[JP the Elder]

As a reference wrt my music preference, I have had experience with Final Audio E3000, Ibasso IT01 and P7 wireless. In terms of sound signature I have liked P7 > IT01 > E3000.

3000 - I felt bit muddy, lacking instrument separation.
IT01 - was good (nothing upsetting) but had comfort issues. I feel straight down iems are be better choice comfort wise for me.
P7 wireless (in both wireless and wired modes) - is the best sound signature I have experience so far except the bass is more than I prefer. So I end up EQing it down a bit. Given what I read online and my personal experience, I felt Be's would be a great fit.

I recently purchased 'be' blemished version from periodic audio. Seriously, I can't tell what's wrong with them physically. But I feel low end lacking significantly (and I am not a bass head). I have tried all kinds of tips and even had them put through Jlab burn in track on sound cloud for about 100 hrs. Am I missing anything. I have looked at reviews and graphs and didn't expect it to lack in low end to my liking. I am using Iphone 8plus with apple audio adaptor which per the reviews are quite good and clean source for driving iems. I listen to mostly online music (320 kbps)

Should I do more burn in ? Some reviews mentioned over 200 hrs of burn-in but I am not too much of a believe of iems needs that much time to get better, atleast scientifically.

Any suggestions are welcome. I want to like these iem's since they are sooo comfortable and do well in other freq range.

rd5rdm:

I had an almost similar problem. I have a pair of "regular" be's, and, after just over a full week of "training" using real music AND after FINALLY completing my eartip search, I liked them so much, I got a pair of on-sale blem be's.

I really feel your pain with the eartip selection hunting. I tried all of the included eartips, liking the large foam ones best, but something was still lacking. I tried some from other brands and finally found that Comply foam 600 Isolation large worked best for me. (The same may not fit your ears, but something out there will.) The difference was immediate and immense. I cannot stress the importance of the proper fit and seal to providing good sound, especially bass response. In my 15 years of experience with iems, starting with the admittedly bass-shy original Etymotics ER-4s's, the single most important thing that makes them stop sounding like an old transistor radio, or good 3-way speakers with blown woofers, is the proper eartip fit and seal.

Transducers with real moving parts, whether speakers, headphones, or iems will have a "training period" while their moving parts get used to flexing the way we like them to. Some materials "learn" faster than others. Beryllium seems to take longer than most, whether from my venerable Yamaha NS-500 speakers with Beryllium dome tweeters (gone but not forgotten), or the Focal Utopias, or the Periodic Audio be.

My reference rig is a Furman 15/MIT cable/Melco/Moon Audio Silver Dragon/Chord Hugo2/JH Audio+A&K Layla 2 with Silver Dragon 3 cable. None of those ever leave the house, so I use the be's with either iPhone or iPad and the Periodic Audio Nickel amp for roaming.

If you are convinced that you have found the perfect eartips, but still find the bass lacking to your tastes, try the Periodic Audio Carbon. My mind puts the be in the frequency response sweet spot and the Carbon takes that and adds a subwoofer. (Your mind may interpret the same sounds differently.) I think both the be and C sound great with the Nickel amp from my iPad or iPhone (when I can't get to the Hugo2).

Happy Hunting. Don't give up, many of us think the be's are worth it to get the eartips right.

 

[rd5rdm]

rd5rdm:

I had an almost similar problem. I have a pair of "regular" be's, and, after just over a full week of "training" using real music AND after FINALLY completing my eartip search, I liked them so much, I got a pair of on-sale blem be's.

I really feel your pain with the eartip selection hunting. I tried all of the included eartips, liking the large foam ones best, but something was still lacking. I tried some from other brands and finally found that Comply foam 600 Isolation large worked best for me. (The same may not fit your ears, but something out there will.) The difference was immediate and immense. I cannot stress the importance of the proper fit and seal to providing good sound, especially bass response. In my 15 years of experience with iems, starting with the admittedly bass-shy original Etymotics ER-4s's, the single most important thing that makes them stop sounding like an old transistor radio, or good 3-way speakers with blown woofers, is the proper eartip fit and seal.

Transducers with real moving parts, whether speakers, headphones, or iems will have a "training period" while their moving parts get used to flexing the way we like them to. Some materials "learn" faster than others. Beryllium seems to take longer than most, whether from my venerable Yamaha NS-500 speakers with Beryllium dome tweeters (gone but not forgotten), or the Focal Utopias, or the Periodic Audio be.

My reference rig is a Furman 15/MIT cable/Melco/Moon Audio Silver Dragon/Chord Hugo2/JH Audio+A&K Layla 2 with Silver Dragon 3 cable. None of those ever leave the house, so I use the be's with either iPhone or iPad and the Periodic Audio Nickel amp for roaming.

