[1clearhead]

  Let's wait for 1clearhead's more elaborate review of the Liberty IS-1 to see if his head was clear of what he was comparing the IS-1 to 

I'll do my best to do more comparisons this week. But, the best review will come from 'Joker'. I sent one out this week for him.
 
What's so funny was, I wasn't their to compare headphones, but to just listen to my Liberty 1's through a good high-end headphone amp. This was the weirdest experience I had, by far with an IEM.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Can we just stop with the burn-in nonsense? It's not real, and it's just turning into a quick excuse for when someone didn't like a given headphone. Companies would have to be friggin' idiots to ship products that require 50+ hours before they sound good.
 
Also, I can't even explain how comically skeptical I am of a cheap eBay headphone ranking up with a flagship. It's not that I necessarily buy into the HD800 being "The Headphone" so much as I know well the upward slope of headphone quality and have made a rather consistent "X is better than Y is better than Z" hop along the spectrum, so the idea of some cheap eBay buds trumping a top-end strikes me as a case of, sad to say, a very indiscriminate ear that would have been best served not spending so much.

 

[1clearhead]

  Let me repeat one of my post: "..... thought of Mr. Ivor Tiefenbrun (legendary Linn Products Ltd) about the "front end": ".... Tiefenbrun also battled the thinking, since Edgar Villchur, that the loudspeakers were the most important, instead asserting primacy of "the front end", saying that the quality of sound of the source was key. ... " (Wikipedia) - and hundreds of articles from the past till today. Ok, not loudspeakers but IEMs (little loudspeakers....! ) ..."

Wow! Interesting quote.

 

[nehcrow]

  Can we just stop with the burn-in nonsense? It's not real, and it's just turning into a quick excuse for when someone didn't like a given headphone. Companies would have to be friggin' idiots to ship products that require 50+ hours before they sound good.
 
Also, I can't even explain how comically skeptical I am of a cheap eBay headphone ranking up with a flagship. It's not that I necessarily buy into the HD800 being "The Headphone" so much as I know well the upward slope of headphone quality and have made a rather consistent "X is better than Y is better than Z" hop along the spectrum, so the idea of some cheap eBay buds trumping a top-end strikes me as a case of, sad to say, a very indiscriminate ear that would have been best served not spending so much.

+1000000
Summed up my thoughts nicely

 

[H20Fidelity]

Considering I'd already spent far too much money tonight I'm going to test 1clearhead's theory for everyone.

. Another $10 wasn't going to break me.



I'll be highly disappointed if they don't impress me to HD800 levels...... 
 

 

[1clearhead]

  Can we just stop with the burn-in nonsense? It's not real, and it's just turning into a quick excuse for when someone didn't like a given headphone. Companies would have to be friggin' idiots to ship products that require 50+ hours before they sound good.
 
Also, I can't even explain how comically skeptical I am of a cheap eBay headphone ranking up with a flagship. It's not that I necessarily buy into the HD800 being "The Headphone" so much as I know well the upward slope of headphone quality and have made a rather consistent "X is better than Y is better than Z" hop along the spectrum, so the idea of some cheap eBay buds trumping a top-end strikes me as a case of, sad to say, a very indiscriminate ear that would have been best served not spending so much.

The funny thing was that the Chinese store owner told me that Chinese companies that try to make a big splash here in China just wants to make enough money to broaden' there field. He told me that there pick of resources don't really matter to make the item, just as long as the item sells. So, in other words if the diaphragm used is of expensive material or cheap material doesn't make a difference in cost for them. He just wants to sell, sell, sell, while starting at a low selling price.
 
So, if the diaphragm this company picked is of value, then let's just take advantage and enjoy it for the time being.
 
Remember, a lot of the headphones materials are made in China.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

I think it's as good a time as any to repeat that ears are subjective things and music is a personal experience. No matter what the technical specifications say, you're not OBLIGATED to think any product is better than any other. It may be a little unsavory that a headphone made from countless man hours and resources doesn't sound as good to you as one that was knocked out of a Chinese factory over the weekend, but no one can MAKE you hear something you don't. If somehow the stars aligned so you just enjoy the bargain bin earphones best, well, so it goes.
 
