[brunoampm]

Hello I will make a mini-review because I don’t have enough time to write.

I am a basshead-audiophile in a search for strong deep bass-perfect mids- soft precise highs in a IEM, to block outside noise, get portability and comfort.

I have UE5EB, FS1, EX-85 (modded to increase bass) and now Victor HP-FX500. No one deliver “real life, hi-fi woofer speaker”, but close.

The FX500 was my last hope for strong clean precise deep bass in a IEM. I mean, thunder clean bass, like subwoofer shacking bones. See my brief mini review at the bottom.

The best of the above is EX-85 MODDED. Get THUNDER DEEP bass, CLEAN AND FAST, but with NATURAL reverberation with this. I think it is better than Ex-90 because the bass from plastic housing just “reverberates and resonates” more like subwoofer speakers (12´), than the metal, including the bones of ear, I mean, tactile effect. You can trust, the bass from EX-85 MODDED is VERY CLEAN AND PRECISE, for strong basshead, almost perfect, besides the coloration (shape of bass sound) drowning badly the low-mids, but equalization with an Iaudio (I use F2 and X5) solves a little of it. The modd must be complete (put some tape on the vents).

My EQ from F2 and Ex-85 modded is BBE1, machbass 9, EQ 12,2,3,-5,10. It can look strange, but Ex-85 modded is strange sound, far from flat.

My Victor HP-FX500 Brief Mini review
(from basshead audiophile perspective, I mean, in very Hi-fi technical perspective):
(THIS IS A GREAT EARPHONE, BUT I AM OBSESSIVE IN PERFECTION)

Sub-bass: Weakest point, doesn’t reverberate, not enough loud, not enough deep, not enough tactile.
Mid-bass: plenty of, but a little harmonic distortion. Sometimes sound like DON DON instead of BUM BUM.
High bass (upper bass): not detailed enough, but great. A little congested.

Low-mids: ok, but could be louder.
Mid-mids: great! Clean, dark feeling, but detailed and no harmonic distortion. Just a little dark (laid-back).
High-mids: A little harmonic distortion, can sound harsh, splash, but still reasonable fast and precise . It is just ok if lowering EQ.

Low-highs: soft and detailed, but dark. Could be a little more up-front.
Mid-highs: Great, but not excellent! Soft, extended and detailed as I like, with long decay.
High-highs: Soft, long decay but detailed and smooth. Great!

NOW the others:

UE5EB: just great bass, but can be bloated and congested. Not deep, tactile enough. Not layered enough. Reasonable mids and piercing highs (for my sensitive ears).
FS1: worst disappoint ever, worst midrange, not worth consideration
Sony MDR-E848: THE BEST HEADPHONE I HAVE EVER HAD AND LISTENED. THERE IS A TRICK FOR PERFECT SEAL. HI-FI BASS, MIDS AND HIGHS. TOTAL STUDIO DISCO CLUB, EARS AND BONES EMOTIONAL ACTIVE!!! NO LONGER IN PRODUCTION. VERY RARE. BURNING-IN JUST GET BETTER. IF YOU HAVE ONE OF THIS, PLEASE CONTACT ME

))

 

[scytheavatar]

No Atrio M5? Denon C700? Superfi 5?

 

[brunoampm]

I have the Superfi 5EB, known as the best strong bass for the basshead on the go, and it didn´t made my day, anyday... it is congested, both lows and mids. And it is weaker on sub-bass than Ex-85 modded!!! But still, all of them are worst than E848, well sealed, trick position, 4 years of burning-in.... total hi-fi bass!

 

[shigzeo]

i found that with imp adapter, the fx500 had very tactile low bass rumbling. the atrio trumped them but other than that, the victor have been my favourite canal phone ever and i own the sony 85 also (a great phone indeed)

to gain some high end presence, remove the filter that sits between the canal unit and your ear. that makes a difference.

also: foamies make them very dark. the silicon flanges are great for everything: stage, detail and a more airy high

 

[brunoampm]

Yeah shigzeo, Fx500 can sound dark, but I like it!! I agree and know the silicon improves the sound in all aspects. It helps bass reverberation. I used in FX500 some 3M orange anti-noise foam, cutted. Much better than the stock foams, that really darks all IEMS. Fabric Original foams suck. Well, I think I am somekind of bassheadofrenetic, because the ultralow (super bone shacking) isn´t there, as found in speakers lifelike... But all in all, I like FX500, it is an audiophile IEM for sweetness and relax in my opnion... Could you do this modd on your EX-85 to hear the difference, and tell me please your opinions??? But, after that you MUST EQ with an Iaudio or in your computer, because the sound curve gets crazy... you will see!!! I put some white medical tape then covered with insulator black tape

 

[shigzeo]

ill try it. but, i use ipod. i sold my iaudio as i really did not like much about the sound. even if you eq the iaudio, it will not bring back lost frequencies of low bass. the phone may do well in lower freq but will not bring back those rolled off notes.

