[vixducis]

Anyone found a review yet on any of these cans? When will they come available on amazon?

 

[captian73]

Not yet. I think they look hideous. Sure, i know it's not about the looks, but currently I'm thinking of the Shure SRH headphone range.

Prices are a bit steep at the moment as well, and i gues poeple will be lapping up the old stuff first.

 

[soozieq]

I just got a pair of 448's and 438's for review today, but I already sliced myself up on the blister packaging

When I've stopped bleeding lol, I'll have another go at prising open the packaging. Not sure what I think about the design yet, although the 448's look less like wheel spokes than the 438s

 

[donunus]

pls share your pre and post burn in impressions. The 448 looks nice

 

[insyte]

Quote:

Originally Posted by soozieq /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just got a pair of 448's and 438's for review today, but I already sliced myself up on the blister packaging When I've stopped bleeding lol, I'll have another go at prising open the packaging. Not sure what I think about the design yet, although the 448's look less like wheel spokes than the 438s

Please do share your impressions and hopefully more pics of these new senns

 

[soozieq]

I'll post some pics later, but I'm not attempting to get into the 438 packaging any time soon after my near death from severe blood loss slashing open the 448s

I can take some close up pics of the 448s though and just some shots of the 438's in their packaging as a temp measure though. Very initial impressions of the 448's is that volume is a huge issue. I haven't checked the sensitivity rating yet, but I'm using maximum volume on my Sony 808, Sony X and Sansa Fuze. Haven't got round to trying them with the Touch 2G, but plan do that later.

I'm even using the Dynamic Normalizer on the Sony daps to reach a normal level of volume for my ears. With most of my earphones, I need somewhere between 13 and 20 out of 30 for decent volume levels on my Sony daps, and around 70% on the Touch. And with the few full size headphones I've used, I've never needed more than 25/30 and that's without the D/N applied

The 448's seem less efficient than the PX100's, although they also needed a hefty kick of volume assistance. Oh, one thing I've noticed is they seem less warm than other Sennheisers I've used, which is a good thing since I've been gradually going off an overly warm sound (like the IE8). Can't really comment too much about the sound till they've had some burn in - but treble and mids sound quite harsh out of the box.

The 448 is supposed to be geared towards 'lifelike stereo sound' whereas the 438 is more geared towards bass according to the gumph on the packaging. The 448 is definitely not bass prominent at all, so I'm curious to try the wheel spokes and see what the difference is

Size wise, they're probably not a great choice for people with smaller heads (like me!) - I'm on the tightest setting and they're borderline loose. But my impressions were based on holding them to my ears

 

[vixducis]

Have you also tested with some portable amps? I wonder how they perform then.

 

[soozieq]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vixducis /img/forum/go_quote.gif Have you also tested with some portable amps? I wonder how they perform then.

No, no amps yet, and the only ones I have are an unopened FiiO E3 and twice-used E5. Would have been interesting to have tried the P-51 with them, but I don't have it on loan anymore

Still, it's quite clear from the packaging that these are suitable for use with mp3 players and iPods, but unamped, they are severely lacking in volume. 'Raising Sand' is a loud CD and I need around 27/30 even for that.

 

[vixducis]

Please, do test with the E5. I own this one as well and i am planning on buying a 438/448, so i wonder how they perform with it. When these were announced, the 448 was said to cost 170 dollars, but now on sound earphones, you can buy them for 100 dollars. Where can the difference be? Thanks for the quick answer.

 

[soozieq]

[size=x-small]Okay, I took some pics, but I didn't pluck up courage to enter the 438 packaging lol... so I just took some pics of the 448 (and one of the 438 safe from inside the box

[/size] )

[size=medium]Look!!!!![size=x-small]

A[/size][/size][size=x-small] really nice helpful picture of scissors with some useful and detailed instructions on how to open the bo[/size]x

..........

[size=x-small]... um...[/size]

[size=x-small]
And a few close ups.[/size]

[size=x-small]And the 438 wheel spokes

[/size]

vixducis-
I tried them with the E5 today straight from the headphone out, and it does give some boost in volume and weight, but not by a huge amount. Without the E5 I'm on maximum all the time... with the E5 I can get acceptable volume at around 80% with some room left to spare. They sound as if they're struggling without the amp. I don't mean they distort or anything, just that they sound quite thin. The E5 fills them out a little, which they NEED!

 

[Bullseye]

Meh, don't like the looks...

 

[captian73]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bullseye /img/forum/go_quote.gif Meh, don't like the looks...

yeah, i'm not 100% there on the looks either, but someone has to combat the onslaught of Skullcandy. break them in slowly i guess! I'm gonna try the SRH from shure. Gonna give these a miss. NO doubt they'll be a good safe choice though.

 

[vixducis]

I wonder how the 448's perform against the 438's in terms of SQ.

 

[GarageBoy]

The 438s look like a wheel off a hot wheels car

 

[Sadaiyappan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by soozieq /img/forum/go_quote.gif The 448 is supposed to be geared towards 'lifelike stereo sound' whereas the 438 is more geared towards bass according to the gumph on the packaging.

Is this really true? Everything I've been reading says that the 428 is the bassiest, the 438 and 448 being neutral. Also can someone tell me how the 428 will compare to the old 457? I used to have a pair of 457 and I thought the bass was great on those. I just bought the 428 thinking it was the bassiest of the three, I hope I'm not wrong.