[Jess70]

I bought these headphones on Amazon to replace my Apple earbuds. This is my first pair of "high-quality" IEMs, and I want to love them, but I just don't. I've been using them for over a month, and they just sound so colored. There is a huge boost in the upper mids that's very annoying/harsh to me. I know what neutral sound is - I own HD600s, Shure SRH940s, and usually listen on Yamaha HS80M monitors. Since this is my first good pair of IEMs, I'm unsure...Is this as good as IEMs get? Or are they just not for me? Based on all the reviews I found online (this site, Amazon, others, etc.), I thought they would be a lot more flat. I think I honestly prefer my Apple earbuds; they're not perfect, but they sound far more neutral.

These are not great IEM's. They just shoot above their price point in many people's opinions. Just like with over-ears, IEM's are built at a variety of price points and with variable quality. There are IEM's for $1700+. While I have not heard any high end IEM's (most are custom molded), I am sure, from reading reviews, that some are quite special.

 

[Melodeath]

These are not great IEM's. They just shoot above their price point in many people's opinions. Just like with over-ears, IEM's are built at a variety of price points and with variable quality. There are IEM's for $1700+. While I have not heard any high end IEM's (most are custom molded), I am sure, from reading reviews, that some are quite special.

Thanks for the reply. Interesting point. I guess I was just too optimistic after reading all the glowing reviews. I considered Shure, but heard these were better, and they were roughly $100 cheaper IIRC. I wish I could have tried them without committing to the $90 first. I would have just bought another pair of Apple's earbuds if I had known this is how these sound. The 1MORE sound good, just not worth more than $30 IMHO, and not as neutral timbre as Apple's.

 

[Jimster480]

 
Thanks for the reply. Interesting point. I guess I was just too optimistic after reading all the glowing reviews. I considered Shure, but heard these were better, and they were roughly $100 cheaper IIRC. I wish I could have tried them without committing to the $90 first. I would have just bought another pair of Apple's earbuds if I had known this is how these sound. The 1MORE sound good, just not worth more than $30 IMHO, and not as neutral timbre as Apple's.

I really don't know where you are getting this nonsense from. Apple earbuds sound like $3 trash headphones. Neutral sounding???????? Yea I mean everything sounds as flat as a door sure, and all the sounds are mixed together in this pool of mud that apple tries to tell you is sound.
 
Honestly you can get the JVC "gummy" headphones and they sound better than Earpods and they go for $3-9 depending on the store. Panasonic RP-TCM 125's absolutely destroy Apple Earpods for $13 w/ a mic/remote.
 
I think maybe your issue is that you are using them from your iPhone which in and of itself, is a pretty horrible audio player when using the headphone out. I plugged my 1More into my iPod touch 6G and they sounded like mud, but plugged into my HTC 10 or FiiO K1 they sound awesome.

 

[Melodeath]

 
I really don't know where you are getting this nonsense from. Apple earbuds sound like $3 trash headphones. Neutral sounding???????? Yea I mean everything sounds as flat as a door sure, and all the sounds are mixed together in this pool of mud that apple tries to tell you is sound.
 
Honestly you can get the JVC "gummy" headphones and they sound better than Earpods and they go for $3-9 depending on the store. Panasonic RP-TCM 125's absolutely destroy Apple Earpods for $13 w/ a mic/remote.
 
I think maybe your issue is that you are using them from your iPhone which in and of itself, is a pretty horrible audio player when using the headphone out. I plugged my 1More into my iPod touch 6G and they sounded like mud, but plugged into my HTC 10 or FiiO K1 they sound awesome.

This is just my opinion. I am referring to Apple's re-designed earbuds. Not the original, circular ones, but the ones that have a port. The originals are indeed awful. I think the newer ones are called earpods like you said.
 
Surely the use of the iPhone's headphone port is not the cause of the high-mid/low-treble peak I'm hearing on the 1More. Yes, the 1More has much better isolation, realism, and much more present bass, but the balance in the midrange is no comparison IMHO.
 
I mix and master music freelance, and when I check my mixes on earbuds, the mids on the earpods are far closer to my higher-end headphones and monitors. My genre involves heavily distorted guitar, so changes in the mids are very apparent to me. Just my two cents
 
Again, in terms of IEMs, I've only had Apple and 1More. I spend the majority of my time on Yamaha HS80Ms and Sennheiser HD600s.
 
I hope that makes my opinion more clear

 

[Jimster480]

 
This is just my opinion. I am referring to Apples re-designed earbuds. Not the original, circular ones, but the ones that have a port. The originals are indeed awful. I think the newer ones are called earpods like you said.
 
Surely the use of the iPhones headphone port is not the cause of the high-mid/low-treble peak I'm hearing on the 1More. Yes, the 1More has much better isolation and much more present bass, but the midrange is no comparison IMHO.
 
I mix and master music freelance, and when I check my mixes on earbuds, the mids on the earpods are far closer to my higher-end headphones and monitors. My genre involves heavily distorted guitar, so changes in the mids are very apparent to me. Just my two cents
 
Again, in terms of IEMs, I've only had Apple and 1More. I spend the majority of my time on Yamaha HS80Ms and Sennheiser HD600s

The 1 more does have a dip in the mids but its not too excessive. There are graphs on the forum showing the layout.
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/1MORETripleDriver.pdf
 
Notice the mids dip.

