[scoopbb]

I didn't want to get into IEMs but I'm tired of lugging around my cans. I got both pairs today and son i am disappoint.
 
i must not be able to get a good seal. the bass response is horrible on the triple.fi 10s. I'm coming from beyerdynamic dt770 pro 80 ohm (unamped) for now.
 
I believe I have small ear canals. I'm using the smallest tips and they aren't moving around at all but the bass response is autrocious for me. Even if I jam them in they are so bright and while I definitely hear the bass, its very underwhelming. Someone said it was like sitting in a car with a huge subwoofer and its so far from that for me. I'm getting significantly more highs than I prefer and the kick is pretty punchy, but theres no depth at all to the bass.
 
I'm afraid of opening the X10s now.

 

[snakeeater69]

Quote:

I didn't want to get into IEMs but I'm tired of lugging around my cans. I got both pairs today and son i am disappoint.
 
i must not be able to get a good seal. the bass response is horrible on the triple.fi 10s. I'm coming from beyerdynamic dt770 pro 80 ohm (unamped) for now.
 
I believe I have small ear canals. I'm using the smallest tips and they aren't moving around at all but the bass response is autrocious for me. Even if I jam them in they are so bright and while I definitely hear the bass, its very underwhelming. Someone said it was like sitting in a car with a huge subwoofer and its so far from that for me.
 
I'm afraid of opening the X10s now.

I got mine today too and so far I'm like them. There is a good amount of bass. You must not have a good seal if your are not getting enough bass. Try the flip mod thing. I kind of subconsciously did it when I was putting the TF10 on the same way I do with the B2s. For me at least, I do get a better seal this way. While I really enjoy the TF10 I still prefer my modded Fostex T50RP over it.

 

[eccentricFool]

Just the UE SuperFi 5 - couldn't tell the difference in bass quality of TF10 and SF5.
 
Regarding the seal - how bad could it be? What's the proper way, is there a tutorial? Can someone suggest a song, where you think the TF10s really shine against say, SF5, or even stock ipod earphones? I'll listen to it, and try to see if the problem is with my ears. 

 

[scoopbb]

the seal seems better with the comply foam tips, and they seem to mellow out the highs, but everything sounds muddy now =/
 
guess i might have to stick with cans.

 

[zm15]

Hi everyone, brand new here, great place and thanks for sharing all your experiences with these earbuds.
 
Just got the X10's from amazon with the deal they were running, and I'm coming from owning the S4's.
 
Just curious, in order to get the same bass and general volume production from the X10's i'm finding that I'm needing to turn up the volume more.
 
Has anyone else experienced this? Should I need to turn up the volume to drive these?
 
And yes I've tried to get the best seal with the various ear gels, and I just can't get the same bass as the S4's. I'm no audiophile by any means, but I love alot of bass. Perhaps it's that 'muddy' bass that alot of people don't like, but I can definitely tell a difference.

 

[seekadds]

Quote:

Hi everyone, brand new here, great place and thanks for sharing all your experiences with these earbuds.
 
Just got the X10's from amazon with the deal they were running, and I'm coming from owning the S4's.
 
Just curious, in order to get the same bass and general volume production from the X10's i'm finding that I'm needing to turn up the volume more.
 
Has anyone else experienced this? Should I need to turn up the volume to drive these?
 
And yes I've tried to get the best seal with the various ear gels, and I just can't get the same bass as the S4's. I'm no audiophile by any means, but I love alot of bass. Perhaps it's that 'muddy' bass that alot of people don't like, but I can definitely tell a difference.

 
The X10 utilizes balanced armature drivers, S4 utilizes dynamic drivers. I have personally never heard the X10, but I used the S4 for a couple years. I read that the X10 has above average bass quantity, but I'd be surprised if it is as much as the S4. Balanced armatures by nature simply don't move as much air as dynamics. I think this is what you are missing really. 
 
