CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS
Lobby => IEM Measurements => Topic started by: Marvey on March 28, 2013, 04:43:53 PM
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Monoprice 9927 / 8320 IEM Measurements
(http://www.changstar.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=902.0;attach=3150;image)
Pre-measurement subjective impressions:
- I wish there was more bass. Could have a warmer presentation. I wouldn't say it's thin, but more bass to lower mids would help out.
- Sounds cheap - not great at technicalities, but balance is OK, that is no upper mid/lower treble nasties.
- OK at low volumes.
- At moderate to high volumes, seems like there is a ~4k peak?
Measurement notes:
- Yep, that's a driver imbalance. Changed tips, re-measured, re-seated, re-measured, etc. x3. Same result.
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Burst decays
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8320 (the silver one)
- Much better matching
- Little bit more of a peak at 3k
(http://www.changstar.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=902.0;attach=3156;image)
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I really dont understand how these translate to real life. How do those sound vs full size cans? Is the peak before the dip really really real soundwise? Those must sound like shit.
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Harmonic distortion. 90db SPL/A
Actually not bad for an IEM.
Compare to others:
(FYI, BA type drivers tend to have interesting HD characteristics)
http://www.changstar.com/index.php/topic,740.msg17003.html#msg17003 (http://www.changstar.com/index.php/topic,740.msg17003.html#msg17003)
http://www.changstar.com/index.php/topic,437.msg7518.html#msg7518 (http://www.changstar.com/index.php/topic,437.msg7518.html#msg7518)
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I really dont understand how these translate to real life. How do those sound vs full size cans? Is the peak before the dip really really real soundwise? Those must sound like shit.
For $7, they sound OK.
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ahh 7 bucks ok now it makes sense :)
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The ER-4S have a similar FR, but the upper mid / lower treble lift is not as strong: http://www.changstar.com/index.php/topic,436.msg7511/topicseen.html#new (http://www.changstar.com/index.php/topic,436.msg7511/topicseen.html#new)
A little bit more warmth and less peakage at ~4k would make this IEM more listenable.
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You know I havent listened to the etys. i am not much of an iem person. I wonder though if these can even kill the ksc75s. When coupled with plantronic pads on top of the stock pads, those koss cans gains bass like a teenager discovers his first cumshot hahahaha
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The ER-4S have a similar FR, but the upper mid / lower treble lift is not as strong: http://www.changstar.com/index.php/topic,436.msg7511/topicseen.html#new (http://www.changstar.com/index.php/topic,436.msg7511/topicseen.html#new)
A little bit more warmth and less peakage at ~4k would make this IEM more listenable.
Tips! I think you mentioned the silvers were a bit bassy w/ the tips I had on them.
One thing these have that even megabuck IEMs don't, openness! As long as isolation isn't important, they are incredibly open sounding. Plus they have a coherent signature that makes sense and doesn't screw up your music unlike some $500+ IEMs.
I'm disappointed w/ the QC on the black one, I'll have to measure the other black set I have. If the OC is too inconsistent that's going to mess w/ my experiments.
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I assume the coherence and openness is because of no crossover and the venting on the back?
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More the venting I'd imagine for openness. Coherence, yeah no Xover and no funny weird aberations in the FR.
Really, think about what you need for out and about situational awareness. Low isolation and cheap/disposable when lost or crushed out in the wild.
For seal I found three levels of fit. 1) No bass/thin slight harshness, mostly due to the ridiculous housing keeping one from adjusting insertion depth. 2) Better seal, more bass, less treble bite, mids sound hollow and thin. This is fake seal, when the tip feels right but there might be a fold usually if the silicone tip is thin or wrong diameter still messing w/ depth. 3) Best seal/tip, bore not too wide, bass and treble good, mids full and present, coherent sig from top to bottom. This one gives it close to a HD558 sig for $7 in an IEM almost matching my favorite neutral budget IEM, the Sunrise Xcape v.1 ($65; discontinued) but with less refinement. I even enjoyed the Sunrise v.1 more the the 558 but it wasn't as open as either the 8320 or 558. I think it's worth the work to find the right match and not dismiss it due to being $7. Assuming it's not messed up w/ channel imbalance and whatever else.
Of course, I go amped w/ high gain so I have no idea how boring it might sound from a Clip or iPhone by comparison.
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Life's too short. I'll stick with my customs.
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Life is too short for trying BA only. I think some damping would control the 4k peak and drop the resonances. However, it is a really large IEM, so fit will still be an issue.
We need more dynamic driver CIEMs like Aurisonics AS1 or FutureSonics Ear Monitors. Except with Hifiman drivers.