skeptic
Headphoneus Supremus
Quote:
dweaver - I haven't heard the C1's, so I'm afraid I can't offer any basis for comparison. But assuming you get a good fit and seal, I'm pretty confident you are going to enjoy the 7m's.
In fact, I don't think there's any reason to assume you would prefer a more expensive balanced armature iem to the 7m's. Dynamic drivers have their benefits, and a fair number of us actually prefer them to the sound of ba's. [In terms of higher tier IEM's, this would mean sennheiser IE8's (dynamics) > Etymotics/ Shures/ and Westones (ba's).]
To further elaborate, my Etymotic ER-6i's are ba's, but I far prefer the 7m's. The 6i's are more articulate (a crisper, faster, more distinct start to each note) but to my ears, they lack realistic resonance, sustain, and decay, particularly in the lows. Some people love this sort of sound signature, and advocate for "tight" bass. But to me, the 6i's just don't sound realistic, even when listening to bass light music like classical and choral. By contrast, the 7m's are a bit less detailed (although far more detailed than the Bose), but more transparent, and they have the sort of resonant bass and decay that I need for fulfillment. In all candor, had I not had an opportunity to jump on the ncix super bargain price on the IE8's a while back, I probably wouldn't have bothered to upgrade for quite a while.
Anyway, hope you enjoy them! If you ever want to invest a little more to take them a step or two forward - I do agree with Headphoneaddict that the Shure e2c silicone tips improve the 7m's over the pre-packaged tips.
Originally Posted by dweaver /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hello Skeptic, I agree with your assessment of the Bose headphones completely. They fit easy, sound open, have huge bass and are not bad especially for free. I am also glad that you feel the NE-7M's are a better set of phones as it helps ease my concern on spending hard to come by cash on them. Have you perchance had any experience with Klipsch Custom 1's, if so how have you found they compare to the NE-7M's. Just curious as I have a chance to buy the C1's on sale in Canada at London Drugs for about the same price as I'm paying for the NE-7M's after dollar difference and shipping costs. The bit of reviews/experience I'm reading about the C1's would seem to suggest I may appreciate the NE-7M's more due to more bass and larger sound stage but since I can not test the C1's, any clues from people who have used both are very welcome. I know I would love some of these balanced armature phones people keep talking about which is why I have avoided trying to find some to listen to. So long as I don't find out what I'm missing I won't be tempted to throw $300-400 in to something my wife will kill me on LOL. If these NE-7M's are even close to as nice as every that raves about them say, I think I may have a nice winning set of phones to last me until my financial situation gets more stable. If I REALLY LIKE THEM, I may not ever bother to go higher as I am not a true blue audiophile (all my Head-fi reading may change that though, given time...) and am more just looking for that Holy Grail match in regards to a headphone that has the bass, midrange, and treble I would like, along with nice detail, a good sound stage, and nice left to right separation. |
dweaver - I haven't heard the C1's, so I'm afraid I can't offer any basis for comparison. But assuming you get a good fit and seal, I'm pretty confident you are going to enjoy the 7m's.
In fact, I don't think there's any reason to assume you would prefer a more expensive balanced armature iem to the 7m's. Dynamic drivers have their benefits, and a fair number of us actually prefer them to the sound of ba's. [In terms of higher tier IEM's, this would mean sennheiser IE8's (dynamics) > Etymotics/ Shures/ and Westones (ba's).]
To further elaborate, my Etymotic ER-6i's are ba's, but I far prefer the 7m's. The 6i's are more articulate (a crisper, faster, more distinct start to each note) but to my ears, they lack realistic resonance, sustain, and decay, particularly in the lows. Some people love this sort of sound signature, and advocate for "tight" bass. But to me, the 6i's just don't sound realistic, even when listening to bass light music like classical and choral. By contrast, the 7m's are a bit less detailed (although far more detailed than the Bose), but more transparent, and they have the sort of resonant bass and decay that I need for fulfillment. In all candor, had I not had an opportunity to jump on the ncix super bargain price on the IE8's a while back, I probably wouldn't have bothered to upgrade for quite a while.
Anyway, hope you enjoy them! If you ever want to invest a little more to take them a step or two forward - I do agree with Headphoneaddict that the Shure e2c silicone tips improve the 7m's over the pre-packaged tips.