Sennheiser MX500 Earbud with the iPod
May 13, 2002 at 5:57 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 13

jtanys

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Having bought the Grado SR60 headphone and B&O A8 earbud for my iPod, I have recently bought another earbud - the Sennheiser MX500. After letting it burn-in for about 40 hours, I must say I'm very impressed with its sound quality. In fact, I prefer the Sennheiser MX500 to my B&O A8 earbud for its more complete sonic range of 18-22,000Hz. At only around US$15, it must certainly be one of the best value-for-money earbud for the iPod, with excellent sound quality. Highly recommended.
 
May 13, 2002 at 6:52 AM Post #2 of 13
It sure sounds good doesn't it. Wait till you hear the iPod with the HD600, no amp required.
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May 13, 2002 at 11:00 AM Post #3 of 13
I use the Sennheiser HD25 with my iPod and they sound fabulous! Also have the Koss Porta Pro and KSC-35's which are excellent too. I f you ever tire of the earbud concept check these out!
 
May 13, 2002 at 12:07 PM Post #4 of 13
Lol Lizard.
The MX500 are great for what they are, but they're still earbuds. However, that combination must be great for portable use. Try ripping your CDs to wavs and playing them on the ipod, you should hear a considerable improvement over 128k mp3s.
 
May 13, 2002 at 12:54 PM Post #6 of 13
Welcome to Head-Fi, jtanys! I use the MX-500 with the iPod, as well., and the sound is fantastic to my ears also. You're right.......at the price they sell at, they are one of the best bargains in this hobby.
Quote:

Wait till you hear the iPod with the HD600, no amp required.


I have heard this combo, Lizard.........and to my ears, the sound is pretty thin. The volume has to be past 3/4 on the bar to provide any decent volume. For the hell of it, I hooked up a JMT built CHA47 to the iPod, figuring it wouldn't improve things much, since there isn't a line-out........boy, was I wrong! The Senns sounded much better.....fuller, richer, and there was plenty of volume. Check it out, if you get a chance. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
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Although adding an amp does compromise the extreme portability of the iPod.
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May 13, 2002 at 9:13 PM Post #7 of 13
I took Joe's advice and I ordered the MX400s and the KSC-35s. I haven't received the MX400s yet (they were sent to some guy in California) but the KSC-35s are awesome! I am still burning them in but I check in once in a while and it sounds great.
 
May 14, 2002 at 1:48 AM Post #8 of 13
Quote:

Originally posted by joelongwood
I have heard this combo, Lizard.........and to my ears, the sound is pretty thin. The volume has to be past 3/4 on the bar to provide any decent volume.


I ripped my mp3 at vbr 192 kbps, which on most passages hit 320 kbps. And at 93 db, they are loud!!!
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I would not add an amp though, since there is no line out.
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May 14, 2002 at 5:55 AM Post #9 of 13
Quote:

Originally posted by Lizard
I ripped my mp3 at vbr 192 kbps, which on most passages hit 320 kbps. And at 93 db, they are loud!!!
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I would not add an amp though, since there is no line out.
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I go with joelongwood, an amp helps the iPod a lot with harder to drive cans. It would drive my Senn HD520II, and the ER-4S, but neither to a decent volume nor with much detail in reproduction, as if there was a glassdoor in between. Having the power of the TAH opens that door, and is a great deal for the little incovenience another portable unit adds...
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I would like to know how you set your iPod with an amp - I have the volume up to the max so I have to do very little with the TAH. Having the iPod at 1/2 or 2/3 did not sound as good, but maybe that changed now the Etys had their burn-in... I will have to test that
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May 14, 2002 at 7:06 AM Post #10 of 13
I have the Archos Studio 20 that I use a JMT CMOY amp with Ety ER-4ps. The amp makes all the difference.
 
May 14, 2002 at 8:20 AM Post #11 of 13
Quote:

Originally posted by Oliver
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I go with joelongwood, an amp helps the iPod a lot with harder to drive cans. It would drive my Senn HD520II, and the ER-4S, but neither to a decent volume nor with much detail in reproduction, as if there was a glassdoor in between. Having the power of the TAH opens that door, and is a great deal for the little incovenience another portable unit adds...
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With an amp, I would look like a telcos man walking around the office with my HD600 hook onto my iPod. I use Lame to rip my mp3 and maybe that gives alot of details, where symphonies are concern, you hear the triangle very clearly and I would question how much an amp can add to that.
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Also I normalise my mp3 to 92 db depending on the type of music, with Dire Straits are 65% of the volume, that is really loud. I think normal mp3 on the iPod are at 88 db, but I experience no loss in quality.

If you have the time to test that out with an amp, post your findings. I am curious.
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May 14, 2002 at 11:52 AM Post #12 of 13
Well, if I had an iPod (I am soooo jealous of the guy that has it!) I wouldn't hook up big huge honking headphones and a big huge amp to it...

...doing so seems to be ignoring the beautiful, small simplicity of the machine. It just seems wrong, you know?

Ideally, I would hook up some ER4 with the 50 ohm fixup cable to it.... PLENTY of sound quality....
 
May 14, 2002 at 2:02 PM Post #13 of 13
Quote:

Well, if I had an iPod (I am soooo jealous of the guy that has it!) I wouldn't hook up big huge honking headphones and a big huge amp to it...
...doing so seems to be ignoring the beautiful, small simplicity of the machine. It just seems wrong, you know?


Well put, Gluey...........I couldn't agree with you more!
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