To play devil's advocate with myself though, I think it's also worth pointing out that we, as generally self-proclaimed audiophiles (whatever that term may mean) may often want people to hear the difference because there is so much more in higher end headphones than the cheaper ones simply cannot replicate. I'm sure for some it's a sense of validation or superiority, but I really want people to be able to experience superior sound and hear their music in a way they couldn't before. If someone tells me the earbuds they picked out of a cardboard box at Staples sound better than anything they've ever heard, it bums me out because it means they're just not hearing everything that makes the best, the best.
 
Or maybe somehow some random company managed to turn a $10 earbud out that outperforms a $1400 full-size. Who knows.

 

[1clearhead]

  Considering I'd already spent far too much money tonight I'm going to test 1clearhead's theory for everyone.

. Another $10 wasn't going to break me.



I'll be highly disappointed if they don't impress me to HD800 levels...... 
 

Don't assume I'm talking by volume and power. I'm actually stating the vivid clarity in comparison. Don't want to overwhelm the little diaphragms with too much power.
 
-Hope it works for you.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

  The funny thing was that the Chinese store owner told me that Chinese companies that try to make a big splash here in China just wants to make enough money to broaden' there field. He told me that there pick of resources don't really matter to make the item, just as long as the item sells. So, in other words if the diaphragm used is of expensive material or cheap material doesn't make a difference in cost for them. He just wants to sell, sell, sell, while starting at a low selling price.
 
So, if the diaphragm this company picked is of value, then let's just take advantage and enjoy it for the time being.
 
Remember, a lot of the headphones materials are made in China.

 
Admittedly I didn't hear what the dude actually said, but those two statements don't follow. It sounds to me like he meant they don't give a damn what the materials are as long as they're cheap and can be put in a low-cost package. I heavily, heavily doubt that in China random merchants are getting their hands on premium materials at the same cost as the chaff, and that they'd be dumb enough to stick expensive stuff in a cheap package and sell it for less than they could. 
 
My wheelings and dealings with "economy" companies have told me that what matters most to them is the bottom line. The resources don't matter because they just care about making as much as they can on the cheap. That doesn't mean that sometimes they happen to be working with premium quality components just by accident. It means you'll be lucky if your headphones aren't made out of printer paper. 

 

[HeadHoncho]

  Trust me I hesitated to write about this experience today. This is my reputation I'm throwing out their. I don't joke around with what I hear.
 
.....I was enjoying classical music through the HD800 at lunch time at a local headphone shop and figured, hey? Why don't I try my Liberty 1's on this high-end AMP to see how good they sound, amped-up! Never in the world did I think they would give the HD800 competition from my perspective. That was not my intention. But, I was actually starting to enjoy the Liberty 1's more! The violins and other instruments playing sounded more realistic to me. It actually sounded more vivid and precise. I don't want to elaborate anymore. This is just my opinion. I hope others in this forum receives theirs to give there second opinion. To me, I just didn't realize they were that good.
 
Please, who ever gets them first, burn them in for at least 50 hours or more and get back with us. I don't want to feel like I'm the only odd-ball here.
 
It could get very lonely with no support.

 
Hahahaha, I'v already ordered them on eBay... That same link which was posted here some posts back... Have 3 sets coming now, VSD3, VSD3S and now the IS-1.
 
BUT, I do not have an amp, reading your posts, i'm beginning to think I probably won't get that good a result un amped... should've thought about that before ordering I think :-/
 
Also, any one here from India? How long does it take for customs clearance? My VSD3S is stuck at Mumbai customs since Thursday...

 

[1clearhead]

   
Admittedly I didn't hear what the dude actually said, but those two statements don't follow. It sounds to me like he meant they don't give a damn what the materials are as long as they're cheap and can be put in a low-cost package. I heavily, heavily doubt that in China random merchants are getting their hands on premium materials at the same cost as the chaff, and that they'd be dumb enough to stick expensive stuff in a cheap package and sell it for less than they could.
 
