[n13l5]

I've very much enjoyed reading all the detailed reviews here, and they are not bad as a base to make a decision on buying some earphones you've never heard before...
 
 
After my last purchase, a pair of Panasonic HJE900's, I want to make a statement on general use of such reviews and how to make them still more helpful:
 

 
Taking the Panasonic HJE900's as an example, there have been many comments to their great clarity, engaging sound, tight bass etc.  Just as many people said that they are just too bright, sibilant, or even harsh in the treble.
 
Naturally, when you're thinking about plunking down your hard earned for earphones you cannot try yourself first, seeing a lot of criticism about harsh treble, sibilance, is a major cause for concern.
 
And unless you know your own ears, you might decide not to take a chance, and buy some other thing that might really not be as good for your specific ears in the end.
 
 
 
Therefore:  Know your Ears first!  

 
Either use free PC software to test your ear's sensitivity, or go to your ear doctor and take a test, (you can always say you've been having trouble understanding your wife's nagging) muahaha just kidding, I have no wife, and my gf doesn't nag ^^
Of course your ear's frequency curve isn't everything, since there's still your mind and what it does with the signal received, potential preferences for HUGE bass etc, but knowing what your ears take in should nonetheless help a lot.
 
Once you know how well your ears do in the various frequency ranges, you will know much better what criticisms you can ignore...
 
 
 
My ears for example, have a treble roll-off, so that earphones judged as bright, or even too bright are not bright to me, they just compensate the loss in my ears nicely. (So, on the HJE900's, I've found only a single track in all of my music that sounded sibilant to me - it was some early days CD production, which were often over the top on treble, using the old audio recording chain, that was set up to compensate the loss of treble in the old non-digital recording gear)
 
Why do I have that problem in my ears?  I've always been careful not to listen to music too loud, using ear plugs or cotton at concerts etc,
 
but then I did something really stupid, remember not to do that:
 
While having a bad flu, I insisted on putting a new steel door in the cellar, for which I needed to cut a wall.  Inspite of wearing protective gear over mouth and nose, so much of the stone dust got into my sinuses, that I got a major sinus infection that expanded to my ears, reduced blood flow to my inner ears (according to my doctor) and caused a load of strange effects in my ears, and after recovery, I had lost sensitivity in the higher frequencies.  You loose some of that with age anyway, but I accelerated that.
 
 
 
So, the upshot is, if you're older, and the frequency graph for your ears rolls off at the high end, go ahead and buy 'bright' phones, you'll probably love them 
 
I haven't heard about loosing sensitivity to bass, but maybe that exists too, especially for turbine users 

 
 

 

[tinyman392]

These are all valid points to make for sure.  That is why you take every review with a grain of salt.  Everyone's ear is different in the way they perceive sound and the way they are shaped.  Another thing that comes in is that different people have different preferences.  Most professional-styled reviews try to be unbiased on preference, but it's not 100% possible since the author's preference will slowly leak into the review.  The final thing is that your ears are shaped differently.  If you can't get the same seal the author did, then you won't hear what they heard (bad seal normally leads to no bass, harsh highs/mids, lacking bass/treble extension, etc.).  I have personally never been able to get a proper fit with the MEE A151s.  With all this in mind, you do have to take every review with some salt.

 

[n13l5]

Quote:

With all this in mind, you do have to take every review with some salt.

yeah, knowing your ear's own frequency curve will help you tell to what parts of a review to apply that salt.
 
As for preference, your own preference is the easiest part, since you know it automatically.
The reviewers here seem to mention their preference in their reviews, which settles that part.
 
Lastly, the fit:  true, if you can't get a fit, you won't hear the earphone's true sound.
But I believe anyone willing to spend some money on extra tips will eventually get one that fits properly.
 
I've bought 4 packages of different tips so far. single, dual and triple flanges...  by accident, 2 packages from the same manufacturer had an overlap of identically sized dual flange tips, one pair white, one pair smoke colored see-through...  the smoke-colored ones were much softer than the white ones, and they're the ones I'm using now.  
 
I actually got a decent fit with a lot of tips, just most of them get uncomfortable after a while. So I'm still waiting for my package of comply eartips.
 
If sound and comfort is important to someone, there's no reason not to spend $100 for custom made silicon tips from an audiologist, if other tips just don't cut it.
 
 
So, while I think personal preferences are easy to account for and ear tips can be solved with some extra cash;
knowing your ear's frequency curve gives you a factual basis how to interpret reviews toward a good selection for your ears.

 

[FullCircle]

I'd have to review my Anatomy and Physiology books, but from what I recall, the blood supply to the ear is runs from the IAC to the cochlea and really has nothing to do with your sinuses.  In other words, your doctor was "reaching."