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CEE_TEE
3480
Feb 13, 2018
Solid, All-Rounders…
Ryu, Street Fighter
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Soldier:76, Overwatch
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EDC3, NuForce
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What makes trusty all-rounders great to play is their combination of balance, weight, speed, and overall strength in every area. That’s exactly what we aimed for with the new EDC3. The EDC3 aims for: Audiophile quality in speed, sonic weight, tonal balance, and clarity. Everyday Carry quality in comfort, accessories, everyday usability, and high value.
Sound Matters All-rounders don’t optimize for one or two areas, but look for overall strength across the range of attributes.
When it comes to sound values, the typical mass market IEM pumps up the bass value and creates a big peak somewhere in the treble.
If it is a smoother transition, we call this tuning “V-shaped” because EQ with sliders looks like this (bass is on the left and treble to the right):
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Source: https://www.headfonia.com/eq-to-the-rescue/3/
Some music recordings already contain overly boosted bass and sharp glare in the treble. A boosted bass + treble peak tuning usually adds too much and can be fatiguing to listen to over long periods of time.
The alternative is to tune something musical (enjoyable to listen to) but more neutral than the typical mass market IEM. (Bass, mids, and treble in balanced amounts.) Mids seem to get neglected in a lot of mainstream products. So that’s where we started. Then we added treble to give a sense of air, but without being too bright-sounding. Finally, the prototypes went around for bass feedback with a couple different dampers until we got the okay from our community test group.
Balanced armature drivers: One bigger bass driver + two on top for mids/treble
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Dampers look like this:
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The new EDC3 is a combination of 3 drivers per ear that each handle different sections of the sound, some crossovers to mix sound in the right amounts, and balanced armature technology for drivers that fit into the earpieces. There’s also a mechanical damper (or filter) that we used to tune the final balance. We hope that the Massdrop x NuForce EDC3 is the the well-rounded character that you will be enjoying late into the game…
CEE_TEE
3480
Feb 14, 2018
CEE_TEEWe'll have Frequency Response graphs up on the Drop Page tomorrow, February 14...please check back!
john.yu
632
Feb 14, 2018
CEE_TEEWe're all audiophiles now....!
Youghin
41
Feb 14, 2018
CEE_TEEtentatively it will come with these Dampers?
Jyri
818
Nuforce
Feb 14, 2018
YoughinThat's just an example how dampers in general look like.
- Jyri/NuForce
Youghin
41
Feb 14, 2018
Jyriit would be superb if EDC 3 comes with 3BA+1 Dynamic Driver
Megazine
544
Feb 15, 2018
CEE_TEEGreat post, and I love the creativity you put behind your overall theme, on surrounding balance.
CEE_TEE
3480
Feb 15, 2018
MegazineAppreciate that, Megazine. :) And I hope you like them...even though they are balanced they still have some punch!
FrankDrebin
60
Feb 15, 2018
CEE_TEEHow do these compare to the 1more triple driver and quad driver earphones?https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/9/15590932/1more-triple-driver-quad-driver-review-in-ear-headphones
TanvirK175
1101
Feb 15, 2018
YoughinBut that would be the EDC4 :P
Youghin
41
Feb 15, 2018
TanvirK175Maybe 🤨 after 2yrs?
TanvirK175
1101
Feb 15, 2018
YoughinLet's make it happen, Massdrop! But why stop there :D
jaydunndiddit
3262
Feb 15, 2018
FrankDrebinI sampled the triple/quad driver from Amazon and returned them both. They're very V-shaped while these are being touted to sound neutral and balanced. The 1more's also lack an interchangeable cable and due to their size sit oddly in the ear and don't offer the level of isolation in the EDC. The EDC3 also has all BA drivers and the 1more's are all hybrids.
mong9s
2
Feb 15, 2018
CEE_TEESo, where can I find the frequency response graph?
luckybaer
100
Feb 15, 2018
CEE_TEEDo you think you could eventually post overlaying FR graphs of the EDC and EDC3. As a soon-to-be owner of both, it would be interesting to visualize the two IEMs and see if the graphs "jive" with what my ears are telling me. I enjoy the EDC, so I'm pretty sure I'll enjoy the EDC3.
FrankDrebin
60
Feb 15, 2018
jaydunndidditThanks for the information. :)
CEE_TEE
3480
Feb 15, 2018
mong9sHey mong9s, These graphs come off the AP with teeny numbers at the bottom...we've got a couple graphs now and are making the numbers legible for the size we put them on the page.
Here's one comparo with Etymotic ER4S in blue:
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We'll have 3 graphs up today and some more later next week. Thanks for asking!
