Tyson
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2003
- Posts
- 2,165
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- 33
Now that I've had them for a few weeks and the "newness" of them has worn off, I figure it is time to write up a review of the Sensaphonic 2x-Soft canalphones I will try to keep it fairly brief and to the point,
Ordering and fitting experience
Ordering was very easy, I simply called up Sensaphonics at the phone number on their website, and was refered to a local audiologist. I called the audiologist, made an appointment to get my ear impressions made. When I got my impressions made it was "closed mouth", which is how the audiologist makes all his impressions for his main clientel (hearing aid wearers). Off the impressions went to sensaphonics, and 2 weeks later they showed up at my home. I pulled them out of the box, put them in, and put on some music. I notices that I was getting a good seal, but that any movement I made broke the seal, not good! So I called the audiologist, who in turn talked to sensaphonics, and we did another set of impressions. This time I did the impressions "open mouthed". 2 weeks later the 2x's show up at my house, and the fit is much, much better. Nice tight seal. Me very happy. But then I notice after about 30 minutes with them in my ear, the left ear starts to lose it's seal pretty easily. After looking at the impressions with the audiologist, it is determined that for my particular ears the impressions were not made quite deep enough for that particular ear. So, another impression of the left ear is done, and off go the 2x's to Sensaphonics again. 2 weeks later they show up at my house again. The right side had not been changed at all since it already fit perfectly, but the left side was indeed longer and much better sealing.
I include this story for 2 reasons. 1st is to let people know that with custom canalphones the fit may not be perfect the first time, and some adjustments may need to be made. The 2nd is that I wanted to give props to Sensaphonics because they did all of the re-fitting work free of charge and were completely professional the entire time. And they paid for the shipping both ways when the re-fits had to be done. So I got in the end a great fitting pair of phones at no extra cost to me. It's good to know that a company will stand behind their products and will work with you until you are completely satisfied.
Wearing and Comfort
Comfort and sound quality can definitely be affected by how you insert them and seal them. I find that there is a right way and a wrong way to do it. The wrong way is to simply twist them in and leave them like that. If I do that, I find there is a sort of "suction" feel, almost like a vacuum was created in my ear. This is pretty uncomfortable to me over time, and I also notice that it has the effect of dulling the high frequency quite a bit. I find that once I have them inserted, if I pull up and back on my ear lobe, it breaks the seal momentarily, allowing the pressure to be "equalized" in my ear, so that I don't have a suction sensation. When I release my earlobe it re-seals without that suction feeling and the comfort and sound quality are greatly improved.
Isolation
I find the isolation is about the same as the Etymotics with foamies. With music off you can definitely hear things going on around you, but they are very muted and far away sounding. With music on at a low to moderate level you are pretty much impervious to outside sounds.
Sound Quality
I'll focus mainly on comparing the sound of the Sensa's to the sound of the Etymotic ER-4s and the Shure E5 canalphones, since that is probably the most relevant comparison for people that may be interested in these guys.
Ety vs. Sensa
I'll say it flat out, the Sensa's are in a higher class of sound quality than the Ety's. The first thing that you will notice is the Sensa's have BASS. Not big bloated bass, but tight, percussive, highly textured bass. Especially in the mid bass and upper bass, drums and percussion instruments have a "thwack" sound of the wooden stick hitting the tensioned drumhead. Cello's have a plangent, vocal-like quality, with the strings and the wood body seperately percievable, but harmonizing together. Deep bass has a rounded, smooth texture that I've only heard on some very high end speaker systems. They go deeeep, and the sound has that "pressurizing" feeling that only truly deep bass reproduction gives. The Ety's in contrast will play some deep bass, but it is quite attenuated, and you mostly end up hearing the harmonics of the deep bass note, but not really the deep bass note itself.
As for the midrange, it is absolutely no contest again, the Sensa's have all the speed and attack that the Ety's do, but in addition they also have filled out presentation that gives tone and texture to instruments and voices that the Ety's do not match. The Ety's sound harmonically thin and flat in comparison.
The high frequencies are closer. The extension and resolution of the very high frequencies (above 10khz) is about the same. Below 10khz, the Sensa's are certainly better, because they do not have that spike at 7khz that the Ety's do. This has 2 effects. 1, the Sensa's sound a bit more relaxed and less aggresive in the treble, but paradoxically the above 10khz info is actually easier to hear because the 7khz spike is not masking the higher frequencies. You will notice this especially if you listen to music that has a lot of spatial ques (something the Sensa's excel at). You will be able to hear very easily when instruments are closer to the recording mic and when they are farther away, becase the upper frequency harmonics that define where they are can be heard without interference from a frequency response anomoly. Overall I still have to say that the Ety's do a very good job with the highs, and had I not heard the Sensa's I'd be happy to say they are the best at reproducing "air" of any headphones I've had the pleasure to listen to.
