himself as Newkzi seeks man with experience"
Perhaps running a personal ad may be best effective in helping you with your desire, or maybe this link will help?
bfy.tw/Ry0N
Sorry you didn't level match.
Yeah, I did not spend time matching levels as they don't come up at the same level. That said, the response differences are so easily audible, level matching seems quite secondary anyway
@@DaveRat Not if you care about objectivity and eliminating confirmation bias.
@@DaveRat Making something that you want to show to be inferior sounding slightly softer in volume is not exactly being intellectually honest. Let the actual level match differences speak for themselves.
What frequency would you have had me level match to? Purely selecting a frequency to match is an issue. Match at a low freq and the high boost in ears are louder. Match at a high freq and the flatter units are louder. Match at a mid freq and the ones that have the mids reduced are louder. Level matching to a pink noise average also makes the high boost in ears sound louder.
In vid 3 I did alter the level of the Contour to the Roxanne, making the Contour slightly lower in level than the Roxanne. Possibly biasing people away from the Contour, but I personally believe the tonal differences are strong enough that any volume differences.
I feel like level matching these in ear would be like color matching apples, oranges and avocados.
@@DaveRat Your reply is a red herring. You are being asked to level match the 2 overall stereo signals. Don't be so disingenuous.