Philips Citiscape Downtown review – Bass!!! Oh God the Bass!!! Oh look, Mids!!! - Page 2

Reading what discombob has to say I'm thinking maybe something funky is going on with these, like variances in sound within the same model. I have always thought mine were midrange monsters and average regarding bass. But since I have expanded my stable of headphones and therefore have heard many various models, and decided that I really like solid bass impact, I have to say that these (or at least mine) are DECIDEDLY bass-light.

In fact I ended up back on this thread just now after doing a quick forum search to see if there are any mods I can do to them to bring out more bass, so if anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them 

There may have been something wrong with mine.  Even Dre Beats and other rapper endorsed cans I've heard had a less invasive bass balance and didn't drown out the rest of the frequency spectrum as much.

After EQ'ing them back closer to neutral, they sounded so-so with slightly notched out mids and adequate, but in-articulate highs (even on my solid state Nuforce Icon HD amp, known to be brighter and detailed); just no where near what I would have imagined after the Inner Fidelity endorsement.

My conclusion was that I liked my old Sony MDR-V6 more for a balanced listen at the office and sold the Downtown.

I caught a glimpse of these at the airport in the Netherlands, and I was sort of awed by them. They were next to some Beats, or perhaps another bigger brand. They looked just right, the sound was very clear and just bouncy enough, and I happened to receive a call as I was testing them and the mic/audio quality did not disappoint.

But unfortunately, these don't have any replaceable cables like my Shure's 440's (if anyone wants to make a soundstage comparison go right ahead). That might be expected for this price point, but it has me doubting. This thread was started in april, any owners want to comment on longevity? Does the cable hold up?

Cheers.

Bump on 3rd day: No one on longevity?

Chimaobi sorry I really can't comment on that or I would gladly help you. The fact is I just have not used mine more than a handful of times, and even then somewhat briefly. The reason being I tend to use IEM's when out and about and have always preferred circumaurals when at home. I will say though that there doesn't really seem to be any reason to doubt the dependability of the cable with normal use - keeping in mind that I am habitually careful with my stuff and rarely break things.

All The Best...kd

Hey guys, I've got some issues with my Downtowns and I'm wondering if I got a bad pair.

First of all, the bass is really low. Granted, my main earphones are Monster Turbine Pro Coppers, which have a lot of bass, but still... It's clear and all, but so much in the background it's hard to hear sometimes. To me these seem very mid/high centric.

Secondly, when I put the volume up (I take the subway every day so I kind of have to), they sound TERRIBLE. The highs are so shrill it hurts my ears. These are great at low volumes but at higher volumes they just fall apart.

Is this normal? Or should I exchange them for another pair?

These are also my first pair ever of on ears (my other headphones are the Sony MDR-7506 and the Meelectronics M6 and A151), so perhaps this is just common to on-ears, I have no clue.
Thanks a lot and have a nice day!

I just wanted to tell you that I read 2 reviews from your account.You have amazing and thorough reviews and it really impacted my decision on which headphones I should purchase. I originally ordered a pair of Skullcandy Hesh 2.0 headphones, but after reading your review, I canceled the order and saw this review. As soon as I read it, I ordered the Philips Citiscape Downtown's. And boy they have not dissapointed! Keep up the reviews, I love it!