I recently got this headset, and wow is it good. My only issue is when certain people talk on discord, I can hear a really high pitched ringing. I fiddled with a bunch of settings, computer audio and discord, and nothing seems to solve the issue. It is primarily if not all in my right ear only. Is there something wrong with my headset, or was that ringing always there I can just hear it cause the headset is THAT good? I haven't had any issues with any other application, though I have yet to test if I can hear the ringing on a different version of discord, say on my xbox instead of my pc. Only other issue I've had is occasional static, but I can't tell if it's from the headset or the show/game/etc.
Apr 24, 2024
I do actually appreciate the metrics though
The one above isn't 90db as I can't seem to find that one right now. 0.16mw is far too low http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/09/more-power.html ^Read that also to see how much power is required because its based on impedance also...
High Z out changes the frequency response in a headphone-dependent way, so obviously that is going to be audible some of the time (though, again, not as much as audiophiles like to think; in particular, planars are mostly unaffected, see below). Any amp with flat FR, low Z out, sufficient power/voltage output, and sufficiently low distortion (say, <0.01% for both THD and IMD), is going to sound very similar to any other amp that meets these criteria (blind, obviously). Pretty much any mediocre or better SS/hybrid amp will meet these criteria (not sure how many portables qualify). When people say this amp is bright or harsh or warm or whatever, this ought to be visible in the FR, because these terms refer to specific features in the FR. I own way more audio gear than is healthy, because I hear differences in sighted listening. However, in blind tests, the differences are exceedingly subtle once you get beyond entry-level gear (say, beyond a magni 3).
The Aeon (mine is closed, not that it matters much) is fairly difficult to drive, on account of low impedance and low efficiency. It needs a fair amount of current drive. Desktop amps are fine, but not all portables can drive it without soft-clipping. It is not affected by output impedance, though, aside from an overall drop in loudness. If you hear a difference in tonality between the A30 and O2 with the Aeons, it is not due to output R.
Nwavguy did write a post about output impedance and voltage swing which should be audible despite frequency response.
But you are right sometimes it's not audible really at all. And sometimes it is just subtle, it really depends on the headphone, the music, and how big of a mismatch there is.
I have not seen any proof that damping factor in and of itself has anything to do with headphone performance (third bullet point, note NwAvGuy has no measurements of this alleged bass distortion, just handwaving). I am not an expert on this matter, but I know that Jan Meier of Corda Audio has stated that planars are already well-damped by the air around the diaphragms (he also says some other weird things, but I'm going to ignore that for now). Note that in that same innerfidelity article, Tyll's main concern is frequency-dependence of impedance, which as we've established is not an issue for planars. Last couple of links are from Frans at diyaudioheaven, who is at least as much an expert on audio as NwAvGuy. He states, "The reason for this change in tonal balance is not caused by the damping factor (as many still believe) but simply caused by voltage division" (emphasis his).
https://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/02/headphone-amp-impedance.html https://www.innerfidelity.com/content/musings-headphone-amplifier-output-impedance https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/headphone-attenuation-adapter/ http://diyah.boards.net/thread/533/resistance-impedance-damping-factor-cables
I have the A30, IMO it's not possible to compare the two outputs properly, because you can't volume match in a timely fashion. As a practical matter, I can't test the A30 against anything else I own because it's the only amp I can't volume match with a multimeter (I don't have a way to measure SPL with enough sensitivity, unfortunately). One time when comparing two amps, I thought one had slightly more bass than the other, but really it was just a 0.2dB volume mismatch. Once I fixed that, I couldn't tell the two apart.
Btw since you are so into objective measurements and hardcore subjective testing you should sign up at the audiosciencereview forums. Its certainly a better discussion board than this comment section, and its not censored like HeadFi.
I like reading audiosciencereview, he has interesting measurements you don't find in many other places.