[centerfold]

I am probably going to end up with a clip-phonak setup as well. I've been meaning to get the ER4's, but some of the con's of it (price, microphonics, sticks out of ears) turned me off of it. Since they seem to have similar sounds this may be the better alternative.

 

[paulie888]

Centerfold,

If you've never tried the Clip before you're in for a pleasant surprise. I bought it pretty much on Martin's (from abi) recommendation, and I've never regretted my decision even once. It is very musical, and the soundstage is unlike anything I've heard from any other mp3 player, even with the stock headphones. It has so much 'air' and presence, and the music is as 3-dimensional as I've ever heard accomplished on headphones.

That being said, the output from the Clip is not very strong in comparison with other MP3 players I've come across, and I'm guessing the Etymotics may not be the best choice as I've heard that they're somewhat difficult to drive, and do not really have high sensitivity.

This is why I'm eagerly looking forward to Martin's appraisal of the Clip-Phonak pairing, and whether they can go loud enough without a headphone amp.

Paul

 

[paulie888]

Martin,

I came across your comment about sleeping with the Phonaks. I'm just curious, and I hope you don't mind me asking this, under what circumstances do you sleep with your headphones on and what is your purpose in sleeping with them?

I have accidentally fallen asleep with my headphones on, and I've always tried to be careful about not doing it, because the wires tend to get tangled and possibly pulled and damaged; I'm also afraid that I may sleep on and crush my Clip, even though it is so small!

Would really appreciate your input on this, your comments really have me piqued!

Paul

 

[dfkt]

Well, I sleep with IEMs under all circumstances.

For me it's the best time to really concentrate on the music, right before I fall asleep. I don't move around while sleeping, my phones are save, and I probably won't get strangled either.

Would be a shame if I woke up dead some day...

 

[schneller]

As soon as I got my Phonak's I put in the black filters, so yesterday I finally tried them with the grey filters. I find it amazing how such a small thing can adjust the sound as such. Between the two, I think I prefer the grey filters providing such a strong midrange. But I also miss some of the bass of the black filters. So yes, my ideal filters would be between the two.

That said, I still cannot get a really good fit on my right ear. So I am probably 85-90% satisfied with them, so there is still a chance they may go back. (Whereas I was only 40-50% satisfied with the X5s by comparison.)

I think I am still very curious to try the SA6.

 

[paulie888]

Martin,

I posted something earlier regarding the pairing of the Clip with the Phonaks. I'm reproducing it below, hope you can offer some input about it.

Dfkt,

It's so ironic that you mentioned 'basshead' in your comments, because one of the headphones that I own which many would consider bass heavy is the JBL reference 220.

I'm looking for an everyday pair of headphones that are reasonably priced (and the Phonaks certainly fit the bill, as I'm not about to spend $200+ on some high end earphones!), and the JBL's seem a little sibilant in the treble to me, and the boomy and somewhat flabby bass just gets really overbearing after a while. I suppose there are some that would consider the sound "exciting", but I think it gets fatiguing very quickly especially if you listen for hours on end.

One of the reasons I picked the JBLs was for their sensitivity, as the Clip doesn't seem to drive normal headphones very loud. Since you say the impedance is high and the sensitivity relatively low on the Phonaks, is the Clip able to drive them to satisfactorily loud levels without an amp? I know the Clip's output is not very high in comparison with many other mp3 players, that is my major concern about pairing them with the phonaks.

Thanks,
Paul

 

[moonsurf]

I cannot help you anything on Clip + Phonak b/c I don't have Clip. However, I had JBL 200, and I perhaps I can give you my 2 cents on how they compare. Like you, I liked JBL for strong bass and overall musicality, but I finally got rid off it b/c of fatiguing highs. I used to think JBL had good bass for IEM. However, Phonak is in class of its own. It has less bass, but much better quality. It goes deeper and punchier. And, other areas like mid and highs, IMO it isn't even worth comparing. It's like comparing $50 phones to $150 phones.

By the way, my iRiver and Sony has no problem driving Phonak, but somewhere in me thinks Phonak will improve significantly if amped. Hope it was helpful.

 

[dfkt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulie888 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Since you say the impedance is high and the sensitivity relatively low on the Phonaks, is the Clip able to drive them to satisfactorily loud levels without an amp? I know the Clip's output is not very high in comparison with many other mp3 players, that is my major concern about pairing them with the phonaks.

I think the Clip's output power doesn't have to be afraid of comparisons to beefy players like the Cowon D2 and such. It drives my full-sized Ultrasone HFI-780 perfectly fine, and the 80 Ohm Beyer DT770 pretty good as well. The Clip's AMS chip handles 120mW(!) output into 16 Ohm in theory, but we don't know for sure since Sandisk doesn't release any technical specs about their implementation of the hardware.

That being said, the Clip can drive the Phonaks to ear-splitting levels, at least for my taste (or pain threshold).

 

[schneller]

Well, I finally got a good, comfy seal with the Shure Olives (bought at a local Apple Store).

I do think I prefer the grey filters.

Auditioning continues...

 

[schneller]

I put the black filters in again. Just played "All I Need" by Radiohead. It is a HQ rip...and it distorts a lot. Like the entire bass line sounds distorted. But this isn't the only song. I am hearing a lot of distortion in the highs and lows. This is with about 55% volume on a Sansa.

 

[i_don't_know]

Sorry for the randomness, but what exactly does distortion sound like?

 

[schneller]

Crackling?

 

[i_don't_know]

In that case, I am experiencing extreme distortion with everything I own except my JVC HA-RX700. Thanks for clearing that up for me. No more wondering.

 

[schneller]

Never experienced it with my ATH-CK7s.

 

[paulie888]

Martin,

I had no idea that the Clip was (potentially) capable of well over 100mW output at 16 ohms, that should make it capable of driving just about any earphones to ear-splitting levels quite easily.

I've always liked Sandisk's offerings and have owned a couple of their Sansa MP3 players in addition to the Clip, but one deficiency I've found in all their players is their relatively low output in comparison to iPods and Zunes, unfortunately. I'm not very fond of iPods due to the limitations that Apple builds into them, but one thing they definitely have going for them is the extremely high output they have. I remember my friend's iPod being able to blast her stock earphones so loud they were almost like miniature speakers, and we were able to hear the music quite easily from about 6 feet away! That's one thing the Sandisk could never do, and I've often wondered why they didn't design higher output into their players.

Paul