[seanc6441]

The only area I find the sr2 slightly less than great is the overall detail and soundstage width. But that's more a consequence of the frequency response probably having a few dips in key areas around the upper mids and treble. And to make up for it there's not too much sibilance or harshness at all.

And importantly the tonality is agreeable for vocals and natural instruments too.

 

[Willber]

Well I attribute that to the 'haze' lifting off the upper mids and treble. Seems the both ends become more emphasised but the low mids keep a similar fullness. So it sounds more bassy and more treblely but not weak in the low mids at all. It's very balanced without being flat or V shaped. Somewhere in between.

I'll bow to your technical expertise but the sound certainly became 'bigger'. I was A/B/Cing it with the Snow Lotus 1.0 and Kube v1 (both spacious buds) so could gauge the change over time.

 

[mbwilson111]

Out of box it's dull and dark sounding.

I never found that to be the case...but I did the burn in anyway because I had to obey the rules

 

[seanc6441]

I'll bow to your technical expertise but the sound certainly became 'bigger'. I was A/B/Cing it with the Snow Lotus 1.0 and Kube v1 (both spacious buds) so could gauge the change over time.

I found the kube v1 a little congested (not exactly narrow but a little compressed or lacking air) but that was initial impressions pre modding and burn in. It may also change after burn in but I couldnt say as I modded mine early.

The snow lotus 1.0+ CE (if you've heard that one) has a respectable fairly spacious soundstage to my ears, a little more than the sr2 with added air also as it's more open and has more refined and extended treble. But again my sr2 does not have 100+ hours burn in so maybe I have more improvements to expect?

I think imaging quality is slightly more important. Earbud soundstage is still earbud soundstage, it's never going to be 'out of head' and around the room like a speaker system. But good imaging can really make everything seem more realistic and you forget about the soundstage pretty quickly IMO.

That's why the ourart TI7, penon bs1 and my k's ling are quiet special to me. All have moderately spacious soundstages but nothing astonishing. But all three image incredibly well (especially the TI7 in the mids) so it just sounds right and engaging. Instruments and vocals seems like they have a place and are not mushed together.

 

[seanc6441]

I never found that to be the case...but I did the burn in anyway because I had to obey the rules

I bought two, both sounded slightly different out of box. But both improved considerably after burn time.

I remember trying the first one and thinking this can't be the earbud jogawag is recommending, it's so bad... Lol. I wanted to like it but it didn't sound good, so I was forced to give burn in a try for around 10-15 hours and even after that time it had improved.

But the second was just ok at first, still nothing impressive but not as dull as the first out of box.

 

[Willber]

I found the kube v1 a little congested (not exactly narrow but a little compressed or lacking air) but that was initial impressions pre modding and burn in. It may also change after burn in but I couldnt say as I modded mine early.

The snow lotus 1.0+ CE (if you've heard that one) has a respectable fairly spacious soundstage to my ears, a little more than the sr2 with added air also as it's more open and has more refined and extended treble. But again my sr2 does not have 100+ hours burn in so maybe I have more improvements to expect?

I think imaging quality is slightly more important. Earbud soundstage is still earbud soundstage, it's never going to be 'out of head' and around the room like a speaker system. But good imaging can really make everything seem more realistic and you forget about the soundstage pretty quickly IMO.

That's why the ourart TI7, penon bs1 and my k's ling are quiet special to me. All have moderately spacious soundstages but nothing astonishing. But all three image incredibly well especially the (TI7 in the mids) so it just sounds right and engaging. Instruments and vocals seems like they have a place and are not mushed together.

I can't argue about the importance of imaging, that is why the Ti7 is on my probably-will list.

 

[seanc6441]

I can't argue about the importance of imaging, that is why the Ti7 is on my probably-will list.

it's one of those unashamedly mid centric but very pleasing earbuds. It will suck for any bassy music or anything electronic. But for acoustic and vocals oh boy it's so realistic sounding.

Dual driver TI7 would be a dream. If they had a good solid bass driver and used the ti7 driver for the mids and treble you'd have this glorious dark rich full detailed-refined sounding earbud that would stomp many $250+ earbuds IMO. The mids are that good. The treble is also of good quality but is subdued compared to the mids.

 

[Willber]

it's one of those unashamedly mid centric but very pleasing earbuds. It will suck for any bassy music or anything electronic. But for acoustic and vocals oh boy it's so realistic sounding.

