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| Soundstage of UE Super.Fi 3; is it just me? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: 9 Dec 2006, 02:15 AM (581 Views) | |
| Lucid | 9 Dec 2006, 02:15 AM Post #1 |
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Hi guys, just some quick info on my very basic setup. Using UE SF3 plugged into my PC (most of the time) which uses onboard sound (AC97) and music played through Winamp 5 with eq set at max bass and treble For all you UE SF3 users out there, how do you find the soundstage compared to any other IEMS which you have tried? At my present stage, music only sounds either good, neutral or bad. Terms such as "warm", "treble roll-off"..etc are rather foreign to me. If fact, im not really sure what a "good" soundstage should sound like. When listening to Suite two of Band of brothers ost (224kbps vbr), i feel that the band isnt really "complete" and "in front" of me. Its like the music is really coming from the left, right or "in my head". The music from the 10 and 2 o'clock doesnt really blend in... Another example is listening to The Corrs - Everybody Hurts (Unplugged Version) @ 192kbps, I feel like singer isnt in front of me, rather i am "in" the singer's position or she is in my head, the guitar at the start also sounds very to the right, at the 2.30-3 o'clock position to almost behind me. Im sorry for the long post and i thank you in advance for having the patience to get to this point, I not really sure if anyone understands what i trying to say but any comments would be nice. . Oh ya, forgot to mention that im using the flip side mod. Thanks!
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| Fongalv | 9 Dec 2006, 10:14 AM Post #2 |
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What member?
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Ok, firstly if you want to "try" to listen to more quality music/sounds, you would have to change the source. IMO onboard sound is one of the least favourable sources for music listening. I believe a simple budget dap/pcdp would beat it easily. It is a known/proven fact that even on the most high end rigs, most IEMS are a far cry to full sized headphones in terms of the extent of soundstage because of the closeness of the drivers to your eardrums and the amount of air that is being moved in between. It would depend alot on the recording itself. Have you heard the recording in actual CD on a pair of proper headphones? If they still sound like that then of course its the problem with the track and not your equipment. Also, do you need to EQ your music that much? I forsee setting bass and treble to max would easily cause the music to be distorted. I would not consider myself to be audiophallic, but a simple and easy way to learn things is to find a few properly recorded tracks, get yourself familiar to them and test them on various equipment. If you want to experience soundstage, I recommend that you drop by Jaben and try out the various electrostatic cans they have over there. Definitely an ear opener for me in terms of soundstaging. Cheers... |
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Music, without life is lame...Life, without music is crippled... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rigs(outdated image): 32Gb S9 →SMicroIV → e500C → me 2200mAh H140(RB) → Grover S → SMacro3v6/Diablo → e500C → me Philips CD850(circa '90s!) → 1694A → DA7.2x(TCXO) → Grover UR8 → SP MPX3 SLAM → '03 DT880 / DBE V3 → me
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| zonalblitz | 9 Dec 2006, 11:34 AM Post #3 |
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Site Photographer
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Hi Lucid, First of all I would like to address your issue of your EQ setting. Could you make a screenshot of your EQ and post in this thread for reference? It's is also not wise to set your EQ like a parametric 'U' shaped or everything maxxed. On the other hand, soundstage is not greatly affected by the use of Equalizer. Could you experience the 'In-Phase' and 'Out-of-Phase' elements in your music? Have you tried the Super.fi 3 Studio from your portable source? It could be a problem from the onboard soundcard. On contrary, rip your music at MP3 320kbps or Apple Lossless for better definitions of Sound Image in the space. You will be able to achieve better separation and more defined tones. 'Warm' is referred to bass tones, usualy the bass guitars, drumset's tom-tom and bass drum. Defined as the degree of sensation of desirable Sustain & Decay of Bass tones. 'Warmth' is especially appreciated in Contemporary Rock/Pop/Jazz & Electronica. I think the term 'Treble Roll-off' in headphile is described as the incapability of the system to reach into high Treble region, especially for Vocals. It would seemed like the vocalist unable to stretch his/her notes to the peak. However, the definition of Treble Roll-off may be commonly misused. You will have to be very familiar with the Artist/Music piece before you will be able to judge for yourself on that factor. High bitrate music will also be able to deliver the high treble notes better than the lower ones. Equalizer settings will definitely affect the capability of the system to reach on the high notes. |
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If impressing/being impressed is how it gets you around, forget it. It is not gonna happen. The world of audiophile and fine living is not an Olympics. Team "> Two Thousand Dollars Only" per Portable Audio Rig
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| Theatre Of Dreams | 11 Dec 2006, 07:28 PM Post #4 |
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ditto here about the limitation of the knowledge of soundstage. i perceive it as the surround sound of speakers, not the howling type of messy surround sound but the type that puts you in the thick of it allowing you to feel clearly where the respective sounds come from. maybe ya iems lose out to full-sized headphones in this aspect. but one thing that i appreciate about this 'inferiority' is that the iem allows me to feel the intimacy with the singer with the closed-up vocals as what you have mentioned, and for fun rock music, i can feel the drums and guitars playing with more impact in my head. of course with regards to the overall fusion of the instruments and vocals in music, headphones present it sweetly in their respective charm too. perhaps less (but still as enchanting) bass compromised with more treble and greater fidelity. just my humble impression. |
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| aaron-xp | 12 Dec 2006, 01:34 PM Post #5 |
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Boy
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I personally find the soundstaging of IEMs/earbuds/canalphones to be rather small. It may not be a totally bad thing, given that IEMs were mainly designed for on-stage monitoring, which did not require proper soundstaging, more of good instrumental seperation, good mids and good isolation. It really depends on personal taste here. Headphones usually (actually, almost always) beat IEMs in terms of soundstaging. I liken the Kx01 soundstage to be: \_________________________/ \_______________________/ \_____________________ / \____________________/ if the soundstaging of a typical IEM (say, UM1) is: \____________/ \__________/ \_________/ The soundstage of IEMs don't really extend beyond your ears (very narrow), whereas soundstage full-sized headphones usually appear as a panoramic photo shot, stretching beyond what you can "see" (in this case, hear) if you "look" straight (or hear straight, if there is such a way of hearing). |
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| zonalblitz | 12 Dec 2006, 04:20 PM Post #6 |
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Site Photographer
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Tip : Try with different amplifiers and interconnects. On its nature, IEMs/Earphones will not be able to produce soundstage like headphones. On-stage IEMs do not have panning of the instruments by the audio technican (most of the time). They desire the clearity of the voices and usually diminish and backward instrumental add-ins. |
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If impressing/being impressed is how it gets you around, forget it. It is not gonna happen. The world of audiophile and fine living is not an Olympics. Team "> Two Thousand Dollars Only" per Portable Audio Rig
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. Oh ya, forgot to mention that im using the flip side mod. Thanks!






10:10 PM Jul 11