[arnaud]

A few months ago, I was about to sell my home rig and go for the portable way (iPod - Sensaphonics 2X-S). I was seriously hoping I could end this expensive headphone hobby and just enjoy sweet music anywhere.

Well, few months later, I am actually back in the game with a new source (Meridian 508-24), and definitely not selling anything!!

But, let's go to the reason of this post: I did fork the big bucks to get the Sensaphonics 2X-S canalphones and want to give you some impressions, especially in comparison to my HD650s. I used my PreHead MkI to make the comparisons (the Stealth does not like the 12 Ohm impedance of the Sensas, the Meier could not care less).

Here are the few points:
- For those who think the 2X-S will be the end of it all, be careful. I love my 2X-S, but they are complementary of the HD650s, not always better.
- Sensas strength 1: the bass. It definitely trounces the HD650s in terms of solidity, extension. I like it better (but that does not mean I don't like the 650s bass, it's just not as solid). You've not heard what headphones can really do with bass until you've heard the Sensas (and probably other canal phones).
- Sensas strength 2: the flexibility and isolation. I use my Sensas anytime I fly / travel. They sound great out of the iPod and I really feel like I have a high-end audio system with me in the plane / airport. Travel sucks these days, and having some sweet sounds isolating you from the noise around is BIG improvement.
- Sensas strength 3: smooth sound. I love my HD650 because although very resolved, they never sound harsh or bright. The sensas also deliver here. The're extremely detailed but never agressive.
- Sensas weakness: the soundstage, lack of air. I really love my HD650s for the fact they present a nice realistic soundstage and don't make me miss loudspeakers. Well, with the Sensas, it's nowhere near. I thought canal phones would result in a more realistic sounstage, but the opposite happens: it's all in your head and not natural at all. You get over it, but it just takes a bit of adjustment when switching from regular headphones to the canal phones.

That pretty much sums it. I would conclude that the Sensas provide me with great sound and excellent isolation when traveling, but they've not replaced my HD650s for listening at home. They're expensive, but it is a worth investment for those who travel extensively, like I do. Also, they sound great straight out of portable devices so you don't necessarily have to spend big bucks on a portable amp (although amping them does result in more resolved and controlled sound, I tried this with the iPod and PreHead).

PS: I forgot to mention I received an excellent service from the audiologist recommended by Sensaphonics in my area (San Diego). They made perfect ear prints in the first shot. I recommended contacting Sensaphonics, they'll refer you to the right place to get good service.

 

[dshea_32665]

Thank you for this review!! I am in love with my home source and HD650s. I do some travelling and do use modded Ety4s canalphones, but I do not own an iPod. I have been contemplating whether to get an iPod and then eventually upgrade canal phones. I have been waiting for a review like this that compares to a good HD650 home setup.

I am curious, do your Sensa 2x's give you a better soundstage from your home source? Yesterday I plugged my Ety 4S's into my home source and was impressed by how good they sounded. No they didn't have the same air feel that the Senns did, but the sound was pretty amazing and I was able to get a decent sound stage out of it. Was just curious as to your slight critical comments on the portable setup, whether it is the iPod, or the Sensas vs. HD650 comparison that is causing the issues.

It sounds though you really like the setup however. Thanks for your insights.

cheers,
dshea

 

[arnaud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dshea_32665 I am curious, do your Sensa 2x's give you a better soundstage from your home source? Yesterday I plugged my Ety 4S's into my home source and was impressed by how good they sounded. No they didn't have the same air feel that the Senns did, but the sound was pretty amazing and I was able to get a decent sound stage out of it. Was just curious as to your slight critical comments on the portable setup, whether it is the iPod, or the Sensas vs. HD650 comparison that is causing the issues.

Dshea, you make a good point, I did not spend much time listening to my home source with the Sensas. I was mostly interested in how they behaved with the iPod and plugged the HD650/PreHead to the same source for comparison.

I never tried the Sensa's/PreHead with the Meridian, I'll let you know how it goes.

Arnaud.

 

[root]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dshea_32665 Was just curious as to your slight critical comments on the portable setup, whether it is the iPod, or the Sensas vs. HD650 comparison that is causing the issues.

