Rick Hunter
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2006
- Posts
- 292
- Likes
- 11
I have been lately striving to find (for portable use) an iem/canalphone in the under 100$ price range that would give me decent isolation and a balanced clear sound.
I have tried creative EP-630, some sony-ericsson canalphones bundled with walkman phones and jvc marshmallows.
All of these were a no-go for me, even after a strong 30h burn-in with pink noise. All three have too much bass and sound muddy to my ears, they are in fact so damn bassy that when I take them off and listen to my other nicer cans like K240s and HD650 they seem to sound TINNY AND HARSH... Yes, these 3 canalphones manage to make hd650s and K240s sound like they're harsh and tinny.
Way too much bass. I sold them (except the 'mallows) to a couple of basshead friends...
Then I went and bought (for about $70) JBL Reference 220....
I come home and unpack them...
They have a very nice package with a hard zippered case that can easily contain a small dap, two pairs of iems and several tips/adapters
There a lot of goodies included : besides the case itself and the iems, there are 3 pairs of rubber tips (small, medium, large) 1 pair of foamies, 1 pair of earclips that you can attach to the iems, 1 foldable neck/chin headband that you can attach to the iems, a 1/8 to 1/4 gold plated adapter and an airline plug adapter.
The iems have a cloth covered cord that prevents tangling, is nice at the touch, but is a bit microphonic. Anyhow microphonics can be reduced thanks to the movable Y-splitter on the cable.
Build quality and looks of these cans are great, they look good, and well built.
Now to the sonic impressions...
At first I tried them with the rubber tips and no matter what tip I used I couldn't get a seal... Tinny and harsh, piercing sound... None of the tips fitted me... I think it's because the stem on the headphones is too short and so I can't manage to insert them deep enough. The foamies provided proved to be TOTALLY USELESS: they are ENORMOUS (who the heck has a so damn huge ear canal, JBL?) and very hard to compress: they will never, ever fit into your ear canal, unless your ear canal is the same size of your middle finger.
"Damn, no seal, I'm bummed!" I think... Then I take out my kramer-modded JVC marshmallows, pull out their foam inserts and the grey gummy tubes, slip the tubes on the 220's stems and then slip the 'mallows foams over the tubes.
PERFECT SEAL! And here is where I start to worry: these 220's had TONS OF BASS, a little less than the EP-630 but still way too bass heavy. At least these JBL have better mids, detail, highs and clarity than the creative, but I'm upset nonetheless....
So I go with burn-in for 20 hours with pink noise and THANK GOD they have changed sooooo much... I now finally have a decently balanced, decently clear sounding IEM that doesn't drown my brain in the bass...
They have a somewhat grado-similar sound signature, only bassier, plus they provide decent isolation, not as good as the 'mallows or creative 630 though... in any case I prefer this kind of isolation, 'mallows nearly got me killed a couple time because of their isolation....
All in all a pretty decent canalphone with a balanced sound, nice punchy bass, clear,detailed and airy midrange, slightly rolled off highs. Good on the go for their price. Easy to drive. Easy to carry.
Looks like I have finished my strive....
PS: The headband and earclips are totally useless, trust me
I have tried creative EP-630, some sony-ericsson canalphones bundled with walkman phones and jvc marshmallows.
All of these were a no-go for me, even after a strong 30h burn-in with pink noise. All three have too much bass and sound muddy to my ears, they are in fact so damn bassy that when I take them off and listen to my other nicer cans like K240s and HD650 they seem to sound TINNY AND HARSH... Yes, these 3 canalphones manage to make hd650s and K240s sound like they're harsh and tinny.
Way too much bass. I sold them (except the 'mallows) to a couple of basshead friends...
Then I went and bought (for about $70) JBL Reference 220....
I come home and unpack them...
They have a very nice package with a hard zippered case that can easily contain a small dap, two pairs of iems and several tips/adapters
There a lot of goodies included : besides the case itself and the iems, there are 3 pairs of rubber tips (small, medium, large) 1 pair of foamies, 1 pair of earclips that you can attach to the iems, 1 foldable neck/chin headband that you can attach to the iems, a 1/8 to 1/4 gold plated adapter and an airline plug adapter.
The iems have a cloth covered cord that prevents tangling, is nice at the touch, but is a bit microphonic. Anyhow microphonics can be reduced thanks to the movable Y-splitter on the cable.
Build quality and looks of these cans are great, they look good, and well built.
Now to the sonic impressions...
At first I tried them with the rubber tips and no matter what tip I used I couldn't get a seal... Tinny and harsh, piercing sound... None of the tips fitted me... I think it's because the stem on the headphones is too short and so I can't manage to insert them deep enough. The foamies provided proved to be TOTALLY USELESS: they are ENORMOUS (who the heck has a so damn huge ear canal, JBL?) and very hard to compress: they will never, ever fit into your ear canal, unless your ear canal is the same size of your middle finger.
"Damn, no seal, I'm bummed!" I think... Then I take out my kramer-modded JVC marshmallows, pull out their foam inserts and the grey gummy tubes, slip the tubes on the 220's stems and then slip the 'mallows foams over the tubes.
PERFECT SEAL! And here is where I start to worry: these 220's had TONS OF BASS, a little less than the EP-630 but still way too bass heavy. At least these JBL have better mids, detail, highs and clarity than the creative, but I'm upset nonetheless....
So I go with burn-in for 20 hours with pink noise and THANK GOD they have changed sooooo much... I now finally have a decently balanced, decently clear sounding IEM that doesn't drown my brain in the bass...
They have a somewhat grado-similar sound signature, only bassier, plus they provide decent isolation, not as good as the 'mallows or creative 630 though... in any case I prefer this kind of isolation, 'mallows nearly got me killed a couple time because of their isolation....
All in all a pretty decent canalphone with a balanced sound, nice punchy bass, clear,detailed and airy midrange, slightly rolled off highs. Good on the go for their price. Easy to drive. Easy to carry.
Looks like I have finished my strive....
PS: The headband and earclips are totally useless, trust me