Shure vs. Sensa
Again, I'll have to say that the Shure's are not in the same class as the Sensa's. While the E5's do have the ability to do deep bass like the Sensa's (ie, they can actually produce a real, deep, full low bass), they really fall down when you get to the mid and upper bass. The Shure's are definitely bloated and slow and very lacking in texture in the mid bass and upper bass. While this can be fine with some recordings, generally I now find the "one note" nature of the Shure bass to be a bit depressing.
In the mids, The Sensa's win out because they don't have the bloated bass leaking in to the midrange like the Shure's do. The Shure's don't have the Ety weakness of a thin and nasaly midrange, they have the opposite problem of a too thick and gooey midrange. Everyone, without exception, sounds like they have a chest cold when singing through the Shure's. Sure there is texture, but there isn't the speed, clarity, snap, and dileneation of small subtle details like the Sensa's do with ease.
Highs, well this is where the Sensa's simply leave the Shure's in the dust. Compared to the Sensa's, the Shure's have no highs. The E5's just don't have the sparkle, air, and laser-like precision to their sound that the Sensa's have. And "air"? Forget about it!
Generall impressions of the Sensa's sound
I did want to mention a couple of other things about the sound of the Sensa's, specifically one area that I've only heard at a similar level on a very high end speaker system. I'm not quite sure how to describe it. As a preamble, let me say that I've heard certain headphones (and speakers) that are very good at seperating and delineating all the various musicians so that you can hear each musical strand very clearly. The problem is that they are usually pretty analytical sounding headphones, and don't really present the musicality of the group "as a whole" making music together. On the other hand I've heard headphones that are very "musical" and that present a cohesive musical message very nicely, but at the expense of sort of "rolling everyone together in a big ball", and some detail and precision is lost. The Sensa's are the first headphone's I've heard that do "both" the analytical and the musical very, very well, in complete and perfect balance, in fact. I've noticed that if I feel like it, I can concentrate on specific musicians or specific musical lines, and not lose the overall musical message. On the other hand I can just kick back and lose myself in the overall performance, and still find myself able to appreciate the individual input of the different musicians. This for me is a revelation, and the main reason that I am "completely happy and satisfied" with these canalphones.
System Information:
Home system - nOrh tubed CD Player and Mensa DIO Dac, Boulder OTL tubed headphone amp, also headphone output from Van Alstine Transcendance 7 tube hybrid preamp.
Office system - Stereo-Link DAC, PPA heaphone amp.
Portable - Rio Sport MP3 Player, iRiver IHP-140 (borrowed from a friend), Sony Sony D-FJ401, Xin Supermini 6.2d amp.
Ordering and fitting experience
Ordering was very easy, I simply called up Sensaphonics at the phone number on their website, and was refered to a local audiologist. I called the audiologist, made an appointment to get my ear impressions made. When I got my impressions made it was "closed mouth", which is how the audiologist makes all his impressions for his main clientel (hearing aid wearers). Off the impressions went to sensaphonics, and 2 weeks later they showed up at my home. I pulled them out of the box, put them in, and put on some music. I notices that I was getting a good seal, but that any movement I made broke the seal, not good! So I called the audiologist, who in turn talked to sensaphonics, and we did another set of impressions. This time I did the impressions "open mouthed". 2 weeks later the 2x's show up at my house, and the fit is much, much better. Nice tight seal. Me very happy. But then I notice after about 30 minutes with them in my ear, the left ear starts to lose it's seal pretty easily. After looking at the impressions with the audiologist, it is determined that for my particular ears the impressions were not made quite deep enough for that particular ear. So, another impression of the left ear is done, and off go the 2x's to Sensaphonics again. 2 weeks later they show up at my house again. The right side had not been changed at all since it already fit perfectly, but the left side was indeed longer and much better sealing.
I include this story for 2 reasons. 1st is to let people know that with custom canalphones the fit may not be perfect the first time, and some adjustments may need to be made. The 2nd is that I wanted to give props to Sensaphonics because they did all of the re-fitting work free of charge and were completely professional the entire time. And they paid for the shipping both ways when the re-fits had to be done. So I got in the end a great fitting pair of phones at no extra cost to me. It's good to know that a company will stand behind their products and will work with you until you are completely satisfied.
Wearing and Comfort
Comfort and sound quality can definitely be affected by how you insert them and seal them. I find that there is a right way and a wrong way to do it. The wrong way is to simply twist them in and leave them like that. If I do that, I find there is a sort of "suction" feel, almost like a vacuum was created in my ear. This is pretty uncomfortable to me over time, and I also notice that it has the effect of dulling the high frequency quite a bit. I find that once I have them inserted, if I pull up and back on my ear lobe, it breaks the seal momentarily, allowing the pressure to be "equalized" in my ear, so that I don't have a suction sensation. When I release my earlobe it re-seals without that suction feeling and the comfort and sound quality are greatly improved.
