[BobJS]

Sent them back.  I DO love the ex1000s, though
 

 

[compoopers]

Hey guys, I currently have Miles Davis Tributes.

I have some problems with the MDTs, mainly in the flashiness, fragility, and microphonics. However, I love the sound.

So I've been looking for an IEM that has similar sound signature to the MDTs -- powerful, but not over done bass, lush/intimate mids/vocals.

I was directed here. Right now I'm heavily considering getting either these or the JVC FXT90s.

Does anyone who knows the MDTs have anything to say about these in comparison, or comparing the FXT90s to these? I saw a chain of posts about this topic a while back but I wanted to know if anything new has arisen in that debate.

 

[Ambroos]

Sorry for doing a necro on this thread, but if one was to find these MDR-7550's and the EX600 at the same price, which ones would be the most interesting buy? I come from the MDR-EX300's and I am currently in the position where they cost exactly the same to me, both brand new. And I can't decide.

 

[dweaver]

The 7550 have a more forward midrange and slightly toned down treble. The Ex600 has more of a V shaped signature with strong bass and sharp highs. I have heard the 600 can be sibilant but know the 7550 never has this issue.

The EX600 has a bigger fit kit but if have experience with Sony hybrid tips and know one of the standard 3 tips fit you then the 7550's smaller kit will be OK. Personally I use the standard large tips so have no problem with the smaller selection in the 7550.

 

[Ambroos]

My 7550's just arrived and even though I really like them there are some things I didn't expect coming from the EX300. I did only have them burn in for about two hours now so I'm not sure if it'll get better.
 
What's striking me most is that when I actually do a focused listen I seem to like the way they sound less than I liked the EX300. It feels a bit flat and perhaps I miss the quite punchy bass of the EX300. Or the Clear Bass on my Walkman that I have turned off to listen to these. When I hold my fingers on the vent holes the bass comes booming in but everything else sounds pretty meh.
 
On the other side, when I'm just listening passively and not paying attention to how they actually sound I am constantly surprised by how balanced everything is. It's amazing. I think what I'm hearing for the first time now is music where the bass doesn't drown everything else. Music I've been listening to for years suddenly starts sending shivers down my spine when I close my eyes. The detail is amazing. All those female voices singing in my ear is pretty heavenly. And my lower-bitrate MP3's now annoy the hell out of me - even Spotify at high quality somehow doesn't sound as good as CD's anymore.
 
Aside that I love how comfortable these are to wear. With the memory wire ear thing you really don't feel them at all. With my EX300's I had to do really weird things to the cable because it was constantly pulling at the earbuds. The cable length is also perfect for me, I thought it'd be longer from what I'd read, but it makes everything easy to use. I can pull the cord under my t-shirt over my back and still use my Walkman easily, and I don't have an extremely long cable in my pockets all the time.
 
Overall I quite like it. For now I'll keep on wondering how the EX600 and EX1000's sound, and I also sort of fear that I have found an addicting new way to spend tons of money. But I'm quite glad I got them at a nice price and with two years of additional warranty ^^ Now the only thing I need to do is to see if I can appear in public with these - without getting weird looks. 
 

---

 
I did actually want to ask some things, but they got lost while I was writing whatever I wrote above the line. What I wanted to ask is, how do these change after the burn-in? I'm not really sure, but is it possible I can hear some sibilance from time to time and that the highs are just a little harsh? A good example is this song: http://youtu.be/voek71m-yf8?t=31s - the trumpets really hurt my ears. The YouTube version isn't as bad as how it is on CD/Spotify. I also feel like the sound sort of lacks just a tiny bit of - I don't know - clarity? Does it get better after a considerable amount of time?
 
Thanks!
- Ambroos
 
(PS: I think Ella Fitzgerald actually lives in my ears now, she sounds breathtaking with these!)

 

[dweaver]

The changes to the 7550 were subtle in my experience. But if you are coming from a bass heavy IEM I suggest only using the 7550 for at least a coue days to a week to give your m d a chance to get adjusted to the new sound. As for sibilance I never noticed any with my pair but I may be a bad judge as I actually like a brighter sound.

