Specifications

KZ ED

KZ ES

Packing and Accessories:

The earphones came in separate cardboard boxes. For 14.75$, I really wasn’t expecting a whole lot of accessories (provided that I got 2 earphones at this price). So, I wasn’t disappointed (or pleasantly surprised ;-)) when I opened the box to find only the earphones with multiple pairs of silicone buds.

Packing

ES (on the left) and ED (on the right)

Silicone Buds (Left: ES; Right: ED)

Build Quality:

Both the earphones come with an inline mic and a single button remote. The cables are of fairly decent quality with negligible memory. They are sheathed in a translucent dark brown sleeve. The silicone earbuds provided with these earphones are pretty comfortable and fit snugly in the ear. The driver housing is the only distinguisishing feature (physically speaking) between the two earphones. In ES the drivers are housed in a cylindrical metal casing with a dark grey glossy finish. In ED the housing is a slightly tapered black colored cylinder with a diamond knurled outer surface, a meshed back and a gold finish nearing the nozzle. While The ED also has Red and Blue rings indicating the left and Right positions, the ES has straighforward L and R markings on the housing surface.

Overall, both appear to be well built and somewhat durable.

Driver Housing (Left: ES; Right: ED)

Nozzle (Left: ES; Right: ED)

Performance:

This is the part where the differences between the two start to emerge.

The performance of ES was a letdown. While the bass output was clear and punchy, heavily recessed mids and a bland treble performance ruined the whole deal for me. Compared to what most IEMs at this price range offer, I really wouldn’t call this outright terrible. Just mediocre, reiterating how cheap I got it for.

On the other hand, the ED, boy oh boy did it surprise me. After listening to the ES, I was preparing myself for another disappointment. I am happy to admit that I was wrong in thinking so. The bass was as clear and booming as can be and the mids and sub bass were slightly recessed. The treble output, while not as sharp as I’d like it to be, wasn’t that bad either. And the soundstage was as wide as can be expected in a low cost IEM.

To sum it up, while the ES has a more bassy sound signature, the ED has a more neutral tone that is just slightly prejudiced towards the bass.

Conclusion:

Now, the million dollar question that begs to be asked is are these worth it? About the ES, it really isn’t the only earphone on the market with a sound signature that is biased towards the lower frequencies, so I can’t in my right conscience recommend it. The ED, however, is honestly a pretty good IEM. A quick price check on AliExpress shows the ED priced between 8-15$. Anything below 10$, this earphone is the real deal, a steal. I know I sound like a telemarketer here, but trust me, I wouldn’t be saying this if it weren’t so. Above that however, it comes dangerously close to the price of Soundmagic’s ES18S. Between the two of them at that price point, the ES18S does have a slightly warmer sound signature and has more spark on the treble . Overall, it is the better performer. But then again the ED does surpass the ES18S in terms of build quality. So, it all comes down to preference. With that said, Kudos to KZ Acoustics for making a ridiculously low priced IEM that would put many higher priced ones to shame.

KZ ED

KZ ES

The post KZ ED special edition & ES earphones review appeared first on OCFreaks!.

The past few years has seen a drift in this scenario, with a few OEMs consistently pushing out high performance earphones that also won’t put much of a burden on your wallets. Soundmagic is one of these brands. It’s E10S has repeatedly been awarded best budget earphone awards from multiple highly reputed sources. This, however, is a review of Soundmagic’s cheapest offering, the ES18S.

Specifications:

Packing and Accessories:

ES18S comes in a thermoformed plastic clamshell package within a printed cardboard cover. With the earphones we get 3 pairs of silicone earbuds, a rather nice black pouch and a clip. Nothing more to say here.

Packing

Accessories

Build Quality:

The ES18S has an inline mic and a single button remote for call accept/end and play/pause. A unique feature in these earphones is a CTIA-OMTP(read more about about 3.5mm audio jack here) switch, which ensures that this earphone would be compatible with all phones sporting a 3.5 mm jack. Although a pretty noble feature, I do have one issue with this. The switch doesn’t really appear to be of that great a quality, and if it gets damaged, it could possibly render the earphone useless. So I’d suggest you to stick with a position, and not to over(ab)use this switch. If you do want to use this earphone in both modes, a better solution would be to use an adapter. This way, the solution would be independent of the earphones, and you could use it with other earphones as well. The drivers used in the ES18s are housed in a Plastic Casing, with small L and R markings. The cable, although silicone, does have a fair bit of memory. I suggest wrapping the cables over under to avoid the cable getting mangled up(I actually suggest doing this with every cable. But in cables with memory, this is especially a must).

