[Friskyseal]

Hi all new here etc...

My first entry into hi-fi was the Sennheiser HD280s; I loved their sound and listening to them was a blast...and of course I wanted more. From there I moved onto the HD595s; at first I was impressed but as time went on I found myself becoming disappointed in them - I found them a bit too harsh and not as bassy/warm as I would like. Even when I got an amp for them (Headroom Total Bithead), the sound difference was completely negligible and therefore I returned the amp and sold the phones. The can I aspire to is the HD650 - from what I've read it would be perfect for me, but at present I can't afford a decent setup based around them, and therefore I turned towards IEMs.

From what I had read here the E500/SE530s have a similar sound to the HD650 - so when they popped up here for $280 I grabbed them. I was hoping for a sound that would surpass the 280's yet be more convenient and portable. My musical tastes are eclectic and include all genres, but are primarily based around electronic dance music - trance, house, progressive, etc. I had THOUGHT that these genres emphasized the lows (obviously) and midrange, but turns out I was completely wrong - trance is lows and HIGHS, and hence the problem with the E500s...

...so THAT's what "rolled-off" highs sound like? Uhh...from what I can tell, there ARE no highs. In certain trance songs where the vocalist would hit huge beautiful peaks on the 280s or 595s - it just simply isn't there on the E500s. It's like half the song isn't there. And while the E500s certainly fix the harshness problems with the 595s - the bass is there - TONS of bass - too much bass - It becomes very muddy. I put on 50 Cent's "Candy Shop" just for fun and I felt like my eyeballs were gonna pop out!

There are definitely some improvements I need to make with source - right now I'm just using an iPod nano (I plan to get a new 5.5g Ipod to Rockbox next week.) And granted - I've only spent maybe five hours total with them so far. I do find them very enjoyable for certain music - alternative rock and such. I feel like I've got the fit down and I seriously doubt they're defective or anything - so I guess my questions come down to, is this simply the sacrifice made when using IEMs? And from what I've said, will I be satisfied with the 650s?

Thanks so much!

 

[Hardwired]

I keep reading the E500s have rolled-off highs and the ones I just got have so much treble I have to EQ them down to listen to them. I dunno what either you or I have been smoking but I've never had to reduce the treble on any speakers or headphones ever and the E500s are the first.

And mine don't have tons of bass, but then my full-sized cans do so maybe it's just not as much as I'm used to. Nor are they muddy. They sound better than my Atrio M5s with a bit less bass but the mids are much more forward and the highs are more present.

Weird that yours sound so different than mine.

 

[ZARIM]

Now you may need UE TF10Pro and you will definitaly love them because they have extended highs with great bass. The mids are there but highs are unbeleivable but not harsh at all(time to switch

).

 

[SONGsanmanwah]

Hi and welcome.

First time with top IEMs you should do this:

1. find proper fitting, move them in/out sideway until you get best sound and isolation
2. turn off EQ
3. upgrade the files being play, your phones are good enough now flaws will no longer go unnoticed

see if that help

 

[clc220]

try the ety's maybe ?

 

[flashbak]

We'll I have both and can tell you coming from the Triple-Fi Pro that my recently purchased E500's strike me as being a more balanced and natural sounding earphone. They are quickly becoming my favorite of the two!

 

[Assorted]

Agreed with flashback. If you don't like the E500s maybe universal IEMs aren't right for you.

 

[riceboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SONGsanmanwah /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi and welcome. First time with top IEMs you should do this: 1. find proper fitting, move them in/out sideway until you get best sound and isolation 2. turn off EQ 3. upgrade the files being play, your phones are good enough now flaws will no longer go unnoticed see if that help

I have the E500s and I noticed that I needed to get proper fitting. For my ears the e5cs fit a little better and I better isolation. The ER-4S and I had the ER-4P have good highs, but not that much bass, but I still enjoy them.

 

[blessingx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Assorted /img/forum/go_quote.gif Agreed with flashback. If you don't like the E500s maybe universal IEMs aren't right for you.

Possible, but I'm not sure I'd give the E500s that much credit.

 

[mastercheif]

What tips are you using? Try switching to a modded Bi-Flange for better highs.

 

[Friskyseal]

Thanks for the replies so far.

- Yes I've been using bi-flanges - they're the only tips that I can get a proper seal with. (I'd still like to try the new black foamies.) I don't want anyone to get the impression that it's a fitting problem, I seriously doubt it is because in that case it would be a lack of bass. (I definitely had this problem in the beginning with the other tips, but feel like I've solved it.)

- EQ off yes, and I only use FLAC files.

- Ety's don't seem very appealing to me because I DO want a lot of bass - like I said this was the problem with the 595s - not warm enough and too harsh - but I still want neutrality...I mean at some point bassiness just gets ridiculous. I should be clear that the E500's still sound GOOD (if not great) - it's just that they don't really sound any better than my $75 HD280's, and are worse in some respects.

- I agree it may simply be that universal IEMs won't offer the sound I'm looking for - I'd keep the E500's in that case because I still want a nice portable phone - but I wanted to know if the alternatives improved on my complaints. (I have no doubt that custom UE-10 Pro's would solve my problems but unfortunately it's out of my price range.)

- I'm listening to them now (E500.) On electronic songs it just doesn't feel like all the sounds are meshing together that well. The electronic "sparkles" feel disconnected from the bass beat.

- The Triple.Fi's look like an appealing alternative - at least according to their frequency chart they look more neutral than the E500's. The only reason I didn't consider them was because I wanted a more flush fit so I can use them to exercise with and the E500s looked a lot more comfortable (For my first IEM comfort was extremely important.) But I'd definitely be willing to give them a shot if anyone else recommends them over the E500.

 

[Assorted]

Triple-fi's have less of a roll-off. You might want to try those, but I think you should secure a Westone 3 now. Order them and they should be shipping anytime now. They are said to be more neutral with better bass than E500s.

 

[jlingo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Friskyseal /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi all new here etc... My first entry into hi-fi was the Sennheiser HD280s; I loved their sound and listening to them was a blast...and of course I wanted more. From there I moved onto the HD595s; at first I was impressed but as from what I've said, will I be satisfied with the 650s? Thanks so much!

Yes I found that E500 has rolled off high too. I sold my E500 to Triple.Fi and loving it very much, beautiful extended, exciting high.

 

[flashbak]

So as you can see from the conflicting opinions here, depend on you own ears and personal preference to be your judge! It once again proves we all hear things differently.

 

[James63]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Friskyseal /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi all new here etc... from what I've said, will I be satisfied with the 650s? Thanks so much!

You should stay away from the 650s. Don't get me wrong, I really like mine. But if soft highs are a deal breaker you will hate the 650s.

I have not heard the next two headphones I am going to recomend but have read countless threads on them.

1. Look into Denon's new AH-D5000 they are said to have strong impactfull bass and a more forward highs than the 650s. They are also only 30 ohms so you will not need all the fancy gear to get you rig going(fancy gear helps though

). These are in the same "class" as the 650s but the jury is still out on which one is better.
http://usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/3456.asp

2: Look into to a pare of Grado RS-1s. They are said to be on the warm side (for grado anyway) and have a fun upper end. These phones sell for around $625 new. Lower end grados are bass shy and I don't think you will like them.
http://www.headphone.com/products/he...grado-rs-1.php

As for your canalphone trouble I don't know what to tell you. Most canalphones I have used do not have good extention in the highs. Some are brigher than others but I think they all lack extenion.

Also graphs are a good way to find out what the sound signature of a headphone will be. Just remember there is much more to the quality that just the graphs.
http://www.headphone.com/technical/p...are+Headphones