Comments on Profile Post by E_Schaaf

Thought 2: by comparing vectorscope readings with headphones on versus off of a binaural mic with an ambient noise generator, what could we glean about the spatial properties of various headphone designs?

Thought 3: we can already see changes in impedance response of headphones when attached to a coupler versus open air. How does this behave in extreme cases of positive as well as negative pressurization both in front of and behind the driver with various damping materials, port tuning, etc.

Is there a gradation here that may illuminate more information about why particular amp synergies seem to work? How does thought 3 interact with thought 1? Seems a lot of this stuff is explored in the loudspeaker world, but less so with headphones

I have my own theories about each of these things simply based on iteration and subjective listening with some strong correlates, but visualization can be an enlightening tool when appropriatly put into context

Today was the first day I heard amps clipping, I have no idea what it is. Maybe the tube amps clipped too but the clipping was softer.

Is it current, capacitors banks, how high the rails go? Sufficient is it for some but others. I don’t thinks watts tell the whole story.

Maybe this could be a thread? Interesting thoughts…

probably. on my list of stuff to look into.

1: Yes, very likely
2: Not sure I understand, but I don't think there's much there
3: It definitely changes with damping, etc. What I'm most interested in is how much nonlinearity we can see with headphones. At maximum excursion in either direction, how does the impedance change?

3: They do this stuff for speaker drivers regularly and that's one of the advantages of low inductance designs (copper cap). Low inductance -> less of an impedance change. Less distortion.