Massdrop x MEE audio Planamic In-Ear Monitors Discussions | Drop

Aug 18, 2018

CEE_TEEPlanar magnetic drivers do not have a coil on them; they have a conductive trace deposited onto the diaphragm.

Aug 18, 2018

eddsaura

Aug 21, 2018

CEE_TEEWill they cancel external noise well? I play the drums and it is an option. Also, is it ok to use it without amp?

Aug 21, 2018

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Aug 21, 2018

eddsauraIf you have a decent source, you will not likely need an amp.

Aug 21, 2018

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eddsaura

Aug 21, 2018

The_JniacIs a laptop without external soundcard ok?

Aug 21, 2018

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Aug 21, 2018

eddsauraGiven the housing design and stem is very close to the Massdrop Plus, I am assuming they will offer a similar seal and should passively block out a good amount of sound.
Also, you're probably going to need an amp for these depending on your phone's output impedance and power. These aren't the most sensitive IEMs despite their low impedance. My phone has an output impedance of ~5.6 ohms and can output about ~0.5 to 1 Vrms. These can have a sensitivity down to 88 dB/mW requiring a bit over 2 Vrms to be powered effectively. To my knowledge, the only phone that has that sort of output power is the LGv20/30 and they're right at 2 Vrms. However, anything beyond a cellphone should be able to power these just fine though (i.e. a Macbook).

Aug 21, 2018

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Aug 21, 2018

jaydunndiddit1V RMS will be rather loud. 88dB/mW = 88dB/0.1265V (V=sqrt(ZxP)=sqrt(16×0.001)=0.12649... Sensitivity=dB/Vrms=dB/mw+20log(1÷V/mW)=88+20log(1÷(sqrt(16×0.001)))=105.959dB/Vrms. These should work just fine out of portable devices, as long as they have a low output impedance. Even the output impedance might not matter much, but we need to see the impedance graph for these to make any statements about that.

Aug 21, 2018

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Aug 21, 2018

eddsauraIt will probably get loud enough, but it might have a high enough output impedance to alter the sound of these.

Aug 21, 2018

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Aug 21, 2018

The_JniacAgain, what's your definition of "work just fine?" At best, these need more power than what a mobile device outputs unless it's the LG V20/30. As you can see, I have a Galaxy S7 Edge and just like the Pinncale PX, my phone are not adequately able to power them and they have a higher sensitivity over the these at 96 dB/mW:

Sure, you could drive them relatively loud via a cell phone but you will not be pushing them to their best or getting everything they can offer. I'd rather err on the side of caution and make sure people know your mobile device may not push these to the same levels as something like the Shure 215 or any other very sensitive IEM. There's already plenty people on the Pinnacle PX page that report "how quiet" they are from their mobile devices and these do not appear to be any easier to drive than those.

Aug 21, 2018

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Aug 21, 2018

jaydunndiddit"Work just fine" means that it is quite unlikely that there would be a real, meaning detectable in a controlled blind test, difference between the source referenced, in this case a mobile device, and a dedicated amplifier. Getting their best depends on the output impedance of the source. If that is low enough, then all that matters is getting adequate volume without distortion. In the case of your phone, if these earphones do not have a flat impedance curve, then the voltage output of your phone is a moot point since they will be coloured by the inadequate damping factor. You also do not need to aim for anything close to 110dB. You can get ReplayGain, which tags music with a gain number which is then applied during playback to get all of your music to the same average volume, support on pretty much everything these days, so even 60dB-70dB would do. My phone, both the current S9 and the preceding One M9 could get my HE-500s to uncomfortably loud with room to spare. NOTE: I fixed the error in the math.

Aug 21, 2018

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Aug 22, 2018

The_JniacThere are a whole slew of assumptions and "best case scenarios" in your logic. You must not understand that no one is listening at exactly 110 dB. That target is to accomodate for the average volume in music which can have maximum peak levels as much as -30 dB. For someone that listens on average around 80-85 dB, 110 dB is a safe bet to ensure enough power will always be supplied to avoid clipping and distortion. You need headroom as there’s a range of roughly 24 dB in average volume between various genres of music. NwAvGuy, since you seem to like his material, has talked about this before ad nauseum: http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/09/more-power.html.
His target is actually higher (115-118 dB) than what I typically calculate for headroom (110 dB) to ensure the amp isn't clipping at the peaks. A controlled blind test doesn't have anything to do with the basic math in this situation.
Also, to suggest that an individual cannot determine the difference between a cellphone amp and a dedicated amp is just ludicrous. Maybe YOU can't. You also seem to listen at VERY quiet volumes (60-70 dB). That doesn't mean everyone else does. Your S9 is still only outputting between 0.5 and 1 Vrms. That isn't a lot of power by any stretch of the imagination. In the case of your HE-500, I very much doubt your phone is able to supply the requisite amount of current to truly drive those planars and not clip at the peaks.
Either way, these will be harder to drive to loud volumes compared to something like the Pinnacle PX. That was my only point. If you go over to that page, you will see a slew of people stating how "quiet" the PX sounds off their mobile devices by comparison of other IEMs they own. I can say confidently this is something that has been discussed a lot already and many agree that a more powerful amp brings out what the PX can really do. I'm sure the same is going to apply to the Planamic as well going by the numbers as its sensitivity is lower.

Aug 22, 2018

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Aug 22, 2018

jaydunndidditYou are right about me listening at about 70dB. I was given to understand, apparently incorrectly, that most people listened between 65dB-75dB, and that is what I used for my target average volume with the peak set to 100dB. The "Maybe YOU can't." thing is rather uncalled for. A lot of modern phones have amps in them that can manage to be transparent to the human ear, and transparency is, by definition, as good as it gets. Yes, they will absolutely have issues running more power-hungry stuff, especially trying to run it loud, but it will be as good as a dedicated amp if it can get to the required volume without clipping or audible distortion. That last bit is the sticking point though, and I am not saying nor did I intend to imply that a phone will always be as good as a dedicated amp.

Aug 22, 2018