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Apple in-ear Headphones - Not Impressed

post #1 of 141
2/19/09 at 9:19am
Thread Starter 
Hi,

Yesterday I finally bought the new Apple in-ear Headphones from my local Argos store for £53 after reading good reviews about the phones and the fact it has a mic and remote control. However, I am very disappointed with them as find them tinny with no punchy bass. I have tried all the sizes of the ear buds but I am still unsatisfied. My Sennheiser CX300 sound far superior and the phones that came with my excellent Sony S639F also sound superior.

I bought the Apple in-ear Headphones basically because I was wanting the use of the mic for recording on BeatMaker on my iPod touch. I am very happy with the mic on the phones though but for the £53 I was expecting equally good earphones. To add insult to injury after I had bought the Apple phones I visited my local CarPhone Warehouse only to notice that they were selling the Griffith SmartTalk for only £9.99 I could of saved myself about £43

Anyway, I am happy with the mic on the Apple phones though it doesn't justify the £53 that I spent Also I cannot return them because they have been opened

Just one question....Is the mic on the Apple in-ear Headphones just as good as the mic on the Griffith SmartTalk?


Art
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post #2 of 141
2/19/09 at 9:41am
Seeing your previous IEM's, I would say that the CX300 and the 639 bundled IEMs has definitely spoiled you with bass. Both of those are known to be quite bass heavy, in which case ADDIEM is not too compatible since it's reported of having a flat freq curve and very neutral. Westone UM1 would be a good fit for you I'd imagine in your budget, and (*gasp*) Bose In-ear's wouldn't be too horrible either for the bass craving, but they wouldn't address your mic needs so I dunno.

Just a heads up, Shures also have mic compatible phones but if you like bass stay away from them as well since all lower end Shures are bass-light.
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post #3 of 141
2/19/09 at 9:41am
why did you get Apple? Harmon Kardon make their crap, and they don't exactly make good ****.
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post #4 of 141
2/19/09 at 9:49am
Yeah I agree the CX300's might have made your ears used to bassy sounds.
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post #5 of 141
2/19/09 at 9:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SoliloCey View Post
why did you get Apple? Harmon Kardon make their crap, and they don't exactly make good ****.
Correct me if I'm wrong here, but does H/K even produce their own IEM's? I thought most of them, like the EP series, are developed by Etymotic (in which case ADDIEM being bass light wouldn't be too surprising).
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post #6 of 141
2/19/09 at 10:01am
^ according to my source, it was H/K making the iBuds.
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post #7 of 141
2/19/09 at 10:46am
Wow.

I have the ADDIEMs and I wouldn't really call them bass light exactly.

There's a definite coloration favoring the mids, I think, but the lower end of the mids.

As for the bass itself...

I'd actually call these fairly warm phones, with decent bass. Not bad for BA phones. They remind me of super.fi's, but with better instrument separation.

And I think if you're that unhappy, you can return them to apple, even opened, if less than a week, no questions asked. I made sure of that before I bought mine, though it was an apple store I bought it from.

Obviously, I liked them enough to keep them.
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post #8 of 141
2/19/09 at 12:08pm
First make sure you get a good seal. The ADDIEM is more accurate. Head over to headroom and look at the CX300 graph. It is horribly bass heavy.

If you are happy with the over boosted bass of the CX300 you won't like 95% of the IEMs we discuss about here.
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post #9 of 141
2/19/09 at 12:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by oarnura View Post
First make sure you get a good seal. The ADDIEM is more accurate. Head over to headroom and look at the CX300 graph. It is horribly bass heavy.

If you are happy with the over boosted bass of the CX300 you won't like 95% of the IEMs we discuss about here.
whats the flatest FQ on a dynamic, im looking for something similar to electrostats in a dynamic.
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post #10 of 141
2/19/09 at 12:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SoliloCey View Post
whats the flatest FQ on a dynamic, im looking for something similar to electrostats in a dynamic.
I am the wrong person to answer that. I haven't heard a dynamic IEM that I have liked.

I haven't heard electrostats either.
May be this will help:
Reference earphones
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post #11 of 141
2/19/09 at 9:39pm
At the price Apple wants for their new IEM's, I'd rather get these models:

Audio Technica ATH-CK7
Denon AH-C551K
JVC HA-FX300 series
Sony MDR-EX90LP

All of which cost way less at Amazon.com than the new Apple IEM. In fact, I just ordered the MDR-EX90LP and should get them in a few days.
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post #12 of 141
2/19/09 at 10:04pm
Another day, another unsatisfied customer who doesn't understand that getting a good seal is the first step to using ANY IEM.
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post #13 of 141
2/20/09 at 3:22pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Taikero View Post
Another day, another unsatisfied customer who doesn't understand that getting a good seal is the first step to using ANY IEM.
YOU ARE WRONG!! I do understand

I've been using earphones for years and I sure know that getting a good seal makes a vast difference on the phones but with those Apple in ear headphones they are still terrible. The sound is still tinny and lifeless and there is a bit of distortion on the left earphone.

Today I bought the Griffith SmartTalk mic for my iPod Touch and I am happy with them with my excellent Sennheiser CX300 phones. They also were about £40 cheaper. I can use the SmartTalk record audio with Beatmaker and enjoy the music with the Sennheiser phones.

I was totally duped by Apple and reviews on the net. Thank you Apple

Apple should of sold those phones for about £20 but I guess its Apple being greedy again. Apple should basically stick to making Computers,laptops and iPods and leave earphones to the experts like Sennheiser,Sony, Bose etc


Art
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post #14 of 141
2/20/09 at 3:28pm
Artmuzz, you get 14 days to return anything to Apple. Get a refund asap if you don't like them.
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post #15 of 141
2/20/09 at 3:48pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by soozieq View Post
Artmuzz, you get 14 days to return anything to Apple. Get a refund asap if you don't like them.
Unfortunately, I bought them from Argos in UK. They only give refunds to items that haven't been open

Art
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