[Rocksteady]

I had kramer moded marshmallows and didn't like them. I had problems with their fit, microphonics and fatiguing sound sig. I swore off earphones for quite a while. Then I came across some 9 dollar 2xls that changed my attitude toward earphones. Compared to the marshmallows, I thought they were more comfortable and had a less fatiguing sound.

I researched and then upgraded the 2xls to pfes around early February. My original set needed to be replaced after 4 months. Since I ordered directly from their website, they were still under their 2 year warranty. Dealing with them was excellent. I'm on my second set now and there are no signs of durability issues. I realize though, that it may be only a matter of time. I don't worry about it too much because of their warranty.

Last I heard, Phonak has made improvements to their pfe which I read should be available by the end of this month. Their release has been pushed back about 2 times already, so I wouldn't hold my breath. I have a feeling they'll be on schedule this time around though.

To answer the OP's question: My theory is that the reason why an individual would prefer one earphone over another usually comes down to that particular individual's taste, experiences, expectations, values, attitudes, beliefs, etc.

 

[pianoplayer88key]

Apparently these marshmallows suck ****, or so you all say. I happen to like them - in fact I would say, especially for the price, they are better than the $140 Phonak Audeo PFEs I had before the JVCs. They sound just about as good, isolate about as well, AND has lasted about 5 months vs. 2 months for the PFEs.

What gives? Is it possible that my music source is crap? I typically encode even my good quality music (for my portable players) as LAME -b 160 --resample 44.1 -b 2 --lowpass 15.5 or something like that. (Default lowpass at that bitrate is more like 17.5kHz, and to get it to lowpass around 15.5kHz I'd have to use 112kbps. Also I can't hear past 16kHz or so.) However, I have recently been noticing that maybe I have encoded too low of a bitrate, as with these phones I have been hearing some of that high frequency tinkly artifacts in some of my mp3s that I haven't noticed before.

So if I was going to get another pair of earphones for the same price (or maybe up to 50% more) as the Marshmallows, what would you recommend that would be guaranteed to last longer even when treated extremely rough, sound MUCH better, isolate better, etc? The marshmallows were one of the only ones of that type I could find in local stores (although chances are there were others). One pair that I was considering was a Sennheiser CX series (like the 300 that JUDOHAWK mentioned) but when I got the marshies I really needed one "now" so I had to buy at a local brick-and-mortar store, and I prefer to do the same with my next pair whenever the time comes to get one.

Also hopefully my horrible experience with the PFEs won't turn me off from spending $100-150 on a pair of phones in the future. I DO expect, though, that they be at least as much better than the cheap ones as they are more expensive than the cheap ones (meaning if the expensive ones are $150 and the cheapies are $15, the good ones had better be at least 10x better in every way than the cheap ones.)

Are these JVCs considered such horrible junk that I should toss them in the garbage NOW and get another pair that's 1/4 the price and 4 times as good?

Also, what are some good music sources I can get (preferably for free, not purchase) that will be a good test for headphone quality? I happen to like some classical music, traditional church music (mostly the music from the 1940s to 1970s or so - not so much the ancient organ music or the modern rock, although sometimes that's ok too as long as it's not overprocessed (which chances are it all is)), occasionally some rock (but not metal) and a few other types.
Also what would be the recommended way of testing my hearing short of spending the $ on an audiologist? Keep in mind that I would be using the JVC Marshmallows (unless I come across a better pair in my house somewhere which I doubt I have anything else that works right now), and my likely audio source would either be my T-Mobile G1 (HTC Dream) cell phone or my computer's built-in (onboard) Realtek ALC889 sound driver.

 

[chicagojammer]

I have heard that the Marshmallows sound better than the HD800's anyone care to chime in?

 

[mvw2]

Oh this thread is going to an awesome place. I can smell the awesomeness brewing.

I'll make a small point about this.

1) V-Moda Vibe - $50
2) Head Direct RE0 - $170 (at the time I bought them)

Preference: Vibe wins

I would prefer to listen to a set of Vibe headphones then the RE0.

Function: RE0 wins

It's actually a much better headphone in function, accuracy, less flaws, etc.

I actually sent back the RE0 because I would rather listen to my Vibe headphones. Why? Personal taste.

I will definitely argue that the PFE is functionally better then the Marshmellow. I've used the PFE as well as a pile of other headphones. The PFE from a functional standpoint is a very, very good product.

However, no headphone can adapt to personal preference. The PFE does a tiny bit via the two filters allowing for some adjustment, but that's a bit limited.

Something like the Sleek Audio SA6 would be a good idea if you want more adjustability. It is also a functionally good headphone, but it also gains the ability to be tuned to personal preference.

If preference is such a strong factor, I would heavily consider gaining some sort of EQing ability as well. Run a player that has a somewhat extensive EQ. Give yourself the ability to tune good hardware to your preference rather then giving up on functionally good hardware and settling for more marginal products that just happen to be preferentially better.

 

[ilney]

To the OP: You listen to classical music encoded at ~120 kbps through the PFE?!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Detrex The JVC's has a more richer and textured sound with a very detailed treble. The soundstaging on the JVC's are also more expansive with superior imaging than the HD800's. I heard them both out of an Airplane 3.5mm audio output.

You can just say they are more musical

 

[ethan961]

I left the PFE for the Atrios, another example like above. PFE was technically better and sounded better, but with my equipment at the time (1st gen iPod Touch with no amp=very thin) I simply preferred the sound sig of the Atrios.
Of course, I'm now craving detail, and since I am planning to buy an iPhone 3g and have an E5, I may just go back to PFEs.

 

[slntdth93]

edit: wrong thread

 

[FYJX]

Same as many, glad you like the marshmallows. But in my opinion, they don't stand a spot against the PFE.

 

[pianoplayer88key]

So is it my source hardware that's bad?

Some of my mp3s were recorded from old cassettes, but some is from better quality CDs, downloads, etc...

What can I do to improve it? Obviously I can't spend a ton of dough - if I need to budget $100-150, for example, which was what I was thinking if I really splurged on the headphones, that $100-150 would have to encompass EVERYTHING - headphones, sound source, processing hardware, etc. Since I don't have $100-150 to spend right now, is there anything I can do for maybe 1/10th that to improve, or will I be "cursed" with limping along with my JVCs, which I actually don't think are all that bad, considering what I paid for them, my source, etc...?

 

[hk1388]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pianoplayer88key /img/forum/go_quote.gif So is it my source hardware that's bad? Some of my mp3s were recorded from old cassettes, but some is from better quality CDs, downloads, etc... What can I do to improve it? Obviously I can't spend a ton of dough - if I need to budget $100-150, for example, which was what I was thinking if I really splurged on the headphones, that $100-150 would have to encompass EVERYTHING - headphones, sound source, processing hardware, etc. Since I don't have $100-150 to spend right now, is there anything I can do for maybe 1/10th that to improve, or will I be "cursed" with limping along with my JVCs, which I actually don't think are all that bad, considering what I paid for them, my source, etc...?

Make another thread in the portable source forum or check out anythingbutipod.com. For a cheap player, consider the sansa clip (should be under $60 for 4gb) and fuze or look for used players. You can spend the remaining money on Head Direct RE2 ($49) or SoundMagic PL50 ($50?). If you need a basic amp, you can get the Fiio E5 for around $25 (I think).