JediPeaceWalker
41
Feb 16, 2018
FrankDrebinI have the 1More quads and found all their small tips uncomfortably big. I had to use silicone tips from Sony MDRXB50AP IEM's and I used to think those were big. I'm a middle-age male who wears size small earasers for size reference. Once I started using the Sony's silicone tips, I was able to enjoy the quads for about 4-6 hours continuously vs 30-45 minutes. The quads are definitely not recommended for working out since they're bulky and not the greatest at isolation. They are very fun to sit and listen with so I kept them. They are more neutral than the Sony's but not as neutral as the HD 6xx. I was surprised that it had a present sound stage but it wasn't enough to make me drop the HD 6xx for gaming. I'm definitely getting the EDC3 for working out though.
luckybaer
100
Feb 16, 2018
CEE_TEEThat's about as flat a graph as you'll ever see, right?
chestnut323
6
Feb 16, 2018
CEE_TEE Do you have any plan to release EDC4 or more?
rpm604
172
Feb 17, 2018
CEE_TEEI'd also love to know about the pipeline, if there are plans or intent to build/drop 4+ driver IEMs this year?
CEE_TEE
3480
Feb 18, 2018
chestnut323There will not be an EDC4 anytime soon...
rpm604
172
Feb 19, 2018
CEE_TEECool, then I'm joining this drop. I am stating, for the record, that if you announce a Massdrop X 4+ BA IEM in the next ~3 months I'll be pretty unimpressed xD
CEE_TEE
3480
Feb 19, 2018
rpm604Deal! :)
GLV25
2
Feb 26, 2018
CEE_TEEWill this drop make it's return in nearest future? Or maybe it will be extended?..
CEE_TEE
3480
Feb 26, 2018
GLV25It is still running!
GLV25
2
Feb 26, 2018
CEE_TEEIt won't, when I will be able to join
CEE_TEE
3480
Mar 1, 2018
GLV25We're going to run it again in March, the second drop/batch shipping date will be pushed out a bit...hope this helps you!
CEE_TEE
3480
Mar 1, 2018
CEE_TEERunning again with an estimated ship date a month later for second batch!
Varholiaglimp
939
Mar 14, 2018
CEE_TEEYours unruly was damned glad to know about this second drop, since I prefer to read multiple impressions of a prod (ow!) and not just the stated goals of the company or collaboration that created it.
Still trying to decide whether to economize by buying these or spring (ow!) for the Massdrop Plus Universal IEMs. Both possibilities seem designed to be detailed and non-fatiguing while offering the deja-vu-inducing soundstage that IEMs rarely flung before the emergence of the Shure E5 (the first IEMs yours tabbouleh had ever heard that weren't "intimate" w-a-a-y back in 2006 at the inaugural New York Head-fi meat).
It will be fathinating to thee whether you collaborate on custom IEMs at some point, since that would mean devising a way to make absurdly individualized personalization work in a two-stage group buy. But perhaps you'll streamline your collabs at some future juncture (ow!).
jaydunndiddit
3262
Mar 15, 2018
VarholiaglimpI believe they have done CIEM drops before. I remember reading one giving ear impression instructions as part of the drop.
Varholiaglimp
939
Mar 15, 2018
jaydunndidditYes, you're correct that Massdrop has sold CIEMs and even Massdrop-exclusive CIEMs. I believe we can safely bray that in agreement. But what I'm pondering, strapping young Master Dunndiddit, is a Massdrop-collaborative CIEM.
CEE_TEE
3480
Mar 15, 2018
VarholiaglimpDo stay tuned... ;)
TheOmegaCarrot
115
Mar 18, 2018
CEE_TEEWhat did you plug them into to make this measurement? And what is the output impedance of the device they were plugged Into?
CEE_TEE
3480
Mar 28, 2018
TheOmegaCarrotHi OmegaCarrot, Jude uses an APx555 with a Rupert Neve headphone amp. RNHP Amp OI: .08 Ω @ 1KHz, 16-150 Ω load, 0dBu input
TheOmegaCarrot
115
Mar 29, 2018
CEE_TEEThanks for the info!
Assimilator702
184
Apr 26, 2018
YoughinIt WOULD be cool if that could be done but it looks like the dampener is integrated into the shell before it's clamped together. A re-work would be necessary to have a replaceable dampener system. Any chance of something like this in the future Nuforce? There is something similar from a Japanese company made for some of the Audio Technica IEMs.
FabioRocks
13
Aug 21, 2018
CEE_TEE‘ The new EDC3 is a combination of 3 drivers per ear that each handle different sections of the sound‘
Is it a 3-way cross-over? In the Brent Butterworth review he said It’s a 2-way design, basically the two balanced armatures for mid-highs are wired in Parallel. Can someone confirm? It’s not very clear. Thanks.
CEE_TEE
3480
Feb 9, 2019
FabioRocksCorrect, two-way design. The bigger driver handles bass and the other two drivers handle mids/treble together...
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