d-jays sound after being serviced - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

gregjp48 · #1 (**permalink**) 11-04-2007, 05:57 AM

Hey fellow head-fiers

It's been a while since I posted asking about a pair of iems to buy, and ended up deciding on the d-jays.

Well, since then, I've been fairly happy with my Jays. However, the right ear lost sound, so I sent them into Jays to be serviced. When they came back, the sound was different. I don't know if they were repaired, or I was given a refurb, but the sound did not seem right. It now feels bassy, overtaking and clouding the mids and higher range. They used to sort of sparkle with detail when I would listen to an acoustic song, or a song with good guitar and whatnot. This is bugging me to the point where I don't even use them anymore, and am now using the Apple Earbuds that came with my iPod, so am having trouble as far as noise isolation and hearing my music with noise around me etc.

Am I imagining this? Could it be a fit issue (I'm a teenager and my ear canals could still be growing, and I was without the phones for quite a while)? Could it be a QC issue? Have people experienced different sets of d-Jays sounding different? Should I email Jays? I've already had problems, so I'm starting to get annoyed. Should I just forsake the phones alltogether, and buy another company's iems, like a pair of shures or something?

Thanks

Edit: I just was thinking, and when I was having my headphones serviced, my source changed. the adapter for my phone (LG VX8300) broke, and I got a new iPod Touch (I don't use a headphone amp). could this be part of, or even the cause of the problem? The adapter broke, as I said before, so I have no way of testing it.

earfanatic · #2 (**permalink**) 11-04-2007, 09:29 AM

I'm sure that phone couldn't sound like an ipod.

In Your case It's hard to decide what can cause the difference.
You have probably already checked the filters, but that could be my first idea.
As far as I know no one here has two pairs to compare if they are sounding different.

Are You sure You can not figure out if it is a new pair or just the defected part was repaired?

Imaginating...? It is a possibility too, but you feel what you feel.

MaZa · #3 (**permalink**) 11-04-2007, 11:26 AM

Contact Jays, Im sure they will help you.

gregjp48 · #4 (**permalink**) 11-04-2007, 05:54 PM

i'll change the filters again just to be sure, and then i'll contact jays. Sending them to sweeden again is not going to be fun.

Does the ipod touch have inferior audio quality? I've heard it's not as good as the 5th gen. I absolutely love how it works though. I've also heard that since the 3rd gen, the electronics are colored to sound better with the earbuds, and sound bad. It would be too late to return my ipod now, but at least I'd knowf that's the source of the problem, and be able to possibly eq accordingly. Maybe the phone had more neutral sound, or an absence of bass or something?

Well, I'm off to change the filters.

gregjp48 · #5 (**permalink**) 11-04-2007, 06:14 PM

wow. just wow.
I am extremely stupid.
I had two filters in each; why, I don't know.
Well I can hear the highs now, but the lows still seem uncharacteristically boomy. They used to be really tight, and I could hear the bassline of Hotel California (which I tend to use for earphone testing, since I know how it sounds really well) note by note. now it just seems like a jumbled mess. I plugged it into my ibook and it sounds better. I really didn't want it to be the ipod but I guess it must be. Crap. I wish you could set a custom EQ, as it sounds muffled. I guess my only option now would be a headphone amp, but I don't have the space for another thing in my pocket!

MaloS · #6 (**permalink**) 11-04-2007, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregjp48

wow. just wow.
I am extremely stupid.
I had two filters in each; why, I don't know.
Well I can hear the highs now, but the lows still seem uncharacteristically boomy. They used to be really tight, and I could hear the bassline of Hotel California (which I tend to use for earphone testing, since I know how it sounds really well) note by note. now it just seems like a jumbled mess. I plugged it into my ibook and it sounds better. I really didn't want it to be the ipod but I guess it must be. Crap. I wish you could set a custom EQ, as it sounds muffled. I guess my only option now would be a headphone amp, but I don't have the space for another thing in my pocket!

You've got space for iBasso T2, I guarantee you that.

db_cyberbloc · #7 (**permalink**) 11-04-2007, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregjp48

I really didn't want it to be the ipod but I guess it must be. Crap. I wish you could set a custom EQ, as it sounds muffled. I guess my only option now would be a headphone amp, but I don't have the space for another thing in my pocket!

Sry that I have to say this at this point, but going straight ahead it seems like you've gone kind of crazy. A crappy LG phone has a better sound than an iPod?! That's absurd. I could understand if you were telling me that you've got a Nokia N95 or something like that, but e.g. my Nokia 6300 sounds crappy, not the iPod, although it's not the best audioplayer on earth. Something that is more likely is that you just got used to the sound of your phone. It's the same switching from my iPod 5th gen. to my MacBook Pro, which has an optical out and is mainly used for on-stage usage by professional muscians. I don't like the sound sig of my MacBook so far, but that's just because I listen to my iPod for about 3 hours each day. The MacBook is the better source by far. Just a little note: It was the same switching from the E4 to q-JAYS. q-JAYS sounded harsh when used for the first time but after some time for acclimatization they sound a lot more detailed and balanced to my ears than the E4.

kramer5150 · #8 (**permalink**) 11-04-2007, 07:17 PM

IMHO You are hearing the difference between the LG VX8300 and your apple player.

the VX8300 is a HORRID sounding source, if you desire any kind of bass impact or extension. Its the most bass-shy sounding device (amp, laptop, DAP, CD deck, PC coundcard, PCDP..etc..) I have EVER plugged a headphone into. I would go so far as to consider it flawed, in other words its more severe than a mere "coloration". Its a very bass-truncated sounding device.

I don't think I am exagerating... I recently bought a $20 shuffle clone off the www and it totally blows away the VX8300 as far as tonal accuracy and spectral balance goes.

The sound you are hearing now through your apple player is just a more correct render of recorded material. The Jays IEMS are sensitive enough to easily detect sonic differences between various sources/amps too, so thats also contributing.

I have heard 3-4 different pairs of d-jays and they all sounded the same to my ears.