Demo headphones at your airport! And a quick review of what I tried =)
Jun 14, 2011 at 3:51 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 5

nextmick

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I do a lot of traveling for my job, and walking to my gate one day I see a headphone stand.  So I stop and look and *Gasp!*  They have some pretty nice stuff!  Shure 535, Monster Turbine Copper, Sennheiser IE8, and more... I was floored.  I start talking to the guy and he goes "Do you want to try any of them out?  I have them all on demo."  WOULD I EVER!!! =D
 
After playing with guy for like 30 minutes I had to go, but he said something very interesting.
 
"Yeah, InMotion Entertainment is the leading seller of headphones in airports around the country."  I did a little snooping around and found that they're all over the bloody place.
 
Here is a link to all of their locations around the United States.
 
http://www.inmotionstores.com/locations.html
 
The guy was SUUUUUPER nice.  When he heard that I had the UE TF10's he said "Hey, I haven't been able to get those yet, would you mind if I tried them?"  So we traded and I listened to his headphones while he listened to mine. When I had to go to my flight we simply thanked each other and went about our day.  Awesome.
 
I thought I would share with you guys since it can be very scary spending several hundred dollars on a set of headphones and going off only of other people's reviews online.  I believe that all locations will let you demo their stuff, so  Get to your nearest airport and try before you buy! =D
 
 
 
 
 
And because I know everybody is going to ask, here are just my 2 second impressions of everything I listened to.
 
Songs used: And no, I didn't listen to the whole song each time.  I didn't have that kind of time.  (Some of the videos are LQ on youtube.  I have them in HQ on my phone)
Deadmau5 - 8 Bit    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCkwb_rOg7M
Norah Jones - I don't know why   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO4dxvguQDk
Shakira - No Creo (MTV Unplugged)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUTkGcLFC5k
Jack Johnson - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ffgsf3pqaD8
 
Source: HTC Incredible.  No Amp.
 
 
Impressions:  *Note, I used Foam Tips for the Shures and UE's, and Silicone for the Monsters and Sennheisers*
 
Shure 535: A-MAZE-ING mids.  Seemed like they stood out a little above everything else, like they're slightly ^ shaped.  Everything seemed a little less sparkly than what I was used to with my TF10's.  The bass was strong and definitely there. It didn't seemed muddled, but soft with the hit.  The highs didn't hurt my ears at all... which is something that I personally often have a problem with.  Maybe it was because they seemed slightly recessed on purpose.
 
Monster Turbine Copper: I thought that these were kinda weird.  You guys are probably going to shoot me for saying this, but it seemed like just a decent pair of single driver headphones.  Maybe its because I'm used to my TF10's where everything is very separated, but there seemed to be a lot of blurring.  The sound was good for what it was, but nothing really stood out to me except that it sounded like they would be a good choice for rock music.  *Shrug*  Crucify me later.
 
Sennheiser IE8:  Dark.  Very, very dark.  The bass was good, but the mids and highs seemed to be almost stickers just attached to the side of a subwoofer.  It sounded like the "Full bass" setting on my computer.  I'm sure some people will love it, just not for me.
 
UE TF10:  I own these and have several hundred hours in them, so I know exactly what these sound like.  Yes, they're slightly V shaped, but not as badly as I once thought.  After going back to them after listening to the others I love them even more.  The bass, while not as robust as the Sennheisers, seems to hit WAY harder.  Like a punch in the face.  The mids are still nice and clear.  The highs just sparkle.  One thing I have noticed with the TF10's is that they sound better louder.  The louder they are, the clearer and better they sound.  I think that the V shaped sound comes not because the mids are recessed, but because the highs and lows are slightly stronger.  There's a big difference between something being recessed and other parts being raised in my opinion.
 
So there you have it.  My first review and a quick one at that.  Don't criticize too harshly please. =)  I think I might just happen to show up to the airport like 6 hours early next time I have to go just to play for a good while.
 
 
 
 
 
Jun 14, 2011 at 4:02 PM Post #2 of 5
Thanks, that's great information. Too bad I wasn't aware of this when I was on-the-hunt. Still, I'll have to check it out next time I take a trip to the local airport.
 
Jun 14, 2011 at 6:57 PM Post #3 of 5
Hey, thanks for the information. I work at the airport in Atlanta. I just went up stairs and found two locations on the concourse that I work on. I pass by these places all the time, I never knew that they started carrying higher end IEM.
I bought the Westone 4's a couple of weeks ago. Now is my chance to demo others out there and compair, and at the same time getting paid for it. "LG"!
 
David
 

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