Multi-IEM Review - 352 IEMs compared (Pump Audio Earphones added 04/03/16 p. 1106) | Page 883 | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org

westinlennox · Mar 14, 2014 at 4:22 PM

Hey all, I have been searching the web (and Head-Fi) for days, and cannot seem to find an answer to my question. I was hoping someone here may be able to help. I am no basshead, but I am looking into getting a pair of Etymotic HF-5s, and wanted to know how their bass response compared to that of a Grado can? I know it is an apples-to-oranges question, as one is a set of IEMs and the other a full-sized headphone, but I would appreciate any help! I have a set of SR225s that i love, and if the HF-5 can come close to even that level of bass, I will be happy.

Thanks in advance!

lesslikeme · Mar 14, 2014 at 11:52 PM

westinlennox said:
Hey all, I have been searching the web (and Head-Fi) for days, and cannot seem to find an answer to my question. I was hoping someone here may be able to help. I am no basshead, but I am looking into getting a pair of Etymotic HF-5s, and wanted to know how their bass response compared to that of a Grado can? I know it is an apples-to-oranges question, as one is a set of IEMs and the other a full-sized headphone, but I would appreciate any help! I have a set of SR225s that i love, and if the HF-5 can come close to even that level of bass, I will be happy.

Thanks in advance!

Take with a grain of salt - I find that SR80i have slightly more mid-bass punch and Ety have bit more low-bass presence (looking at the Golden Ears measurments it shouldn't be the case really, but I'll pick HF5 over any day for something like this https://soundcloud.com/deorro/deorro-dechorro-original-mix)
They are quite the same in terms of the low end, both lacking authority for certain genres

Amitl · Mar 15, 2014 at 4:59 AM

higbvuyb said:
Drivers only accept analog input, so somewhere along the chain, you need to convert it back to analog.

If the earphones accepted a digital input, they'd require a Digital to Analog Converter (DAC) plus an amplifier built into the earphones. They would require a power input (to power the DAC and amp). That would add a lot to the bulk and expense of earphones.

An earphone cable is not very long as cables go. So the potential for signal degradation is very low.

Thank you!!

Amitl · Mar 15, 2014 at 5:02 AM

has anyone here heard about the "Pono" thing going on?
lots of fuss for it being an mp3 player that plays hi-res files (even though it's nothing new)
i was wondering, my Samsung galaxy 1 plays 96khz/24bit flac files without any problem,
does it mean i already have a hi-res player?

perhaps it can play the file but doesnt deliver the full sound range?

higbvuyb · Mar 15, 2014 at 5:18 AM

amitl said:
has anyone here heard about the "Pono" thing going on?
lots of fuss for it being an mp3 player that plays hi-res files (even though it's nothing new)
i was wondering, my Samsung galaxy 1 plays 96khz/24bit flac files without any problem,
does it mean i already have a hi-res player?
perhaps it can play the file but doesnt deliver the full sound range?

The DAC in the phone probably doesn't work at 96/24. It's probably limited to something like 44.1/16. However, unless you are a bat, you won't hear a difference.

suman134 · Mar 15, 2014 at 10:59 AM

joker , would you rate xba-1 close to vsd1/s , how much will you give it for sound quality .

NIVEBL · Mar 15, 2014 at 1:17 PM

ljokerl said:
I haven't tried it.

will you try it?

ljokerl · Mar 15, 2014 at 3:04 PM

westinlennox said:
Hey all, I have been searching the web (and Head-Fi) for days, and cannot seem to find an answer to my question. I was hoping someone here may be able to help. I am no basshead, but I am looking into getting a pair of Etymotic HF-5s, and wanted to know how their bass response compared to that of a Grado can? I know it is an apples-to-oranges question, as one is a set of IEMs and the other a full-sized headphone, but I would appreciate any help! I have a set of SR225s that i love, and if the HF-5 can come close to even that level of bass, I will be happy.