Dual driver TI7 would be a dream. If they had a good solid bass driver and used the ti7 driver for the mids and treble you'd have this glorious dark rich full detailed-refined sounding earbud that would stomp many $250+ earbuds IMO. The mids are that good. The treble is also of good quality but is subdued compared to the mids.

That sounds ideal for me. I keep checking to see if the price has come down...

 

[seanc6441]

That sounds ideal for me. I keep checking to see if the price has come down...

The fit is a bit weird not gonna lie, a bit bulky but still around mx500 diameter. I can see it fitting larger ears better than small. It worked for me, but was obviously more comfortable with thin foams and not as form fitting as a pk shell for sure.

I found that thick foams really killed the little treble it has. A thinner donut/full foam or VE/aliex press black super thin foam sounds best to me.

I do think some of the imaging and soundstage presentation come from it's shell design. The driver sits a few mill back into the housing and the front grille resembles a classic headphone driver design (very open and driver about 50% exposed) compared to the mx500 which pushes the driver closer to the grille and blocks like 90% of the front face.

Most earbud drivers need that extra front dampening to sound right. These little titanium drivers act more like mini headphone drivers and that's how I'd describe their sound too. So full sounding even when seated back an extra few mm.

Behind the driver is remarkably closed off, with only 3 tiny .5mm vents allowing minimal airflow. Also there's no bass tube so maybe this is why extension suffers. But there's no sense of weird closed off sound issues here. It sounds remarkably open and has good separation and air despite its design.

Like picking up a pair of vintage high end sennheiser headphones and plugging them into a good tube amp. Midrange for days

 

[waynes world]

I bought two, both sounded slightly different out of box. But both improved considerably after burn time.

I remember trying the first one and thinking this can't be the earbud jogawag is recommending, it's so bad... Lol. I wanted to like it but it didn't sound good, so I was forced to give burn in a try for around 10-15 hours and even after that time it had improved.

But the second was just ok at first, still nothing impressive but not as dull as the first out of box.

Mine must be defective, because they sound good out of the box! (ok, maybe it's my ears that are defective lol)

 

[40760]

Just scored 2 new pairs of Sennheiser MX400 for about US$11. Now patiently awaiting for delivery and to relive the good old nostalgic times...

 

[ounwx]

Just scored 2 new pairs of Sennheiser MX400 for about US$11. Now patiently awaiting for delivery and to relive the good old nostalgic times...

Interesting. I got some from eBay years ago and I'm 99% sure they're counterfeit, as they sound abysmal compared to all the other buds I've tried. I bought a real pair in a B&M store back in the day, and while it's been too long for me to remember the sound signature at all, I do remember when they were discontinued and I was forced to the MX365 that I thought they were a step down from the MX400.

 

[ounwx]

Received a pair of Vidos the other day. Only tested them briefly so far, but they're about what I expected: tending toward dark and veiled, so not my cup of tea at all. Compared to the MX365, they're muddier and much less forward, but they do have better bass. Overall, I get why they have a good rep among bass fans, but they clearly fall into that category of only being impressive with the caveat of their near-zero price point. When legitimately great sounding options are available for $10 and under, though, "good for $3" just doesn't mean much to me.

Oh, and in addition to the poor build quality, I had to mention my pair carried the distinct aroma of hospital equipment out of the box.

 

[waynes world]

Totally OT, but you are the guys and gals that I trust.

My ES100 bluetooth receiver is on it's deathbed (sad!). I'll have to get another one (because it rocks), but it's $160CAD at the moment, so I'm going to have to save up my pennies. I actually don't mind the SQ from my phone, but I hate being tethered to it, so I'd like to get a relatively cheapo bluetooth receiver to tie me over for a while until I get another ES100.

I'm good with the SQ of the APTX codec (android phone). I had a Fiio BTR1 before and I was fine with it's SQ (although it did hiss a bit). I'm looking at the Fiio ubtr for $35CAD. That cheapo price makes me happy for a "tie me over" kind of gizmo. Anyone have experience with it? Or can anyone recommend another <$40US gizmo that sounds decent?

Thanks!

 

[40760]

Interesting. I got some from eBay years ago and I'm 99% sure they're counterfeit, as they sound abysmal compared to all the other buds I've tried. I bought a real pair in a B&M store back in the day, and while it's been too long for me to remember the sound signature at all, I do remember when they were discontinued and I was forced to the MX365 that I thought they were a step down from the MX400.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed as they somewhat appear to be old stock from an unsold local supply.

Some buyer has posted that they arrived in their original boxes as per below:

I'm keeping my fingers crossed though, as my only experience was with the original MX500, though both models share the same shell design...