[Duncan]

I have to make a confession...

...I now finally conclusively know that the Sony EXx1 earphones really are pretty lame, with no midrange presence at all, a boosted treble, and a really one dimensional bass...

Now, most of you hear will laugh at me saying 'told you so'... and so be it, I deserve the mockery for being so far behind the times

Anyways... the reason for my defection, the Philips HN-060, noise cancelling canal 'phones, which cost less than the EX81, but sound considerably better

Ignore what the Amazon.com reviews say - I have nothing but praise for these... the only one concession, if you're the kind of person who listens to your NON restricted iPod at FULL volume, you might find that these get upset (maximum rated input 15mw!!)

Anyway, I can give you more accurate impressions if you would like, else - this post / thread will just sink down to the bottom of the head-fi post ocean...

...Either way, I'm glad to be free of the Sony stranglehold at last

 

[titaniumx3]

Yes I noticed this too (finally!). I decided to use my ER6i for a week or so and while the bass was lacking I did find them to bring out aspects of my music that I had never heard before with the Sony EX71/81. I then after a full week of use, switched back to the EX81 and I was like, "OMG! Where did the mids go?!". It was pretty intense, like someone had taken a giant bite out my toast bread and just left me the edges. I seriously thought the EX81s were defective, all I was hearing was rumbling bass and scratchy treble. Strange thing though was that after I spent just one hour listening to the EX81s again, they magically began to sound better.

The brain has a built in equaliser?!

 

[PTheD]

Duncan - I don't know much about the Panasonic canalphones, I would appreciate it if you could expound a little on the differences & similaritys between the Sony MDR-EX71SL & the Panasonic HN060.

titaniumx3, you know, listening to the Etymotic Research ER6i for a while will do that to the Fontopia canalphones. It just makes them sound...well...bad really. I listened to the Sony MDR-EX70LP for about two years thinking that they were the best headphones in the world & that $50 was a huge amount to spend on little headphones that stuck in your ears, so they must be really good. I think its less of the brains built in equalizer as the effects of time on ones perception of sonic experiences, although if I am honest I would have to say they mean the same thing.

 

[atx]

Quote:

Anyway, I can give you more accurate impressions if you would like, else - this post / thread will just sink down to the bottom of the head-fi post ocean...

Please tell us more about the Philips HN-060. How good is the isolation and noise-cancellation? Can you replace the tips with Etys ?

 

[Kameleon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PTheD I listened to the Sony MDR-EX70LP for about two years thinking that they were the best headphones in the world & that $50 was a huge amount to spend on little headphones that stuck in your ears, so they must be really good.

My experiences exactly - at the moment I can still listen to my DT231s and EX71SLs interchangeably, but I suspect that when my 225s arrive it'll be the next step down a slippery slope. I've already determined that if I don't like these much it's off to find some DT770-80s or ATH-A900s

Is there any going back?

I still need a cheapish (at the moment, I'll probably decide I can afford ER4Ps next) pair of earbuds to replace my decrepit EX71s, so I'm also interested in more impressions of these Philips jobs and where you got them from in the UK

 

[PTheD]

Quote:

=Kameleon]Is there any going back?

Did you REALLY just ask that question?

 

[Duncan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by atx Please tell us more about the Philips HN-060. How good is the isolation and noise-cancellation? Can you replace the tips with Etys ?

The ETY tips are too small to fit over these (these have a 9mm driver, the same as the Sony line...)

The isolation / noise cancellation is more than acceptable unless you are coming away from 'proper' IEMs, in which case you will find these distinctly lacking.

I will come back with 'sonic' impressions at some point tomorrow... it is now too late in the day for me to put words on screen...

I will go so far as to say that they are definetly NOT perfect if you crave high volumes, the 1.5v the AAA battery that powers the internal amp / noise cancellation just isn't powerful enough to drive these to ear-bleeding levels, although they can handle 7/10 on the non crippled iPod quite happily, which judging from past knowledge is louder than the majority of head-fiers would be able to handle.

 

[Duncan]

The one thing I will say - the midrange is amazing for vocals considering the cost of these 'phones... listening to Mary Chapin Carpenter, I'm pretty spellbound!!

I'll post full impressions soon

 

[Eagle_Driver]

I agree with Duncan on the Sony MDR-EX#1's:

Painfully screechy highs, flabby one-note bass and recessed mids. I wouldn't describe their sound quality to be "loose turd exhaust holes," however - it's just that their sound quality could have been a lot better than what the EX#1 series actually sound.

 

[kramer5150]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duncan I have to make a confession... ...I now finally conclusively know that the Sony EXx1 earphones really are pretty lame, with no midrange presence at all, a boosted treble, and a really one dimensional bass... Now, most of you hear will laugh at me saying 'told you so'... and so be it, I deserve the mockery for being so far behind the times Anyways... the reason for my defection, the Philips HN-060, noise cancelling canal 'phones, which cost less than the EX81, but sound considerably better Ignore what the Amazon.com reviews say - I have nothing but praise for these... the only one concession, if you're the kind of person who listens to your NON restricted iPod at FULL volume, you might find that these get upset (maximum rated input 15mw!!) Anyway, I can give you more accurate impressions if you would like, else - this post / thread will just sink down to the bottom of the head-fi post ocean... ...Either way, I'm glad to be free of the Sony stranglehold at last

Nice find!!

Looking forward to more of your impressions. Also... sounding "considerably better" than sony EX-#1 could still sound bad IMHO. When you do your impressions would it be possible to compare them with better cans? (e2c, KSC75, SR60)

Im looking for cheaper canal phones for sleeping.... without sacrificing too much sound quality.

 

[Duncan]

Hi Kramer...

I'll put them head to head with the KSC35... that should be a fair enough battle

Fingers crossed, i'll do that later today

 

[Andrea]

These new Philips canal phones were reviewed in an Italian magazine lately, and were favourably judged for the effectiveness of the noise reduction and for the sound quality. But for the record, the reviewer preferred the other model reviewed, the 'HN-050' (need to check, however I'm sure about the 50 in place of 60

), the supraaural 'behind the neck' headband version, for the better dynamics and bass.

 

[DigDub]

how would they compare with the er6i? or are they in a different league?

 

[halcyon]

Very interesting, thanks for the heads up Duncan.

Most of my friends who jog a lot use the EX-series. Not all of them are happy with the sound, even for running (thin, tinny, unemphatic).

I wonder how SBCHN060/00 are for running? Do they fall out of one's ears easily when moving?

rgds,
halcyon

PS. SBCHN060 has a characteristic impedance of 72Ohm. This will give it more bass output on iPods than any MDR-EX series (16 Ohm). Imho, Sony EX-series are a really lousy match for iPods, due to the high output impedance of iPods (unless one uses an impedance adapter between iPod and phones).

 

[mlwang]

Hi Duncan

i am looking forward to your review of SBCHN060/00.

have the following questions though

a) does the in-ear buds hurt your eyes?

b) does the wire tangle easily

c) effectiveness of the noise cancelling for airplane, bus, train.