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InnerFidelity in NY Times ... briefly. :)


Tyll Hertsens

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Also, WTF is "Beats Audio" that some of the craptops, etc. seem to be advertising now?

There was something about Beats Audio on InnerFidelity in the post about the Beats joining forces with HTC-

  • No metal parts in headphone jack eliminates ground noise; re-routed wiring and separate headphone amp reduces cross-talk.
  • "Souped-up" headphone amp increases dynamic range and separation.
  • Audio components isolated on an "audio island" free from interference.

I don't know if anyone has actually taken apart any of these laptops to look at the "island" or made any RMAA tests. GSM Arena did a review on one of those Beats HTC Sensation XE and the objective benchmarks did not show anything too impressive that my Samsung Wave could not do. Oh- and Beats Audio on HTC supposedly only work with beats headphones. Seems that Beats Audio isn't much more than a V shaped EQ seting that is always on and a fashion statement.

gsmarena_a001.png

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Was meaning to ask - the measurements from the Solo HD, that's not a malfunctioning pair? There's quite a bit of difference in THD from right to left channel and THD approaching 100% at 2kHz... holy crap. If they really are like that, that's catastrophically bad.

Oh, and I never said this, but I find the measurement database to be probably the single most useful thing I have ever found in the headphone hobby. Congrats on the NY times mention but given the quality of your content I think that publicity is inevitable.

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Was meaning to ask - the measurements from the Solo HD, that's not a malfunctioning pair? There's quite a bit of difference in THD from right to left channel and THD approaching 100% at 2kHz... holy crap. If they really are like that, that's catastrophically bad.

I've actually got another set coming from headphones.com (they've been terribly helpful) because I was thinking the first pair measured so badly they must be fakes. Brian at headphones.com said he didn't think they were, but he's sending me another pair to measure and confirm.

Monster doesn't seem to want to send me gear ... I wonder why?

tongue.png

Oh, and I never said this, but I find the measurement database to be probably the single most useful thing I have ever found in the headphone hobby. Congrats on the NY times mention but given the quality of your content I think that publicity is inevitable.

Thanks mang, I'm trying.

Edited by Tyll Hertsens
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That hurts just to look at.

The thing that really makes cringe is that there is no proper EQ on that phone so you could iron out the Beats Audio "enhancements." If you turn off Beats Audio then you are punished by HTC "enhancements" - "Unfortunately you can't listen music without something "enhancing" your songs. If you don't use the Beats Audio, you'll find the HTC preset really awful. So, you either listen music with Beats Audio and headset combo, or you don’t."

I really hate this way of doing business- not only that distorts the market by not letting the consumer to properly listen to other products, it also treats them like retards with the "doctor knows best" paternalism.

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This is sort of related to the Beats phenomenon, IMO. But more on the good side of things.

CB2 (Crate & Barrel 2, which sells trendy furnishings and accessories -- a good sized step above IKEA in quality) is selling Grado SR80 headphones, I just found out by email. They're listed as one of their "Top $100 gifts", along with some kind of birdhouse.

http://www.cb2.com/$100-tops/gifts/grado-sr80i-headphones/

They also sell the Pro-Ject turntable. This all means there is some hope -- Monster has paved the way for Beats to be a lifestyle choice, but people with slightly better taste are into the personal audio as well and stuff like Grados (which have a retro hipster appeal) are popping up in unexpected places.

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