matrixxhw
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2004
- Posts
- 98
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Now I'm fairly new to this review process, but I tend to have enough confidence in my ears to atleast share my thoughts.
To begin, I had been itching for some portable IEMs to use on the go, but my recent acquisition of a headamp and some hd580's left me under $100. Looking at my options, I decided with the super.fi 3, mostly because they were the cheapest of the sub $100 IEMs i was looking at.
First, the freebies. These came with a metal case, a fit kit, and what seems to be a resistance adapter. The case and adapter were a pleasant surprise, and my initial impressions were good.
Now onto the build. The cord definitely feels stiff, not flimsy like I've read about before. The only downside to the stiffness was that the fit is a little finicky because the cord is still stuck in the position it was packaged in. However, after adjusting the cord a little bit, I was able to get the fit I wanted. Initially I was worried about how these would fit on my ears, as it looks really unnatural in the pictures. However, I was pleasantly surprised as to how well these fit into my ear canals, and how easily I was able to move the part of the cord behind my ear to a desired position. All in all, they fit great, though I haven't tried using the alternate method of wearing these. The process is a lot more intuitive than the pictures led me to believe. Furthermore, I was able to achieve fairly good isolation, and they feel comfortable in my ears.
Onto the sound! Well I haven't tried burning them in, as I prefer to naturally burn them in as I listen to them, but I will say that my rather negative sentiments about the sound I read on this board were not as bad as I was led to believe. The details do sound slightly veiled, as if there was a slight roll off, and yes the bass is thin. Now I prefer to be able to hear the low bass guitar/kick drum in my music, and I could definitely tell it was there, but it didn't have the impact that I was so used to with my HD580's and other cans I've tried. However, I still was able to make out a lot of details missed by similar cans I've tried, and I do believe I've gotten my moneys worth. Portably, it was more than I expected to receive for some rather cheap IEMs.
Just to try, I used my Xenos amp with an LOD (thanks again Alex!) on my iPod. I can firmly say that the bass has definitely deepened, and the impact that I was used to came back. The overall sound becamed sharpened, and became more expansive to my ears. On top of that, I tried using the resistance adapter, and switching to the high gain setting I was treated to even more impactful bass, mind you the same relative accuracy as the unamped sound, but with that extra impact that is so pleasing.
As part of my portable rig, the Super.fi 3 definitely fits the bill. I could instantly hear the difference in sound with my amp (which I intend to use portably), and for $70 I was definitely happy (especially with the freebies).
To begin, I had been itching for some portable IEMs to use on the go, but my recent acquisition of a headamp and some hd580's left me under $100. Looking at my options, I decided with the super.fi 3, mostly because they were the cheapest of the sub $100 IEMs i was looking at.
First, the freebies. These came with a metal case, a fit kit, and what seems to be a resistance adapter. The case and adapter were a pleasant surprise, and my initial impressions were good.
Now onto the build. The cord definitely feels stiff, not flimsy like I've read about before. The only downside to the stiffness was that the fit is a little finicky because the cord is still stuck in the position it was packaged in. However, after adjusting the cord a little bit, I was able to get the fit I wanted. Initially I was worried about how these would fit on my ears, as it looks really unnatural in the pictures. However, I was pleasantly surprised as to how well these fit into my ear canals, and how easily I was able to move the part of the cord behind my ear to a desired position. All in all, they fit great, though I haven't tried using the alternate method of wearing these. The process is a lot more intuitive than the pictures led me to believe. Furthermore, I was able to achieve fairly good isolation, and they feel comfortable in my ears.
Onto the sound! Well I haven't tried burning them in, as I prefer to naturally burn them in as I listen to them, but I will say that my rather negative sentiments about the sound I read on this board were not as bad as I was led to believe. The details do sound slightly veiled, as if there was a slight roll off, and yes the bass is thin. Now I prefer to be able to hear the low bass guitar/kick drum in my music, and I could definitely tell it was there, but it didn't have the impact that I was so used to with my HD580's and other cans I've tried. However, I still was able to make out a lot of details missed by similar cans I've tried, and I do believe I've gotten my moneys worth. Portably, it was more than I expected to receive for some rather cheap IEMs.
Just to try, I used my Xenos amp with an LOD (thanks again Alex!) on my iPod. I can firmly say that the bass has definitely deepened, and the impact that I was used to came back. The overall sound becamed sharpened, and became more expansive to my ears. On top of that, I tried using the resistance adapter, and switching to the high gain setting I was treated to even more impactful bass, mind you the same relative accuracy as the unamped sound, but with that extra impact that is so pleasing.
As part of my portable rig, the Super.fi 3 definitely fits the bill. I could instantly hear the difference in sound with my amp (which I intend to use portably), and for $70 I was definitely happy (especially with the freebies).