 

[brunoampm]

I think I know what you are talking about the Iaudio bass rolloff... Sony Daps, for example, have a punch in highbass to lowmids, that makes true bass lines sound richer... I know Iaudio can sound a little dry and weak in some bass notes... is that what you think??

 

[shigzeo]

no, i mean driving 16-32 ohm phones, there is no bass beyond -20 db at 30hz. so, it is honestly inaudible from pretty much 70-50hz as it only registers minus 10 or so.

many players have this (sony, sansa clip and fuze do not as well as old iriver 140 and shuffle 1g) but the iaudio also suffer from a smaller soundstage without an external amp or added resistance so i sold mine. for trance music where bass is important along with stage, i found nothingmore painful for long listening with low ohm phones.

i began to use 75ohm er4p to s adapter and i like it better than an amp as it does not hiss and does not have as many bad aspects like treble roll off that many amps have.

however an amp will pretty much completely deliver the lost bass notes of the portable whilst the er4p to s adapter will noly bring back about 50% of them. 100ohm is about perfect for a portable to drive if it needs not too much voltage.

edit: iknow you don't like the included foamies but if found them more comfortable than any foamie i ahve used as it is not springy so much. i use it however not with the victor as the sound is darkened too much but with my audio technica ck10 for bicycling (their relegated position)

my sony smacks the iaudio around with low ohm phones but for high ohm phones i find it lacks a few things. it hisses but, it sounds so much better. both my sony and my shuffle are similar in this respect.

 

[brunoampm]

My God, you are totally technical hahahh!!!... well, I bought FIIO (it will arrive soon), my first amp. People are saying is good, although the cheap price. I think I will begin with bigcans again for perfect bass. I kinda giveup IEMS for bass... In the past (15 years past) I bought two Sony monitors, but that time I knew nothing about them since there was no information. Unfortunately, they were closed type and muddy in bass. I had one Sony big headphone very good, but when I was 12 (!!!) and somehow broke/lost. Since that I am looking for a bass audiophile, portable, and find the E848 (maybe mine is a miracle), which is perfect but I need one substitute. I will read your comments and suggestions very close to get all information you said here. Thanks!!!

 

[ZARIM]

You may need to buy the DAPs first which offers clean bassy output like iRiver H320/H340 and then buy some Sennheiser CX6, Denon AH-C751 and Klipsch Custom 3 ect........

 

[knights]

brunoampm

your pix is blurred (out of fucos)... can you please post another one

 

[brunoampm]

Thank you, I am crazy about IE 6 (bass enhancer) or IE 8, this is *&¨%$$$ 449,00, but with bass adjuster…it seems perfect!!! But I am afraid its highs been not defined and “splash” like PX100 (this one has great bass for me, shacking my ears..). I didn’t find reviews about them, they are too new in the market, or even have not been released, or maybe people prefer buying the SE530 for its reputation.

 

[brunoampm]

HAHAHAH... I took this pic in Macro setting... I belive every camera has this...

 

[aBc.CaN]

"UE5EB: just great bass, but can be bloated and congested. Not deep, tactile enough. Not layered enough. Reasonable mids and piercing highs (for my sensitive ears).
FS1: worst disappoint ever, worst midrange, not worth consideration"

The above comments are hit and miss in my opinion. I agree with your UE SF5 EB comments. But I strongly disagree with your FS1 comment. It seems like you might have had a defective pair. The FS1 were almost as good as my Klipsch X10 for bass.

 

[chinesekiwi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scytheavatar /img/forum/go_quote.gif No Atrio M5? Denon C700? Superfi 5?

or Denon c551's, which have even more bass than the C700's. C700's got far more detail in the treble though.