Makes me wonder why do you guys (well, most at least) use iPod's as portable sources. I do feel whole lot of soundstage when Sensas are plugged directly into iRiver. Is it just fashion or crappy Apple lossless files? Karma is better here (with FLAC support); iRiver's Rockbox project will soon support Flac too. Still the big time soundstage is already there when using high bitrate ogg/mp3. Why an iPod?

 

[arnaud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by root Makes me wonder why do you guys (well, most at least) use iPod's as portable sources. I do feel whole lot of soundstage when Sensas are plugged directly into iRiver. Is it just fashion or crappy Apple lossless files? Karma is better here (with FLAC support); iRiver's Rockbox project will soon support Flac too. Still the big time soundstage is already there when using high bitrate ogg/mp3. Why an iPod?

With the Sensas, I can pinpoint an instrument location very easily and the sounstage can be deep, wide, whatever you want. But in the end, it still sound very much inside your head as opposed to the Sennheisers who can "almost" (replace by "barely" depending on your speaker rig ;o) ) sound like loudspeakers.

The iPod is not the subject of the thread, so there is no need to argue on it for long. So, until I redo the experiment using the Meridian, I would not start criticising the iPod's sound quality. It is probably just fine for a portable device. My point here is to show that canalphones don't quite replace regular headphones when trying to portray a realistic sounstage. And I can add to this a bit later...

Arnaud.

 

[firefox360]

Quote:

Originally Posted by root Makes me wonder why do you guys (well, most at least) use iPod's as portable sources. I do feel whole lot of soundstage when Sensas are plugged directly into iRiver. Is it just fashion or crappy Apple lossless files? Karma is better here (with FLAC support); iRiver's Rockbox project will soon support Flac too. Still the big time soundstage is already there when using high bitrate ogg/mp3. Why an iPod?

Well it really does depend on personal preferences, some people say that the iPod has a more neutral sound to it rather than a coloured one. I personally don't think the Apple Lossless format is crappy at all. It's right up there with FLAC and the other lossless formats. I can't personally say if it's better sounding or not, but if you really need a sound thats as close to original as possible theres always the .WAV files which every player out there supports.

EDIT: contrary to Arnauds post 2 minutes earlier than me (dang it!), lets just drift away from this iPod talk and go back to the topic at hand: the Sensaphonics vs. HD650's

 

[Beach123456]

Quote:

Originally Posted by root Makes me wonder why do you guys (well, most at least) use iPod's as portable sources. I do feel whole lot of soundstage when Sensas are plugged directly into iRiver. Is it just fashion or crappy Apple lossless files? Karma is better here (with FLAC support); iRiver's Rockbox project will soon support Flac too. Still the big time soundstage is already there when using high bitrate ogg/mp3. Why an iPod?

Can you explain how lossless files could be crappy?

 

[bangraman]

Aren't you disregarding your own sig?

 

[some1x]

Maaaaaaaaaybe the one in question hasn't quite reached the status of an idiot yet

 

[crazyfrenchman27]

How do the sensas compare as far as detail is concerned?

-Matt

 

[arnaud]

Ok, I just spent a couple hours listening to the HD650s and Sensaphonics through the Meridian / PreHead.

- The bass is more prominent with the Sensas. The impact reminds me of a good loudspeakers, except for the lack of physical pressure on the whole body with deep bass notes. This strong impact helps follow the bass lines easily. Through the PreHead, the HD650 bass is definitely tight and there (better than through the Stealth in that regard imo), but it is clearly not the same impact. Now having said that, I am not sure I really prefer the Sensa's bass when switching back and forth with the HD650s. It sounds a bit too forward with the Sensas actually.

- The Sensas can sound a bit sibilant at times and they appear rolled off in the highs when compared to the HD650s. They remain very detailed, but do sound veiled compared to the 650s/Oelhbach.

- The soundstage is definitely much better with the HD650s, deep, natural. As I said before, the Sensas present a very precise image from left to right, but it's all in your head and has no depth. [ So, no more arguing about iPod faults vs. fashion this or that please ]

But in any case, the Sensas still sound great through the iPod and I would not want to travel without them. But, I'd be thinking twice about bying them for a home rig (unless you desperately need acoustic isolation).