3.5mm TRRS Jack

Mic with Single Button Remote

CTIA-OMTP Switch

Performance:

The performance of this earphone impressed me in a lot of ways. But it does have its own quirks. The bass response is too good, and much better than what other earphones (that I’m aware of) offer at this price range. The mids and highs, however, are a slight letdown. It’s not that the ES18S has poor mid frequency and treble performance. The mids are OK, ie, they are not muddied or anything, but they aren’t that impressive as well. The treble response, on the other hand, is actually really good. Just the right amount without being harsh on the ears. So, why did I say it’s a slight letdown?

Well, the bass response is slightly (mind you, REALLY SLIGHTLY) overpowering, and covers the mids and highs in some places. But believe me, unless you’re a treblehead and prefer your highs a little on the harsher side, it’s highly unlikely you’ll ever notice it. With most earphones at this price offering Pathetic (and I do mean Pathetic, with a capital P!) treble response to say the least, I guess I cant really complain much. I suppose SoundMagic took the easy way out here to overcome sibilance.

The Soundstage on these earphones are a bit on the narrower side, but we cant really have everything now, can we?!?! Besides, I really dont think you should be looking for a low end IEM if you really are concerned about the soundstage performance.

The inline Mic in these earphone are average. They provide more than adequate performance for a phone call, which is the primary reason they are included anyways.

Conclusion:

All things said, the ES18S does offer exceptional value for money. Would I recommend these as a High Performance Primary earphone? Depends on what your budget is. Would I recommend these as a cheap on the go earphone? In a Heartbeat.

The post SoundMagic ES18S Earphone Review appeared first on OCFreaks!.

Quite often you might have come across a pair of earphones that is incompatible with your device. But why is this so, even when the plug fits perfectly in the socket? Buying new earphones is a ritual that most of us have to go through once in a few months or so. Choosing the right pair of buds is a hard enough affair as it is, and such problems simply add to our woes. With this guide, you’ll come to know the reason for these incompatibilities, how you can choose the correct earphone when buying online and how you could (possibly) make incompatible earphones work on your device.

The 3.5mm Earphone Connector (aka Audio Jack)

Most modern phones come with 3.5 mm sockets, and earphones for these are available in plenty. But this is just half the story. The root of the incompatibility lies in the lack of proper standardisation in the 3.5mm connector.

There are two types of 3.5 mm connectors that could come with stereo earphones:

TRS(Tip-Ring-Sleeve) Connector:

Also known as Three Pin Connector or Three Conductor Connector. These are used when the earphones either don’t come with an inline mic, or when the mic uses a connector separate from that of the Audio Out. PCs and mp3 players commonly use TRS sockets.

TRS Connector

For 3 pin TRS connectors in stereo earphones, the connections are pretty much standard:

TRS Connections

TRRS(Tip-Ring-Ring-Sleeve) Connector:

Also known as Four Pin Connector or Four Conductor Connector. These are used when the Mic and Audio Out are provided in a single connector. Most phones use TRRS connectors as it is quite compact, since it eliminates the need of a separate connector for the Mic.

TRRS Connector

Now, in the case of 4 pin TRRS connectors, there are two differing standards by which connections could be made:

OMTP:

This was the original standard for TRRS connectors developed by Nokia. OMTP sockets could commonly be seen in old Nokia and Samsung Phones and Legacy Xperias.

TRRS OMTP Connections

CTIA:

This is at present, more commonly seen standard than OMTP. CTIA sockets are used in HTC, Samsung, Sony, LG and most other android phones, Lumia and iPhones (well, before 7. A few, ahem, “brilliant” engineers at Apple decided it’d be a great idea to drop the 3.5 mm audio socket and use their proprietary Lightning port as the audio connector. But that’s a completely different story and I wont be rambling much about that here).

