Sinocelt
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2005
- Posts
- 2,417
- Likes
- 208
Hearing test: HF5
The HF5 can be had for $99 on Amazon until the end of this month (the coupon is on the product's page). They offer a clear, detailed sound, which I find engaging -- not as coldly analytical as other reviews had made me fear. For the first time, I heard drums from IEMs that sounded very much like my own experience with them.
Also, when I listen to the virtual haircut with the ADDIEM, I am impressed. Listening to the same with the HF5 makes me uneasy: it isn't exactly as if there were suddenly someone else in my room, the illusion isn't quite perfect, but... yes, it's good enough to make me shiver a little as if an intruder had entered behind me and (worst moment) talked over my shoulder right into my ear.
I can push the HF5 deeply in, but even then, my large ear canals make getting a seal with the triflanges very tricky; and when I finally get it right, my ears are sore. I get a much better result from the Shure large black foam sleeves (also known on these boards as "Shure olives"). I'm used to wearing foam earplugs day and night, so I found those comfortable for extended wear, but the very fact that the HF5 go in so deep, nearly as much as Q-tips, makes me a little uneasy: I'd better not bump the side of my head!
Finally, the cable isn't quite flexible enough, and is very microphonic, which means that if anything rubs against it, the noise transmits loudly to your ears. The only way I've found to solve the problem is to make the cable go over my ears and tie it (using its slider) above or behind my head.
---------------------------------
Hearing test: CX 380 II
The CX 380 Sport II can be had for $62.67 on Amazon. While they are not as bad as I first thought (not as tubey, after some burning), they're still far from what I expected from Sennheisers. The bass is very strong, but smeared: if too many instruments are playing, they all fuze into one big noise, albeit a musical one.
Getting a seal is hard; losing it, easy. On the other hand, the cable is good (similar to the ADDIEM's, only thicker and apparently more robust). The big selling point of these earphones, however, is that they can be washed under running water. I put them under the tap (cold water, weak stream) and left them to dry overnight. The day after, I thought the left earphone was dead. Actually, it was still playing, but at a fraction of the power of the right. It took it two days to come back to normal.
---------------------------------
Hearing test: RE2
The RE2 + Fiio E5 can be had for $49 on Head-Direct. The RE2 are bass-shy, but the bass boost mode of the E5 (a micro-amp) can make up for it to some extent. The clarity of the RE2 is closer to the HF5's than to the ADDIEM's. However, the cable is even less flexible than the HF5's, and even more microphonic. As a result, they're great for listening to your music at home, but not as much for listening on the go.
(Real reviews are available from HeadphoneAddict and ClieOS.)
---------------------------------
Hearing test: ADDIEM
The ADDIEM can be had for $35 on eBay (I bought two from this seller). They're good all around: good bass, mids (slightly recessed behind the bass, alas), and highs; good clarity; good cable (very flexible, and not very microphonic). When I wear them, I'm satisfied. It is only when I switch to the HF5 (or, to a lesser extent, the RE2) that the ADDIEM sound muffled and smeared in comparison; the ADDIEM are more detailed than the SHS8000, though, and much cleaner than the CX 380.
While I can get a seal with the included tips, I prefer the Sony hybrids with the ADDIEM. Instant seal. And not only are they easy to put in your ears, they're also easy to put on the IEM and easy to remove, which makes them very easy to clean.
I've also bought Phonak's silicone ear guides, because I'm used to wearing my canalphones over my ears.
Pleasing sound, easy and comfortable seal, good-ish sound isolation, low microphonics: the ADDIEM are good all-around performers. I would be perfectly content with them... if I didn't have the sound of the HF5 to compare.
---------------------------------
Hearing test: SHS8000
I've already reviewed the SHS8000, which can be had for $28.87 on Amazon. Good enough sound (better than that of the CX 380), very practical and comfortable, but it is an open-back design: it makes for a more open sound, yes, but it also means very little sound isolation.
The HF5 can be had for $99 on Amazon until the end of this month (the coupon is on the product's page). They offer a clear, detailed sound, which I find engaging -- not as coldly analytical as other reviews had made me fear. For the first time, I heard drums from IEMs that sounded very much like my own experience with them.
Also, when I listen to the virtual haircut with the ADDIEM, I am impressed. Listening to the same with the HF5 makes me uneasy: it isn't exactly as if there were suddenly someone else in my room, the illusion isn't quite perfect, but... yes, it's good enough to make me shiver a little as if an intruder had entered behind me and (worst moment) talked over my shoulder right into my ear.
I can push the HF5 deeply in, but even then, my large ear canals make getting a seal with the triflanges very tricky; and when I finally get it right, my ears are sore. I get a much better result from the Shure large black foam sleeves (also known on these boards as "Shure olives"). I'm used to wearing foam earplugs day and night, so I found those comfortable for extended wear, but the very fact that the HF5 go in so deep, nearly as much as Q-tips, makes me a little uneasy: I'd better not bump the side of my head!
Finally, the cable isn't quite flexible enough, and is very microphonic, which means that if anything rubs against it, the noise transmits loudly to your ears. The only way I've found to solve the problem is to make the cable go over my ears and tie it (using its slider) above or behind my head.
---------------------------------
Hearing test: CX 380 II
The CX 380 Sport II can be had for $62.67 on Amazon. While they are not as bad as I first thought (not as tubey, after some burning), they're still far from what I expected from Sennheisers. The bass is very strong, but smeared: if too many instruments are playing, they all fuze into one big noise, albeit a musical one.
Getting a seal is hard; losing it, easy. On the other hand, the cable is good (similar to the ADDIEM's, only thicker and apparently more robust). The big selling point of these earphones, however, is that they can be washed under running water. I put them under the tap (cold water, weak stream) and left them to dry overnight. The day after, I thought the left earphone was dead. Actually, it was still playing, but at a fraction of the power of the right. It took it two days to come back to normal.
---------------------------------
Hearing test: RE2
The RE2 + Fiio E5 can be had for $49 on Head-Direct. The RE2 are bass-shy, but the bass boost mode of the E5 (a micro-amp) can make up for it to some extent. The clarity of the RE2 is closer to the HF5's than to the ADDIEM's. However, the cable is even less flexible than the HF5's, and even more microphonic. As a result, they're great for listening to your music at home, but not as much for listening on the go.
(Real reviews are available from HeadphoneAddict and ClieOS.)
---------------------------------
Hearing test: ADDIEM
The ADDIEM can be had for $35 on eBay (I bought two from this seller). They're good all around: good bass, mids (slightly recessed behind the bass, alas), and highs; good clarity; good cable (very flexible, and not very microphonic). When I wear them, I'm satisfied. It is only when I switch to the HF5 (or, to a lesser extent, the RE2) that the ADDIEM sound muffled and smeared in comparison; the ADDIEM are more detailed than the SHS8000, though, and much cleaner than the CX 380.
While I can get a seal with the included tips, I prefer the Sony hybrids with the ADDIEM. Instant seal. And not only are they easy to put in your ears, they're also easy to put on the IEM and easy to remove, which makes them very easy to clean.
I've also bought Phonak's silicone ear guides, because I'm used to wearing my canalphones over my ears.
Pleasing sound, easy and comfortable seal, good-ish sound isolation, low microphonics: the ADDIEM are good all-around performers. I would be perfectly content with them... if I didn't have the sound of the HF5 to compare.
---------------------------------
Hearing test: SHS8000
I've already reviewed the SHS8000, which can be had for $28.87 on Amazon. Good enough sound (better than that of the CX 380), very practical and comfortable, but it is an open-back design: it makes for a more open sound, yes, but it also means very little sound isolation.