If you are happier with the S4s then you can always sell the X10's. Allow me to direct you here:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/573826/the-basshead-club

 

[Questhate]

 
Quote:

 Someone said it was like sitting in a car with a huge subwoofer and its so far from that for me. I'm getting significantly more highs than I prefer and the kick is pretty punchy, but theres no depth at all to the bass.

I believe this is referring to me, so I just wanted to clarify my statement. I only meant that in the sense that the bass sounds a bit disjointed from the rest of the spectrum, and the overall sound is not as cohesive. If you've ever listened to music inside of a car with a couple of 12" subwoofers and thin sounding speakers inside, you'll know what I mean. This did not necessarily refer to the bass kick/impact/quantity. 
 
After reading more on IEMs (like I said, I'm a total noob), this phenomenon seems to be a characterisitic with some multi-driver IEMs (how well integrated the different frequencies are). I guess since I'm only accustomed to full-size cans, and not IEMs, i was a bit sensitive to it. It's not a dealbreaker or anything, just remarking on it. 
 
The first thing I'd say is you probably need to temper your expectations a bit. I can't imagine these tiny drivers moving enough air to produce head-rattling bass that you can feel (much like how full size headphones can't compare with speakers). You'll probably never get the same bass impact out of an IEM that you can get out of a full-size headphone -- where the driver can move TONS more air. Again, I haven't heard any IEMs beside the two in this thread (and the Shure E4c), so maybe I'm way off base with that assumption.
 
With that said, two of my main headphones are the Pro 900 and the LCD-2 and I don't find the bass on the TF10 lacking at all. It's very big, enveloping bass (albeit inside your head). I'm wondering if you're not getting a proper seal, or you have a defective pair. 

 

[Madpierrot]

I got a pair of the X10's for the train so that I wouldn't have to carry my over-the-ear portables anymore.
 
My initial impressions are that they are very comfortable. I don't have much experience with IEMs but many members have said these are the most comfortable IEMs around and I would be inclined to agree - they are very light and they don't hurt the ears. The sound is smooth and detailed with large amounts of bass, but it's not quite as textured as I hoped it would be. I generally like aggressive headphones (Pro 900 etc) and the highs are present but don't carry the sparkle that I typically like. Jazz and female vocals are fantastic, sounding smooth and buttery. I read that the X10 are great for electro and they are definitely punchy. Bass had a good boom/thump to it but lacked that sub-bass crunch that I've come to expect. I think after listening to my Pro 900s everything else will seem lackluster in comparison for this genre.
 
Here's where I begin to wonder if these earphones are for me: I took them off and put on my Sennheiser HD238 (small over-the-ear cans) and the larger and fuller sound was a breath of fresh air. Soundstage was not comparable - but then again these are (semi) open headphones, but I wonder if I'd be happier trying out the new V-Moda M80's that have gotten great reviews, or if I should re-invest in some HD25-II. The reason to keep the X10 would be comfort and ease with good, but not great sound when compared to headphones. I may do a more detailed overview after I've had time to play with them.

 

[scompton]

Quote:

I got a pair of the X10's for the train so that I wouldn't have to carry my over-the-ear portables anymore.
 
My initial impressions are that they are very comfortable. I don't have much experience with IEMs but many members have said these are the most comfortable IEMs around and I would be inclined to agree - they are very light and they don't hurt the ears. The sound is smooth and detailed with large amounts of bass, but it's not quite as textured as I hoped it would be. I generally like aggressive headphones (Pro 900 etc) and the highs are present but don't carry the sparkle that I typically like. Jazz and female vocals are fantastic, sounding smooth and buttery. I read that the X10 are great for electro and they are definitely punchy. Bass had a good boom/thump to it but lacked that sub-bass crunch that I've come to expect. I think after listening to my Pro 900s everything else will seem lackluster in comparison for this genre.
 
