Review: New Mylarones - X3i and XBi

[4ki]

Originally Posted by souperman

There was never ever such a thing. It was just people getting used to the bass. I have gone back to the X3's and I get just as much bass as I did when I started out with it.

Strangely, I've experienced the opposite with my ultimate ears (which are noted to lack bass altogether); I was with the PK3 for a solid month, put in the IEMs while I did dishes, and Unchain's "Precious" had basslines that sung louder than I remember the phones being capable of delivering (with no EQ changes). I feel that if some people step away from a set of cans and come back to them, there impressions are more or less refreshed for either better or worse.

Then again, there's always the difference between armature/dynamic drivers...

AnGeLiCbOrIs: The fact that they're even assembling the units is another quality issue altogether. You can have reliable parts, but without the right stuff to hold it in one piece, everything can break with a light accident or even a short month of use. I've never read of the MylarOnes shattering or snapping off, but every now and then there'd be cases of them falling apart (i.e. wire covers slipping out of the ear piece). At last the company backing them seems reliable enough

[munchkin]

Just got the X3i. I had the X3 before, the sound definitely seems better than the X3i, and the build quality is better.

[Huckster]

Headphones and box

Old XB's next to new

The reason I got these new XBi's is that the right driver blew on the the old ones X) IMO they are superior to the old xb's in many ways. The chamber is rounder and not as long, meaning they fit into my ears instead of jutting out and falling out from cord pull. The cord itself is thicker, with a nice teenytiny plug at the end. The earpieces are white, but they aren't the stiff ones like the shure earpieces are. Also, there are double flanges, which are too long and big for my ears but may be helpful to some.

I haven't gotten to sound test the new XBi's, but they are as good if not better sounding than the original. IMO both had kinda flabby bass at first, which sharpens up with some use. the X3's had pretty much No bass, and realistically I would rather have lots of bass that I can control with eq rather than none. I have not tried the new x3i, so I cant say about the bass of those, but I didn't want to risk being unsatisfied again.

Oh, and I welcome myself to head-fi Glad to be in this knowledgeable and great community.

[dfkt]

Welcome to Head-Fi, Huckster! (No need to be sorry about your wallet, since the Mylars are quite a bargain, heh...)

Oh, the new XBi's are... vertically challenged.

Is it the angle you took the picture at, or are they really quite a bit fatter than the old ones? I guess the cone-shaped end should work well even with smaller ear canals, nevertheless?

[Huckster]

There is reason to be sorry about my wallet dfkt I have a little dot II+ and headstage lyrix pro just from browsing this durn place..

To answer your question, I would describe them as "bulbous". They are only slightly bigger around than the old version, but shorter which makes them look fat in comparison. Sorry about the bad pics, im not good with cameras atm

About the sound quality: I stuck them into the Headstage at the same time as the old xb's (one channel) using a y-split and the XBi's were waaay warmer. it kinda makes me think the new X3i's are the old XB's in sound, which is bad because their sound sig is my favorite of the bunch. Hope that calms down a little bit over time.

[aureus]

My X3i arrived today. First impressions:
- with the foam tips I get a much better seal. I also like their design more than that of the X3.
- the cable is stronger, I’d say.
- the bass is better. I like it.
- less sibilance than X3
- they don’t improve that much with my Cmoy, just as the X3.
I’ll give them some burn-in - but I like them very much so far!
Huckster: I thought the exact same actually! The X3i is warmer, but still has a lot of detail. I never heard the XB, but after an hour I have to say that I really love the X3i, much better than my X3. I found it that the new bi-flanges gave me a very decent fit and sound. Better than any other tip I used before.

[JohnKi]

so after burning them in does the bass disapear on the x3i's?

[souperman]

Originally Posted by JohnKi

so after burning them in does the bass disapear on the x3i's?

As I said before, the bass doesn't disappear. It's just your ears getting used to the bass, but this is less noticeable on the X3i cause they already have a decent amount of bass as opposed to the almost nonexistent bass in the X3.

[dfkt]

It sure is different from person to person (maybe from X3 to X3) - I stand by my experience with the X3 (and XB): for me, the bass did decrease over time. That's what I heard with my own ears. It certainly is something you don't find in many other IEMs, something no other of my ~12 pairs of IEMs did, but it's what my X3s did. So, without any scientific tests, but what I know from all my other IEMs, I'm fairly sure there is something like "bass burn-out" going on with the Mylars. It can't be mere imagination.

My X3i and XBi are already shipped - I'll let you all know how they turn out, compared to the older models.

[Huckster]

I think I am with you on the bass decrease of these headphones- my new xbi's seem to have calmed down some after more burn in. They are still on the darker side imo, with less emphasis on the high's. I am fine with it being this way, but the new X3i's may be a more balanced headphone.

Im curious of what your opinion is when you get them, dfkt.

[JohnKi]

sooooo any thoughts after burn in?

[LordZero]

I got the X3i 3 days ago,after some burn-in, they sound good,meanly the bass a lot of improvements over the X3(the techno hardcore stuff, indietronica, electronica, industrial,etc, sound a lot better than X3, the same for some acoustic albums), the only problem is that sometimes they sound a little bassy in some musics("Your Hand In Mine" from the album "Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place" by Explosions In The Sky is an example), the drums/bass really stand out over the guitars, after a burn-in/or my ears get used to it is a little less bassy, but is a still bassy in that music XD
Probably the source helped too, I have a NW-hd5 who have a fantastic warming sound, and the bass is great on them,probably the X3i make that stand out a little too much for some musics

Anyway, I'm not a audiophile,not even close :\ But when I hear the "Your Hands In Mine", I think I prefer the X3's, but then I ear some electronica and I love the X3i, lol.

[Sieg9198]

Got a chance to test both the X3i and XBi out thanks to yuheng

IMO, the X3i is WAY better in everyway compared to the X3, especially the high extension, which is my biggest complain with the X3, and X3i have more and deeper bass. X3 is more towards warm, the X3i is much neutral and balance.

XBi was not my cup of tea, to me the high seems not existance at all. And the bass is just way too much, I cant help noticing the bass only...

[LostPhil]

Originally Posted by dfkt

I'm fairly sure there is something like "bass burn-out" going on with the Mylars. It can't be mere imagination.

Did you use stock tips? I lost one of the tips and replaced them with new tips from my Walkman phone (I believe they are the same) and the bass was back (baby). Maybe mine is an isolated case...

[dfkt]

I used lots of tips, foamies and silicons - the bass went bye-bye.

My ER-6 have more bass than my X3.