I updated my review of the Sony MH1 and the MH1-C (no difference sound-wise) from my
Multi-IEM Simple Bass Test Comparative Review:
_UPDATES_:
[2013/01/17]
added Black Metal music for testing sibilance; reverted negative Sony MH1/MH1-C review to favorable after testing with Black Metal; retracted recommendation of JVC HA-FX101 for Black Metal.
[2013/01/15]
rewrote everything; added Fake Sennheiser IE8, Luda SL99
[Planned update]
just bought Klipsch S4 and Creative EP-630i; will attempt to make frequency response graphs using a rudimentary set-up with RightMark Audio Analyzer
Sony MH1 ($25 from ebay)
FAILED my
simple bass test at higher volumes but passed at normal.
Bass timbre: "tuud"
Not recommended Recommended for Black Metal, not recommended for bassheads in general.
Perceived through my bass bias, the MH1 sounds balanced--and by balanced I mean it lacks bass. The bass quality is very similar to the Sennheiser's but lower in magnitude than the already bass-shy CX485. The soundstage--which I can describe as the perceived proprioception and separation of sources of sound--feels cozy. I'm not one to use a subjective adjective one sees in wine tasting reviews, but I didn't quite care about soundstage before since I sometimes use the Wide setting in Jetaudio or Crossfeed in RockBox when I felt like it until I went to head-fi and self-proclaimed audiophiles kept pointing at it. If you like that cozy sound with that hint of walnut afterthought, good for you. One extremely weird thing about the bass: just before it cracks, it echoes for a splitsecond. I don't know if the high pressure from the tight fit is causing that.
I am updating this review upon listening to Black Metal with the JVC HA-FX101. Many have reacted against my recommendation of the FX101, calling out on its sibilance problem. I have trained myself to like amplified high frequencies after getting the sibilant Sennheiser CX870, so the FX101 sounded "normal" to me. However, when I tried listening to Black Metal music after a long while--using the FX101--I felt massively violated. The grating high frequencies reminded me of the first time I tried listening to Death Metal LOL I had to exorcise the FX101 out of my ears. I don't know if, like my experience with Death Metal where I eventually learned to appreciate its harsh, Hellish environment, that I would soon get used to such noise coming out of the FX101.
And then I tried the MH1 with Black Metal. It was like the MH1 invited Satan to a book reading party and sat him the **** down to chill around a hearth on a winter's night. I never listened to Black Metal with such "warmth", so mellow and relaxing, taming the chaos of noise Black Metal aggressively flaunts its enemies. Of course it is but interesting to me. When I listen to X Japan--where the main focus is, apart from the visuals/visual hallucinations (thus "Visual Kei"), is Yoshiki's godly histrionic metal drumming--MH1 fails to satisfy a stadium full of schoolgirls screaming Yoshiki's name. The bass simply just can't be driven up to the satisfcatory level I require.
Anyway, I thought the phone compatibility was due to an extra wire so I assumed it'd worked normally when plugged in any stereo jack. It turned out that the positive, negative, and ground wires were configured differently, so you will need an adaptor for this to work on mp3 players. It works normally if you hold the middle button. I mistakenly bought the MH1 first, and, after seeing that the frequency response graph of the MH1-C looked more bass-oriented than the MH1 (as measured and compared by Rin Choi), I relented and got both. They sound exactly the same. Great fitting earbuds; fits deepest than others I’ve owned. The MH1 has a different filter over the opening than MH1-C, and it also has the Sony Ericsson logo (see picture).
Sony MH1-C ($28 from ebay)
FAILED my
simple bass test at higher volumes but passed at normal.
Bass timbre: "tuud"
Not recommended Recommended for Black Metal, not recommended for bassheads in general.
Sounds exactly the same as MH1. I actually like the cable; I think the flat cable design is currently the best solution for tangled cords. The cable might be heavier than standard but because of the wonderful fit of the earbuds it doesn’t weigh the headphones down.
