[MVPlaya]

They sell these at Best Buy - so I took advantage of the return policy.

I had some "top tier" headphones with the UM2's (no UM3's at the time) , SE530's, and I've tried some headphones on the lower end of the spectrum but I enjoy these S4's. They are very comfortable. I found the UM2's extremely comfortable because of the tips but these S4's are extremely light.

I'm surprised with the bass response I get from these S4's too... the reviews are accurate. The bass doesn't overwhelm the whole sound spectrum.

I'm very pleased with what these bring to the table, ESPECIALLY at $80.00.

However - I think there are more comfortable tips out there...

 

[cn11]

I find the Sony 'Hybrid' tips very nice with the S4's. You should have just got a pack of them when you were at Best Buy....

Sony - Replacement EX Ear Bud Cushions for Most Sony Ear Bud Headphones (3-Pack) - Black - EPEX10A/BLK

 

[MVPlaya]

Those are still the same design as far as the tips goes...just different material if those are the same ones they use on the other sony earbuds.

I like the comply's on the UM2's...

 

[wow416]

Experimental study with 4 S4s and n=3
lol
so since I am not loaded with money my friend and I bought 2 S4s each and tested them with burn-in and without burn-in. (we're gonna give each extra ones to our bros)
anyways.
so i burned them in for approx. 40hrs-60 hrs. Didn't actually count the number of hours but a lot of music listening and kept them on for a week.
So after we've experimented with these, it was too easy to tell which one was right out of the box.
The one right out of the box has slightly harsh trebles and boomier bass.
Also the with the same volume for out of the box and burned in ones, the out of the box one actually played at louder volume.
Things get smoother after burn ins for S4 at least. It sounds more natural definitely. At certain notes, the out of the box actually sounded better but, it felt like "Very electrical". I dont' know how to express this lol
anyways
conclusion; burn in is effective for S4s. Sounds more natural, turned down trebles and tighter bass (possibly less) and middle is amazing i think.

I had experience with ex71, um2, scl3, se115, se210, bose inear, bose on ear, bose around ear.
Never really had a high end headphones but. I'm not a newb neither an expert.

 

[cn11]

wow416-
Very nice comparison of the pre and post burned in S4's. Definitely a helpful observation.

 

[Schweiz]

Thanks for the comparison wow 416. Interesting observations from someone that has multiple sets to listen to back-to-back. How do you find them compared to the other headphones you mentioned?

I just got the S4's and I'm burning them in now. I'll post some observations in the coming week.

 

[Crashy]

I too just bought the S4's. So far, I love them! Ive used Shure E3C's, SE110's and a set of Denon AH-C351 in ears, and I must say, these sound much better than that all three! Still in the burn-in process, so I am sure they will sound much better after I get some hours on them!

 

[Judge Buff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcpk /img/forum/go_quote.gif Unfortunately my budget is more the ~$100 region, hence my interest in the S4s :| But thanks for the suggestion.

I can easily sleep in my pl50s, for ~$50 USD. Decent BA phones.

 

[Judge Buff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wow416 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Experimental study with 4 S4s and n=3 lol so since I am not loaded with money my friend and I bought 2 S4s each and tested them with burn-in and without burn-in. (we're gonna give each extra ones to our bros) anyways. so i burned them in for approx. 40hrs-60 hrs. Didn't actually count the number of hours but a lot of music listening and kept them on for a week. At certain notes, the out of the box actually sounded better but, it felt like "Very electrical". I dont' know how to express this lol anyways conclusion; burn in is effective for S4s. Sounds more natural, turned down trebles and tighter bass (possibly less) and middle is amazing i think.

Maybe this will shut-up some of the naysayers. Then again, they will probably say that it's still just subjective observations. Owners of S4s know the truth, though... if they cook them long enough and have faith in the process.

 

[dweaver]

I think nay sayers generally don't have the patience to let phones burn in. Let's face it if a headphone requires 100 hours of burnin to start to sound right that means a person has to let it cook for a little more than 4 days straight, 200 hours double that. Most people just aren't willing to actually do this. So they let them burn for a couple hours and then wonder why there hasn't been a magical change in sound.

