swbf2cheater
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2009
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I received this set of Hippo Epic Sparkles as a gift with my purchase of a used set of Silver Bullets ( ty jorge you rock ). When I first opened the bag up I saw them and said to myself " what on gods green earth are these" They must be Hippo...but what the hell is their actual name? I thought I had already owned every Hippo in existence, I clearly was wrong and missed this little guy.
*note something I realized after looking at this picture in HQ. I won't be using a fabric bag as given by fischer audio to hold my IEMs anymore. I still own my eterna bag and used it to hold these Hippos, as well as using the stock Silver Bullet bag to hold the SBs of course. They are fuzz magnets and look dirty after you take them out. Maybe the bag needs cleaning? Pieces of the bag are clinging to the iems :[
Size and Quality of the Parts
Anyway, on to the review. You will notice they are tiny things, around half the size of something like the Fischer Audio Silver bullets. They feel very solid and sturdy and have some weight to it. They connection into the IEM head itself is grade A+. It feels and looks great and I dont worry about pulling the sucker out on accident like I do when I use my Silver Bullets, which have a tiny little thing protecting it, it feels flimsy on the SBs, but very strong on the Sparkles. The wire is made of a material you would find in a kids jump rope. Its not rubber like most others, its a cloth like material. At first i thought this isn't quality at all and feels cheap. I realized soon after that this likely has a much higher breaking point than something with a rubber wire. Odds are strong the silver bullet wire will tear before the Sparkles. The adapter head is junk, sadly. It feels like junk and likely is junk. In comparison to the stunningly beautiful Silver Bullets adapter head, its feels cheap and hallow. The same type of head you would find in the $1.00 headphones you can buy at a gas station. I also feel the actual driver housing design to be gorgeous. I love the color and what looks like studded diamonds or something all around the back end behind the logo. Looks that way from a distance, but its just divot holes that appear like brushed and polished metal. Very beautiful.
The size of the piece that extends out to hold the tips on is very thick. It's near twice the size of the Silver Bullets. I'll explain more about this in the Sound Quality section below.
Comfort + tips
They are very comfortable, not really sure what else to say. They are very small and fit my ears very nicely. They are so small, they have no problem getting a great seal no matter what tips I use on them. This could be a problem for taller people, due to their size. They won't actually make it into your ear canal if you are a giant person compared to me, lol. Unless you use some type of large double or triple flange tip to extend further into your ear, I don't see how someone 6 foot and up would be able to get a good seal. Isolation is mediocre at best depending on what tips you are using. Another problem I see is the cable itself just wanting to stick to my chin and my face. Sometimes it gets in my face and I get seriously annoyed, as something like my Silver Bullets never have this problem. Its not a big deal, but I can see how some people will not enjoy the cable running along your cheeks at times. When I am walking around, the cable is just fine and out of my face, however when I sit down and the cable bunches up a bit, it clings to my face a lot.
I am using the stock SB tips as well as the PL30 tips. Both have a very wide opening that fits over the Hippos tube. The Pl30 tips are just amazing. Unquestionably the best tips Ive ever used for the SBs and the Hippos. All the stock tips from the Silver Bullets will fit these Hippos, but it takes a little bit of force to get onto the Hippos tube. The stock SB tips have a much smaller opening, but will still fit and sound good on the Epic Sparkles, not nearly as good as the PL30 tips though.
*Note, I am actually using the PL30 tips on my Silver Bullets. They are crazy comfortable and way nicer sounding than any of the stock tips from fischer audio. I am using the tips one step down from the single flange. Its not a bullet mushroom shaped tip, its the one more like a cylinder, the largest one of its type. It provides excellent clarity and does not reduce the massive stage at all, all while maintaining excellent deep and powerful bass.
Sound Quality.
Well, upon their first use the first thing that popped into my mind was " wow, how very Eterna-like these are. "
They are very much like the Fischer Audio Eterna in terms of presentation. A big sound that is equally tall as it is wide. Enveloping and extremely punchy. Separation is Mediocre as well, its nothing special in that area. The stage is is very large in terms of tallness, Boxed like is the best way to describe it. ( which again is very Eterna )
I've only come across a few IEMS that were this tall sounding. They are not even close to being as wide as the SBs though. Then again, what IEM under $150 is? I've never found one, lol
Sibilance is a problem. There is a lot of slurring going on when I directly compare to something like the Silver Bullets. On instrumental songs, there is a lot a blurring. Meaning the background instruments like bass, piano, possibly some high hats are all seemingly blended. The Silver Bullets do not have this problem and each and every note on every instrument can be heard clearly and with great separation. Noticeable depth and space between them. This is not present in the Hippo Epic Sparkles. A major flaw.
The Bass is prime, A+ on the bass Hippo. Excellent bass, very clean and powerful. Not too thick sounding, but not thin or airy either. I really enjoy the bass experience. Its very large sounding. Overall this set is very forward and to me sounds like the Fischer Audio Eternas little brother who isn't as good at sports as his all star brother is
It is not even close to being as clear as the eterna or the Silver Bullets. Its got qualities something like the JVC marshmallow doesn't have, but a lot that it does. What I mean by that is the Hippo Epic Sparkles are a good deal if you want clean and powerful bass with a fantastic stage and presentation, very punchy and very comfortable. However, its audio quality is not up to par with the price, as I've found other deals for $45 new that beat it to a pulp. If you can snag a pair used, I say do it. 7/10 for me. Excellent portable set to not have to worry about taking outside while still maintaining decent sound quality at $45 bucks or so. For sure not as good as the Fischer Audio lineup, but still a very nice deal if you can snag one for 25-30$ used.