Isolation
I find the isolation is about the same as the Etymotics with foamies. With music off you can definitely hear things going on around you, but they are very muted and far away sounding. With music on at a low to moderate level you are pretty much impervious to outside sounds.
Sound Quality
I'll focus mainly on comparing the sound of the Sensa's to the sound of the Etymotic ER-4s and the Shure E5 canalphones, since that is probably the most relevant comparison for people that may be interested in these guys.
Ety vs. Sensa
I'll say it flat out, the Sensa's are in a higher class of sound quality than the Ety's. The first thing that you will notice is the Sensa's have BASS. Not big bloated bass, but tight, percussive, highly textured bass. Especially in the mid bass and upper bass, drums and percussion instruments have a "thwack" sound of the wooden stick hitting the tensioned drumhead. Cello's have a plangent, vocal-like quality, with the strings and the wood body seperately percievable, but harmonizing together. Deep bass has a rounded, smooth texture that I've only heard on some very high end speaker systems. They go deeeep, and the sound has that "pressurizing" feeling that only truly deep bass reproduction gives. The Ety's in contrast will play some deep bass, but it is quite attenuated, and you mostly end up hearing the harmonics of the deep bass note, but not really the deep bass note itself.
As for the midrange, it is absolutely no contest again, the Sensa's have all the speed and attack that the Ety's do, but in addition they also have filled out presentation that gives tone and texture to instruments and voices that the Ety's do not match. The Ety's sound harmonically thin and flat in comparison.
The high frequencies are closer. The extension and resolution of the very high frequencies (above 10khz) is about the same. Below 10khz, the Sensa's are certainly better, because they do not have that spike at 7khz that the Ety's do. This has 2 effects. 1, the Sensa's sound a bit more relaxed and less aggresive in the treble, but paradoxically the above 10khz info is actually easier to hear because the 7khz spike is not masking the higher frequencies. You will notice this especially if you listen to music that has a lot of spatial ques (something the Sensa's excel at). You will be able to hear very easily when instruments are closer to the recording mic and when they are farther away, becase the upper frequency harmonics that define where they are can be heard without interference from a frequency response anomoly. Overall I still have to say that the Ety's do a very good job with the highs, and had I not heard the Sensa's I'd be happy to say they are the best at reproducing "air" of any headphones I've had the pleasure to listen to.
Shure vs. Sensa
Again, I'll have to say that the Shure's are not in the same class as the Sensa's. While the E5's do have the ability to do deep bass like the Sensa's (ie, they can actually produce a real, deep, full low bass), they really fall down when you get to the mid and upper bass. The Shure's are definitely bloated and slow and very lacking in texture in the mid bass and upper bass. While this can be fine with some recordings, generally I now find the "one note" nature of the Shure bass to be a bit depressing.
In the mids, The Sensa's win out because they don't have the bloated bass leaking in to the midrange like the Shure's do. The Shure's don't have the Ety weakness of a thin and nasaly midrange, they have the opposite problem of a too thick and gooey midrange. Everyone, without exception, sounds like they have a chest cold when singing through the Shure's. Sure there is texture, but there isn't the speed, clarity, snap, and dileneation of small subtle details like the Sensa's do with ease.
Highs, well this is where the Sensa's simply leave the Shure's in the dust. Compared to the Sensa's, the Shure's have no highs. The E5's just don't have the sparkle, air, and laser-like precision to their sound that the Sensa's have. And "air"? Forget about it!
Generall impressions of the Sensa's sound
I did want to mention a couple of other things about the sound of the Sensa's, specifically one area that I've only heard at a similar level on a very high end speaker system. I'm not quite sure how to describe it. As a preamble, let me say that I've heard certain headphones (and speakers) that are very good at seperating and delineating all the various musicians so that you can hear each musical strand very clearly. The problem is that they are usually pretty analytical sounding headphones, and don't really present the musicality of the group "as a whole" making music together. On the other hand I've heard headphones that are very "musical" and that present a cohesive musical message very nicely, but at the expense of sort of "rolling everyone together in a big ball", and some detail and precision is lost. The Sensa's are the first headphone's I've heard that do "both" the analytical and the musical very, very well, in complete and perfect balance, in fact. I've noticed that if I feel like it, I can concentrate on specific musicians or specific musical lines, and not lose the overall musical message. On the other hand I can just kick back and lose myself in the overall performance, and still find myself able to appreciate the individual input of the different musicians. This for me is a revelation, and the main reason that I am "completely happy and satisfied" with these canalphones.
System Information:
Home system - nOrh tubed CD Player and Mensa DIO Dac, Boulder OTL tubed headphone amp, also headphone output from Van Alstine Transcendance 7 tube hybrid preamp.
Office system - Stereo-Link DAC, PPA heaphone amp.
Portable - Rio Sport MP3 Player, iRiver IHP-140 (borrowed from a friend), Sony Sony D-FJ401, Xin Supermini 6.2d amp.