If you are convinced that you have found the perfect eartips, but still find the bass lacking to your tastes, try the Periodic Audio Carbon. My mind puts the be in the frequency response sweet spot and the Carbon takes that and adds a subwoofer. (Your mind may interpret the same sounds differently.) I think both the be and C sound great with the Nickel amp from my iPad or iPhone (when I can't get to the Hugo2).

Happy Hunting. Don't give up, many of us think the be's are worth it to get the eartips right.

Thanks for such detailed reply. If burning-in is a thing, then I would spend another 4 days or so - this time on real music. See if that helps. I have tried all the foam tips that come with it, I feel the seal is proper but the sound isn't there yet.

 

[BaconWithThat]

Thanks for such detailed reply. If burning-in is a thing, then I would spend another 4 days or so - this time on real music. See if that helps. I have tried all the foam tips that come with it, I feel the seal is proper but the sound isn't there yet.

I've never found the bass to be where I want it w/ the foam tips. I've tried all 3 kinds included, plus spiral dots and symbio hybrids. After all of that, i'm back to the single flange mediums from Periodic. In fact, I just ordered a set of replacement tips from them. When you get the fit just right, you'll find the bass you are looking for.

 

[DanWiggins]

As others have posted, bass-shy is NOT something we're guilty of! If there's not enough bottom end, you either have a poor seal (you shouldn't be able to easily hear anyone talking when you have music playing and a good seal) or you have a defective pair (very rare). Check the seal/ear tip and give it a try. We offer, typically, "tactile" levels of bass, where you almost feel it... Is it "accurate"? Well, it's certainly fun and very listenable!

 

[rd5rdm]

As others have posted, bass-shy is NOT something we're guilty of! If there's not enough bottom end, you either have a poor seal (you shouldn't be able to easily hear anyone talking when you have music playing and a good seal) or you have a defective pair (very rare). Check the seal/ear tip and give it a try. We offer, typically, "tactile" levels of bass, where you almost feel it... Is it "accurate"? Well, it's certainly fun and very listenable!

Thanks for the response. I did check the seal, I can’t hear anything even with music not playing - at work. The reason I tried Foam was because I wanted to get a good seal. I’ll give it another try this weekend after few more hours or burn-in, I understand from one of your old replies that you are not a fan of burning in. If there could be a defect, is there a way to troubleshoot / confirm that ?

 

[rd5rdm]

Okay, so an update. I have come to find and like bass response that I’d characterize as just right for my taste with foam tips. In the recent days I find myself going for the be’s over the P7 wireless I have only because I find P7 bass sometime overpowers other frequencies a bit and it also lingers longer.

Not coming back to the be’s, I am struggling with good seal. I find small size with 10ish diameter fits perfectly in right one but my left canal is shorter than the right one, so it needs extra small size. Problem is more in Silicon ones than Foam. With small I can get good seal on right but left one remains a struggle. So I think I need a small and xtra small one but most aftermarket tips I see don’t go below small size (or 10ish mm diameter)

Any suggestions are welcome - both in silicons and foam. Having a good seal in silicons will be great coz it’s easier to put in and take off at work

As a reference, final audio e3000 has 4mm nozzle diameter and its small one fit perfectly in my left ear (9.5mm dia) and provides good seal.

 

[totte]

Okay, so an update. I have come to find and like bass response that I’d characterize as just right for my taste with foam tips. In the recent days I find myself going for the be’s over the P7 wireless I have only because I find P7 bass sometime overpowers other frequencies a bit and it also lingers longer.

Not coming back to the be’s, I am struggling with good seal. I find small size with 10ish diameter fits perfectly in right one but my left canal is shorter than the right one, so it needs extra small size. Problem is more in Silicon ones than Foam. With small I can get good seal on right but left one remains a struggle. So I think I need a small and xtra small one but most aftermarket tips I see don’t go below small size (or 10ish mm diameter)

Any suggestions are welcome - both in silicons and foam. Having a good seal in silicons will be great coz it’s easier to put in and take off at work

As a reference, final audio e3000 has 4mm nozzle diameter and its small one fit perfectly in my left ear (9.5mm dia) and provides good seal.

Maybe consider getting custom silicone tips. Custom art has very affordable custom silicone tips. Just need to get good ear impressions and send to them in Poland.

 

[PaganDL]

Okay, so an update. I have come to find and like bass response that I’d characterize as just right for my taste with foam tips. In the recent days I find myself going for the be’s over the P7 wireless I have only because I find P7 bass sometime overpowers other frequencies a bit and it also lingers longer.

