Yuin PK1 & Headroom Total Bithead - Impressions From a Causual Listener

[vcincent]

Hi all,
I've been lurking these forums for awhile, and your guys posts as a collective are without doubt invaluable. I'm a relative newbie to high-end headphones, but ever since seeing a pair of $500 Shure headbuds in a catalog (they get that expensive?) I've been intrigued. Itching to try something better, I did some research, then purchased the Yuin PK3s.

Needless to say, I was blown away. The sound on those things were crystal clear, and noticeably better than the $10 pair I currently had. The only problem I had with those buds was its odd "J" cord design.

A few months later, I gave my PK3s to a friend and opted for the PK1 as well as my first amp. Because I listen from my laptop, I went for the Total Bithead which would double as my amp/DAC. And despite the PK1's glowing reviews, I must say I was quite dissatisfied with it. Honest. I didn't see reason the behind its hype. The quality, clarity, and range was still there as in my old PK3s, but I didn't feel that was an upgrade in any way. I no longer had my PK3s to directly compare it to, but prior to receiving the PK1s, I was using a new set of JVC marshmallows, which I actually at times preferred for its stronger bass.

As for the amp, I could not honestly feel any strong difference in sound quality with it being used versus excluded from my setup. Of course, the amp allowed for higher volume, but I was not maxing out volume from my stock settings to begin with. I also found the amp somewhat inconvenient to carry with my Ipod (the duo was cassette player sized) since it would not fit in my pocket. In the end, I set on giving them more time to break in, and after several months of (light) use I still have not detected any improvement. Unfortunately, I didn't return these items while I could, and I do regret it.

All said, I've never really been sensitive to sound, and maybe my expectations were unrealistic. But bottomline, I felt that my budget could have been much better spent. I know alot of you might disagree with these thoughts, but I'm just working to provide another viewpoint.

EDIT: Just noticed I posted in the wrong section. Didn't see the "full-sized" part in the title!

[fjf]

You should try now the ipod with the $10 earbuds for a while. Maybe then you'll notice the difference. Upgrading is easy and maybe less than stellar sometimes. Downgrading, however, is painful...

[psyllium]

I myself am trying the PK1 + Total Bithead combo at the moment. I have to say there isn't heaps of bass... which is a bit of a disappointment for me being a bit of a bass head. The detail, however, is definitely there, as is the 'immersion' as I like to call it.

I'm hanging out for my Fiio amp which will give a bass boost while only chewing 1 x AAA battery. I'll post my experience once I get it.

Cheers.

[fjf]

Some people expect the bass from earbuds kicking your stomach like speakers. This simply doesn't happen. You can hear bass (more or less depending on the model), but it will always lack the visceral impact. You cannot get from a bike what you get from a Harley-Davidson. A matter of proportion.

[ClieOS]

PK3 is far better at kicking out bass than PK1, amped or not. The important bit about amping PK1 (or any headphone) is the synergy b/w the headphone and the amp. Just because PK1 doesn't sound good w/ Total Bithead doesn't means PK1 is 'hyped'. Perhaps it is just the 'wrong match', so to speak. For example, I find my PK1 sounds mediocre with XM3 with OPA2134, but fantastic with AD8620.

[psyllium]

Just tried the PK1's with the Fiio, seems to go pretty well... I think a lot of it is just getting used to the sound

[Spareribs]

IMO, a portable amp with a laptop is not worth it.
If you had a higher quality external DAC, then perhaps. However for most people, the sound quality from a laptop is good enough.

For me personally, I dislike digital sounds so whatever it takes to reduce it, I will utilize.

[Zodduska]

IMHO it really takes a little time for people to convert to "neutral" listening tastes.. the general public cranks the bass in their car to max and think it sounds fine. Most of the stuff discussed here is in pursuit of a more refined balanced sound and the differences between really good and average might be harder to pick out for the less experienced. I hope you keep your gear and grow to appreciate it more.. welcome to head-fi and sorry about your wallet.

[Dept_of_Alchemy]

Originally Posted by Zodduska

IMHO it really takes a little time for people to convert to "neutral" listening tastes.. the general public cranks the bass in their car to max and think it sounds fine. Most of the stuff discussed here is in pursuit of a more refined balanced sound and the differences between really good and average might be harder to pick out for the less experienced. I hope you keep your gear and grow to appreciate it more.. welcome to head-fi and sorry about your wallet.

x2, audiophilism in my opinion is a lot like wine tasting in that a lot of the finer qualities are not immediately appreciated by novices. I think a lot of people are in the same boat with you and are frustrated in the beginning because they get hooked by the improvement in sound quality from their first upgrade and doesn't experience quite the same scale of improvement with their second or third purchase. The source of the frustration I think is twofold, one being that the expectation for the amount of improvement is simply unrealistic in light of diminishing returns and two being the novice's lack of experience with what I call 'active listening' where the listener consciously focuses his attention on and analyzes the music.

- DoA