[Schwibbles]

+11? Dang...I mean...what does that mean though? Couldn't a lot of headphones sound a lot better with EQ. I've always wanted my headphones to sound as good as they can WITHOUT it.

Makes me wonder if the Cypher cable would work with the M300...though my LG V10 wouldn't care.

dB. Sorry for the confusion. I have fixed my original comment. It means that these need a LOT of work to be where I want them to be. This is my own preference as I like a more neutral signature; I generally really dislike midrange recession.

Yes a lot of headphones could sound better with EQ. I agree with wanting my headphones to sound as best as possible without it. I never use EQ during normal listening or critical listening sessions.

 

[harpo1]

+11? Dang...I mean...what does that mean though? Couldn't a lot of headphones sound a lot better with EQ. I've always wanted my headphones to sound as good as they can WITHOUT it.

Makes me wonder if the Cypher cable would work with the M300...though my LG V10 wouldn't care.

Only means that's his preferred sound signature. You're going to get all kinds of different opinions. Some including myself like them how they are others won't.

 

[AndroidVageta]

dB. Sorry for the confusion. I have fixed my original comment. It means that these need a LOT of work to be where I want them to be.

Yes a lot of headphones could sound better with EQ. I agree with wanting my headphones to sound as best as possible without it. I never use EQ during normal listening or critical listening sessions.

I know it means dB...I meant that more sarcastically as in "Holy crap look at how high that number is! These DO need a lot of work!"

So with you not wanting to use equalization does that mean you'll be keeping your M300's?

Only means that's his preferred sound signature. You're going to get all kinds of different opinions. Some including myself like them how they are others won't.

Well yeah, but that doesn't mean these are "good". If they need that much work then something isn't quite right. Even with personal preferences missing frequencies is something I'd hope no one wants.

 

[kukkurovaca]

+11? Dang...I mean...what does that mean though? Couldn't a lot of headphones sound a lot better with EQ. I've always wanted my headphones to sound as good as they can WITHOUT it.

Makes me wonder if the Cypher cable would work with the M300...though my LG V10 wouldn't care.

You would need to reterminate it from 2-pin to MMCX.

 

[Schwibbles]

Only means that's his preferred sound signature. You're going to get all kinds of different opinions. Some including myself like them how they are others won't.

Correct. This is my own preference which may not fall in line with what others like. I probably should have led with that.

 

[kukkurovaca]

You would need to reterminate it from 2-pin to MMCX.

Also, it's not clear yet if the correction that's applied by the Cipher cable is the same as what folks would want from the M300. Folks could grab the Cipher-emulation EQ settings from the iSine thread and see how they fare, though.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/aud...netic-earphones.818870/page-252#post-13762581

 

[Schwibbles]

I know it means dB...I meant that more sarcastically as in "Holy crap look at how high that number is! These DO need a lot of work!"

So with you not wanting to use equalization does that mean you'll be keeping your M300's?

I will not. The comfort is just too bad to consider keeping. I want to take them out after a couple minutes.

 

[manukmanohar]

Well even at $150, I cannot recommend the M300 to anyone unless you are willing to EQ the hell out of it.

Semi good news is that I feel it has low THD like isine, meaning you can apply quite a bit of EQ before it starts to distort and degrade SQ

personally I cut 5db @1khz, -1db @2khz, +3db at 4khz, +2dbs @8khz, bass is good as is.

The EQ settings are with Q set to 1.41 (i.e. 1 Octave BW)? Would have been great, if an add-on USB-C/lighning cable option had come for these with mic support, decent amp/dac to power them and EQ fixed to match harman response had come for these. (Still waiting on usb-c cable for iSine, in which case, would have been very very interested in them).

WOW! Equalization on these makes a huge difference - might I add these respond very well to equalization. With a schiit-ton of equalization (given they're comfortable for you), I would highly recommend these (for the price). Their resolution really comes through when the treble and upper midrange are brought up. I just spent 20 minutes playing with the 15-band equalizer in Equalizer APO. With the quick changes I made below, it would actually be an IEM I could really recommend. With a lot more fine tweeking, I'm sure these could sound truly excellent.

250
400
630
1000 -6dB
1600 +2.6dB
2500 +8dB
4000 +11dB
6300 +11dB
10000 +10dB
16000 +5dB

Interesting! Again, same question here. You had not changed the Q or Octave BW (which means 1.41 Q or 1 Octave BW)?

I will not. The comfort is just too bad to consider keeping. I want to take them out after a couple minutes.

Would be interested to know whether you have tried iSine 10/20. I found them reasonably comfortable, after setting it up. If it is very uncomfortable compared to iSine10/20, then it is a big concern.

 

[tgx78]

I am only using QP1R’s EQ for now. Preamp set at -6dB.

I feel isine surefire earlocks work better with my ear anatomy. In turn I find isine20 more comfortable for longer listening sessions.

 

[Schwibbles]

Interesting! Again, same question here. You had not changed the Q or Octave BW (which means 1.41 Q or 1 Octave BW)?

