[DaMavs]

I just picked up some JVC Marshmallows as I was looking for an inexpensive IEM to use while mowing. Hoping that they should provide enough isolation that I can listen at a reasonable volume for an hour to hour and a half, and given it's not exactly critical listening, I don't really need excellence. Generally I'm not a big IEM fan so I didn't want to spend a lot and given it's an activity that could damage phones, the cheaper the better, so the Marshmallows seem an ideal test phone given the < $10 cost. Who knows, maybe I'll grow to like IEMs?

Anyway, it seems heavy burn-in of the Marshallows is recommended for best performance. What's the best way to burn them in properly? Should I just leave them hooked up to pink noise? Or would music be better? I was figuring on letting iTunes cycle through something with them hooked up to the phone outputs of my PC sound system for a couple days. Guess I could cycle through test tones as well if there's any merit to that...

Thanks for any tips on optimal burn-in techniques...

 

[malldian]

Thread title misleading!

And as for burn in techniques:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/hea...urn-faq-56744/

 

[DaMavs]

Thanks for the link to the FAQ. Not sure how I missed the sticky - guess I got used to just overlooking those. Mea culpa.

Were you being sarcastic about the title? I hadn't thought of the possibility someone would believe they were bursting into flames spontaneously. Although that likely would have made for a more interesting thread...

 

[malldian]

I was hoping you were just burning them.

 

[TopPop]

Don't you mean roasting marshmallows?

Sorry... I couldn't resist... it was the first thing that popped in my head when I read the title!

 

[cuba0555]

lol Thats to funny!

 

[DaMavs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by malldian /img/forum/go_quote.gif I was hoping you were just burning them.

I'm hoping that for my intended use they can't be THAT bad, but...I figured for $10 it was worth the experiment. And if they do sound that bad, I'll keep your suggestion in mind!

Seems like some folks love 'em, at least for the price, and others, uh - don't. Unfortunately I wasn't finding another IEM in the $30 or under range that clearly got better reviews. And for the application I wasn't sure I wanted to drop around $70 for something decent only to get them caught on mower handles and ripped apart...

Figure if I found out, I'm not ripping apart headphones while mowing & the Marshmallows are unlistenable, I can think about dropping some real cash in the future. Any recommendations given the use case? Maxing out around $100 probably given the application of only a few hours per week when I'm doing yard work.

And yes the roasting marshmallow allusion was what I was going for, as a cheap play on words. Just couldn't help myself...

 

[malldian]

Make sure you do the mods, and update us on what you find!

 

[nylan8301]

I don't really think that the marshmallows changed much with any kind of burning-in beyond maybe the first couple of hours (and you can listen to them during that time).

Otherwise, doing the "Kramer Mod" to them (search the forums, you'll find it) tends to change them more. Make sure you want to do the mod before you actually do it, as it cannot be reversed.

Hope that helps.

Nylan

 

[DaMavs]

Took me awhile to find it via search so for others that may be interested: Link to Kramer Mod.

Thanks for the mod tips - I'll listen to the Marshmallows unmodded first & then consider changing them. They're cheap enough that if I hate the mod, I'm only out $10 and a little time. And in this hobby that's nothing it seems...

 

[FreeZ5]

I haven't tried adding the foam, but I think replacing the tips makes them much more comfortable.

Steve