 

[king896]

I own a similar system to arnaud with the sensaphonics and a balanced pair of Hd650 with a silver dragon cable coming from a Benchmark DAC1 as the source and surprisingly I find that both pairs of phones are about equal. A major thing I found with the Sensas coming out of the benchmark is that it is almost a direct link to the music without anything added or taken away. If I am in the mood for ultra detail and critical listening I will use the Sensa's. But on the other hand the Hd650 combo I have is just as good, maybe even better then the Sensa's in detail but those micro details that I can pick up with the Sensa's sometimes get lost with the Hd650 because of the open design and the hum of my computer gets in the way. PRAT wise I find them both to be exciting and fun phones with the Hd650 taken the cake slightly. For reference, I previously owned a pair of Hd600 with a PPA amp coming out of the EMU 1212 analog source and the Sensa's trounced the Hd600 in almost everyway. In comparison the Hd600 sounded far and boring, but not displeasing as it did everything right but nothing spectacular. I think the major reason why both work so well in the PRAT department is the fact that the Benchmark is a quick and articulate source and when combined with both the Sensa's and the Hd650 (both by themselves and with the wrong equipment can be considered a little slow and bloated) creates a nice amount of synergy.

The Sensa's from my Rio Karma are seriously handicapped compared to when used with the Benchmark DAC1. While they are amazing compared to all the other non custom IEM on the market coming out of a portable source (I have owned Shure E1, E2, E5 and Ety 4P), they really shine in a nice home system.

I found that the 2 headphones complement each other more then anything, the HD650 providing a wider head stage and more PRAT, while the Sensa are the detail kings. In compartments such as bass I find that both phones are relatively equal, and in midrange and treble both are smooth but not to the point where it takes anything away from the music.


*PRAT = Pace, Rhythem & Timing

 

[dshea_32665]

re: king896

Your conclusion makes perfect sense. Source is the most important link in the chain as we all know. Eventhough I don't have Sensas, I actually can get my Ety 4S to have the same tonal balance as my HD650 by modifying my foamies and using iTunes bass boost (I know sacrilege, but I'll be damned if it doesn't hit the spot and make them closer to the Senns). They really sound spectacular compared to my laptop travel setup (which still sounds great). They don't have the space an d soundstage of the the HD650, similar to all the points you touched on, but there is still some and the detail is excellent.

re: arnaud

Thanks for taking the time to listen. That is very helpful. I think if we could have canal phones that would sound like the HD650, we would have definitely known about it by now. Acoustic isolation + HD650 experience = nirvana.

It would be interesting if any of you with Ultimate Ears, especially the UE10 , who had access to an ipod and good source, could compare the experience to a good HD650/aftermarket cable setup.

dshea

 

[elnero]

This is an interesting thread for me. I've only recently bought a modest portable system, Rio Carbon --> Shure E4c's, and I've been really impressed with how good it sounds but even moreso with the amount of use I find I can get out of it. Of course my home setup sounds better but lately it's been getting less and less use because I just don't have the time to dedicate to it. With the amount of use I'm getting out of the portable setup I'm starting to wonder at the justification of having so much money tied up in my home setup. I can't help but wonder would it make more sense to sell my home rig then reinvest that money into an "ultimate" portable setup and if I did how close would I be able to get to the quality of my home rig.

I think the next step beyond the E4c's for me would be the Sensaphonics so comparisons like this that pit them against a decent pair of full sized headhphones is interesting. It sounds to me like the biggest factor for you arnaud is the soundstage differences which wouldn't be much of an issue for me because I tend to like the in your head experience and find the Senns presentaton to sound fake to me. Other than this issue do you find the Sensa's play in the same league as the Senns or other high end full sized headphones?

 

[jjcha]

arnaud, I've been following this thread with a lot of interest - much of what you have written resonates with my experiences.

Quote:

Originally Posted by elnero Other than this issue do you find the Sensa's play in the same league as the Senns or other high end full sized headphones?

Just my $0.02 on the subject.

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=110380

But just to be clear, I do think the Sensaphonics sonically are great and deserve to be compared with that level of headphone. Although now I have some decent experience with the high-end Grado phones and some high-end audio-technica and I still stand by my conclusions.

Best regards,

-Jason