Goodbye Sony, Hello Philips
May 25, 2005 at 6:24 AM Post #16 of 73
Quote:

Originally Posted by halcyon
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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).



Yeah I dont like these very low impedence canal phones. Most of the amps Ive tried have horid S/N performance at 16 ohm loads. My PA2 is the only one Ive found that sounds decent at that impedence. And even then, with the gain knob above ~ 65% the noise is not acceptable... depending on the program material of course.

So this HN060 at 75 ohms looks very good on paper.

anxiously waiting for your impressions
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May 25, 2005 at 6:28 PM Post #17 of 73
Quote:

Originally Posted by 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 ears?

b) does the wire tangle easily

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



Hi mlwang,

a) it depends how deeply you try to insert them, so long as you're not insane, then they're virtually as comfortable as the Sony EXxx line...

b) this is a contensious issue for me, the neckband thing is pretty good, but (imo) Philips have put too much cable inbetween the neck'lace' and the ears, so you get cables poking the side of your face (remedied in my case by looping the wire around the necklace)

c) The noise cancelling is pretty good, i've only tried on a bus and a train, and in both cases, the low grumbling noises are as good as eliminated, and once the music is playing, even voices drift off into the extreme distance.

IMO the isolation / noise reduction has an overall better / cleaner effect than that of the Sony EX71/81
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I have changed my mind, and think that it would be a fairer comparison for the HN060 to be pitted against the Senn PX250... I will do that in a couple of weeks time... before that I must do my Beyer DT880 comparison
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May 25, 2005 at 7:00 PM Post #19 of 73
Quote:

Originally Posted by blessingx
Definitely worth trying for $19.99.



That is a great price.... ebay has em for ~35-40

Garrett
 
May 25, 2005 at 7:32 PM Post #20 of 73
Hmmm...I wonder how these Philips' will be against something like the MDR-A44L. I know they are different types of 'phones, but that doesn't mean that they cannot be compared.
 
May 25, 2005 at 7:44 PM Post #21 of 73
Quote:

Originally Posted by blessingx
Definitely worth trying for $19.99.


Nice find! Shipping is cheap, too.
Tax applies for CA buyers though, crap.
 
May 25, 2005 at 8:44 PM Post #22 of 73
Quote:

Originally Posted by 450
Hmmm...I wonder how these Philips' will be against something like the MDR-A44L. I know they are different types of 'phones, but that doesn't mean that they cannot be compared.


I have the A44L, and the Philips sound much more natural (to these ears) across the whole spectrum, making the Sonys sound grey...

...The fit is essential with these though, which is why they get quite a lot of bad reviews... luckily, a lot of people here are used to IEMs, so that is most of the battle won
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May 25, 2005 at 8:57 PM Post #23 of 73
Jackpot!

$14.85 (used) shipped on eBay!
They were just listed a few hours ago with a "buy it now" price of $4.00. I bought 1 so there are 4 left.
 
May 26, 2005 at 5:07 AM Post #24 of 73
Quote:

Originally Posted by 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.



Hi all just got my HN060, this is my 1st impression, I am a amateur, so this is from the persepective of a pure unsophisticated consumer.


a) The ear bud is comfortable, and it provide some passive NC once in your ear. Cool.

b) The neck strap looks unconventional but it is very functional, loop it over your neck, and the wire will not get entangled. the 1.2 m length is long enough to move around. Wires look rugged enough to withstand wear and tear.

c) the earphone volume is soft when the NC is off, once it is on, the sound get a boost. there is a volume control in the HN060 knob in the NC electric circuit, that will take over the volume control of the player. If you want decent sound, the NC must be on, or turn your player sound to full blast.

NC function not really tested, with the NC on, i can still hear people talking around my cubicle. guess the frequency of human voice is not low enough fo the NC.

Will test the rumbling sound of the underground train and bus later in the day.

The range of the sound is 40-20000 hz, my previous headphone has a a wider range, I guess i have to sacrifice the range for the NC features. Sound is decent though, though not superb.

For the price, I would say it is value for money (if the NC works of course). Will update more when I get it tested on the train.
 
May 26, 2005 at 6:48 AM Post #25 of 73
Quote:

Originally Posted by JB.
Jackpot!

$14.85 (used) shipped on eBay!
They were just listed a few hours ago with a "buy it now" price of $4.00. I bought 1 so there are 4 left.




Holy moly thats cheap!!!

