Inner Fidelity: Musings on Headphone Amplifier Output Impedance

Dr. Jan Meier's gospelisation of the high-ohm headphone output is up on Inner Fidelity. Meier posits that certain dynamic driver headphones develop oscillatory artefacts when fed low output impedances. Say wha' now?

Inner Fidelity commenter, Grave, says this: "Yay for higher distortion and bad designs?" - a comment to which my better senses cleave. But it's true: low output impedance, while often ideal, can't always compensate for poorly designed headphones.  

Musings is like a geek version of CNN Crossfire, but without delinquent commentary. It is about an eight-minute read. You might need a calculator. But read it, you should.

Inner Fidelity: Musings on Headphone Amplifier Output Impedance

Headfonia: Mezzo Audio MSAK100 and MSAK120

In July, I meant what I said: Mezzo HiFi's MS-AK100 is the single best-performing DAP I've laid ears on. Finally, I get the full word out about it at Headfonia. 

By all means, read it: Mezzo Hifi MS-AK100 And MS-AK120 – Perfect Nipples

OHM AIR episode #008: Does Poop Go Bad?

Thomas Tsai joins OHM AIR to discuss Sony's Just Ears custom earphones, his Noble Audio 4C and Ultimate Ears Reference In-Ear Reference custom earphone review, the Sony A7 and a whole lot more. 

Be sure to follow OHM AIR on SoundCloud.
And be just as sure to check out Thomas Tsai's excellent audio reference site, Cymbacavum.

Musica Acoustics introduces Earsonics's Velvet earphones

UPDATE: this video is from 24 October, so it's not news. But Dimitri is a chum, and I love his Ygoring.

Favourite quote from the video: "It's actually very pleasant, how it feels in my ears."

Dimitri (Musica Acoustics's CEO) seems to be talking up Earsonics's strange new poison mushroom-shaped ear tip that comes with Velvet. Personally, I can't get a seal with it, nor do I like the connotation. Count me out. 

I've got Velvet in my ears now. I'm enjoying Arovane; Joy Division put salt streaks down my face before that.

Overall, Velvet is a very, very interesting earphone; and it is the first Earsonics earphone that doesn't come in a cheap plastic case, nor in a cheesy, and finger-tearing plastic package. The sound tube is a bit too flexible (though that may help it withstand daily strain), but there's little else to really complain about. The goods seem to outweigh the bads. They are:

1. same easy-to-drive Earsonics circuitry
2. same unsensitivity to background noise 
3. sound is: fusion between the laid back S-EM6 (reviewed here), the more exciting SM64 (reviewed here), and the weighty EM32 (reviewed here). 

And of course, the standout feature Earsonics are pushing is the variable bass tuning port, which I've yet to use. Use it I will. And remain impressed, I'm sure I will. 

My full review will hit Headfonia shores sometime in December. Till then, I'll rock some EDM, John Denver, and anything beaty from the 1990's to 2000's; oh, and of course, Duran Duran.

Velvet makes no enemies.

The Audio Technica ATPHA100

I never expect to be impressed by Audio Technica amps. I expected the ATPHA100, a portable amp/DAC, to doubly disappoint. Here's why I've begun to doubt my feelings:

1. low noise floor - barely discernable through the Grado GR10 (which I reviewed at headfonia)
2. Excellent L/R balance even at low volume levels through sensitive earphones
3. USB can be powered from an iPad
4. Great RMAA scores (coming soon)

The above isn't all. Next to the Pioneer XPA-700, it isn't fugly, either. Unfortunately, that's as much as I will be able to say; the ATPHA700, along with a Fiio X5, the Pioneer XPA-700, and a DSD UFO thingy, are heading back to Mac Audio, which sent them to me to be photographed for their latest edition.

(These photos were taken for the purposes of this small impressions piece; they are not commercial.)

Click the image below to advance to the next frame

Headfi: Tokyo 2014 Autumn Fujiya Avic Headphone Festival Impressions

Again, I missed what appears to have been a great show. My advice: don't move.

Lachlan's hi-res/Sony NWZ-A15 rant

Lachlan gives the Sony A15 about thirty minutes. He adds a number of sighs. It's a rant and review. It's also the one that he and I went back and forth about in the latest OHM AIR, 007: Dick Moves.

Watch it, folks. 

@Headfi: In-Depth Comparison: Ultimate Ears In-Ear Reference Monitor & Noble Audio 4C (Wizard Design)

tomscy2000's A/B comparison of the Ultimate Ears In-Ear Reference Monitor and the Noble Audio 4C clinches head-fi's role as the most complete source for all things headphone.

If you've not yet got a pot of coffee brewing, get one on. If you've yet to shave, don't. Tom's ~7.000-word essay goes better with a beard. 

In-Depth Comparison: Ultimate Ears In-Ear Reference Monitor & Noble Audio 4C (Wizard Design)

Lachlan goes two fists on the AKG K712 Pro

Thanks in part to his successful Patreon campaign, Lachlan's videos have been ramping up nice and good. He's put out a lot of great videos since his appearance on OHM AIR, my recent favourite being the above: his unboxing of the AKG K712 Pro. 

Why do I love it so?

The big box forced Lachy to film the video from a new, stretchy angle. You can almost feel his seams popping. I hope he didn't dislocate any shoulders. And come to think of it, where's his iconic iMac? Ba-da-boom. 

Lachy writes the following:

“I’ve gotta say that the mids/treble is actually my favourite aspect of the K712 Pro. It sounds gorgeous with strings and pianos, fast and energetic without being too splashy. That said this is still going to make ‘hot’ recordings ugly.”

Be sure to check out Lachlan's excellent YouTube channel, and his truantly updated website of the same name. I'll be sure to have him back in a few weeks.