Watch miniDSP's EARS headphone calibration rig get unboxed!

Todd Anderson

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Preamp, Processor or Receiver
StormAudio ISP.24 MK2
Main Amp
Emotiva XPA-5
Additional Amp
Emotiva XPA Gen3 2.8 multichannel amp
Other Amp
Denon X8500H
Computer Audio
AudioEngine A2+
DAC
THX ONYX
Universal / Blu-ray / CD Player
Kaleidescape TERRA, OPPO UDP-203, Panasonic UB9000
Front Speakers
GoldenEar Technology Triton One.R
Center Channel Speaker
GoldenEar Technology SuperCenter Reference
Surround Speakers
SVS Ultra Surround
Surround Back Speakers
SVS Ultra Bookshelf
Front Height Speakers
SVS Prime Elevation x4 (Top Front, Top Mid-Front)
Rear Height Speakers
SVS Prime Elevation x4 (Top Middle, Top Rear)
Subwoofers
dual SVS SB16s + dual PSA XS30s
Other Speakers or Equipment
Behringer 1124p; Aura Bass Shaker Pros; SuperSub X
Video Display Device
JVC NX7
Screen
Seymour Screen Excellence, Enlightor NEO AT Screen
Streaming Equipment
iFi Audio Zen Blue
Streaming Subscriptions
Qobuz, TIDAL, Spotify, ROON
Other Equipment
LG Electronics 65-inch B6 OLED, Sony 65-inch X900F, ZeroSurge 8R15W x 2, ZeroSurge 2R15W x 2

Matthew J Poes

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Oct 18, 2017
Messages
1,903

Very nice Todd!

I find it a very handy device myself. Good for headphone measurement, binaural room measurement, binaural recording, Headphone EQ (what it's actually designed for), and freaking out my non-audio friends who wonder why I have silicone ears sitting on my desk.

Have you ever looked up 3Dio microphone (what the H.E.A.R.S. appears to be based on) on Youtube. It's really disturbing.
 

Todd Anderson

Editor / Senior Admin
Staff member
Thread Starter
Joined
Jan 20, 2017
Messages
9,081
Location
Balt/Wash Metro
More  
Preamp, Processor or Receiver
StormAudio ISP.24 MK2
Main Amp
Emotiva XPA-5
Additional Amp
Emotiva XPA Gen3 2.8 multichannel amp
Other Amp
Denon X8500H
Computer Audio
AudioEngine A2+
DAC
THX ONYX
Universal / Blu-ray / CD Player
Kaleidescape TERRA, OPPO UDP-203, Panasonic UB9000
Front Speakers
GoldenEar Technology Triton One.R
Center Channel Speaker
GoldenEar Technology SuperCenter Reference
Surround Speakers
SVS Ultra Surround
Surround Back Speakers
SVS Ultra Bookshelf
Front Height Speakers
SVS Prime Elevation x4 (Top Front, Top Mid-Front)
Rear Height Speakers
SVS Prime Elevation x4 (Top Middle, Top Rear)
Subwoofers
dual SVS SB16s + dual PSA XS30s
Other Speakers or Equipment
Behringer 1124p; Aura Bass Shaker Pros; SuperSub X
Video Display Device
JVC NX7
Screen
Seymour Screen Excellence, Enlightor NEO AT Screen
Streaming Equipment
iFi Audio Zen Blue
Streaming Subscriptions
Qobuz, TIDAL, Spotify, ROON
Other Equipment
LG Electronics 65-inch B6 OLED, Sony 65-inch X900F, ZeroSurge 8R15W x 2, ZeroSurge 2R15W x 2
It definitely looks like a really neat piece of gear. Just starting to play with it now - start preparing for that review! ;-)
 

Matthew J Poes

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Joined
Oct 18, 2017
Messages
1,903
It definitely looks like a really neat piece of gear. Just starting to play with it now - start preparing for that review! ;-)

I suggest trying the binaural recording idea. I know that isn't its intended purpose, but it's actually a nice pair of microphones in a true binaural arrangement. What I did was placed the mic on a spare speaker stand (but anything will do, a table, bar stool, anything open) and I walked around making noises. Dinging a bell, snapping my fingers, talking, you name it. As I walked, the floors creaked a little in a few places. When you play back the stereo recording over headphones, it's uncanny how real it is. No special processing was needed to get the effect.

Played back through an up-mixed surround system had a similar cool effect, though sometimes the effects were misplaced. For example, the creaking floor was up-mixed in a way that made it sound as if the entire room was creaking around me.

In any case, give it a shot, maybe Auro up-mixing will be cool too?

To get yourself situated with headphone measurements, at least for IEM's, I suggest using apple earbuds that come free with iphones. Find an old pair, if possible that will plug into your laptop. The reason I suggest that is that there are lots of professional headphone measurements available for that headphone so you can easily get your bearings. My other point of reference was my HD600's, but those turned out to be a little tricky. I found probably 5 different set of measurements for those, the provenance wasn't always known, and the results differed a lot. Like the peaks and dips were in very different places. Eventually, I found some official measurements I just made my reference and played around with my rig until I was close (and I did get very close).

As for EQ, play around and have fun, I have zero advice there. You know as much as I do about it. The only thing I came to realize was the need to be careful about eqing certain HF information because it might be an artifact of the headphones placement on the rig or a reflection of its Pinna shape. I know you don't want to EQ that, but I often had trouble discerning what was from that and what was just the headphone.
 
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