TRRS CTIA Connections

OMTP Earphones on a CTIA Socket / CTIA Earphones on an OMTP Socket :

Due to the difference in position of the Ground and Mic contacts, OMTP earphones wont work in CTIA sockets, and vice versa. Now, heres the icing on the cake: Most manufacturers dont specify the standard used in their earphones. Well, isn’t that just great?!?!

One way you could check if a particular earphone is compatible with your device is is by checking the compatibility list. For example; If the Earphone manufacturer says “for iPhones”, then it uses CTIA standard. If the earphones are made for Samsung devices, then again it uses CTIA standard. If the earphones are for Legacy Xperia devices or old Nokia Phones, then it uses OMTP standard.

If you have already purchased earphones that are incompatible with your device, what can I say ? Sucks to be you.

Just Kidding ;-). One way you could possibly make it work is by purchasing an adapter.

OMTP to CTIA/CTIA to OMTP Adapter

Such an adapter can convert an OMTP earphone to CTIA as well as a CTIA earphone to OMTP. These are a bit hard to find for cheap, but are well worth the price if it works.

TRRS Earphones on a TRS Socket / TRS Earphones on a TRRS Socket :

3 pin TRS Earphones should be compatible with devices using 4 pin TRRS sockets, as the Ground pin would be connected to the ground contact of the Socket anyways. The same goes for 4 pin TRRS Earphones on a 3 pin TRS socket.

TRS connector in TRRS socket

TRRS connector in TRS socket

However, if these dont work, or if you get a garbled audio, it would most likely be due to improper contact between the plug and socket conductors.

Improper Contact between TRRS Plug and TRS Socket

As can be seen the contacts in the socket will connect with the insulator when the plug is completely inserted in the socket. Another possibility is that the contact touches two of the pins. This is also the reason why the earphones appear to work when you slightly remove the plug.

To make these work, you could try using an adapter with a TRRS female and TRS male connector (4 pin to 3 pin adapter, for TRRS plug – TRS Socket incompatibility) or with a TRS female and TRRS male connector (3 pin to 4 pin adapter, for TRS plug – TRRS Socket incompatibility), depending on your requirements.

The post 3.5mm Earphone Connector Compatibility Issue appeared first on OCFreaks!.

Introduction

Op-Amps i.e. Operational Amplifier are the fundamental building block of Analog electronics and more specifically Audio & Video systems, Analog to Digital Converters , Digital to Analog Converters , Active Filters , RF systems , and the list goes on. Op-Amps are virtually everywhere! Basically what an Op-Amps does is that it amplifies the input signal and the regenerates the amplified version of the input signal at its output. The way an Op-Amp regenerates the input signal at its output is dependent on many of its parameters. Ideally, we would want an Op-Amp to regenerate the input signal of any frequency with maximum fidelity along with maximum noise rejection at input side. But in real world this is not the case i.e. practically Op-Amps have their own limitations. Some of these limitations might not be of any concern, given its below or above a certain threshold, for a particular application. For example in Audio systems , using an uber high bandwidth Op-Amp gives no practical advantage over using a medium/high bandwidth Op-Amp.

In this article we will go through some key Op-Amp parameters. Also do note that this article is completely from the specification point of view. Its a very basic guide to Op-Amp Specs for fellow PC & Gaming Enthusiasts who might be new to Op-Amps and stuff. For Audio characteristics you may refer the product page Here.

In Audio devices Op-Amps are generally used as pre-amplifiers , low power amplifiers i.e. headset amplifiers, in distortion pedals, etc. As far as Audio is concerned we would like an Op-Amp to have low distortion , low noise floor , high input noise rejection. If I am correct then Audio Op-Amps for G1.Sniper are used in the last stage of the audio pipeline. The inclusion of such an amplification device like the Op-Amps means more clarity and loudness in sound at the output.

The G1.Sniper 5 motherboard comes with an ‘OP-AMP Upgrade Kit‘ which includes :

1. OPA2134(on board) – By Burr Brown, now owned by Texas Instruments.
2. LM4562 – By National Semiconductor, now owned by Texas Instruments.

Now lets see what ‘OP-AMP Premium Upgrade Kit’ is all about and check how these Op-Amps rank from spec perspective.