I have not gone into detail with any equalizer before. Only adjusted the sliders. Not sure I entirely understand what you mean.

Would be interested to know whether you have tried iSine 10/20. I found them reasonably comfortable, after setting it up. If it is very uncomfortable compared to iSine10/20, then it is a big concern.

I owned the iSINE 10 with Cipher cable for a few weeks after it came out. I ended up returning it because of the comfort as well.I also did not like the sound. Even with the Audeze EQ app and my own preferences, I thought the sound was average. I thought I remember it was also really uncomfortable. From memory, I was able to wear it for about an hour before I really wanted to take it out. From that I would say that, for me, the iSINE 10 was more comfortable.

To be more fair to the iSINE10, that was when I was first really getting into this hobby so my critical listening skills were lacking. I remember my main complaints were the comfort and the sound signature/frequency response.

 

[SilverEars]

If it's just sliders, it's graphical EQ, not PEQ. With PEQ, you are be able to adjust specific frequencies, and the bandwidth of the filter with center frequency(referred to as Q value).

 

[manukmanohar]

I have not gone into detail with any equalizer before. Only adjusted the sliders. Not sure I entirely understand what you mean.

Ok, in that case it must be the default Q factor -1.41 or 1 Octave BW. (my understanding is that if it is not PEQ, it is by default affecting 1 Octave)

My layman-ish understanding of this:
What this means is that if you have applied, say +1 dB to a particular frequency (1000 Hz), the Q factor determines, the set of frequencies that will be increased (follows a bell curve of sorts, which can be changed, so that the amplitude of increase is higher, the closer to the frequency. so 1.1 Khz would have higher change (say +0.8 dB) compared to 1.5 khz (0.5 dB); this of course depends on how narrow or broad the bandwidth or set of frequency covered is. What i've stated earlier is just an example)

I owned the iSINE 10 with Cipher cable for a few weeks after it came out. I ended up returning it because of the comfort as well.I also did not like the sound. Even with the Audeze EQ app and my own preferences, I thought the sound was average. I thought I remember it was also really uncomfortable. From memory, I was able to wear it for about an hour before I really wanted to take it out. From that I would say that, for me, the iSINE 10 was more comfortable.

To be more fair to the iSINE10, that was when I was first really getting into this hobby so my critical listening skills were lacking. I remember my main complaints were the comfort and the sound signature/frequency response.

Thanks, that was helpful. I'm still thinking on whether to return this or not. Since, I'm getting it via friend, who will travel to my country, don't have the option of hearing and checking the comfort, before returning it.
That plus the problem with the earclips on this batch (if I also have), makes me thinking of returning this to monoprice. Is there a restocking fee, if i have to return. Or do i use only the shipping fees?

 

[Schwibbles]

If it's just sliders, it's graphical EQ, not PEQ. With PEQ, you are be able to adjust specific frequencies, and the bandwidth of the filter with center frequency(referred to as Q value).

That makes sense. Thanks for the help.

Ok, in that case it must be the default Q factor -1.41 or 1 Octave BW. (my understanding is that if it is not PEQ, it is by default affecting 1 Octave)

My layman-ish understanding of this:
What this means is that if you have applied, say +1 dB to a particular frequency (1000 Hz), the Q factor determines, the set of frequencies that will be increased (follows a bell curve of sorts, which can be changed, so that the amplitude of increase is higher, the closer to the frequency. so 1.1 Khz would have higher change (say +0.8 dB) compared to 1.5 khz (0.5 dB); this of course depends on how narrow or broad the bandwidth or set of frequency covered is. What i've stated earlier is just an example)




Thanks, that was helpful. I'm still thinking on whether to return this or not. Since, I'm getting it via friend, who will travel to my country, don't have the option of hearing and checking the comfort, before returning it.
That plus the problem with the earclips on this batch (if I also have), makes me thinking of returning this to monoprice. Is there a restocking fee, if i have to return. Or do i use only the shipping fees?

I think I understand now. I only installed Equalizer APO 5 minutes before adjusting levels for the M300. I'll have to look into the settings to answer your original question about the Q values and octave bandwidth. They should be set to default.

As far as a restocking fee goes, I'm not sure. I submitted an RMA request last night and have not heard back yet. I've never returned an item to Monoprice before.

 

[heavyharmonies]

Got mine about an hour ago. Sound out of the box isn't as bad as I was expecting given some of the commentary here. The bigger issue is trying to get a good fit/seating/seal. The clips don't bother me other than the time it takes to get the blasted things on.

Gunna burn them for a few days and see what the sound stabilizes to.

 

[Sythrix]

Just a disclaimer to anyone who might have built/obtained an AMB Mini3, it does not drive these properly.

I don't know what's wrong, but the bass response is non-existent and even the hollow featureless thump of my phone's native headphone jack can deal better bass than the Mini3 can. Just a warning in case anyone else actually has one of these, to not judge the sound based on it.