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Marshmallows; Underwhelmed.

post #1 of 15
3/23/07 at 5:44am
Thread Starter 
I was in Hastings the other night to pick up the new Modest Mouse, and saw that they had some marshmallows, and, hey, I need to replace my RP-HJE50 anyways... I grabbed the only black one they had and took it home.

I haven't put much time on it, but the drivers are striking me as mismatched. Stuff in the voice-ish frequency bands sound like they favor the left driver a little. This sort of stuff drives me crazy -- mismatched drivers are the reason I quit using my HD201.

Did any of you marshmallow owners have a similar experience, and if so did the discrepancy clear itself up with burn in? I'm kinda wondering if I should try and take 'em to be switched out while I might still have time. I hate to do it, but I could settle for white or :roll eyes: -- pink.

Aside from that, I see these as potentially being serviceable little earphones, though they don't as good as my KSC75. At least not yet; maybe burn-in will ameliorate things a tad.
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post #2 of 15
3/23/07 at 7:35am
they will never be as good as your ksc 75s. i also notice a little un balance - ness, but not much. you have to look for it after burn in
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post #3 of 15
3/23/07 at 8:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Inkmo View Post
I was in Hastings the other night to pick up the new Modest Mouse, and saw that they had some marshmallows, and, hey, I need to replace my RP-HJE50 anyways... I grabbed the only black one they had and took it home.

I haven't put much time on it, but the drivers are striking me as mismatched. Stuff in the voice-ish frequency bands sound like they favor the left driver a little. This sort of stuff drives me crazy -- mismatched drivers are the reason I quit using my HD201.

Did any of you marshmallow owners have a similar experience, and if so did the discrepancy clear itself up with burn in? I'm kinda wondering if I should try and take 'em to be switched out while I might still have time. I hate to do it, but I could settle for white or :roll eyes: -- pink.

Aside from that, I see these as potentially being serviceable little earphones, though they don't as good as my KSC75. At least not yet; maybe burn-in will ameliorate things a tad.


Marshmallows need a good seal on both ears. The most frustrating thing for me is that they fit fine in my left ear, but I need to fiddle around to hit the sweet spot in my right ear.

If you don't have a consistent seal in both ears, it'll sound messed up.


For a better seal, wear them like IEMs, so the wire loops back behind your ear.


When I have a good seal, I love the MMs....great bass, decent mids and highs. When using my iPod, they're my favorite headphones.


Good sound, attractive looks (KSC75s make you look like a weirdo), and cheap price. Perfect portable phone.
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post #4 of 15
3/23/07 at 10:45am
The mismatch is the seal you are getting. If I mess with them long enough I can get the exact sound from each, but its not worth my trouble. I need to either get different tips or sell them.
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post #5 of 15
3/23/07 at 5:04pm
Thread Starter 
hey thanks guys. I'll try the seal thing. Give 'em some time to expand all the way and then see how they sound playing a few sine waves.

Coupla things though that I think still merits my concern:
1. When I flop them, sounds sounds more balanced
2. Isn't bad seal more of a bass bugaboo? I'm having problems with upper mids and treble.

Still, the left one (the good one) feels like it has physically taken up a more solid presence in that ear. Shure foamies might remedy this....?
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post #6 of 15
3/23/07 at 5:14pm
Definately. I also found one of the 4 foamies is softer then the rest.
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post #7 of 15
3/23/07 at 6:05pm
Thread Starter 
hmm, hey, there was a link posted to an online hearing test thing. It had about 12-20 different tones that are nice benchmarks for testing equipment across the spectrum. Wanted to run through those and see if everything was starting to sound centered. Anyone remember the linky? I've been searching for it to no avail.
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post #8 of 15
3/23/07 at 6:26pm
Not exactly a hearing test, but it does the trick:

http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/hearing.html
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post #9 of 15
3/24/07 at 12:11am
Did you try the Kramer Mod?
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post #10 of 15
3/24/07 at 12:27am
i absolutely lothe the mellow sleeves.
i can't understand how people jab stuff that uncofortable in or orfice. ouch.

try replacing them with sony soft silicon seals. pretty much any of their new cell phones come with them so it wouldn't be that difficult to borrow a pair to try out.
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post #11 of 15
3/24/07 at 12:30am
ironically, i tried using the fx33 with sony ex71 tips, and shure hard sleeves, and liked the feel and sound of the OEM black "marshmellows" better. maybe it is just me. any other tips we can try with these?
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post #12 of 15
3/24/07 at 12:32am
which tips worked for the MM's again? was it the shure e2c foamies?
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post #13 of 15
3/24/07 at 12:39am
the foamies work and the flex sleeves worked for me....
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post #14 of 15
3/24/07 at 12:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ekinwang View Post
the foamies work and the flex sleeves worked for me....
how do you like the e2c fomaies compared to the stock marshmallow tips? how did the sound change and also, how did the comfort change?
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post #15 of 15
3/26/07 at 1:28am
Thread Starter 
surprisingly, the Panny RPHJ-E50 tips can be fit over the sound tube on these as well.

I'm still under the impression that the drivers actually sound different, though (the orientation of the deficiency reverses when I swap ears). And in a very annoying range (most any vocals over a tenor sound like they're coming more from the left...). I've been burning them in pretty much constantly the past couple of days to see if they'll straighten themselves out. If they don't, is it worth trying to get them returned or replaced? or am I pretty much guaranteed poor quality control in this price range and a second pair of off center marshmallows? (my HD201 also has an annoying driver mismatch) Actually, all the Koss headphones I've tried sound dead on as far as I can tell... :P
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