But the truth is that the iPod really did distort the sound, if you have any actual good sources you should plug them in and see what they sound like. Because like I said the experience for me was totally different between my iPod and my HTC 10 but since I can't use my phone all day for music I bought a FiiO K1 and I use that now and it sounds great with that aswell.
 
 
https://www.amazon.com/Apple-MD827LL-EarPods-Remote-Mic/dp/B0097BEG1C
 
These are the earpods.
 
http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-7-lightning-earpods-headphones-review-2016-9
 
They do have horrible reviews overall, although they are better than the original earbuds that apple made.
 
But like I said the RP-TCM 125's really are much better for half the price.
Maybe you should pick up a pair and you will like them more, they have a flatter sound than the 1More's I can tell you that, and the iPhone/iPod can drive them just fine.

 

[Melodeath]

 
The 1 more does have a dip in the mids but its not too excessive. There are graphs on the forum showing the layout.
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/1MORETripleDriver.pdf
 
Notice the mids dip.

But the truth is that the iPod really did distort the sound, if you have any actual good sources you should plug them in and see what they sound like. Because like I said the experience for me was totally different between my iPod and my HTC 10 but since I can't use my phone all day for music I bought a FiiO K1 and I use that now and it sounds great with that aswell.
 
 
https://www.amazon.com/Apple-MD827LL-EarPods-Remote-Mic/dp/B0097BEG1C
 
These are the earpods.
 
http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-7-lightning-earpods-headphones-review-2016-9
 
They do have horrible reviews overall, although they are better than the original earbuds that apple made.
 
But like I said the RP-TCM 125's really are much better for half the price.
Maybe you should pick up a pair and you will like them more, they have a flatter sound than the 1More's I can tell you that, and the iPhone/iPod can drive them just fine.

Thanks for the suggestion, and thank you for the Innerfidelity measurements. The 15dB dip at 6kHz is insane.
 
Have you ever tried the Etymotic HF5 or VSonic GR07? I'm considering one of those instead of the 1More.

 

[Redcarmoose]

Actually the above posts make perfect sense to me. The 1Mores offer a less slightly V curve response, but still fun signature. They do offer detail but also have a character of sorts which enhances aspects of the file.

It may even be a W curve as the midrange is pronounced too, more than a normal slight V? I guess I have to look for a graph now?

I actually find super flat headphones like the Sony R-10 to be on the boring side, the original Sennheiser HD800 also on the clinical boring side, though they do so much well and become enduring after time just because they get out of the way.

I would rather have something like the 1More which somehow allows me to play all kinds of quality files and any genre I own. In comparison to earbuds is an extreme but it could be believed by some. Loved listening to soundtracks today and found they are all I need most of the time.

Best audio purchase I have made in years.



Edit:
Here is a graph that is what I hear. It's the frequency response.


Much of the issue though is going to be from folks just not getting them the power they need to shine. They are maybe a little underwhelming straight out of an old phone, but get them some power and watch them come alive.

 

[DonRadlauer]

  I bought these headphones on Amazon to replace my Apple earbuds. This is my first pair of "high-quality" IEMs, and I want to love them, but I just don't. I've been using them for over a month, and they just sound so colored. There is a huge boost in the upper mids that's very annoying/harsh to me. I know what neutral sound is - I own HD600s, Shure SRH940s, and usually listen on Yamaha HS80M monitors. Since this is my first good pair of IEMs, I'm unsure...Is this as good as IEMs get? Or are they just not for me? Based on all the reviews I found online (this site, Amazon, others, etc.), I thought they would be a lot more flat. I think I honestly prefer my Apple earbuds; they're not perfect, but they sound far more neutral.

 
There are a couple of things that could be going on here. One obvious thing to check is the fit - if you're not getting a good seal, you're going to lose a lot of bass. I found that to get a really satisfying fit with the Triples, I needed to use SpinFits rather than any of the included tips. If you're not getting a good seal, you definitely won't get good sound.
 
Another issue is that most (or all?) people have a resonance point (or more than one) that produces a perceived peak given flat input from the headphones. As noted above (see my post of 27 January), the main peak is typically somewhere between 6500 and 7200 Hz. - and you may experience peaks like this *more* with a high-quality earphone than with a lower-quality one, since the lower-quality 'phone may have a drop in output that matches the resonance point.

 

[DonRadlauer]

 
The 1 more does have a dip in the mids but its not too excessive. There are graphs on the forum showing the layout.
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/1MORETripleDriver.pdf
 
Notice the mids dip.
 

 
It's worth noting that the dip shown in that graph is at around 6500 - 7000 Hz. - right where most people have a resonance "bump" that increases the apparent volume. This dip is thus probably deliberate, since a truly flat input would create a strong and annoying perceived peak in this frequency range. (As noted above, I take this frequency down another few dB.)

