Hi! first time poster after lurking here for a few weeks. new to the whole audio scene so if i use incorrect terminology plz correct me.
I bought a pair of the S4i's a few weeks ago after going online to read reviews (the general opinion seems to be good price-to-performance ratio) and so being my first pair of "good" headphones, i went with this for my iphone. later on, my wife lost her standard apple earbuds, and we bought her a pair of Shure SE 315, and since then i've been fascinated with earbud builds, which brought me here to this forum. long story short, i had the opportunity to compare them se315 being slightly higher up on the price vs the S4i
First thing i noticed is that the mid range sound is not as clear sounding as the se315 but only by a little bit. the treble is definitely weak compared to the se 315. When listening to music without much bass and lots of high pitched sounds, the S4i is only mildly better than standard apple earbuds. the S4i also has a very strong bass as many people observed and in some songs it was just too much and pushes the other sounds to one side. This caused me to be very curious and i compared the 2 for various songs to get an idea of what these puppies can really do.
Alt Rock - Sweet Disposition by Temper Trap
I found that the bass is very good on S4i but the high pitch vocals is not nearly as clear as se315. SE315 wins by small margin
Hip Hop - Remember the Name by Fort Minor
Bass is just too much on the s4i. its so heavy, it just sounds like rumbling. se315 on the other hand lacks the bass to really give this song the punch it deserves. tie
Hip Hop/Techno - I Gotta Feeling by Black Eyed Peas
S4i nailed it perfect. excellent mix of bass, mids and treble. still not as clear sounding as se315, but blending all the sounds together, S4i's made my skin tingle listening to this song
Techno - Bass is Kicking by DJ Splash
S4i sounds good overall but on the low end sounds, there is detail missing that the SE315 caught. on the S4i the missing sound is like a deep static sound, whereas on the SE315 makes it very clear that it is actually a carefully placed beat. S4i is known for its bass and completely missed the mark on this.
Hard Rock - Shoot to Thrill by AC/DC
S4i's got this one spot on again. the mid range is good and the weakness in treble isn't as pronounced in this song. the powerful punch in its bass is what wins this one vs the SE315. while the SE315 sounds cleaner and the vocals, guitars and drums are more defined from each other, it lacks the punch and power that the S4i's deliver to do this song justice.
Classical - Symphony no.9 by Beethoven
SE 315 has this wrapped up nicely. the crisper and cleaner sounds in the mid to high pitch sounds makes this one a easy decision.
Overall, I found that the S4i's true strength is songs that have a good blend of bass and mids. most average pop, hip hop, rock songs will be very good on these IEMs. however, they are still only mid range buds and overly complex songs, songs with lots of high pitch sounds will reveal its weakness. nevertheless it seems as long as you play to its strengths, it can sound as good as more expensive IEMs. when you play songs it is weak at, it will sound very average. infact only slightly better than standard apple earbuds on certain occasions. Remember the Name is a bit of an anomally for me, since it should play to S4i's strengths. However, the Bass was so heavy it made the song less likeable. For me these were good beginning IEM's. As I get into the audio scene more, I will definitely look for better IEMs.
Hope this helps
