benjamind
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2005
- Posts
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- 10
...Well, I just did 150 hours of burn-in with a brand new pair of CM7ti. For burn-in I just used my Xin SuperMini-3 headphone amp (with crossfeed on, bass boost off, impedance switch on), and let them run with my iPod 5G with a Sik Ram din, on a repeating playlist with only 320kbits on that list. Did that more than a dozen times and finally burned them in.
For evaluation I used the SuperMini-3 with cross-feed switched on, bass boost off. With iPod 5G with Sik Ram Din as source. I switched the impedance on for one listening session, and then switched the impedance off for another session. The CM7ti are rated at 16 ohms. I think they can be powered adequately from portables, but probably best used with something that uses a push/pull output stage because they will draw an awful lot of current and quite a few portables will not render them justice because capacitor output stages tend to fall down easily when attempting to provide the current required by lower impedance transducers. The iPod Shuffle (the original design) sounded good with the CM7ti, but the iPod Nano did not sound nearly as good.
My Sensaphonics 2X-S are superb in their own right. For in-ears I think they are extremely good. I use them on buses and trains. They were pretty expensive but well worth their price because the isolation is superb and the bass extends deeply. The isolation on the 2X-S is probably bar none, the best isolation I've had, and I've used many in-ear models, but these are the best in terms of isolation.
But in a quieter setting, I must say I preferred the CM7ti earbuds with their foam covers. And by a long way I might add.
A huge difference between the CM7ti ear-buds and the 2X-S in-ears was the midrange and treble. The CM7ti was far more exquisite in the treble detail. Cymbals sounded fuller and tighter with more extension. The crash of a cymbal just decayed in the right way, just like it would in real life, as I've heard plenty of different cymbals crash in real life as one of my friends had a great drum kit that we'd jam on every now and then. The drums on the CM7ti had more impact and visceral slam, and overall bass region on the CM7ti had more detail. The whole bass region had more visceral slam and roundness than the bass region on the 2X-S. The bass extended deeper on the CM7ti. Although the bass on the 2X-S started to get more powerful in the lowest bass frequencies it could extend to, the CM7ti could extend even further, while providing better overall bass energy, because the CM7ti had a uniform bass energy across the entire bass region whereas the bass on the 2X-S tended to get more energetic the deeper the bass notes went, them dropped off very sharply at about 20hz. This sort of sounded like speakers with a subwoofer where the subwoofer kicked in at say 50hz and then bottomed out at 20hz.
The CM7ti bass went VERY low, right down to about 13hz and dropped off sharply below that, as I couldn't sense anything that really went below that. The difference between the 2X-S bass and the CM7ti bass was basically the CM7ti had much more uniform visceral slam right through the bass region, providing a more pleasant experience. The CM7ti sounded like a transmission line floorstanding speaker setup, whereas the 2X-S sounded like a two satellite plus subwoofer speaker setup.
Some would say the 2X-S is more accurate than the CM7ti, but I'd STRONGLY disagree. At least as far as the treble and tonal accuracy is concerned. I found the treble to reach much, much further on the CM7ti.
But here is by far the biggest difference. The soundstage. I found the soundstage on the 2X-S to be somewhat satisfying, but I would have preferred a wider representation of the stereo image. When playing the right recordings, the ambience, reverb depth, stereo imaging and soundstaging of the CM7ti all beat the 2X-S. I could hear more reverb tail information on the CM7ti. The ambience and reverb on these earphones are rendered with aplomb and withouth a hint of brightness.
All I can say is...the CM7ti is a clear winner. In a quiet setting such as my bedroom, or while visiting relatives, I don't even bother with the 2X-S anymore. The only time I use the 2X-S is when I want lots of isolation when I'm riding on a bus or a train. The 2X-S certainly fare a lot better than the CM7ti in that regard, and of course the 2X-S will sound MUCH better in those situations where lots of isolation is required.
But at the end of the day, when you hear them side by side in a quiet setting, the CM7ti just slaughters the 2X-S. Like a pit bull terrier and a chihuahua. Well, you get the idea. The 2X-S by comparison just lacks treble extension and decay. The bass and midrange definition on the 2X-S is good, but the tonal accuracy, top-end extension, stereo imaging, reverb, and width and depth of the soundstage on the CM7ti is absolutely PHENOMENAL.
