DeadlySpoon
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2007
- Posts
- 118
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So, my brand spankin' new ATH-SJ5's came in the mail today! Huzzah!
Well, they actually came yesterday, but I was still sleeping when the delivery guy came... Stupid Canada Post coming at noon when everyone is still sleeping
Anyway, I went to get them at the post office today. Shipping to Canada included, they cost me $65 USD from Audio Cubes. I ordered them last Wednesday, so all in all, 8 days is pretty fast, I think, when they're coming from Japan.
As I had to get my ass to class (where I'm writing this from... Labour Health and Safety Law isn't too fascinating), the only listening time I had with them was on the bus. Yes, I know, FAR from the best setting to review headphones in, but deal with it, noone else is writing anything about those so I'm all you have! MWA HA HA HA... alright enough of that. Seriously though, those are only first impressions and I'll modify them accordingly the more I listen to those.
Feel free to disregard these impressions/opinions, since my only references in the headphone world were crappy IEM's (namely, Koss Sparkplugs modded with Ety tips, and some low-grade Fontopia's).
First of all, you may wonder why I bought those 'phones. I mean, who's heard of them, right? Well, gather 'round, children. Here's the tale of the journey that led me to my SJ5's.
Wanting to enter the world of better portable audio, I started my search for a nice portable can. Being the noob that I am, I had almost no knowledge of the subject... and thought that only Sennheiser and Grado would be good candidates. I was almost decided on the Grado's, but then learned the difference between "open" and "closed" cans. The Grado's were no longer an option, as I planned on using my cans primarily in noisy or quiet (on the bus or in the library) environments, and couldn't let sound leak in or out. I was pretty set on the Senn HD280 Pro's by that point, but still decided to delve a bit deeper. After all, they looked a bit bulky, and since I was going to use them primarily on the go, I was concerned my Nano wouldn't be able to power them.
That's when I discovered Head-Fi.
Ouch.
I was tempted by quite a few things, but I read a thread somewhere comparing the K81 DJ's to the HD280 Pro's. Clearly, there was much love for the K81 DJ's, and one thread preferred them to the Senns I was looking at when it came to portable 'phones. Plus, they looked really sexy.
Then I saw another thread preferring the SJ5's to the K81 DJ's. After reading a glowing review on Audio Cubes, and another on some Japanese website (which, fortunately, was written in English), but mainly seeing they were cheaper, I pulled the trigger and ordered a pair.
Now, that's all fine and well, I hear you say... but what about the actual 'phones?
They're quite sexy.
That was my first thought. I was afraid they'd be too big, or that I'd look like a dork wearing them, but they actually look very good.
They're also REALLY comfortable. No clamping at all. The pads are pleather, yes... but still quite nice. Plus, they work pretty good as earmuffs! Anyone who's experienced a Canadian winter will be able to appreciate that. There was also some isolation, blocking out most of the bus' engine rumble, and the cackling of high school girls that were sitting next to me. Obviously not as good as the isolation I had from the Ety tips on my Koss Sparkplugs, but y'know, still decent.
The build seems solid, too, but it's pretty much all rigid plastic, except for a plastic-covered metal (probably aluminum or something like that) band at the top... That might prove problematic later on. The cable's a bit thin and looks somewhat fragile... but I'll probably give a shot at recabling them anyway.
But the sound...
My test tracks so far have been taken from OK Computer by Radiohead. I think it's a great album to test new 'phones on; it's probably the most detailed and layered album I've ever heard, and also one of my favourites.
I expected to gain a new appreciation for it with some semi-decent cans, but I litterally rediscovered some tracks.
Karma Police, Paranoid Androidand Subterranean Homesick Alien, in particular, were awesome. They sounded really detailed, but at the same time... together. It's hard to explain, especially as I'm new to this whole review thing, but it was a very "cozy" experience; the soundstage was big, but not too big, almost like a small concert venue; the bass wasn't overpowering, the mids were nice, Thom Yorke's high-pitched falsettos and Jonny Greenwood's solos came through big time, but nothing was really separate from the rest. "Cohesion" is what I'm trying to describe, I guess. Individuality but unity at the same time.
It's not without flaws, however... sometimes, with particularly high (or low) notes, I heard some sort of static-y sound... which wasn't omnipresent, at all, but it still ticked me off when I heard it. It might be a burn-in issue, or maybe it's because of the compression to MP3, but it was noticeable at times and unenjoyable. I'll burn them in with some pink noise tonight and over the weekend, and try them out with some FLAC or WAV files before making a final judgement on this... But out of the box and with MP3 files, that's something not so good about these 'phones.
Anyway, here's my numbered ratings. These are in no way objective, and are more relative to my expectations.