Not coming back to the be’s, I am struggling with good seal. I find small size with 10ish diameter fits perfectly in right one but my left canal is shorter than the right one, so it needs extra small size. Problem is more in Silicon ones than Foam. With small I can get good seal on right but left one remains a struggle. So I think I need a small and xtra small one but most aftermarket tips I see don’t go below small size (or 10ish mm diameter)

Any suggestions are welcome - both in silicons and foam. Having a good seal in silicons will be great coz it’s easier to put in and take off at work

As a reference, final audio e3000 has 4mm nozzle diameter and its small one fit perfectly in my left ear (9.5mm dia) and provides good seal.

Hi @rd5rdm,

Just my humble two cents.

If you're not using the H tips already, I would suggest trying those as I find in either foams or silicones work well though in the past I was more partial to foams.
Spinfit has extra small though fitting those on the the Be may be a bit tight.

Or as @totte suggests, get custom art custom ear tips if you can find a good audiologist.

Hope you have a great day !

 

[rd5rdm]

Hi @rd5rdm,

Just my humble two cents.

If you're not using the H tips already, I would suggest trying those as I find in either foams or silicones work well though in the past I was more partial to foams.
Spinfit has extra small though fitting those on the the Be may be a bit tight.

Or as @totte suggests, get custom art custom ear tips if you can find a good audiologist.

Hope you have a great day !

H Tips ?

 

[PaganDL]

H Tips ?

Apologies, H tips are Periodic Audio's own ear tips, full name is Hydrogen, can be found on the Periodic Audio site.

Hope you have a great day !

 

[Tranman409]

I got my Carbon 2 weeks ago and love them. I am using them daily and really love them but I noticed that the cable is already exposed at the Y split. I have no issues with losing sound at the moment but does anyone know what I could simply tape them up to make sure they don't get exposed more?

 

[PaganDL]

I got my Carbon 2 weeks ago and love them. I am using them daily and really love them but I noticed that the cable is already exposed at the Y split. I have no issues with losing sound at the moment but does anyone know what I could simply tape them up to make sure they don't get exposed more?

@Tranman409,
Before you start taping it up, I would suggest you take some photos, upload them here in the thread instead of using the imgur link (I didn't even know you had that as my browser actually blocked the link) as well as email Periodic Audio customer support.

Someone should be able to help.

@DanWiggins,
It seems the C has a cable problem, can you help?

Hope you have a great day !

 

[Tranman409]

@Tranman409,
Before you start taping it up, I would suggest you take some photos, upload them here in the thread instead of using the imgur link (I didn't even know you had that as my browser actually blocked the link) as well as email Periodic Audio customer support.

Someone should be able to help.

@DanWiggins,
It seems the C has a cable problem, can you help?

Hope you have a great day !

Ty Pagan, I didnt know if the exposed wire was a rare issue and I just got unlucky. I didn't want to bother customer support because it still plays perfectly like the day I got it and I don't want to part ways of exchanging them out because I use them everyday and I do shift work.

 

[dbdynsty25]

Just bought some Carbons...I love barrel type headphones, so hoping these fit the bill. Been hearing/reading good things, so I'm really looking forward to giving them a listen.

 

[dbdynsty25]

Got my Carbons today. As of this moment - I’m undecided. I use them connected to my Note 10 and the Dragonfly Cobalt (Cobalt & Carbon huh?) and I also have the Radson Es100 bluetooth amp as well.

Without any burn in (does it exist?) and straight out of the box they are a little bright w/ rock music but perfectly suited for hip hop (which I listen to 90% of the time). The bass rumbles nicely and they are fairly recessed in the midrange, which doesn’t matter much for hip hop and then the brightness comes in and fills out the spectrum. Like I said, for hip hop, absolutely fantastic. For rock - hopefully it will smooth out a touch so they can be a do-it-all headphone.

I love how easy they are to insert, get a good seal and I can wear them for hours without any fatigue. Like I said in my previous post, I love barrel type headphones for casual listening and these fall right in line. I’m using them currently with the stock tips (that came on the headphone from factory) and they fit perfectly. I prefer Final Audio’s e5000 tips normally just because they seem to stay put better, so I’ll probably end up switching, but for now, listening as intended by Periodic Audio.

All that said, holy heck that’s a lot of driver flex when hey are inserted. Both ears. Flex obviously is signifying that I’ve got a good seal, but I’m worried that it will damage that beautiful diamond coated driver.

Oh and the cable is absolute garbage. Why on earth do these $400 headphones not have a nicer cable? I don’t really care about detachable, but at least put one on them that people don’t want to immediately replace because it’s thin and tangles if you just look at it wrong. The only saving grace is it’s not stiff at all, it’s really supple. And why no chin slider? That way we can wear them over ear to reduce microphonics? I don’t get that decision AT ALL.

Anyway, I hate to bash them too much because the overall sound signature and detail retrieval is awesome. So I’ll push on with some burn in and see if I can smooth that treble out a touch for my southern rock music.