[james444]

FYI: received a fresh package of PL30s from mp4nation today, that I had ordered for a college's son. Ordered 2009-07-13, shipped 2009-07-16, arrived 2009-07-28. So it's currently about 2 weeks from mp4nation. Just in case...

 

[Belabor]

In the current situation, it is best for me to be prepared for everything.
Thank you, sir!

 

[AnAnalogSpirit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Belabor /img/forum/go_quote.gif I would like to say: ''FX500 it is then'', but I always seem to get back at my word when I say that. I would really appreciate your help with this. FX500 for Rock, Electronic, Drum and Bass, or should I look at different IEM's? Is the short cable really a nuisance, or is it not that bad? Will I need a FiiO E5, or is that the best way to throw away my money? Any information would really be of help, because I'm really terrible at making up my mind. But I guess that's the risk of joining forums like this one.

Well, I am totally in love with my Victor HP-FX500's and there ain't a sound like it out there. I'm not a card carrying basshead, I'm a semi-reformed speaker whore who had the novel experience at a party of sitting inside a carpeted bass cabinet for 3 hours and taking a nap. So the affinity for GOOD strong bass runs strong with me.

That said, I like bass to be resonant, emotional, impactful, tell a story if possible, and be smoothe and welcoming aside from simply impactful. The HP-FX500 delivers this. I like them "nude" or unamped, but really enjoy them amped, with at LEAST a FiiO E3 if there's nothin else available, an E5 if you've got it, and everyone should have at least ONE in their portable grab bag, and better yet, an iBasso T4, unless you wanna get crazy like I do and use the T4 as a preamp for an E5... I just happen to like that "sound combo"

Nowadays i have my iriver iHP-120 and an iBasso D10 Cobra running optical tag team with gapless FLAC so I feel really really spoiled, and sometimes for those DJ mixes I can't get anywhere but DJDownload.com it's 320kbps MP3...

But these are worth every penny, and you'll be surprised at how well the high notes play, and how well the midrange "grows" into them after burn-in.

Well that's my couple of cents and honest opinion.

At this point I only listen to other 'phones to keep my listening sharp, keep from getting bored, and to assuage my audio ADD fixation. I always feel like I'm coming "HOME" tho when I pop the Victor HP-FX500s in my ears.

BTW, I like the Large SONY Hybrid Silicone Tips, with the filters removed, or with the FLACvest mod which you can read about on my blog. I've been reading about some KOSS tips and probably will try them out. the V-Moda BLISS tips in large are nice too, but not as Bass and treble forward as the SONY Hybrid Silicone Tips. I was actually disappointed in the bass of the HP-FX500 before listening with the SONY tips... go figure.

 

[Belabor]

You seem to be pretty darn happy with your FX500. I was very close to buying them, but I think I'm going to take it easy for now. I have the Canyon CNR-EP1 here right now and I'm learning to adjust having something stuck in my ear. Although I don't like the sound of these on flat EQ at all, it's my first IEM, and I'm getting to learn now what I like and what I don't like about IEM's.

These will have to do for the next few days and if they don't make the cut, I will try to return these and look for an upgrade, for instance the SoundMAGIC PL30. I think it's best for me to find out what kind of sound signature I like first by buying some cheap IEM's, and once I know what sound I like, I will start looking at Mid- to High-end IEM's.

 

[Belabor]

Impressions day number two.

More bad news for the Canyon's unfortunately. I managed to get a pretty good sound out of them now with the Custom EQ, but it comes at the cost of sibilance. The settings are, brace yourself, [4, -1, 5, 12, 6]. Yes, 12. There's nothing wrong with your eyes and I didn't make a mistake.

Sound: The volume is higher now, especially the mids sound WAY more forward. Just about the signature I like. But sibilance is pretty bad, not only vocals have 'rough edges' but this is also true for drums and guitars. I might want to tone the last setting down a little bit later, but that will mean volume will go down as well.

Fit: I've been walking and cycling with these today, and I've come to the conclusion that the fit (with the supplied M-tip and borrowed L-tip) is not good. The M-size tends to fall out of my ears and the L-size is just too big. The M-size has the best bass, probably because it's stiffer and the opening is slightly smaller. The borrowed L-size is definitely a downgrade in sound quality vs the M-size in all aspects, and it could be that it's on par with my Sansa earbuds (!). My Custom EQ settings with the M-tips were also way lower.

