[Zitro407]

Hey guys,

My dad has been saying how he wants a new pair of headphones (his 2nd pair of skullcandies broke again) and I would like to get him a pair. I'm looking at either the Altec Lansing UHP326 or the UHP336. Amazon.com has these both for incredible pricing right now! Anyways, the prive difference is only $9, so I would like to know: which one sounds better? Does anyone hear have experience with both of these? My dad listens to a lot of alternative, jazz, classic rock, and prefers a smooth, balanced sound and clarity over pounding bass. Any suggestions? Thanks!

- Jeremy

 

[jjmai]

Don't know about UHP326, but UHP336's fits pretty difficultly.
If your dad is not used to over-the-year IEM, and has to often take the phones in and out of ears, then I don't recommend UHP336.
Also, coming from skullcandy phones, he may find UHP336 to be lacking in bass - but it is definitely more balanced than skullcandy.

 

[Zitro407]

Yeah I was a bit worried about that whole over the ear thing..a stiff cord just seems odd..and less bass could be good, he's really not a fan of overemphasized bass, which seems to be a trend with cheaper phones. Anyone else have experience with these?

 

[bcpk]

I would suggest Etymotic ER6i. However, their great isolation comes at the price of deep insertion.. which isn't for everyone.

 

[ZeNmAc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zitro407 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah I was a bit worried about that whole over the ear thing..a stiff cord just seems odd..and less bass could be good, he's really not a fan of overemphasized bass, which seems to be a trend with cheaper phones. Anyone else have experience with these?

I hated the uhp336. Definitely not for rock. It seemed like I never got a seal even though I eventually did. They had virtually no bass, and barely any treble. To me it sounded like there was one peak of midrange and that was it. It was even painful at times (even with a rock eq on my ipod). After burn-in they were almost tolerable. For rock, some of the artists I listen to (mostly alternative had this problem with higher pitched vocals) would reach the peak with the vocals. One word would sound normal, the next would be right in my face causing almost physical pain.

I know I'm being overly critical, especially for the price of these iems so take it or leave it. I also think some of the midrange problems I had was a combination of the IEM's themselves, and my ipod. I did experience similar peakyness on other sources, and my NE7M still need a little EQing in the same midrange spot (I mean exactly the same spot, but not nearly as drastic. My rockbox eq went from -9dB to -4dB around the 1200hz area iirc).

I will say, when there was no musical content in that midrange spot, they did have pretty good clarity.

For the price range, you might want to check out some RE2's. I've read good things about them.

 

[Virgil]

I have both the RE2s and UHP336s. My special claim to fame is that my RE2s stopped working on one side after a few months (a common problem unfortunately) and I broke one pair of UHP336s. (A bit like that gorilla in that old Tourister luggage commercial.)

The RE2s are really a class above both in comfort and audio quality at the same price pint. The cable noise--which is bad on the RE2s--is a small price to pay for the improvements in comfort and audio I think. And if you're dad isn't part gorilla he might make 'em last.

Another option--at the same price--is the Nuforce NE-6 which I also have. It's the NE-7m w/out the mic. It's also a solid notch above the UHP 336 in quality and gives the RE2 a run for the money in the sound department. To me the RE2 beats it out by just a hair and that's saying a lot. The best part is if you want it by Xmas you might probably still get it if you order at the company's site.