Appearance: 8.5/10
Build: 7/10
Comfort: 8.5/10
Sound: 7.5/10
Overall: 8/10
All in all, a pretty good set of cans which I think I'll keep for a while... until I decide to buy some Grado's for when I'm at home
Well, they actually came yesterday, but I was still sleeping when the delivery guy came... Stupid Canada Post coming at noon when everyone is still sleeping
Anyway, I went to get them at the post office today. Shipping to Canada included, they cost me $65 USD from Audio Cubes. I ordered them last Wednesday, so all in all, 8 days is pretty fast, I think, when they're coming from Japan.
As I had to get my ass to class (where I'm writing this from... Labour Health and Safety Law isn't too fascinating), the only listening time I had with them was on the bus. Yes, I know, FAR from the best setting to review headphones in, but deal with it, noone else is writing anything about those so I'm all you have! MWA HA HA HA... alright enough of that. Seriously though, those are only first impressions and I'll modify them accordingly the more I listen to those.
Feel free to disregard these impressions/opinions, since my only references in the headphone world were crappy IEM's (namely, Koss Sparkplugs modded with Ety tips, and some low-grade Fontopia's).
First of all, you may wonder why I bought those 'phones. I mean, who's heard of them, right? Well, gather 'round, children. Here's the tale of the journey that led me to my SJ5's.
Wanting to enter the world of better portable audio, I started my search for a nice portable can. Being the noob that I am, I had almost no knowledge of the subject... and thought that only Sennheiser and Grado would be good candidates. I was almost decided on the Grado's, but then learned the difference between "open" and "closed" cans. The Grado's were no longer an option, as I planned on using my cans primarily in noisy or quiet (on the bus or in the library) environments, and couldn't let sound leak in or out. I was pretty set on the Senn HD280 Pro's by that point, but still decided to delve a bit deeper. After all, they looked a bit bulky, and since I was going to use them primarily on the go, I was concerned my Nano wouldn't be able to power them.
That's when I discovered Head-Fi.
Ouch.
I was tempted by quite a few things, but I read a thread somewhere comparing the K81 DJ's to the HD280 Pro's. Clearly, there was much love for the K81 DJ's, and one thread preferred them to the Senns I was looking at when it came to portable 'phones. Plus, they looked really sexy.
Then I saw another thread preferring the SJ5's to the K81 DJ's. After reading a glowing review on Audio Cubes, and another on some Japanese website (which, fortunately, was written in English), but mainly seeing they were cheaper, I pulled the trigger and ordered a pair.
Now, that's all fine and well, I hear you say... but what about the actual 'phones?
They're quite sexy.
That was my first thought. I was afraid they'd be too big, or that I'd look like a dork wearing them, but they actually look very good.
They're also REALLY comfortable. No clamping at all. The pads are pleather, yes... but still quite nice. Plus, they work pretty good as earmuffs! Anyone who's experienced a Canadian winter will be able to appreciate that. There was also some isolation, blocking out most of the bus' engine rumble, and the cackling of high school girls that were sitting next to me. Obviously not as good as the isolation I had from the Ety tips on my Koss Sparkplugs, but y'know, still decent.
The build seems solid, too, but it's pretty much all rigid plastic, except for a plastic-covered metal (probably aluminum or something like that) band at the top... That might prove problematic later on. The cable's a bit thin and looks somewhat fragile... but I'll probably give a shot at recabling them anyway.
But the sound...
My test tracks so far have been taken from OK Computer by Radiohead. I think it's a great album to test new 'phones on; it's probably the most detailed and layered album I've ever heard, and also one of my favourites.
I expected to gain a new appreciation for it with some semi-decent cans, but I litterally rediscovered some tracks.
Karma Police, Paranoid Androidand Subterranean Homesick Alien, in particular, were awesome. They sounded really detailed, but at the same time... together. It's hard to explain, especially as I'm new to this whole review thing, but it was a very "cozy" experience; the soundstage was big, but not too big, almost like a small concert venue; the bass wasn't overpowering, the mids were nice, Thom Yorke's high-pitched falsettos and Jonny Greenwood's solos came through big time, but nothing was really separate from the rest. "Cohesion" is what I'm trying to describe, I guess. Individuality but unity at the same time.
It's not without flaws, however... sometimes, with particularly high (or low) notes, I heard some sort of static-y sound... which wasn't omnipresent, at all, but it still ticked me off when I heard it. It might be a burn-in issue, or maybe it's because of the compression to MP3, but it was noticeable at times and unenjoyable. I'll burn them in with some pink noise tonight and over the weekend, and try them out with some FLAC or WAV files before making a final judgement on this... But out of the box and with MP3 files, that's something not so good about these 'phones.
Anyway, here's my numbered ratings. These are in no way objective, and are more relative to my expectations.
Appearance: 8.5/10
Build: 7/10
Comfort: 8.5/10
Sound: 7.5/10
Overall: 8/10
All in all, a pretty good set of cans which I think I'll keep for a while... until I decide to buy some Grado's for when I'm at home
