[mow_the_hawk]

Hey, well I was talking about getting some IEMs a couple days ago when I saw some Marshmallows in Circuit City and I picked them up. My first impressions is they have a little bit of an AM radio sound to it. Does anybody know how burn in would help with with the sound quality with these?

 

[LaBreaHead]

I haven't heard the Marshmallows (a co-worker uses them with her Toshiba), but I've noticed with several brands of canal phones (Sony, V-Moda, Creative) that you have to use the right size sleeves for your ear canals, then (gently) insert the earphones into the ear canal -- not just perching them in the outer part of the ear. The bass and "fullness" of the sound increase if the outer part of the ear canal gets sealed off by the physical presence of the sleeves and the body of the earphones.

How do yours fit? If they're too loose (or much too large/tight), that "AM radio sound" (good description, by the way) would result.

 

[PinkRange]

Yeah...I don't know about AM radio sound. I think you may need to just ensure you're getting a good seal. I find them to be a great workout headphone and am actually enjoying them a bit more than my Super.fi 5's because they're less delicate and have more of a fun sound.

But...I'm an audio noob.

 

[bebanovich]

I went straight for the Kramer mod on these things because I had a similar tinny sound unless I practically shoved them elbow-deep into my brain-pan. The E2C foamies make them much more comfortable and give them a deep sound.

 

[bindibadgi]

I nearly bought some of these, but never did, so take this with a grain of salt: I read up heaps on these, and it seems fairly well accepted that they benifit a lot from modding (google kramer fx-33 mod site:http://www.head-fi.org). If you get a pin and gently make a small hole in the middle of the paper covering the drivers (you will need to remove the gummy bit), or make the existing hole a bit bigger, then it should improve. Keep enlarging the holes until you are happy. If you want, you can go the whole way and remove the paper altogether, and then stuff a little bit of foam in there (cut squares from the foam that covers cheap headphones).

Good luck.

 

[Clincher09]

You have to have them deep into your ears, and burning them in makes them sound a whole lot better to.

 

[qazwsx]

Marshmallows are in general a bass heavy canalphone with rather a harsh peak somewhere in the upper mids, so I would agree in saying they have an AM radio sound to them. Not drastically, but somewhat.

 

[mow_the_hawk]

thank you. I got a better seal and the AM radio sound almost dissapeared, not completely, but mostly. I am now thinking about doing the kramer mod.

 

[Moocher]

Try just the foamies with removal of the gray plastic sleeve. It made it much easier to get the best seal that is needed to get the most out of the marshmellows. Search eBay for "shure foam". I bought mine from FP Logistics and they were easy to deal with.

Mooch

 

[LaBreaHead]

Maybe some Marshmallow owners can remind us what other types of foamies fit on the Marshmallows. The compostion of the stock ear pieces seems like a good idea, but I've read some minor critisicms ... and I know how comfortable and pleasingly sounding softer foamies can be.

 

[Max F]

I have the shure 2E foamies (small or med) and they fit well - especially the smalls for my ears. I've got plenty of bass but to me that AM sound you described in the mids freq just doesn't go away. The upper freq are also a mess of peakyness. I have about 30 hours of burnin. Maybe they'll get better but I'm losing patience. I guess they sound like how much they cost.

I ordered the MylarOne X3, cause I wanted the same quality of the KSC75 but with the isolation. So, we'll see. Not sure if they sent my order or not - ordered on Sunday and haven't heard anything.

 

[Meloncoly]

Shure olive tips work as well. It requires a bit "modding". What I do with mine is I take a ballpoint pen, stretch the inner tube out, and put it on the marshmallow. Haven't had it fall out, and the seal is definitely better. The stock tips were too big, didn't compress much, uncomfortable, and didn't work out for me. Shure E2cs and I believe some tips from UE are also compatible with the marshmallow without modding.