 

[Ambroos]

Well I've listening with the MDR-7550 for hours on end yesterday, and after that I tried my EX300's again and I was really surprised. The 7550's actually seem to have more bass, but it's much less in your face since everything else is more balanced too. And the EX300's in general sounded a bit crappy. Seems like I already got used to the 7550's
 
The only thing that is just a bit annoying (but also good in another way) is that bad recordings now sound really, really dull. With the EX300 you couldn't really tell, but now there is an obvious difference.
 
Oh well, I'm very happy with my 7550's

 

[dweaver]

I find the 7550 to be effortless and smooth. Glad to hear it hasn't taken long for your mind to adjust to the sound signature.

 

[dweaver]

The Radio Shack Auvio tips open the treble up on the 7550 and give more transparent mids and a better sound stage. My 7550 has suddenly gone from being on the sales block to one of my favorites again.

 

[kiteki]

I read your other thread, I was going to say MDR-EX310 or MDR-7550.
 
Usually the EX600 is cheaper, but if they're the same price then shoot for 7550 for sure, since it's (apparently) more finely tuned for studio precision, uses an inner coating of magnesium alloy, and has slightly more forward vocals (intended for stage musician monitoring).
 
So if you like female vocals and fairly complex music across the spectrum music like Björk, I don't think the MDR-7550's will disappoint!
 
It sounds like right now you're just going through a phase of acclimatization.  If you're used to the bass-heavier EX300 it's quite possible the MDR-7550's will sound thin and too subtle in the bass.
 
Using different tips (like decored Shure Olives, or some variant of Comply) may introduce a tighter seal for more bass, and filter out some of the spike in the highs (so you can increase the volume a little = m0re b4ss).
 
Naturally you can use an equalizer and increase -50Hz a lot too, hehe.

 

[Haonan]

@dweaver: I have never noticed any sort of sibilance/harsh treble issues like you on my pair, although my are the EX800ST's (japanese domestic model of the MDR-7550's). One thing I think some people needs to understand regarding the sound signature of the MDR-7550/EX800ST's, is that these 2 reference-monitor gears are tuned towards a more neutral-sounding FR, although they can indeed be considered bright for some people, but coming from many higher-end Audio-technica and Grado cans, I would like to re-affirm the fact that these are certainly not considered bright-sounding IEMs at all, at least not when compared to the MDR-EX1000's or the CK100PRO's, which are both slightly more technically capable in terms of all sound aspects. (with the RK-EX1000LP cable on my pair of EX800ST's, however the treble extension/details is now much more closely matched to the EX1000's by up to 95% to my ears)

The EX800ST's/MDR-7550 definitely does have a slightly more upfront/forward-sounding midrange presentation compared to the EX1000/EX600 though, but not by much actually and I also believe these can also be compensated by tweaking via a parametric equalizer such as the PowerAmp app installed on my Sony Walkman Z.

@Kiteki: There's actually no peaky/harsh highs in the treble on the EX800ST's at all, have you actually heard these IEMs yourself before, before making those statements? If I were to nitpick, I would say the ATH-CK10 that you once owned before or the latest CK100PRO's has actually more peaks in the upper-mids/highs, while the EX800ST's/MDR-7550 were a relatively sibilance-free listening experience as far as my personal experience goes. Both of the Sony NW-Z1000 series Walkman as well as my Onkyo DAC-1000 setup at home are pretty neutral and analytical gears actually, so I would like to think if you are encountering harsh treble based on the pair you have heard, it could be a inherent mis-match of stuffs like source/amps.

Just sharing what I know that's all, no offends meant.

 

[dweaver]

@Haonan I have never complained that the 7550 was to bright or sibilant, I actually have always wanted a bit more treble which the Auveo tips have provided. So I think I am hearing these alot like you do.

 

[kiteki]

Haonan all I said is they have a spike in the highs, you know around 6~7kHz like the entire Sony EX series!!  I have heard the EX300, EX500, EX600, EX700 and EX1000, not the EX800ST.
 
I'm more sensitive to the EX600 spike than the CK10 spike, which is higher up in frequency around 10kHz and quite inviting, fresh and clear, the new JVC FXD80 has that spike too, plus the Sony MDR-SA5000 and ZX1000 / MDR-7520.