I bought a pair of AD900 and was despairing because they just didn't sound as good as my AD700, the bass was off and the treble was horribly harsh! So I started to burn them in, but I'm human so I would listen to them and get discouraged. I even started to do simple easy reversible mods to get that sound I was looking for. In the end what made them sound good was time to allow them to burnin.

Someone can tell me that it's in my head or that I simply getting used to the headphones. But I know this isn't true because I have many headphones and they all sound unique and I use different phones at different times. The reality is the bass became deeper with burnin and the treble became less sibilant. But it took TIME and faith in the burnin process (heck I am still leaving these phones playing over night to allow that to continue). I haven't had to do as much burnin with the S4 because the bass has settled down enough for me to like them and I do listen to mid/treble centric phones so don't find their sssss to severe, also I don't listen to my IEM's loud. But it is pretty obvious even from the 20hrs of burnin I did do that these phones change with burnin.

The good news is there are alot of great used headphones in the FS forum from people who have only partially burned them in and then gave up just before the music started to sound good. So those of us who know the difference should be glad we get to buy HP's for severely discounted prices that usually have about half the burnin done for us

 

[wow416]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schweiz /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the comparison wow 416. Interesting observations from someone that has multiple sets to listen to back-to-back. How do you find them compared to the other headphones you mentioned? I just got the S4's and I'm burning them in now. I'll post some observations in the coming week.

by far i have to say s4 is superior (to me) out of the products that I've used so far.
I actually really liked bose around ear but that's probably because that was the only can headphones i've used.
s4 is solid with the larger tips. I don't like the S4 with the M tips because then i get too much bass.
I guess some people hybridized with sonys and apparently, that's good?
I'm not gonna bother. I will keep these until probably, next generation comes out?
I used to like BA IEMs especially the SCL3, but dynamic just sounds more natural to me.
Definitely, BA may play the notes on dot as they are more sensitive?
why am i writing an essay here....
out

 

[HONEYBOY]

Hi all, I haven't had the time to read the whole thread but does anybody know how these compare to the IE8 or C710. I can control the IE8 bass but I really don't want any more bass than C710 haha.

 

[cn11]

HONEYB0Y-

I would say they have slightly less bass than the IE8's, and especially the C710's. It's a very tight and textured bass though. As for the rest of the range, it's really smooth and sublime. They're maybe even a hair more detailed than the C710's, but without the harshness. Some report some sibilance and treble harshness with these, but to be honest I just don't hear it, and I'm rather sensitive to any edginess in the upper end. The mids are even better than on the C710's too... I am really, really enjoying them. They supposedly smooth out even more with further burn in, which I'm not very far into yet. They're quite the value at $79, or $99 for the one with the mic for iPhone which I have (that's the main reason I got them- but find their sound signature a pleasant surprise).

Hope this helps....

 

[HONEYBOY]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cn11 /img/forum/go_quote.gif HONEYB0Y- I would say they have slightly less bass than the IE8's, and especially the C710's. It's a very tight and textured bass though. As for the rest of the range, it's really smooth and sublime. They're maybe even a hair more detailed than the C710's, but without the harshness. Some report some sibilance and treble harshness with these, but to be honest I just don't hear it, and I'm rather sensitive to any edginess in the upper end. The mids are even better than on the C710's too... I am really, really enjoying them. They supposedly smooth out even more with further burn in, which I'm not very far into yet. They're quite the value at $79, or $99 for the one with the mic for iPhone which I have (that's the main reason I got them- but find their sound signature a pleasant surprise). Hope this helps....

This more than helps! For that price I'm certainly getting a pair

Thanks

 

[abellaw]

I finally got around to giving the s4s a good listen too with my amp3 player. And wow there is definitely some synergy there. I like this headphone a lot, it is like my grados and ultrasones had a baby in my ear canal.