Jump to content

New Members - How did you discover Head-Case?


Grand Enigma

Recommended Posts

I did not do this for fun. It was my job. And yes, pretty much what the guy above said. The signal was taken in the time domain. We used Matlab for signal analysis (FFT, transforms, etc). Most of the "better" amps were very linear and did not add any THD to the signal (or at least none that I could see). The other stuff we did was common mode rejection and sinad testing. We used a Tek TDS7k scope in a rack. We ran the scope over GPIB-Ethernet bridge on software I wrote in LabView to acquire and save the signal which would then be post-processed and analyzed in Matlab.

Also, I'm not really sure why I even brought up the topic over at head-fi or here (and regret doing so). . . it's not in my personal interest to dissuade people from buying amps. . . so I'm going to stop here by qualifying what I've said. I'll just add that low THD figures don't necessarily mean better sound. A lot of times, the reason why an amplifier sounds better is because those non-linearities in the signal path add harmonics/color that translate to "improved" sound to the human ear. And sometimes, when we remove non-linear components from the signal path, the sound "improves" because we are taking away the coloration. . . and that being the case . . . we are really looking for amps that color the sound just right, not "great" amps that are so minimalistic and linear that signal in = signal out. A lot of what "sounds good" in combination with an amp also has to do with how the audio was originally mastered.

Anyways, sorry for polluting the "how did you discover head-case" thread with this stuff. . .

No wonder why there was no change; he didn't have wood blocks beneath his oscilloscope.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From a post of another member of the German hifi-forum. They were discussing head-fi downtime and international alternatives.

That would have been me :)

I found a reference to head-case in a thread about some amp (can't remember the model anymore) over at postjacks forum, two weeks or so before the crash. I doubt that it has been there for long....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That would have been me :)

I found a reference to head-case in a thread about some amp (can't remember the model anymore) over at postjacks forum, two weeks or so before the crash. I doubt that it has been there for long....

That'd never happen at postjack's forum

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was bored one night and did a search for headphone forums on Google and this place popped up. I knew it was very different from HF with the very first post I read. It was someone who was asking what everyone thought of his Ray Samuels amp. Boy, did he ever ask the wrong question. I almost felt bad for the guy. I've been trying to thicken my skin ever since! ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did not do this for fun. It was my job. And yes, pretty much what the guy above said. The signal was taken in the time domain. We used Matlab for signal analysis (FFT, transforms, etc). Most of the "better" amps were very linear and did not add any THD to the signal (or at least none that I could see). The other stuff we did was common mode rejection and sinad testing. We used a Tek TDS7k scope in a rack. We ran the scope over GPIB-Ethernet bridge on software I wrote in LabView to acquire and save the signal which would then be post-processed and analyzed in Matlab.

Also, I'm not really sure why I even brought up the topic over at head-fi or here (and regret doing so). . . it's not in my personal interest to dissuade people from buying amps. . . so I'm going to stop here by qualifying what I've said. I'll just add that low THD figures don't necessarily mean better sound. A lot of times, the reason why an amplifier sounds better is because those non-linearities in the signal path add harmonics/color that translate to "improved" sound to the human ear. And sometimes, when we remove non-linear components from the signal path, the sound "improves" because we are taking away the coloration. . . and that being the case . . . we are really looking for amps that color the sound just right, not "great" amps that are so minimalistic and linear that signal in = signal out. A lot of what "sounds good" in combination with an amp also has to do with how the audio was originally mastered.

Anyways, sorry for polluting the "how did you discover head-case" thread with this stuff. . .

random comment, i hate matlab

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.