[Acreo Aeneas]

Okay, I know my signature lists two phones that have been on my list for the past few months, unfortunately money is still tight right now and I really need a over-the-ear pair of phones so I'm not stuck on my UE SF3 and Cuffu IEPs all day long (earwax + painful after 6+ hours). (I'm not ready for the clip-on style of the KSC75...brings on uncomfortable memories.)

I've read several of the longer micro-review headphone/IEM threads around already.

My original narrowed down list:

1. Panasonic SLIMZ (~$18 at Amazon)

2. JVC Flats (~$14 at Amazon, $12 at eBay)

3. Soundmagic P10 ($20 at MP4Nation)

I've been juggling back-and-forth between these three for a while now and seriously for the past few hours.

Here's why I'm indecisive:

0. I tend to compare practically everything now to my SF3 since they're the only nice pair I have and I haven't gotten anything that surpasses or equals it. This tends to have a bad side-effect in that I want to own more expensive phones but can't afford to. Thus the affordable ones don't seem to match them and so forth.

1. Panasonic SLIMZ: Unbalanced. Favorable towards highs/mids with a lackluster if somewhat flat bass. One reviewer noted that the imbalance was annoying after a while. Knowing myself, I don't think I can handle an annoying imbalance. Very comfortable apparently.

2. JVC Flats: They're very bargain-binny with decent balancel. Decent comfort with limited earcup swivel. A good seal is problematic.

3. Soundmagic P10: Good comfort, good sound, good placements, etc. However, tiny and very hard to get a perfect fit and seal. As such, sound quality tends to vary greatly depending on your fit and seal. With my medium-large ears, I'd probably have concerns over fidgeting forever to get that good fit and seal.

Can anyone recommend a good over-the-ear phone for around $20 to $30 that offers:

1. a good balanced sound, but whereby the bass isn't flat/lifeless and not muddy or overpowered

2. is closed or semi-closed with soft pads (preferred)

3. has some isolation and doesn't leak much (know I can't expect a perfect on both for the price - willing to compromise)

4. good sound quality

I also wear glasses and right now, prefer to stay away from clip-ons.

 

[ljokerl]

I'll toss the Philips SHL9500 in there. I had comfort issues with them but it really depends on one's ears. They best the Slimz in pretty much everything else. Flats might not have the quantity of bass you're looking for. They also need many, many, many hours of burn-in to sound their best. Surprisingly they sound better with foam pads (of the Koss variety) than the stock pleather ones.

 

[Acreo Aeneas]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ljokerl /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'll toss the Philips SHL9500 in there. I had comfort issues with them but it really depends on one's ears. They best the Slimz in pretty much everything else. Flats might not have the quantity of bass you're looking for. They also need many, many, many hours of burn-in to sound their best. Surprisingly they sound better with foam pads (of the Koss variety) than the stock pleather ones.

Oooh, those, and they were in one of the micro-review threads too. Oh wow, seems Amazon has them for cheaper (~$15 shipped). Gonna re-read the micro-review. Had originally scratched it off my list when last I checked Amazon had them for $20+.

Edit: Humph. No rotational swivel for the cups. How hard do they pinch back the ears? Would you know Joker?

 

[ljokerl]

Well there is worse (see ATH-ON3) but they certainly aren't as comfortable as the freely-rotating stuff like the PX100 and Slimz. Maybe I'm just extremely sensitive to that sort of thing.

 

[Acreo Aeneas]

All right I placed the order for the SHL9500 just now. Seems like I should get them just before Christmas Day (assuming Amazon's prediction is correct). Really looking forward to trying them with my S9 and comparing them to my Senn HD201.

I'm still so tempted to order the SLIMZ too, but that'll have to be next year. Thanks Joker for the suggestion!

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acreo Aeneas /img/forum/go_quote.gif All right I placed the order for the SHL9500 just now. Seems like I should get them just before Christmas Day (assuming Amazon's prediction is correct). Really looking forward to trying them with my S9 and comparing them to my Senn HD201. I'm still so tempted to order the SLIMZ too, but that'll have to be next year. Thanks Joker for the suggestion!

Congrats, I hope you will like them. I will say that the Slimz are a good compliment to the SHL9500. They are more neutral and transparent whereas the SHL9500 are smoother and warmer, with a fuller low-end. Which one is better depends on personal preference. Also, the Slimz win in comfort while the SHL9500 win in robustness

.

 

[Acreo Aeneas]

Out of curiosity...would the SHL9500 fall under "closed" or "semi-closed"? I can't seem to pick out which one of the two they would fall under due to their rather small earcups.

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acreo Aeneas /img/forum/go_quote.gif Out of curiosity...would the SHL9500 fall under "closed" or "semi-closed"? I can't seem to pick out which one of the two they would fall under due to their rather small earcups.

I think Philips classifies them as 'closed' but those small cups can never really seal completely, so for all intents and purposes they can be considered semi-closed. In other words, I haven't a clue.

 

[Acreo Aeneas]

Just got them in the mail. Boy those pads are pretty stiff. Reminds me of my HD201's when they were brand new. Otherwise, they're a lot like open phones since my ears are quite a bit larger than the cups themselves. Like you said in your mini-review, the folding mechanism took me a few minutes to figure out. Though I wish the cups lined up and covered each other instead of halfway.

It seems like the mids and low treble are recessed or perhaps veiled. They lack the clarity when I compare them to my SF3 or HD201. Maybe it's also due to the poor isolation as well.

 

[TopPop]

I'm still quite a fan of the P10, although I don't have a wide range of experience. I like them more than the PX100 and KSC-75, though.

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acreo Aeneas /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just got them in the mail. Boy those pads are pretty stiff. Reminds me of my HD201's when they were brand new. Otherwise, they're a lot like open phones since my ears are quite a bit larger than the cups themselves. Like you said in your mini-review, the folding mechanism took me a few minutes to figure out. Though I wish the cups lined up and covered each other instead of halfway. It seems like the mids and low treble are recessed or perhaps veiled. They lack the clarity when I compare them to my SF3 or HD201. Maybe it's also due to the poor isolation as well.

Let them cook for a while. I think they were reported to sound more congested and veiled at first (I got my set well-used).

Quote:

Originally Posted by TopPop /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm still quite a fan of the P10, although I don't have a wide range of experience. I like them more than the PX100 and KSC-75, though.

I'm a fan of the P10s as well (except the fitting mechanism). I've been drooling at the P20 for a while now. Too bad none of the usual suspects carry them and the one place I found that had them fro $39 shipped is still sold out ><.

 

[TopPop]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ljokerl /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm a fan of the P10s as well (except the fitting mechanism). I've been drooling at the P20 for a while now. Too bad none of the usual suspects carry them and the one place I found that had them fro $39 shipped is still sold out ><.

WhaaaaAAAAAA??? What madness is this?!

When were these released?

 

[Acreo Aeneas]

P10/P20? What brand are those phones?

All right, I'll run the phones through my D2 for a 30 hour burn-in with shuffle. Then I'll see if they seem to have improved any. I figure the pads will soften up with time like the HD201 I'm wearing now. The pads have softened up immensely over a year's usage.

 

[TopPop]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acreo Aeneas /img/forum/go_quote.gif P10/P20? What brand are those phones?

SoundMAGIC. A good brand.

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TopPop /img/forum/go_quote.gif WhaaaaAAAAAA??? What madness is this?! When were these released?

A few months ago, very quietly. Used to be available here but I hesitated and they've now been OOS for a month or so. Folding mechanism looks a little less convoluted and the cups are bigger.