***Earbud Guide - 22 Earbuds compared*** - Page 14

Zero sibilance with my mx980, may be fit is responsible for this...

Oh really mcnoiserdc? Might be that my hearing is damaged, as for example the song "M i ?" (Orphaned Land - The Never Ending Way of ORWarriOR) are actually quite painful, MX 980 are better though than MX 880 on that track, but the sibilance sticks out like a sour toe to me, it actually distorts inside my ear and creates a ringing that's unbearable.

The reason why I posted the frequency response of CX 980 swbf2cheater is that I find it to be somewhat true, when one disregard the bass that I have to EQ up some notched to get the feel of MX 880. The MX 980 are more precise, the drum attack are that much better, but not quite there, so I'm really interested in HiFiman HM-603. Those Phillips TDA's might measure like rubbish, but I do like those DACs presenting the "feel" of music. Start and stop of the sound.. a plectrum hitting the string, maybe it's the monolithic design, maybe not.. but it will tame the sibilance of the MX 980.

The difference between MX 880 and MX 980 are to me quite a step up and yes.. definitely worth every penny, but then again some are contend with 320kbps MP3's and see no point in 500kbps AAC or Ogg. I'm not saying that I've would have been content with MX 880, but being an audiophile I had to look over the edge and it opened up a can of worms and my wallet.. well.. let's not talk about it.

Have been looking for some new earbuds.thats it, mx 980. Thanks for the write up

I have pk1/pk2. I prefer more relaxed pk2. Will compare them once receive mx980

regarding sibilance: with my OMX 980's (same as MX 980, but with earhooks).

I EQ all my headphones with a sine wave generator until, to my ears, it sounds like all the frequencies are playing at the same volume.. or close to it.

i hear very clear spikes around 5700hz and 8500hz, removing 5 and 3 db respectively.

to me they sound sibilant, however in the grand scheme of headphones i've owned, they are not nearly the worst.  Some headphones i have owned were truly intolerable without EQ, while these I certainly dont like without EQ, i could see how some people may not notice it. 

That said:

Its amazing what one WONT notice as far as a headphones imbalance goes, until you have heard them eq'd flat for a while and then gone back to no EQ.

i have owned some headphones that i put on my head and thought, well this is ok.. not so bad, then i eq'd them flat and heard a great difference... but then after a few days or weeks i went back to the stock setting and found myself truly amazed at how myself or anyone could find the stock sound appealing or even tolerable. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by fdhfdy 

I have pk1/pk2. I prefer more relaxed pk2. Will compare them once receive mx980

You might not like MX980 at first as they are less on the fun side, so be prepared to be amazed and shocked at the same time :) Before owning MX980 I really liked fun sounding earbuds and IEMs, but then those Sennheisers really showed me how much all fun side earphones lacks in sound. Fun sounding earphones tricks our minds, because their balance is tuned to make them sound like an instant enjoyment, while MX980 takes completely different aproach, more of a music refference. The more I listen to them the more disadventages I hear in fun sounding earbuds. It is very possible though to make them sound fun using proper EQ and a warm source - if that's what you like the most ;) MX980 is the ultimate earbud, nothing is even close to it. They don't even sound as earbud, they mimic a good balanced IEM, minus the isolation factor of course.

     Quote:

Originally Posted by mcnoiserdc 

Zero sibilance with my mx980, may be fit is responsible for this...

Yo,

what did you think of the CM700? I know both you and I got them from the same company.
 

Sounds like something I've nerver heard before. I do prefer somewhat warm sound but not too much. Goodboy do you recommend any liitle amps for it? Was gonna get 2stepdance before I heaerd it maybe too loud for iems/earbus.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoodBoy 

You might not like MX980 at first as they are less on the fun side, so be prepared to be amazed and shocked at the same time :) Before owning MX980 I really liked fun sounding earbuds and IEMs, but then those Sennheisers really showed me how much all fun side earphones lacks in sound. Fun sounding earphones tricks our minds, because their balance is tuned to make them sound like an instant enjoyment, while MX980 takes completely different aproach, more of a music refference. The more I listen to them the more disadventages I hear in fun sounding earbuds. It is very possible though to make them sound fun using proper EQ and a warm source - if that's what you like the most ;) MX980 is the ultimate earbud, nothing is even close to it. They don't even sound as earbud, they mimic a good balanced IEM, minus the isolation factor of course.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fdhfdy 

Sounds like something I've nerver heard before. I do prefer somewhat warm sound but not too much. Goodboy do you recommend any liitle amps for it? Was gonna get 2stepdance before I heaerd it maybe too loud for iems/earbus.
 

 

They don't need amping since they're just 16ohms, though some recommend amping to get MX980s fullest potential. You can try amping if you have weak source... I am using them with iPod touch and they absolutely don't need any amp. They sound very powerful, but neutral and analytical with touch, because it's neutral player. You gonna get warm fun sound if you plug them to a warm colored source :) In the future I plan to listen to them on my PC with modded Audiotrak Prodigy HD2 and I think they gonna sound best.

Sounds good to me for it doesn't need amping cause extra accessories will always bring the portability to a low level. Just got a ipod classic which is similar to your source．Think that will do. Will receive the mx980 on coming monday.Cant wait. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by swbf2cheater 

The Fiio e11 or a cmoy is more than enough to max out the potential of the mx980, while it doesnt NEED an amp to sound very good, it should always be used with one IMO, as the difference between amped and unamped is noticeable

I hate when you say that ... i keep telling myself i dont need to spend the money, then you come along again and dangle the"but it sounds better" carrot in my face again ...   as my wallet gently weeps...

Quote:

Originally Posted by swbf2cheater 

haha im sorry :]

 

but, its kind of odd to think a $200 set of earbuds wont need some amping.  The mx980 is known for its soundstage, so if you are using a crap mp3 player you are going to get crap soundstaging.  Your source is just as important as your amp, if it is limited or a poor quality in any way, you are just going to amp up poor quality stuff into a set of expensive earbuds :[

 

there is no love for audiophiles thats for sure heh, out of the sansa fuze it sounds better than out of an ipod, especially if its rockboxed.  But, out of the same rockboxed fuze using an LOD, it sounds noticeably nicer pumped through my Fiio E11, which 1 ups sound quality, bass quality and soundstage size over just the fuze itself.  Hell, I even use the E11 as a pre amp for my E9.  Why?  Cuz the bass experience is noticeably nicer than the fuze + LOD combo direct into the E9 lol

 

ehhhh, if only audio gear were free to us audio nerds...

well, i just snapped the clip off my clip plus, so it may be time to upgrade to a fuze/lod/amp.. but considering my JH3A is weeks away...

anywho its interesting you keep mentioning soundstage, and a wide field with the 980's.  first I agree, but secondly i often use the speaker simulating plugin for foobar called isone pro.  Its really good for making your headphones sound expand substantially.  Anywho i have used it with many different headphones, and it always makes a nice difference, but i recently tried it with my 980's and was blown away by how substantially it effected them.    Some of my headphones are effected just a bit, but these really blasted off...  I'm not surprised you say these buds are great for gaming