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Author Topic: Spiral Ear SE 5-way Reference IEM Measurements  (Read 10702 times)

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Marvey

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Spiral Ear SE 5-way Reference IEM Measurements
« on: April 07, 2013, 12:06:50 AM »

Spiral Ears 5 IEM Measurements

Important Note: No data after 9kHz - this is intentional. The drop-off at 9k is misleading. I'll fix the graphs one of these days. The odd behavior in the lower treble can probably be attributed to the fact that these are silicone customs. I think some of the 5 tubes could have been squashed. I tried moving things around, but couldn't get any better result.

Subjective Pre-Measurement Impressions:

They sound very much like LCD2r1s with the following differences:
  • Stage is still intimate, but less closed or even claustrophobic like the LCD2r1s.
  • SE5 have more middle midrange emphasis than LCD2r1.
  • LCD2r1 has more low bass volume.
  • SE5 has more mid bass volume.
  • SE5 has better mid to high bass texture and resolution.
  • SE5 is more resolving than the LCD2r1
  • SE5 has a smoother treble than LCD2r1.
It should also be noted that the 5-drivers are very coherent - that they do sound as one. Unlike the K3003, which is a text-book disaster in how to make drivers sound NOT as one.

Thanks to Astral for sending these over. Anax will get them for a quick review and we'll send them back to us ASAP. Let us know if there is a time-frame.
« Last Edit: July 26, 2013, 07:10:33 AM by purrin »
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Marvey

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Re: Spiral Ears 5 IEM Measurements
« Reply #1 on: April 07, 2013, 12:21:12 AM »

Burst decays. I had some environmental noise in the bass with the L measurement. I hate to leave it like that, but I lack time to take all these measurements in the middle of the night.
« Last Edit: April 07, 2013, 12:48:05 AM by purrin »
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MuppetFace

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Re: Spiral Ears 5 IEM Measurements
« Reply #2 on: April 07, 2013, 12:21:23 AM »

Just curious: how well do these fit your ears if they're Astral's customs? Is their silicon build easier to wear for different people or something?

I'm definitely interested in the Spiral Ears. I think I might go with the SE 3-Way which is supposed to be brighter and thinner sounding. Plus "3 Way" sounds so enticing. Rawr.

(I don't think I could fit all those bores in my canals anyway...).
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Marvey

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Re: Spiral Ears 5 IEM Measurements
« Reply #3 on: April 07, 2013, 12:23:36 AM »

Yup - and the silicone impressions seemed to fit me right. Good insertion depth and seal despite the housing, which is a bit too big for me. That's one consideration folks should be aware of. From the pix above, it's clear the darn thing is near fully stuffed and about to explode with crossover components and drivers.
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Kunlun

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Re: Spiral Ear SE 5-way Reference IEM Measurements
« Reply #4 on: April 07, 2013, 12:39:12 AM »

purrin, may I ask to what degree the left-right disparity in the treble is an accurate reflection of the earphones?

I'm new at trying to read these and any pointers on what sticks out to you when you look at them would be awesome, thanks.
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Marvey

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Re: Spiral Ear SE 5-way Reference IEM Measurements
« Reply #5 on: April 07, 2013, 12:47:02 AM »

To be totally honest, with the IEM's I'm not sure. I don't have enough data nor sufficient experience / confidence with IEM construction / measurements. I know the tubes can affect the measured FR. How this affects what we actually hear is unknown.

I do suspect there is some mismatch based on what I hear (only with music so far, but not with test tones) with this pair.
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Kunlun

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Re: Spiral Ear SE 5-way Reference IEM Measurements
« Reply #6 on: April 07, 2013, 12:51:08 AM »

I was talking with Dr. Michael Santucci for the Sensaphonics reviews I did and he was talking a bit about the research they did on the acoustics of the ear. He mentioned, for example, that the ear canal eats a bit around 3.5khz (I think I remember, sorta). Anyway, I imagine that's the sort of thing that goes into some of your iem measurements, particularly in the treble range.
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Marvey

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Re: Spiral Ear SE 5-way Reference IEM Measurements
« Reply #7 on: April 07, 2013, 12:55:50 AM »

From the raw measurements, I push down 2.5-4 and bring up 7k+ to get the result. The comp curve was based on back and forth between accurate studio monitors in near-field and IEMs using 1/3 octave white noise.
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Marvey

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Re: Spiral Ear SE 5-way Reference IEM Measurements
« Reply #8 on: April 07, 2013, 01:01:09 AM »

Harmonic distortion.



I know it looks horrible, but BAs tend to have high odd order distortion. 3rd and 5th order distortion is notably lower than UERM's. I don't know what's up with the 2nd harmonic spike at 5kHz.
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AstralStorm

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Re: Spiral Ear SE 5-way Reference IEM Measurements
« Reply #9 on: April 07, 2013, 01:10:29 AM »

Oh snap, they measure much like they sound. What an unforseen coincidence. :)p6

Yes, there is some L/R imbalance in my pair, but it's nowhere near as bad as the 5k hole appears. The more evil part is the odd order distortion and upper midrange ringing.

The extreme highs are about as dropped as 5k, bit less.

Here's my personal compensation curve attached. Referenced to 500 Hz at comfortable volume of around 40 sones.

These have been reshelled once in the beginning of their life - before that, they were way, way more forward in the 3k sense.
« Last Edit: April 07, 2013, 01:38:47 AM by AstralStorm »
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