Comfort: Seems to be pretty good, my ears don't hurt or anything, so I won't complain about that aspect.

Wind noise: I deliver the mail in my village as a holiday job. I use my granny's bike for it because it's easier to get on and off and because it doesn't has handbrakes. I broke the right handbrake on my own bike two weeks ago.

Okay, back to wind noise. As I expected with these large plastic IEM's, wind noise is even worse than my earbuds. And because they really won't stay in my ears properly when I walk or go cycling, the noise is even worse. So, definitely a downside of these IEM's.

Verdict: I think I'm going to have to go for something more high-end after all. I really don't consider these to be an upgrade over my stock earbuds in practicality. After some more listening I do have to admit the IEM's are an upgrade in SQ, but only by a small margin. Bass is stronger and I do think they offer more detail. But the mids don't seem to be very different. I might even enjoy the mids on my earbuds more, because guitars and vocals sound better on them.

I'm giving these one more day and I will be doing some side by side comparisons. But I think I'm going to buy something like the PL30 later on this week if these don't change over the next 2 hours of listening.

 

[Belabor]

Well, I'm not going to wait for tomorrow. I think that these are not going to benefit any more from burn-in. I've had about 6 or 7 hours on them, and I still don't really think they are an upgrade over the stock earbuds.

Since I've had some experience with IEM's now, I know what I want for a real upgrade.

- Good isolation
- Great fit, I don't want them too fall out
- Resistant to wind noise (to some extent of course)
- Good comfort
- Sound signature that suits mainly Rock, Electronic and Drum and Bass. I like the overall sound to be forward, but I don't want excessive amounts of bass. I'm not a bass-head.
- All of this at a budget price

My first choice now is the SoundMAGIC PL30, but I'm worried about the suppliers (Focalprice, MP4 Nation) who have a pretty bad reputation for shipping. I also want to know if I can wear them over the ear while wearing glasses. I hope you guys can help me out with this (again

)

P.S. See my impressions on my current IEM's in the post above. Maybe those will help.

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Belabor /img/forum/go_quote.gif Since I've had some experience with IEM's now, I know what I want for a real upgrade. - Good isolation - Great fit, I don't want them too fall out - Resistant to wind noise (to some extent of course) - Good comfort - Sound signature that suits mainly Rock, Electronic and Drum and Bass. I like the overall sound to be forward, but I don't want excessive amounts of bass. I'm not a bass-head. - All of this at a budget price My first choice now is the SoundMAGIC PL30, but I'm worried about the suppliers (Focalprice, MP4 Nation) who have a pretty bad reputation for shipping. I also want to know if I can wear them over the ear while wearing glasses. I hope you guys can help me out with this (again )

I sometimes wear glasses, and I can wear over-the-ear 'phones just fine. The thick cable guides that come with the PL30s might not work too well with glasses, but if you wear your glasses over the earphone cord you really don't need them

As for wind noise, I haven't noticed any on the PL30's. That definitely eliminates the RE0s though, as they are quite susceptible.

 

[Belabor]

That is definitely some very helpful information. I do like the current price on the RE0, but I want to use my IEM's while walking and cycling. It is a big turndown if they suffer from wind noise too much.

Got to remember 'susceptible', might use it in the future to impress my teachers.

One more question. Could you say that these sound good on flat EQ from a Fuze/Clip? I've heard so many bad things about the Fuze's/Clips EQ, so I'd rather keep it off if I can.

 

[Belabor]

Wow, I totally forgot about the Beta Brainwavz. I should get those instead. I want my first good set of IEM's to last, and the PL30 doesn't seem to last very long. And the Brainwavz are only 10 euros more expensive, but they come with a Fiio E5. They are probably not that big on bass, but the PL30's shouldn't be either. I think this is the way to go, unless I can get a really good deal on IM-590's or something.

EDIT: Hmm, looks like they haven't even started shipping the pre-orders on there. Raz did say they would start shipping from today, so it might not be such a bad idea to order tomorrow.