 

[Inks]

I believe it's just a phenomenon that occurs due to the driver's placement in dynamics. 
 
check this out (click  on each to make bigger)

 
In all cases, a resonance in the 5-6k region occur when the driver is facing vertically.  The EX1000 and EX600 are generally under-damped, so this trade-off of having the driver placed like it is, really reveals itself. 6k is a very sensitive region to the ear, it can make things harsh easily. CK10s have this spike with poor fit, but that has more to do with ear resonance rather than placement of drivers. 
 
When the drivers are placed in a more conventional way, you get the a less problematic 3k resonance. Less problematic because the ear resonates this region negatively so a spike isn't harsh, as long as it isn't huge. 
 

 
 
I'm sure Sony didn't overlook this, but pretty much just accepted this driver resonance to allow the use of that big driver. 

 

[kiteki]

Check out this
 

Spoiler: Sony%20multi-layer

 
 ③ multi-laminate diaphragm (Multiple-Layer Diaphragm)

[Multiple-Layer 진동판의 확대 사진]​

[Multiple-Layer diaphragm Click to enlarge]

ML은 BC의 원리를 살짝 응용하여, 섬유소가 아닌 Laminate용 폴리에스터 접착제(Polyimide 등)를 PET 필름에 도포, 혹은 PET 필름을 여러겹으로 적층하여 접착제의 제진 효과를 이용하게 됩니다.​

Lightly ML by applying the principles of the BC, a non-fiber polyester adhesive for Laminate (Polyimide, etc.) applied to the PET film, PET film, or by stacking several layers of adhesive to the Vibration effect will be used.

[3겹 ML진동판과 2겹 ML진동판의 운동성 비교]​

[3-fold and 2 fold diaphragm ML ML Comparison of motility of the diaphragm]

접착제의 신축성은 진동판의 운동 방향에 수직으로 적용되어 내열성의 상승 / 내부 손실의 상승 / 공진 억제 / 발진 억제를 도모하지요.​

Elasticity of the adhesive is applied perpendicular to the direction of movement of the diaphragm and the rise of heat / internal losses rise / NF / rash hajiyo promote inhibition.

이는 BC에 비해 단가가 크게 절약되면서도 충분히 효율적인 진동판 제조 기술이라고 할 수 있겠습니다.​

This is a significant cost saving compared to BC, yet the diaphragm manufacturing technology is efficient enough to look.

두께 50μm 직경 25mm의 통상 PET 필름 진동판의 주파수 특성:​

25mm diameter typically 50μm thick PET film of the frequency characteristics of the diaphragm:

두께 50μm 직경 25mm PI-PET 2겹 ML 진동판의 주파수 특성:​

Thick layers of 50μm diameter 25mm PI-PET 2 ML frequency characteristics of the diaphragm:

PET-PI-PET(굵은 선)으로 이뤄진 25mm ML 트위터의 고역 응답성:​

PET-PI-PET (thick lines) and high frequency response tweeter 25mm ML yirwojin:

(하단 점선은 PI-PET, 상단 점선은 보통의 PET)​

(Dashed line in the bottom of the PI-PET, dashed lines at the top of the usual PET)

MDR-EX700은 치찰음 대역(6~7kHz)이 꽤나 증폭되어 과도한 치찰음이 발생하는데:​

MDR-EX700 the sibilant band (6 ~ 7kHz) is amplified, two quite excessive chichaleumyi to occur:

[일본 淵野씨의 측정 자료]​

[Japan's measurements渊野]

상기된 ML 진동판의 주파수 응답 특성을 감안 해 보면 EX700의 치찰음은 진동판보다는 역시 하우징의 공진성에서 오는 것이 아닐까 사료됩니다.​

ML glowing Given the frequency response of the diaphragm when the diaphragm rather than chichaleumeun of EX700 also comes from St. ahnilkka resonance of the housing will feed.

->참고: http://www.seeko.co.kr/zboard4/zboard.php?id=faq&no=8629​

-> Note: http://www.seeko.co.kr/zboard4/zboard.php?id=faq&no=8629
 

 
 
It says "25mm", so it looks like they were measuring the driver / material not in an IEM.
 
The "usual PET" looks very jagged compared to the other two, not sure why that graph starts at 6.5kHz though unless they were using a special HF microphone.