The ‘Op-Amp Premium Upgrade Kit‘ is for G1.Sniper 5 Motherboard which is sold separately for $79.9 (MSRP) and the Bundled Op-Amp ICs are :

1. AD827J – By Analog Devices.
2. LT1358C – By Linear Technology.
3. OPA2111K – By Burr Brown, now owned by Texas Instruments.

A closer look at the kit

ICs and the extractor :

OPA2111K :

LT1358 :

AD827 :

Here is a list of “Certified Op-Amps” – OPA2314 , OPA2111 , OPA2107 , OPA2604 , OPA2227 , LM4562 , LM49720 , NE5532 , JRC4558 , LT1358C , OPA2111K. These Opamps are basically pin compatible Op-Amps having similar voltage specs.

Inside the Specs

Now lets compare some important specs of these Op-Amps in the Premium Upgrade Kit.

Specification conditions : Vcc = +/-15Vdc , Temperature = +25 Deg.C unless otherwise mentioned.

1) Bandwidth(BW) or Gain Bandwith(GBW) : This is simply gives how the gain of the Op-Amp varies as we change the frequency of input signal. At high frequencies the gain starts to drop. The Bandwidth graph tells us what all frequency signals can pass through the device without any significant signal attenuation(i.e. reduction in amplitude in simple terms) for a fixed gain value. Generally audio grade Op-Amps have this around 2 to 10 Mhz or above. Anything above say 15Mhz might not give any practical advantage over say 10Mhz GBW for audio applications.

2) Slew Rate : This tells us how much fast the voltage can change at the output of the Op-Amp. We can also consider this as the speed of the Op-Amp. If input signal is changing faster than what an Op-Amp can handle then that would induce unwanted distortion in the output signal and it would not be able to faithfully regenerate the input signal at its output i.e. we will have a loss in fidelity. A slew rate of around 10V/us or higher is really good for audio grade op-amps.

Even here AD827 and LT1358 have crazy high Slew Rates than what is required.

3) Common Mode Rejection – CMR(or CMRR) : Common Mode Rejection gives the Common Mode Signal/Noise Rejection capability of an Op-Amp. Common Mode Signal/Noise is the Noise induced at both of the Op-Amp’s input simultaneously. An Op-Amp ‘magically!’ rejects this Common Mode Signal and only lets the difference between its input pass through to the ouput. For our purposes we would want a minumum CMR of 80dB or higher.

4) Input Voltage Noise Density : This might be one the confusing parameters which has weird units like “Nano-Volts per Root-Hertz” i.e V/rt-Hz. In simple words – it actually gives RMS Noise Voltage over a frequency range. For our purposes we would want this parameter as low as possible. For the curious types , you can check out the “Opamp Input Voltage Noise Tutorial” by Dave at EEVBlog.

Input offset Voltage (Max) :

Input Offset Current (Typ) :

3pA is pretty low indeed!

Note : There are still many other reasons and factors , inherent to the design of the Op-Amp , which can induce additional Noise , Distortions and Offsets at the ouptut. Precision Audio Grade Op-Amps having Ultra low Noise & Distortion Audio Op-Amps are specially designed to reduce these – for example AD8599 , LM4562 , etc..

Conclusion

Firstly we welcome this step taken by Gigabyte. By introducing the Op-Amp Upgrade kit Gigabyte has given end-user the ability to change the Op-Amp – not only the bundled ones but also any other compatible audio grade Op-Amp of one’s choice. Audiophiles would love this freedom to swap on borad Op-Amps. I would I have loved it even more if Gigabyte would have included “jellybean-ish” 1 or 2 more Op-Amps which are famous amongst audiophile and DIY community like NE5532 , AD8599 instead of say AD827. But then on the good side, the motherboard comes with OPA2134 as an on-board ‘default’ Op-Amp and is a good performer indeed! OPA2134 is yet another well known Op-Amp amongst DIYers and Audiophiles. And then there’s LM4562 too!

Finally, talking about the price – it seems to be a bit on the higher side!. After doing a price check on Digikey and Mouser – Price must have been in $55-65 range – considering GB would be buying these in bulk and then selling them as Premium Upgrades , or am I wrong? On the other side buying them from the distributor in low quantity(1x) and getting them shipped can cost you around $60-80. Hardcore Audiophiles and Audio-freaks would be interested in buying the Premium Op-Amp Upgrade kit or they might even source these and other Op-Amps on their own!

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