My wheelings and dealings with "economy" companies have told me that what matters most to them is the bottom line. The resources don't matter because they just care about making as much as they can on the cheap. That doesn't mean that sometimes they happen to be working with premium quality components just by accident. It means you'll be lucky if your headphones aren't made out of printer paper.

Sorry if you didn't understand "dude", but Chinese companies can get expensive materials for less and sell it for what ever price they decide on here in China. And if they have the patents for it, whether legit, or not, and can sell there product to gain popularity and start selling overseas? Well? For them, it was all fair game.
 
So, if the diaphragm being used in the housing is of high quality? Just enjoy it for what it is.

 

[1clearhead]

  Can we just stop with the burn-in nonsense? It's not real, and it's just turning into a quick excuse for when someone didn't like a given headphone. Companies would have to be friggin' idiots to ship products that require 50+ hours before they sound good.
 
Also, I can't even explain how comically skeptical I am of a cheap eBay headphone ranking up with a flagship. It's not that I necessarily buy into the HD800 being "The Headphone" so much as I know well the upward slope of headphone quality and have made a rather consistent "X is better than Y is better than Z" hop along the spectrum, so the idea of some cheap eBay buds trumping a top-end strikes me as a case of, sad to say, a very indiscriminate ear that would have been best served not spending so much.

I hate to disappoint you "dude", but most headphones and IEM's do need burning time according to the manufacturer. Especially, the more expensive models. So, I assume you never bought headphones stating any of this process? Most diaphragms need a burn-in time because the inner voice coil needs a break-in period to even out the actual sound is going to produce.
 
I hope this gives you some idea why most of us do believe and listen to the manufacturers instruction for this process.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

  I hate to disappoint you "dude", but most headphones and IEM's do need burning time according to the manufacturer. Especially, the more expensive models. So, I assume you never bought headphones stating any of this process? Most diaphragms need a burn-in time because the inner voice coil needs a break-in period to even out the actual sound is going to produce.
 
I hope this gives you some idea why most of us do believe and listen to the manufacturers instruction for this process.

 
LOL sure. 
 
http://blog.shure.com/shure-notes/inside-headphones-with-yuri-shulman-shure-engineer/
 

Yuri Shulman This is more myth than fact.  Some people make the argument that the driver’s suspension could be a little unsettled when the headphones are brand new.

At Shure we don’t subscribe to that thinking – again, what could be true for some loudspeakers (where there can be a 100-hour or so burn-in period) doesn’t directly apply here.  It’s a matter of perception.  Shure headphones sound the same a year after using them as they did brand new.

 
But no, I'm sure you know a lot more about headphones than him. 
 
Wait, that's just one guy. What about... http://eu.audio-technica.com/en/support/questions/question.asp?id=239
 

Headphones do not require ‘burning’ in, however over a period of time the sound of headphones naturally change by a very small margin. 

To make these slight changes happen sooner you can play music through your headphones for 50+ hours at normal listening levels. This ‘burning in’ process can have the following effects:

1. A smoother frequency extension in the bass and treble
2. Better instrument separation
3. A more open sound stage

Remember these changes are very slight and would happen naturally in time without ‘burning in’ your headphones. 

 
Hm. I'm confused...

 

[Francisk]

  I'll do my best to do more comparisons this week. But, the best review will come from 'Joker'. I sent one out this week for him.
 
What's so funny was, I wasn't their to compare headphones, but to just listen to my Liberty 1's through a good high-end headphone amp. This was the weirdest experience I had, by far with an IEM.

Yes 1clearhead, you just caught my attention with a $10 IEM sounding better than a $1400 so I jumped on your hype train and just ordered the Ivery IS-1. Heck, what have I got to lose 

 

[peter123]

@HeadHoncho

My VSD3s are stucked in my ears since this morning