Thanks for that. They are a bit smaller than my Denons then which are 24mm long and 12mm wide. Now I am not sure if I should get these or stay loyal to Denon, C710 or C551? I really hate buying new phones
I have just been reading about these Hippo’s for the first time and I'm what would be classified as a "bass-head" myself. I’m looking to replace the UE 5EB’s that I’ve had for many years now. prior to that I had the Sony MDR-EX70lp’s for many years. I found the 5EBs were more bassy and less muddy so I’m hoping these VB’s may be a step up again based on what I’ve been reading here.
I was wondering:
- how do the Hippo VB’s compare to the Ultimate Ears 5EBs in terms of bass? I’m happy with the bass profile of the 5EB’s (more is even better!) but the constant failing of cables and the fact that I can’t take more than 20 steps without the left ear loosing seal are becoming too irritating
- what is the leakage like with the VBs – do they leak much sound? I haven’t noticed much on the 5EBs when I did some testing with someone else. I prefer as little leakage as possible to reduce irritation of those sitting next to me
- what is the sound isolation like on these things – do they block out much ambient sound at all? Is there a published sound DB isolation rating? The UE 5EBs are rated at 16db, some of their new range are rated at 24db
- The input sensitivity of the 5EB’s is listed at 119db/mw; the VB’s are listed at 105 (+/-4) db/mw; using an Ipod Nano would this translate to much difference in terms of volume drive requirements (i.e. would it be pretty similar volume requirements to achieve the same level of sound) in most people’s opinion?
- The input power listing on the box is 10mw - I believe an average non-Euro Ipod can produce 30mw/channel, is there a risk to the headphones on this basis? Would they be able to be driven to decent volumes with only 10mw support? I can't easily find a maximum input power rating for the 5EBs but I can see the EX70LPs were rated at 100mw.
- has anyone compared these with Monster Turbines? I was originally looking at those but found this thread…
- Who’s the best vendor for these things; I’m in Australia, would Jaben.net be a good bet? Are there any issues with counterfeit headphones in this range appearing on the market? I noticed that there were Monster Turbine fakes appearing now.
Sorry about the rash of questions but I'm very intrigued about these things, I'd not even heard of Hippo before finding this.
The VB have more and better (tighter, punchier) bass than the 5EB. The VB are infinitely more comfortable than the awful 5EB housing, much easier to insert and I never lose seal with them. They don't leak sound. They're efficient enough with any player, no matter what the dB/mW rating says. The VB isolate better than the 5EB for my ears, especially since the 5EB can't be inserted properly into my ear canal. Again, the ratings on a box don't tell anything useful about isolation, and different tips might give different results.
Thanks DFKT, you're making my decision pretty clear! Which plate were you using - is it true that the one without any dots is the highest bass and the 2/3 ones are less bassy?
Have you ever tried Monster Turbines? I've heard they're bassy but I'm seeing mixed reviews on construction and reliability...
I'm exceptionally tempted to order these things right away actually. The latest cable in the UE5EB's is going and the last cable I bought was $80-aus (nearly the price of these VBs) due to extortionate freight.
Yeah, the box has the bass heaviest and lightest filters confused - it becomes rather obvious when one listens to them. If you're interested, I've written a review about the VB, the link is in my signature.
Wow I just read your review - you've put quite a lot of work into that! I'm not yet familiar with how to interpret "tighter" bass though I'm presuming this refers to it being with greater clarity and less muddiness; would this be accurate?
Either way your analysis has convinced me to order the VB's, I'm doing so now from Jaben.net.
The tips - you mention using other tips with one of the pairs, of course this would be a personal preference thing but are they usually interchangable between brands in your experience?
Exactly, the 5EB's bass invades the midrange a bit too much, making the whole sound spectrum a bit muddy and veiled sounding. The VB keep the bass better under control, keep it out of the rest of the music. It also appears "faster", regarding attack and decay speeds.
The tips that come with the VB aren't anything special - the best tips in my opinion are the Super.Fi ones which you already have, and the Sony EP-EX10 hybrid tips. Both fit the VB - the Super.Fi tips fit like a glove, the Sony tips are harder to put on, but still work well.
ok, I think I understand what you mean - I like a fuller bass exposure personally, I don't think this is incompatible with what these will do though; my overall experience is very limited but I tend to like the profile that my Jeklin JJ Float Model 2's give me even if I did tend to have them up far too loud.
I'm going to run a breakin program for these too, I was thinking of a pink noise generator for windows - haven't assessed any, do you have a preferred break-in method for this series?
You will very likely damage the phones when you torture them with non-musical stress noises. I would definitely not recommend that. That seems to be an unverified myth that somehow spread on Head-Fi and other places, that pink noise "speeds up" the "burn in process". I once tested two phones of the same model - one I listened to normally, the other one I let "burn in" with pink noise. The normally treated one sounded fine after some time, the pink noise treated one was noticeably more muddy and worse sounding. It was "burned out" rather than "burned in".
I would love a head-on comparison of Hippo Vb and HJE900, couldn't find it anywhere...
Unamped...Ipod
For the type of music I listen too, which would fare well??
The Who,AC/DC, Janis Joplin, Lynyrd Skynryd,Cinderella, Blue Oyster Cult, Joe Satriani, Dream Theater, Nightwish, Guthrie Govan, Metallica, Floyd, Collective Soul,Mr. Big, Black Sabbath...basically Classic Rock(70s), Metal, and sometimes psychedelic trance...
Also heard the CZs to be very revealing and i have a quarter of music collection in the 160kbps range....would that be a very big problem supposing i don't re-rip my collection?? coz the HJE900 score a very high points on durability...and that really wins it...
Last one: Which headphones would u describe as more fun sounding?? any other suggestions max 110$
Just wrote one on another thread. The short answer is that the Hippos have deeper bass extension, the 900s are superior in every other way, really proving they're in a different price class. A more realistic head-to-head would be between the HJE900 and the MTPG.
Not to say that the Hippos are bad phones. If you're looking for $70-$80 phones and the RE0s are too bass-shy, you'll buy the Hippos instantly and like them. If you can stretch your budget out to $130, however, the 900s are the must-buy.
Another satisfied hippo user here
I'm finding it a bit difficult to get a perfect seal.
I read you guys have been using the stock tips, sennheiser double flanges and i kinda like the short bi-flanfes from re0.
Is there anything else i can try? I think foamies would muffle things...
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