Here's where I begin to wonder if these earphones are for me: I took them off and put on my Sennheiser HD238 (small over-the-ear cans) and the larger and fuller sound was a breath of fresh air. Soundstage was not comparable - but then again these are (semi) open headphones, but I wonder if I'd be happier trying out the new V-Moda M80's that have gotten great reviews, or if I should re-invest in some HD25-II. The reason to keep the X10 would be comfort and ease with good, but not great sound when compared to headphones. I may do a more detailed overview after I've had time to play with them.

For me, the only reason to use IEMs is isolation, especially on my subway commute or at the gym.   If I don't need isolation, I use a supraaural or circumaural portable.  Full sized headphones are almost always going to have bigger sound than an IEM, unless you compare a very high end IEM to a crappy full sized headphone.  The problem with a full sized headphone is that you'll tend to turn the volume up to drowned out background noise.
 
The HD25 won't isolate as well as the X10, and the M80 will be even worse.
 
For those not getting bass out of the X10, you're either not getting a good seal or you're such a bass head that no BA IEM will be good enough.  I doubt if any BAs will sound like Beats, XBs or Pro900s.
 
 
 

 

[Cycle10s]

Originally Posted by zm15 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Just curious, in order to get the same bass and general volume production from the X10's i'm finding that I'm needing to turn up the volume more.
 
Has anyone else experienced this? Should I need to turn up the volume to drive these?
 

This is normal. It's because the X10s have a higher impedance than the S4s. I also have to bump the volume up a bit on my X10s compared to the S4s.

 

[zm15]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zm15 /img/forum/go_quote.gif


This is normal. It's because the X10s have a higher impedance than the S4s. I also have to bump the volume up a bit on my X10s compared to the S4s.

Ahh this makes sense...except I don't really understand impedance. I see that the X10's have 50 Ohms, and the S4's only have 18 Ohms. In practical speak, what does that mean?

 

[Cycle10s]

Quote:

Ahh this makes sense...except I don't really understand impedance. I see that the X10's have 50 Ohms, and the S4's only have 18 Ohms. In practical speak, what does that mean?

I'm no expert, but I believe higher Ohms basically means more resistance, which is the reason for the lower output volume.
 
Generally, you can get an idea of how easy headphones are going to be to drive by looking at both their impedance (larger value = lower volume) and sensitivity (larger value = higher volume).

 

[zm15]

Quote:

I'm no expert, but I believe higher Ohms basically means more resistance, which is the reason for the lower output volume.
 
Generally, you can get an idea of how easy headphones are going to be to drive by looking at both their impedance (larger value = lower volume) and sensitivity (larger value = higher volume).

Gotcha, thanks. I should mention, much to the shagrin of the 'philes here, I'm using these X10's on a headphone jack on the front of a Mac Pro. Not sure if that's even a good thing or not. Not really sure how to get better sound short of buying a really expensive PCi card.
 
Is there a good USB audio headphone plug out there???

 

[scoopbb]

so i left the triplefis on all night with freq sweeps and man they already sound a lot better than last night. (maybe i was tired also after an 11 hour work day).
 
i tried the flip mod and they seem to fit a lot better (still using the foam tips). they fit better conventionally without having to be going over the top of my ear. they are still huge as hell and my friend says they look like some alien tech sticking out of my ears. 
 
cant wait till i get my e10 and can try these out. 

 

[pendo]

I ordered 2 triple fi's (one is a gift) and a pair of the x10's.  X10's got boxed back up within 5 minutes.  The UE's had a bit stronger bass, definitely louder (lower impedance) and the highs...well enough has been said about them.
 
I am quite frankly surprised at the praise the x10 is given.  It does sound very nice to be sure.  But can't maintain that same sound past what I would consider a moderate volume.  Past that the bass tremendously distorts the entire sound.  This is listening on my macbook to lossless via Amarra.  Also tried with the ZO but didn't offer any improvement (actually made it worse if you applied any contour levels)
 
If I thought I could sell them and make $25-30 I would but given what I've seen it looks like I'd be better off just returning them.  
 
Tripple Fi's, I'm more impressed with...not $200+ impressed, but impressed for the price.