And the winner is...well you know.
Ben
For evaluation I used the SuperMini-3 with cross-feed switched on, bass boost off. With iPod 5G with Sik Ram Din as source. I switched the impedance on for one listening session, and then switched the impedance off for another session. The CM7ti are rated at 16 ohms. I think they can be powered adequately from portables, but probably best used with something that uses a push/pull output stage because they will draw an awful lot of current and quite a few portables will not render them justice because capacitor output stages tend to fall down easily when attempting to provide the current required by lower impedance transducers. The iPod Shuffle (the original design) sounded good with the CM7ti, but the iPod Nano did not sound nearly as good.
My Sensaphonics 2X-S are superb in their own right. For in-ears I think they are extremely good. I use them on buses and trains. They were pretty expensive but well worth their price because the isolation is superb and the bass extends deeply. The isolation on the 2X-S is probably bar none, the best isolation I've had, and I've used many in-ear models, but these are the best in terms of isolation.
But in a quieter setting, I must say I preferred the CM7ti earbuds with their foam covers. And by a long way I might add.
A huge difference between the CM7ti ear-buds and the 2X-S in-ears was the midrange and treble. The CM7ti was far more exquisite in the treble detail. Cymbals sounded fuller and tighter with more extension. The crash of a cymbal just decayed in the right way, just like it would in real life, as I've heard plenty of different cymbals crash in real life as one of my friends had a great drum kit that we'd jam on every now and then. The drums on the CM7ti had more impact and visceral slam, and overall bass region on the CM7ti had more detail. The whole bass region had more visceral slam and roundness than the bass region on the 2X-S. The bass extended deeper on the CM7ti. Although the bass on the 2X-S started to get more powerful in the lowest bass frequencies it could extend to, the CM7ti could extend even further, while providing better overall bass energy, because the CM7ti had a uniform bass energy across the entire bass region whereas the bass on the 2X-S tended to get more energetic the deeper the bass notes went, them dropped off very sharply at about 20hz. This sort of sounded like speakers with a subwoofer where the subwoofer kicked in at say 50hz and then bottomed out at 20hz.
The CM7ti bass went VERY low, right down to about 13hz and dropped off sharply below that, as I couldn't sense anything that really went below that. The difference between the 2X-S bass and the CM7ti bass was basically the CM7ti had much more uniform visceral slam right through the bass region, providing a more pleasant experience. The CM7ti sounded like a transmission line floorstanding speaker setup, whereas the 2X-S sounded like a two satellite plus subwoofer speaker setup.
Some would say the 2X-S is more accurate than the CM7ti, but I'd STRONGLY disagree. At least as far as the treble and tonal accuracy is concerned. I found the treble to reach much, much further on the CM7ti.
But here is by far the biggest difference. The soundstage. I found the soundstage on the 2X-S to be somewhat satisfying, but I would have preferred a wider representation of the stereo image. When playing the right recordings, the ambience, reverb depth, stereo imaging and soundstaging of the CM7ti all beat the 2X-S. I could hear more reverb tail information on the CM7ti. The ambience and reverb on these earphones are rendered with aplomb and withouth a hint of brightness.
All I can say is...the CM7ti is a clear winner. In a quiet setting such as my bedroom, or while visiting relatives, I don't even bother with the 2X-S anymore. The only time I use the 2X-S is when I want lots of isolation when I'm riding on a bus or a train. The 2X-S certainly fare a lot better than the CM7ti in that regard, and of course the 2X-S will sound MUCH better in those situations where lots of isolation is required.
But at the end of the day, when you hear them side by side in a quiet setting, the CM7ti just slaughters the 2X-S. Like a pit bull terrier and a chihuahua. Well, you get the idea. The 2X-S by comparison just lacks treble extension and decay. The bass and midrange definition on the 2X-S is good, but the tonal accuracy, top-end extension, stereo imaging, reverb, and width and depth of the soundstage on the CM7ti is absolutely PHENOMENAL.
And the winner is...well you know.
Ben