[astro]

I know exactly what you're talking about.
The rolled off highs is exactly what I felt when I went from my long loved Etymotic ER4S to the E500s. I just felt like half the song was missing with the E500, and I really appreciated my etymotics first.
But I gave the E500s more of a chance. I listened to different kinds of music. I slept with them on.

And guess what? I began to appreciate it's sound signature. Each earphone has it's own tune.. You're just too used to the old sound signature. Focus on the sound signature of the E500, and you'll grow to appreciate it. You'll love it.
I hardly go back to my etymotics now. The E500 is just so much more expansive and musical now that I've gotten used to it. The etymotics are hyper-detailed, and I appreciate them for certain music.

So don't be so quick to judge. Try to obtain zen with your new earphones. Put down your desires, put down your pre-notions about what music is supposed to sound like, and just appreciate it.

 

[jdimitri]

Tips.. the grey ones has the most treble

 

[Sieg9198]

Your problem sounds exactly the same when I got my Shure e4. However I figured out that the problem is on the sleeve.

To me, getting a good seal is not what IEMs are all about, I got a nice tight seal with the soft flex, but guess what, the sound is so muddy that its unbearable, I can get almost a good fit with every type of the sleeve, but most of them tend to sound bad. All but the yellow foam, at the moment when I plugged it in, I knew that this is it, all the muddy sounds are gone, replaced with a beatifully balanced sound.(a little bass shy though)

And note that the seal with the yellow foam is not as tight as the other. Positioning also plays a big part in the sound, dont stick it too deep into your ear canal as I feel that kills the soundstage and the bass feels unnatural.

If your getting the same muddy sound as I did, that I can tell you that that is not rolled off highs, its NO HIGHS AT ALL. Rolled off doesnt sound THAT obvious.

 

[countach]

Check the microfilters.

It's incredible how suddenly the sound degrades when this thingys get dirty.

 

[blipmusic]

Just to make sure before you throw them away: Are you using waxguards or some such thing? I have a demo pair of the q-JAYS, which have tiny waxguards in front of the "real" sound filter, and it seems the "guards" are very moist sensitive. The sound just disappeared all of a sudden so I thought the phones were faulty, but all I had to do was to change the waxguards and voila: sound went back to normal (BTW, I'm not using waxguards at all any longer so the filters are "naked" but I'm thinking that if my Ety ER4 can cope with no problems then so should the q-JAYS.)

Are waxguards common practice on Shure and other IEMs?

 

[robm321]

Give them some time. I almost sold mine. The highs are clearly rolled off. I'm not sure if brake in helped or I just got used to them but now it doesn't bother me as much.

I am thinking about keeping my Etys for classical or when I can't stand the dark sound, but the E500s do have wonderful bass and warm detailed (a bit upfront) midrange. At least give them a try before you bail on them.

 

[jlingo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by James63 /img/forum/go_quote.gif 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.

HD650 is a very hard can to drive. You need a lot juice! This is very unfortunately realy.

with HD650 if you could change the source to SONY SACD SCD-333ES, the high of HD650 becomes sparkling, highly extended, beautiful air, that you will never hear before in your lifetime.

by the you have to pair it also with EMP, since EMP makes the sound of HD650 super-liquid, super-light.

 

[jlingo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Friskyseal /img/forum/go_quote.gif ugh........................ no, no, no, no, no, no!!! the triple.fi's suck. that isn't really hyperbole. maybe a little. for $400 they suck. i find them very BORING. boring is the word. not really fun. the bass is good, fixes most of the muddiness of the e500 but still a little muddiness on songs that have a "bass-line" (like house songs.) they fix the treble; the treble's back, but eh, at least the e500s had really sweet midrange that made them stand out, fun to listen to certain songs, so i don't really like the trade-off. both are unacceptable for the price. kinda analytical, a little fatiguing, not fun at all. boring! i like the fit though, and that they're easy to take out. thanks.

Here is a remedy for your triple.fi
One - try to pair it with Hornet, this will add depth the midrange of Triple.Fi, and also with tighten and deepen the bass of triple.fi
Second - Try to change the tip to Etymotic Foamies, this will convert the triple.fi midrange to be much closer to E500, a lot sweeter. This is what I do.

Please let me know how this trick goes to you.