CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS
Lobby => The Meeting Place => Topic started by: warrenpchi on May 16, 2014, 10:41:48 PM
-
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
-
Any way to support LFF being unbanned on the other site?
-
I'm afraid I can't comment on that.
-
Hope it goes well. Please post a video for those of us who can't make it (me :) ).
-
^This, video please!
-
Nice panel, very interested in listening to this if there ends up being a video. I just hope Frank isn't the one coming up with questions. :P Are people allowed to submit questions before the seminar or is it more a spur of the moment kinda thing?
Didn't know LFF got banned from HF, that's just wrong. :/
-
I'll be the fella chucking the cow pie
-
Mmmm....Cow Pie! An Australian delicacy.
(http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/0d/5b/77/0d5b773eaff289852bbfca207cb1c3ca.jpg)
-
I expect I will be there :)p4
-
I think the panels at T.H.E. Show are usually filmed for distribution/posterity - but I'll double check to make sure we can get this one captured. Worst case scenario, I'll have to enlist someone's help in doing so. Any volunteers?
I just hope Frank isn't the one coming up with questions. :P Are people allowed to submit questions before the seminar or is it more a spur of the moment kinda thing?
Lol, Frank did indeed come up with the general questions. But, he did run them by me to make sure that they were in keeping with the overall theme of the panel.
FYI, this theme was not chosen on a whim. I happen to be privy to some information about a future ortho/planar product, or two, or five that could radically change the landscape of personal audio. So while this panel is curiously amusing now, it should foreshadow things to come, and be particularly relevant six months down the road.
As far as submitting questions, I think that would be a moot point. I would not be surprised if panel members were to mention a thing or two that would then elicit a flurry of questions from attendees... with those questions almost certainly taking precedence over whatever we could think up now.
-
Even an audio recording would be terrific for this discussion. Just throw a Sansa Clip in the general vicinity of the speakers and it should be okay.
-
I'm looking forward to hearing this. As an owner of Paradox Slants and former owner of MD 3.2, I've become familiar with some of the potential in planar magnetic headphones and I understand that these do not represent what top of the line planars are capable of. I would love to hear what everybody has to say, as further improvements could eventually turn planar magnetic headphones into a more affordable alternative to top of the line electrostats. At least, I feel like this may be the case. I also look forward to the announcements of the products that warren has alluded to.
-
An audio recording should be easy enough, as I can simply throw a tablet down next to the PA. The audio recording app I've got even does on-the-spot level calibration so I'll simply set it to record when the sound check starts.
I would love to hear what everybody has to say, as further improvements could eventually turn planar magnetic headphones into a more affordable alternative to top of the line electrostats. At least, I feel like this may be the case. I also look forward to the announcements of the products that warren has alluded to.
Yup, that's one of the things I am looking forward to in the immediate future. Just by pairing driver improvements and competent tuning, I think we could be further along than we are now. And when you factor in new drivers, the resulting elevation in performance is a welcome thing. At the same time, maturation and better production yields should lower costs. So I expect to be seeing both better units and cheaper units (though perhaps not better and cheaper units) in the very near future.
But the other thing that really excites me is varying application. The new Audezes have been shown to be very efficient - so much so that I get very passable performance driving them straight out of my AK120 with no supplemental amp. Now if you one were to stop and think about that level of efficiency for a second... and imagine applications other than ginormous cans... well, just let your imagination run wild for a bit.
-
This might be a good time to ask: Is there a particular design or engineering reason that would make planar iems impossible?
Also: Best wishes to LFF!
-
This might be a good time to ask: Is there a particular design or engineering reason that would make planar iems impossible?
Also: Best wishes to LFF!
Planar no. Stax has them. Orthodynamic yes, I think the scale at which a complex array of magnets would have to be designed. The question is whether the cost would be worth the benefit. I think a lot of dynamic driver IEMs are not far off from that level of performance already due to their small size. I'd imagine it would have to be some type of larger discus design that might not play well with a lot of ears so you could loose a good chunk of the potential customer base right off the bat. Someone like FAD who can charge a grand or two on a whim and still sell could probably get away with something.
-
There was that Yamaha ortho IEM back in the day - http://wiki.faust3d.com/wiki/index.php?title=Yamaha_YH-5M
Quite a sexy little thing.
(http://wiki.faust3d.com/wiki/images/4/41/Yh-5m-U2.jpg)
-
There was that Yamaha ortho IEM back in the day - http://wiki.faust3d.com/wiki/index.php?title=Yamaha_YH-5M
Quite a sexy little thing.
(http://wiki.faust3d.com/wiki/images/4/41/Yh-5m-U2.jpg)
forgot about that. Some reason reminds me a bit of this:
http://cusumanovision.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/eye_machine_small-300x200.jpg
So they just punched some holes in the magnets it seems. What was the signature like? If I had to guess maybe warm or dark and a bit closed in? Perhaps rich or lush too.
-
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.
-
I've thought about trying to DIY a set before, I don't think it'd be that hard to do. There are dirt cheap donut shaped magnets that are small enough for that. I bet they'd be really uncomfortable though since they'd be kinda heavy in the ears.
-
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? :-\
-
BUT I need someone to hold it/take care of it/monitor it.
For some reason that quote made me think of this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO-3Fst2W7g
-
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.
-
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.
Awesome. "George" shall be entrusted to you. :-)
Thanks for the name Armaegis! I had yet to name it.
-
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
-
I'm afraid I can't comment on that.
Why not? You can speak your own mind here.
Wish I was available on the left coast for this Luis, I'd certainly make it to support you. Thanks for the kind folks considering recording the event.
-
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. :-X
-
Sorry. :-X
There is certainly no need to be sorry, I'm in no need of sympathy! lmao.
-
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
-
Wish I could get there for this bro, I know you'll do a great job!
-
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.
-
Can you share the link? I haven't watched it yet
-
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1nxXwHJURXU (http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1nxXwHJURXU) :)p1