Thanks in advance!

The 40+ mm drivers in the Grados can move a whole lot more air so it will have an advantage in visceral "impact" even if on paper they are evenly matched in bass quantity. Only way to know for sure whether flat bass from an IEM will do it for you is to try one.

suman134 said:
joker , would you rate xba-1 close to vsd1/s , how much will you give it for sound quality .

I really didn't spend enough time with it to say.

nivebl said:
will you try it?

I doubt it.

james444 · Mar 15, 2014 at 4:58 PM

ljokerl said:
Posted a short introduction to Bluetooth audio technology here: http://theheadphonelist.com/wireless-fidelity-making-sense-bluetooth-headphone-technology/

I tried doing a bit of research on Bluetooth headphones last week and couldn't find what I needed in one place. I spent a few days piecing it all together from various sources and eventually decided to pool all the info in what I hope is a digestible format. Perhaps it will help those who are as clueless as I was get up to speed on the technologies, challenges, and limitations of Bluetooth audio

Great informative writeup, thanks! Hope that Sead Smailagic took the opportunity to send you a Sony SBH80.

Amitl · Mar 16, 2014 at 3:40 AM

higbvuyb said:
The DAC in the phone probably doesn't work at 96/24. It's probably limited to something like 44.1/16. However, unless you are a bat, you won't hear a difference.

Thanks for commenting

goodvibes · Mar 16, 2014 at 4:11 AM

ljokerl said:
That works for me to but not really better than the singles. I think the nozzle ending being so near the outlet of the bi-flanges doesn't work well with my ear canals. Maybe I'm trying to insert them too far..

Mine must be longer. I definitely agree about having some tip beyond the opening. Didn't like the tips that ended near the outlet either.

ljokerl · Mar 16, 2014 at 4:45 PM

james444 said:
Great informative writeup, thanks! Hope that Sead Smailagic took the opportunity to send you a Sony SBH80.

Thanks

Indeed he did: http://theheadphonelist.com/sony-sbh80-review-mh1c-goes-wireless/

goodvibes said:
Mine must be longer. I definitely agree about having some tip beyond the opening. Didn't like the tips that ended near the outlet either.

In playing with the nozzles I managed to rip one off :/ . A dab of superglue and its back to normal.

james444 · Mar 16, 2014 at 6:54 PM

ljokerl said:
Thanks

Indeed he did: http://theheadphonelist.com/sony-sbh80-review-mh1c-goes-wireless/

Awesome! Having only used the SBH80 myself for a few days, I'm honestly impressed. Everything about it seems very well thought out. Except maybe for the travel case, that is.

Oh, and I had to smile about this one:

More generally, I’m convinced that wireless is the future of portable audio ...

james444 said:
Mark my words, the future of portable audio is wireless.

ljokerl · Mar 17, 2014 at 3:25 AM

james444 said:
Awesome! Having only used the SBH80 myself for a few days, I'm honestly impressed. Everything about it seems very well thought out. Except maybe for the travel case, that is.

Oh, and I had to smile about this one:

Nice foresight there

. I realize now that my first Bluetooth set, the Sennheiser MM400, was a little early and the state of the technology back then resulted in a headphone that just couldn't justify its price. Things have definitely changed, especially on the pricing side.

HeadHoncho · Mar 17, 2014 at 5:03 PM

ljokerl said:
The Wooduo2 is something that's really only suitable for bassheads. The GR02 is bassier than the VSD1 by a margin, but the VSD1 is not lacking in bass compared to a flat/neutral sound. I quite like it.

Is that $20 for a bulk-package MH1C? If so that's not too far off what the US prices were before they got very popular. It's a darker, warmer sound compared to the VSD1, for example, but hard not to recommend at this price even with the crap cable.

PS you might also want to try a Philips SHE3580 or SHE3590 - they're very inexpensive and close to the GR02BE in sound quality.

Will it make sense to get both the MH1C and the VSD1?

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