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Am I crazy? Stock iBuds have a nice midrange, treble, and rendition of female vocals?

post #1 of 21
6/8/10 at 8:21pm
Thread Starter 

I believe these came with an iTouch (64GB if it matters).

 

I'm running them out of my uDac and they're surprisingly nice with the midrange, treble and have a pretty good rendition of female vocals. Yeah, the bass and drum sounds atrocious and screws it all up, and it is unresolving and lacks clarity like hell, but they're pretty damn good for free earphones. And they're actually quite good for female vocals.. it offers things my ES10s don't, in my opinion. I thought that iBuds would be completely humbling experience, but it seems to be pushing me to buy a nice headphone just for midrange & female vocals..?

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post #2 of 21
6/8/10 at 8:31pm

Try E-Q7, CK10, SM3, MTP Copper, FX700 and UM3x.........

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post #3 of 21
6/10/10 at 7:47pm
Thread Starter 

I still have to stick with my opinion that the iBud's midrange is far from bad. As long as a song stays away from the extremes of lows and highs, the iBuds can do just fine. No cymbals, drums, percussion and they can do a good job for pop that has excellent vocalists.

Any other recommendations?

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post #4 of 21
6/10/10 at 10:21pm

I agree that the 2nd generation iBud isn't that bad consider you get them for free most of the time with iPod/iPhona/etc. It is a tuned variation of Sennheiser MX500 IIRC (same OEM).

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post #5 of 21
6/10/10 at 10:36pm

What it looks like? Second generation Ibud

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post #6 of 21
6/10/10 at 10:47pm

It looks just like the old one, but comes from a different OEM Check the picture below. I can't recall when they make the change, probably around 5/5.5th gen.


Edited by ClieOS - 6/11/10 at 4:36am
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post #7 of 21
6/10/10 at 11:03pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ClieOS View Post

It looks just like the old one, but comes from a different OEM. I can't recall when they make the change, probably around 5/5.5th gen.


Not sure if the old one had a volume control? I never owned an iPod, so I don't know. (Borrowing these from a friend. Well, he basically gave them to me cause he can't stand them and they've never been used).

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post #8 of 21
6/10/10 at 11:15pm

No, the volume control version comes after iPhone 3G, IIRC.

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post #9 of 21
6/10/10 at 11:33pm

Well, the Apple iPod and the stock iBuds are mid-oriented and always have been so no surprise about the midrange.

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post #10 of 21
6/11/10 at 1:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by gameboy115 View Post

What it looks like? Second generation Ibud



first gen on the left, second gen on the right:

 

IPod_Earbuds.JPG

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post #11 of 21
6/11/10 at 3:56pm

I have a deceased pair of the latest iteration of iPod phones next to me right now, came with my dad's new iPhone. I listened to them for a bit out of curiosity and as far as I can tell they've come some way since the earlier ones, but they still sound pretty horrible. Some bits worked well and the treble was pretty clear.

 

There are a few main problems though - the first is fit. It's quite hard to get them to sit in your ears properly to get the best sound - too far and the muddy bass drowns out everything and put them in loose and there's no bass at all. The difficulty then is that they're uncomfortable and fall out easily. Another problem is isolation; when you're paying a premium for a portable music player you might at least want some buds that block some ambient noise and don't make everyone else on the bus listen to your music.

 

Apart from that, they're just wonderful. And cost $30/£22.50.

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post #12 of 21
6/11/10 at 4:23pm

Try some Klipsch X5.

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post #13 of 21
6/11/10 at 4:43pm

Well That's GREAT NEWS for You!.........Really!  Now you can spend your money on other "THINGS"!!!!!   Enjoy them, My sons freebies are not my cup of tea!

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post #14 of 21
6/11/10 at 4:58pm

Yes to the first question, No to the second... I wouldn't call them nice, maybe tolerably horrid, but not nice (especially if you are listening to them from a touch) I think it is more that your S9 makes them sound slightly more bearable than usual.

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post #15 of 21
6/11/10 at 5:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by chinesekiwi View Post

Well, the Apple iPod and the stock iBuds are mid-oriented and always have been so no surprise about the midrange.


Anyone got a FR graph for iBuds? 

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Westone UM3X / 3X - True Triple Armature Drivers In-ear Monitor Professional Earphone
Monster Turbine Pro Copper In-Ear Headphones
Powered by NexTag
Monster Turbine Pro Copper In-Ear Headphones with ControlTalk
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Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Portable Headphones, Earphones and In-Ear Monitors › Am I crazy? Stock iBuds have a nice midrange, treble, and rendition of female vocals?