Categories: Cymbals

Sabian 20″ HHX Manhattan Jazz Crash-Ride Cymbal

Sabian’s HHX series is specified as “Modern Dark . . . drier, dirtier, funkier”. The word “Dark” translates to lots of low frequency undertones, and I think, after having analyzed quite a few cymbals, “dirtier” means more midrange wash . . . more “SHHHHH” to the sound. We recently reviewed the 18″ Manhattan Jazz Crash, and now turn our attention to the 20″, which, although classified as a ride cymbal, I consider it to work well as a crash/ride.

Specifications

Manufacturer Line: HHX Manhattan Jazz
Type: Crash/Ride
Style: Medium Thin
Alloy: B20 – CuSn20 – 80% Copper, 20% Tin
Diameter: 20″
Metal Work: Hand Hammered, Machine Lathed, Buffed Finish
Weight: 1851 gm
MSRP: $508 USA; Street Price $350
Sabian

The cymbal has medium sized lathing lines from the bell to the outer edge. Hammering is more clearly seen in the main photo above, and it appears that the hammer strokes are large, and deepest at the middle, while more shallow towards the center and towards the outer edge.

The cymbal crashes easily because of its weight, and the sustain is longer than the 18″ version. As a ride, the sound has a distinct “ping” with a wash that is about the same loudness, and the bell has an excellent, very pleasant ring to it.

The crash spectrum has main peaks at 250 Hz, 300-400 Hz, 460 Hz, 1.6 kHz, and 1.9 kHz-3.9 kHz, before declining to 65 kHz. Compared to the 18″ Manhattan, the 20″ has lower output in the 1 kHz-3 kHz range, giving it a “funkier” sound.

The peak of the crash occurs at 0.05 seconds with a medium-slow speed decay. This is a very fast crash.

Click HERE to listen to an audio sample, which will include crash (when appropriate), ride, and bell sounds (these are 24 bit, 176.4 kHz wav files, so be sure your sound card is capable of handling these high resolution sound files).

If your sound card cannot play the high resolution file, click HERE to listen to an MP3 sound file.

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John E. Johnson, Jr.

Editor-in-Chief Emeritus. John E. Johnson, Jr. founded Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity in 1994, shortly after publishing a hardcopy book of the same title. He served as Editor-in-Chief of Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity until 2022. John has been involved in audio and video for more than 50 years, having built radio transmitters, amplifiers, turntables, and speakers from scratch. He was also one of the founders of the Northern California Audio Video Association, now The Bay Area Audio Society. John holds four university degrees, including a Ph.D. in Neuroscience, and has published numerous scientific books, along with dozens of scientific articles on biomedical research topics as well as imaging technology. He was the founder and Editor-in-Chief of two medical/scientific journals for 20 years. John holds several patents, including one on high resolution image analysis and one on a surgical instrument. He has been affiliated with NASA, The National Institutes of Health, The Johns Hopkins University, Stanford Research Institute, and The University of California at Berkeley. He is President of the consulting firm Scientific Design and Information, Inc., which is based in Redwood City, California. John resides in the San Francisco Bay area with his wife and multiple kitties! His daughter, Cynthia, who was an integral part of SECRETS for many years, resides in San Francisco.