8xOverMsOctober
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2009
- Posts
- 292
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This is my reply to a PM I received about how the J2s compare to the NE-7Ms. I figured that I'd put it here for if anyone has any interest about how the 2 compare.
Just so that no one is confused here at the beginning, the question was posed as an initial comparison and it was thought that my NE-7Ms weren't burned in at all.
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Actually, they're already burned in (or almost fully burned in by now). I bought them from another member and they had about 75 hours on them when I got them. I've put on about 20 so far.
The J2s are decent enough for the price that they are (this is more relevant for when JLabs had their bogo offer going on - 2 J2s for $25)* - they're way better than standard buds that you get with Sansa players, as well as a cheap pair of Phillips IEMs that I also have.
The NE-7Ms are absolutely amazing, though, compared to the J2s. The NEs have what the J2s lack: clear highs, the mids are a little clearer as well, significantly more bass, a bigger soundstage, and they are more detailed.
For me to get the J2s to acceptable listening SQ I tweaked the EQ in Rockbox (5 Band Parametric) for about 2 weeks. Tried both additive and subtractive EQ for them. Subtractive was a bit better, but no matter what I tried the highs were still too muted. I also adjusted the treble to 18/24 and bass to 8/24. Though I had to adjust Precut to around 5db so that they didn't distort with the bass.
I've actually turned off the EQ for the NEs. Reset the treble and bass settings back to 0. They sound really good with a flat EQ. The mids and highs are still clear, and there's plenty of lows. They probably could be tweaked a little bit, but to nowhere near the huge extent that the J2s had to be.
Another little observation about the 2 IEMs: When the volume was turned down really low on the J2s they became really muddy. There practically wasn't any clarity in them at all for both the highs and mids. The NEs retain a great deal more clarity than the J2s when turned way down low. They still lose a little clarity (very little)* in the highs, but you can easily listen to them at quite lower volumes.
As far as expectations go, lots of head-fiers have built them up quite a bit. I would have to say, though, that they do live up to the hype based on what I've experienced with them over the last couple of days. I was a little skeptical before I got them, but I'm very glad that I did.
If your experience with them is anything like mine then you won't be disappointed at all upgrading from the J2s to the NE-7Ms.
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One thing that I forgot to add to this was microphonics information, so I'll add that here. I've also had them for about a week now
The J2s have very little microphonics from what I've observed in almost 1 1/2 months of use. Their design is very good in this respect. It's probably a combination of the cable that they use and how the cable enters the housing. It's not solidly fixed to the housing. The cable can slide in and out of the housing a little way with very little force.
The NE-7Ms, by comparison, have a considerable amount of microphonics. It can be virtually eliminated, though, by wearing them over the ear.
[size=x-small]* denotes minor alteration (within parenthesis) to original text[/size]
Just so that no one is confused here at the beginning, the question was posed as an initial comparison and it was thought that my NE-7Ms weren't burned in at all.
---------------------
Actually, they're already burned in (or almost fully burned in by now). I bought them from another member and they had about 75 hours on them when I got them. I've put on about 20 so far.
The J2s are decent enough for the price that they are (this is more relevant for when JLabs had their bogo offer going on - 2 J2s for $25)* - they're way better than standard buds that you get with Sansa players, as well as a cheap pair of Phillips IEMs that I also have.
The NE-7Ms are absolutely amazing, though, compared to the J2s. The NEs have what the J2s lack: clear highs, the mids are a little clearer as well, significantly more bass, a bigger soundstage, and they are more detailed.
For me to get the J2s to acceptable listening SQ I tweaked the EQ in Rockbox (5 Band Parametric) for about 2 weeks. Tried both additive and subtractive EQ for them. Subtractive was a bit better, but no matter what I tried the highs were still too muted. I also adjusted the treble to 18/24 and bass to 8/24. Though I had to adjust Precut to around 5db so that they didn't distort with the bass.
I've actually turned off the EQ for the NEs. Reset the treble and bass settings back to 0. They sound really good with a flat EQ. The mids and highs are still clear, and there's plenty of lows. They probably could be tweaked a little bit, but to nowhere near the huge extent that the J2s had to be.
Another little observation about the 2 IEMs: When the volume was turned down really low on the J2s they became really muddy. There practically wasn't any clarity in them at all for both the highs and mids. The NEs retain a great deal more clarity than the J2s when turned way down low. They still lose a little clarity (very little)* in the highs, but you can easily listen to them at quite lower volumes.
As far as expectations go, lots of head-fiers have built them up quite a bit. I would have to say, though, that they do live up to the hype based on what I've experienced with them over the last couple of days. I was a little skeptical before I got them, but I'm very glad that I did.
If your experience with them is anything like mine then you won't be disappointed at all upgrading from the J2s to the NE-7Ms.
------------------
One thing that I forgot to add to this was microphonics information, so I'll add that here. I've also had them for about a week now
The J2s have very little microphonics from what I've observed in almost 1 1/2 months of use. Their design is very good in this respect. It's probably a combination of the cable that they use and how the cable enters the housing. It's not solidly fixed to the housing. The cable can slide in and out of the housing a little way with very little force.
The NE-7Ms, by comparison, have a considerable amount of microphonics. It can be virtually eliminated, though, by wearing them over the ear.
[size=x-small]* denotes minor alteration (within parenthesis) to original text[/size]