I just spent a wad on my MS2s.
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Let us know how they sound.. OK

Thanks,
Garrett
 
May 26, 2005 at 7:35 AM Post #26 of 73
I like HP1000 and HS820 from PHILIPS.

For noiste attenuation type, I never tried before.
Following brief spec for information:

HN050 Frequency Range:40-20000Hz; Active noiste attenuation:50-1500Hz; >10dB at 300Hz; Sensitivity: 102dB+/-3dB;45Ohm; Maximum power input;500mW;1X1.5VBattery R03/AAA

HN060 Frequency Range:40-20000Hz; Active noiste attenuation:50-1500Hz; >10dB at 300Hz; Sensitivity: 102dB; Maximum power input;15mW;1X1.5VBattery R03/AAA

HN110 Frequency Range:20-20000Hz; Active noiste attenuation:50-1500Hz; >10dB at 300Hz; Sensitivity: 102dB; Maximum power input;500mW;1X1.5VBattery R03/AAA
 
May 26, 2005 at 7:48 AM Post #27 of 73
Quote:

Originally Posted by mlwang
The range of the sound is 40-20000 hz, my previous headphone has a a wider range, I guess i have to sacrifice the range for the NC features. Sound is decent though, though not superb.

For the price, I would say it is value for money (if the NC works of course). Will update more when I get it tested on the train.



What is it about the sound that uninspires you?

For the benefit of the doubt, I will put these up against the PX250 and the Koss KSC35 in a week or so
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May 26, 2005 at 9:17 AM Post #28 of 73
I try to explain in layman terms, as I am a simple consumer, not an audiophile.

My old earphone is from Philips also. It is SBCHS480/00, with Frequency response : 10 - 22 000 Hz, Maximum power input : 50 mW.

The Hn060 is 40-20000Hz, Maximum power input;15mW.

I feel that some of the sounds heard in my old earphone is "lost" in the Hn060 for the same music, it does not sound so crisp and complete, not sure if that is due to the narrow range.

The volume output for the HN060 is also soft when the NC is not on. This makes the Hn060 lack punch.

When the NC is on, it gives me a feeling of increase volume output, rather than NC (i can hear conversations, drilling sound in my workplace, and external noise with and without NC, seem like no effect.) Never used a NC earphone before, not sure if it is supposed to work this way. Need to test in train and plane.

I just got my Hn060 few hrs ago, so not sure will the condition improve when the ear buds are burnt in.

Duncan, do you have the same observation as me?
 
May 26, 2005 at 12:34 PM Post #29 of 73
Quote:

Originally Posted by mlwang
Duncan, do you have the same observation as me?


I certainly wouldn't class the HN060 as bright or sharp (Sony's failing with their line of earphones - where head-fi is concerned), so to a certain extent I do agree with you there (but it is a positive rather than a negative)

Also, coming from the Sony EX70/71/81 with efficiency of 100dbm/w, the 102dbm/w of the Philips (with NC on) is actually slightly better than i've been used to for the past couple of years...

The NC doesn't obliterate outside sound when there is no music playing, merely knocks back the lower / irritating sounds to a more 'user friendly' level, but with music playing at medium levels, and with the NC on, the outside world seems to drift away quite nicely...

These are not IEMs by any stretch of the imagination, not in terms of cost / function / isolation... but, to me personally they do sound very good when paired with the iPod, especially when you consider how cheaply these can be bought for in the US
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May 26, 2005 at 4:31 PM Post #30 of 73
tried the HN060 when i am travelling back home in an underground subway.

The NC function works, but it merely muffle the low rumbling sound (by 30% my gut feeling) still can hear screeching sound. perhaps i expect too much of a NC earphone, I was reading Sennheiser PX250 review out there, and has seen comments such as PX250 NC is so amazing that "your jaws will drop".

perhaps since the price is diff i should not expect a jaw dropping amazing effect for the HN060.

Found the earphone working "strange" with my Creative Micro Zen. The max volume level of Zen is 25, with my old Philips earphone, I can get quite good loud music at level 17, which is really loud. But with the HN060, with the NC off, the music is comparable at a level of 13 of my old earphone, soft and muffle hardly audible.

This makes me wonder if the NC cancelling electronic is acting as a volume booster in addition to the NC function.

Music is hardly audible when NC is off. perhaps micro zen need more power to drive the Hn060, as compared to Ipod?
 

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