BTW...if anyone wants to volunteer, I do have a portable full-on binaural rig that can record the chat...BUT I need someone to hold it/take care of it/monitor it.


It's roughly the size of an average human head but no shoulders or neck, ala KU-100.


Any takers?

I think can take care of precious.

Never heard one, they're pretty damn rare. Though I recall dBel talking about seeing one on sale recently, maybe he or one of the other ortha ninjas have heard them.

Don't own them but had a pair for a while - needed to repair them and got to play with them as a token of appreciation. They are engineering marvels and you could probably do a lot more today with various tips etc than I had access to a few years ago. Newer magnets and current knowledge re tuning could turn them into something competitive. Stock they sound very much like the flagship YH1000 - Anax pretty much nailed the sound. Warm, rolled off the top but mids "to die for"

I look forward to hearing this discussion. Despite the advances in technology , I am not convinced we have evolved too far in planar magnetic design.

Drivers have been corrugated, pleated, suspended, tensioned. Trace patterns have been circular, parallel, zigzagged and any combination. The actual drivers were either circular or rectangular , some were coated to control certain frequency behavior others not. I have been meaning to write up an overview of planar magnetic "evolution" for Faust wiki to capture just how much development occurred in the vintage era of these headphones.

In my mind the exciting aspects of this development have been in materials. Driver material has evolved from Mylar to various polymers which are thinner yet stiffer and respond better to little or no damping. Technologies for applying the trace elements have evolved beyond my wildest dreams (plasma) but not sure if many employ them as they are crazy expensive. Magnets have clearly become stronger with improved efficiency, allowing the possibility of portability BUT no one is making a small on ear portable ( yet )

I could blather on about drivers but as LFF well knows, that is only half of the equation.

..dB

Quote from: warrenpchi on May 16, 2014, 11:40:48 PM

I'm afraid I can't comment on that.

Why not?  You can speak your own mind here.

It's not a matter of location, but discretion.  Moderation decisions - particularly pending matters - are not up for discussion outside of the staff where it belongs.  So in the same way I would not disclose Lair matters outside of the Lair, I would not discuss moderation either.

Let me put it another way, it has nothing to do with restrictions placed upon me, but rather how I [wish to] conduct myself in terms of following through with what I agreed to.

Sorry.   

Hey everyone,

In case you didn't know, LFF is one of the panelists at this year's Headphonium-exclusive seminar:  "Are Orthos/Planars the Future of High-End Headphones?"  He'll be taking the stage alongside Alex Rosson, Dan Clark, Fang Bian and Tyll Hertsens.  Frank I will be moderating the panel.

With that line-up, it should be a fun, enlightening and lively discussion.  Of course everyone should feel free to participate - but equally important - here's a chance to see and support LFF as well.  If you've ever been on a panel, then you know how hectic and unpredictable it can be.  Never hurts to see a few friendly faces in the audience.

Hope to see many of you there!     Here's the info on the seminar:

Description:

Orthos and planars (headphones utilizing planar magnetic drivers) are quickly becoming prevalent and widespread, occupying a sweet spot in terms of price-to-performance between dynamic and electrostatic headphones.  As technological improvements continue to be made to improve performance, and manufacturing methods are perfected to lower costs, this begs the question... are planars the future of high-end headphones?

Date & Time:

Saturday, May 31st, 2014 @ 10:30a ~ 11:45a

Location:

Poolside @ The Atrium Hotel
Atrium Hotel: Orange County Airport
18700 MacArthur Blvd.
Irvine, California 92612
Tel: 1-949-833-2770

*Posted w/Marv's permission

Why is it that fun things like this never happen in Iowa? They grow a lot of ears out here....

Cheers

I finally got round to watching the video. There's an odd moment near the 30 minute mark where Frank asks Fang what he thinks of PM1 and the camera cuts away. Maybe it was only a glitch.