Panasonic CZs (HJE900) Appreciation Thread and Pending Review - Page 4

Talking of tips - by far my favourite of the moment are those that come with the Nokia WH-205 headset.. Quite deep, and rigid - sort of like Comply tips, but without the solid core...

Anyone who has a Nokia N900 will find these in the box... well worth a try imo

I recently bought the CZs, and was looking through this thread and was wondering which Meelec tips you were referring to MEElec.com - Ultimate Sound in Style! Earphones, Media Players, Mobile and Gaming Accessories, and Much More! has a bunch.

Would you be talking about the ones on this page by any chance [the pocket hard case on the page caught my eye in case the stock pouch doesn't work for me]?

Logitech

Did the biflange tips not work out to well?

So I decided to get an amp for these things and wider soundstage, better mids, and better extension as well. There may be a tiny bit of hiss when nothing is playing(i think I'm crazy). Once the music comes on nothing,

So I just got them, and listened to them for a few minutes.

Damned if they don't sound at least as good, if not better, than both of my Senns [497 & 280], at least straight out of the box [to be fair, they sound a lot like my 497s; the 280s sound a bit different].

First, the aesthetics: I had to use the big tips they came with, but it feels like they'll work okay, at least for the time being. I'm still looking into tips, though, just in case: I have yet to walk around outside or really do anything other than walking around in my apartment, though, so I won't have a true idea of how much I like its isolation or security of fit. I will say, though, that the reviews on here were spot on about these: they are a bit heavy in my ear, though not too much so [though other than standard cheapies & my sister's S4, I really have no basis of comparison], and while they're better fitting cable-up, the connectors from the cable to the bud kind of make it difficult. Plus, the cord cinch really is basically useless, and microphonics really are worse cable-down [though either way, it doesn't bother me too much yet].

Sound-wise, it seems a bit bass & mid heavy, but I'm sure with proper burn-in, the highs will come through better. Still, I definitely love the sound, and it's definitely hella fun to listen to. I hope it doesn't sound too much different after burn-in [which I generally prefer to do the natural way - through hours of my own listening, not letting it sit and play overnight]. For the record, though, I've heard they need about 50 hours of burn-in. Is that right?

A few things, though. I think that I will eventually experiment with tips; I'm sure at some point, I'll try out the Sony Hybrids, the MEElec tips Napilopez mentioned, the Comply T400s, and the UE tips. Also, I'll be on the hunt for a small hard case for these, as I'm not a big fan of the leather pouch it comes in [if I use it too much, I assume it'll wear out too fast, and also won't protect my phones well enough if I put them in my pocket]. In addition, the replaceable cables intrigue me. I know that the SA cables apparently fit fine, but I'm curious if they improve the sound any.

I have to say, I spent about as much on these as I did on my other two big 'phones combined, but it sounds like it's going to be all kinds of worth it.

As an endnote, it's funny for me. While I don't quite consider myself an audiophile, I'm well on my way there. I already want to purchase other IEMs [in particular, the Soundmagic PL-50]. Plus, most of the people around me don't understand why I've spent as much as I have on my 'phones: my dad can sort of tell the difference, as can my sister - to a lesser extent - but most others, like my roommate, don't hear any difference. That's okay, though, because my ears are rapidly getting better at dissecting sound, and these sound terrific....

I found the sound gets clearer - I seem to be using much lower volume than I did to begin with and I'm picking out as much or more detail. The soundstage really benefits from this, I think that's been the biggest change for me.

I did the initial burn in quickly, and noticed some fairly dramatic changes. The soundstage seems to have widened a bit since then, but I say get 50+ hours on them and you'll be hearing them at their best.

I did see another user post about burn in - he thought it wouldn't happen very quickly (or at all) at regular volume, and you should give it some time at louder than normal volume to get a proper burn in. Might be worth putting them on overnight a couple of times ;-)

I really love the sound on these - I'm glad you like them as well.

BTW, what volume does everyone listen to these on? I've found myself going lower and lower, and everything is still crystal clear. If I'm listening at night I'll often mute my ipod while trying to turn it down another notch! I'm considering getting an impedance adaptor (like the etymotic one) so I have a more full range of volume.

Especially seeing as I have a nuforce udac on the way, and the nuforce website mentions channel imbalance at low volumes.

Has anyone tried this? I've been looking at this, but I'm not sure what the quality would be like.

Does anyone know where to get a high quality adaptor like this?

I might give it a night or a day at a slightly louder than normal volume to jump-start the burn-in.

I did have to lower the volume more than usual with these on my Clip+.

Can people give me their opinion on the bass on these? I like impact especially from music like Daft Punk.

^ Bass is fast for a dynamic driver, with good impact and a slight emphasis on upper bass. Not quite as tight as the Hippo VB's, but not too loose either.

I haven't gotten a chance to listen to them with music featuring softly played pianos, so I can't comment on any sort of distortion with specific regards to that. There's a chance that it's happening because the HJE900s are revealing: I know part of my music collection sounds off now because of that very reason.

I finally got a chance to walk around with them on. I can only get a securely comfortable fit wearing them cord-up; it's like the housing is simply too heavy for me to wear them cord-down while walking around. Also, I'm going to have to experiment with tips: while the stock large tips are okay, it doesn't quite feel perfect. Hopefully one of the other tips [UE, Complys, or maybe Sony Hybrids] will work better....

Actually, I have a question about tip sizes. Are they all generally about the same? By that, I mean if I use the stock large tips that come with the HJE900s, should I also order the large UE tips?

^ The stock tips are smallish, the large UE tips are distinctly larger. BTW the largest Sony Hybrids are in between these two.