 

[Jess70]

Thanks for the reply. Interesting point. I guess I was just too optimistic after reading all the glowing reviews. I considered Shure, but heard these were better, and they were roughly $100 cheaper IIRC. I wish I could have tried them without committing to the $90 first. I would have just bought another pair of Apple's earbuds if I had known this is how these sound. The 1MORE sound good, just not worth more than $30 IMHO, and not as neutral timbre as Apple's.

That being said, I like these a lot, and think they are amazing for the price. I just bought another pair for my brother.

I would make sure you have a good fit. Try a bunch of the included earbuds while listening to them. Also make sure they are burned in

While these are slightly V shaped, they blow away the new Apple earbuds in my opinion, and I also prefer a somewhat flat sound signature. (My mains are PSB- M4U2).

Try different fits, make sure your source has EQ off.

 

[Melodeath]

Thanks for the posts everyone! I'm definitely getting a good seal. Isolation is great and the bass is not lacking at all. Listening back to a sine sweep, I want to hear relatively equal amplitude across the range (barring extremes, obviously). With the 1More, I'm hearing a very large peak between 2k and 5k, and then a large dip at 7k. This must be the annoying harshness I'm hearing, as well as the part of the sound that' s "missing" to me, which I misappropriated as the mids in my opening post. Or perhaps that high-mid/low treble peak just makes the mids sound recessed.
 
Quote:

Edit:
Here is a graph that is what I hear. It's the frequency response.
 

Where did you find this graph by the way?
 
It looks like I am able to return the 1More after all. What should I look for if I'm after a flatter response? Etymotic HF5? Dunu Titan 1, Fidelio S2, VSonic GR07 all appear to have flatter responses according to graphs, but none of them have a remote/mic like the Etymotic HF3 or 1More

 

[DonRadlauer]

  Where did you find this graph by the way?
 
It looks like I am able to return the 1More after all. What should I look for if I'm after a flatter response? Etymotic HF5? Dunu Titan 1, Fidelio S2, VSonic GR07 all appear to have flatter responses according to graphs, but none of them have a remote/mic like the Etymotic HF3 or 1More

 
I'm wondering if you got an "off" pair - I also did the sine-sweep exercise, and my results were quite different from yours. What I heard was a reasonably level response, with peaks at around 4350 Hz (4.5 dB amplitude), 6700 Hz (5.5 dB), and 9200 Hz (4.0 dB). I didn't hear anything very "peaky" below around 4000 Hz, and none of the peaks I did hear were all that pronounced.
 
Just out of curiosity, are you hearing the same profile in both ears? (If there's a mechanical problem with one or more drivers, I'd expect there to be a difference.)

 

[Melodeath]

   
I'm wondering if you got an "off" pair - I also did the sine-sweep exercise, and my results were quite different from yours. What I heard was a reasonably level response, with peaks at around 4350 Hz (4.5 dB amplitude), 6700 Hz (5.5 dB), and 9200 Hz (4.0 dB). I didn't hear anything very "peaky" below around 4000 Hz, and none of the peaks I did hear were all that pronounced.
 
Just out of curiosity, are you hearing the same profile in both ears? (If there's a mechanical problem with one or more drivers, I'd expect there to be a difference.)

It's a possibility. However, I just re-did the test using one earbud at a time, and they both sounded the same. There's a HUGE peak in amplitude at 4500 to my ears, and very large dip around 7k. Everything below around 2k sounds nice and balanced. 2kHz is where it starts ramping up and getting weird

 

[DonRadlauer]

  It's a possibility. However, I just re-did the test using one earbud at a time, and they both sounded the same. There's a HUGE peak in amplitude at 4500 to my ears, and very large dip around 7k. Everything below around 2k sounds nice and balanced. 2kHz is where it starts ramping up and getting weird

 
Are you using a tool like SineGen, where you can set up comparison tones by pitch and volume? If so, I'd be interested to know how many decibels you need to take the tone down at 4500 Hz. to sound as loud as a tone at 3700 Hz. or 4000 Hz, and also in comparison to tones above the peak. As I'd mentioned, my corrections were on the order of 4.0 to 5.5 dB, which is not all that big.
 
Similarly, I'd be interested in the "size" (in dB, and perhaps in frequency range) of the 7 kHz "dip" you're experiencing.

 

[Melodeath]

   
Are you using a tool like SineGen, where you can set up comparison tones by pitch and volume? If so, I'd be interested to know how many decibels you need to take the tone down at 4500 Hz. to sound as loud as a tone at 3700 Hz. or 4000 Hz, and also in comparison to tones above the peak. As I'd mentioned, my corrections were on the order of 4.0 to 5.5 dB, which is not all that big.
 
Similarly, I'd be interested in the "size" (in dB, and perhaps in frequency range) of the 7 kHz "dip" you're experiencing.

I was just going by ear while listening to a sweep.
 
I've now downloaded SineGen, although I can replicate the experiment using a tone generator in Reaper and adjusting the faders so things sound the same volume. I would say that 4.5kHz peak is indeed about 4-6dB (I would call that a significant peak).
 
The dip around 7k seems to be as much as 12dB or more.
 
Do you have a suggestion for a flatter IEM? Should I look into the Etymotic HF5?