[shigzeo]

I don't think anyone buys SK for 'critical listening', but hell, for fun, why not? That response graph looks promising as a fun, great response.

 

[applaudio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shigzeo /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't think anyone buys SK for 'critical listening', but hell, for fun, why not? That response graph looks promising as a fun, great response.

Slow, muddy, bloated bass and blurred transients does not a fun headphone make.

 

[lon420]

Yeah, I too was surprised to see SK and Monster on Headroom.

Max, just how is the durability on the Titans? I'm looking to get a pair of beaters, and the way the rather thin cables just hang out of them make me a bit uneasy.

 

[jleewach]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjmai /img/forum/go_quote.gif but I am surprised at how similar it is to Turbine =1333&graphID[1]=1343&graphID[2]=&graphID[3]=&graphType=0&buttonSelection=Compare+Headphones]http://www.headphone.com/buildAGraph...are+Headphones

I've previously owned both the turbines & titans, and they did indeed sound very similar. It's the main reason I ditched the turbines.

FYI... I'm fairly certain the titans have the same drivers as the cheap 13 dollar ink'd buds skullcandy sells at Target, just w/ a different housing. I tried both side by side, and they sound exactly the same. For 12-13 dollars, the sq is pretty good, but the $50 msrp on the titans for the same exact sound quality is asking too much, imho. Especially w/ the horrid build quality Skullcandy produces. When I was a much poorer man, I used to frequent skullcandy stuff, since it was so cheap, and I kid you not, every single iem & headphone I produced eventually broke within a couple months. Horrible.

...and yes, the bass quantity is very much overkill.

 

[shigzeo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by applaudio /img/forum/go_quote.gif Slow, muddy, bloated bass and blurred transients does not a fun headphone make.

again, as this is a skull candy product, i don't see how that means anything. skull candy are not made for best sound, but have an appreciably better sound than most oem earphones.

and, this is headfi where the predisposition to hate anything from the g8 or whatever it is now makes any comment on them -- especially negative comments -- as dismissible as this comment:

be$t saaund EVAR!

 

[applaudio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lon420 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah, I too was surprised to see SK and Monster on Headroom.

Speaking of which, why them but no Bose?

 

[Max Minimum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lon420 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah, I too was surprised to see SK and Monster on Headroom. Max, just how is the durability on the Titans? I'm looking to get a pair of beaters, and the way the rather thin cables just hang out of them make me a bit uneasy.

So far, so good, but yes, the wires are very thin and don't seem to be protected at the connection, unless there's something small inside that I can't see (doubt it). Again, they are new, so I can't say they're up to the challenge of lots of use and handling. I've only ever had one pair of headphones stop working, though, so I didn't really consider the possibility much.

 

[omega52]

I was surprised by the HeadRoom rating of the Titans as well. My only other experience with Skullcandy was the Smokin' Buds. What Smokin' Duds! (cool name though!) They were muddy & inarticulate. Bass was obviously their reason for being & they didn't do that very well. I tried the Titans, out of curiosity, & am very surprised at their listen-ability. I was reluctant to post my impressions here, as I wasn't sure if I had lost my hearing, or what. They are very responsive & open sounding & the bass is not a problem. For me the bass reminds me of some high-end speakers that are very capable in the very low bass, without the annoying/fatiguing hump in the lower/mid-bass region. I guess it's a lack of gratuitous bass, if that makes any sense. I am surprised at the mid-range openness & upper extension. They are very engaging & are not fatiguing for me at all. I used them on my first ever iPod, a Nano G5 & liked the sound, compared to the Shure E4c & Klipsch custom 3. They sounded warmer than the PX-100 with more extension in both directions. They just sounded more efficient & lively. I tried the Titans on my Toshiba T400 & Zune 80 & Clip with equally positive results. I knew that these Titans couldn't sound as good as I was hearing, cause I have read so many horrible reviews, so I spent some time with my Sonus Faber Cremona's to see if I had completely lost my ear. I still like the Titans! I am sure that I got a freak pair that are not representative of the rest, so don't buy them on my recommendation.

I just hope that the bass doesn't change much as they break-in.
Cheers,
kev

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by omega52 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I was surprised by the HeadRoom rating of the Titans as well. My only other experience with Skullcandy was the Smokin' Buds. What Smokin' Duds! (cool name though!) They were muddy & inarticulate. Bass was obviously their reason for being & they didn't do that very well. I tried the Titans, out of curiosity, & am very surprised at their listen-ability. I was reluctant to post my impressions here, as I wasn't sure if I had lost my hearing, or what. They are very responsive & open sounding & the bass is not a problem. For me the bass reminds me of some high-end speakers that are very capable in the very low bass, without the annoying/fatiguing hump in the lower/mid-bass region. I guess it's a lack of gratuitous bass, if that makes any sense. I am surprised at the mid-range openness & upper extension. They are very engaging & are not fatiguing for me at all. I used them on my first ever iPod, a Nano G5 & liked the sound, compared to the Shure E4c & Klipsch custom 3. They sounded warmer than the PX-100 with more extension in both directions. They just sounded more efficient & lively. I tried the Titans on my Toshiba T400 & Zune 80 & Clip with equally positive results. I knew that these Titans couldn't sound as good as I was hearing, cause I have read so many horrible reviews, so I spent some time with my Sonus Faber Cremona's to see if I had completely lost my ear. I still like the Titans! I am sure that I got a freak pair that are not representative of the rest, so don't buy them on my recommendation. I just hope that the bass doesn't change much as they break-in.

I am also quite pleasantly surprised with the Titans: They deliver a lot of bass without screwing up the rest of the sound much. Are the Titans as good as or better than my Shure SE310 workhorses? No--at least not on an absolute scale. But at one-seventh the cost of the SE310s, any flaws exhibited by the Titans are forgivable.

The Smokin' Buds, on the other hand, are all too typical of the ultra-cheap in-ears: Thick and murky. Plus, they cost only $5 to $10 less than the Titans. Thus, the Smokin' Buds are mediocre-at-best values.

 

[priest]

Guys, HeadRoom didn't merely give the Titans a five star value rating, they put them in their 10 Best Headphones list. With the AH-D7000, HD 800 and Edition 8. Now clearly they're not saying the sound is equivalent, but I think they are saying these are just as perfect for their price point and application (inexpensive, stylish IEMs for unamped portable use with "urban" music -- like it or not, what many, many people are probably looking for). For $35 I may just pick up a pair out of curiosity. But probably not since I'm not a basshead.

 

[omega52]

Quote:

Originally Posted by priest /img/forum/go_quote.gif Guys, HeadRoom didn't merely give the Titans a five star value rating, they put them in their 10 Best Headphones list. With the AH-D7000, HD 800 and Edition 8. Now clearly they're not saying the sound is equivalent, but I think they are saying these are just as perfect for their price point and application (inexpensive, stylish IEMs for unamped portable use with "urban" music -- like it or not, what many, many people are probably looking for). For $35 I may just pick up a pair out of curiosity. But probably not since I'm not a basshead.

I am not a bass-head either. I like bass, but not bloated or muddy bass. IMO the Titans have abundant bass, but only when it is present in the music. Non-gratuitous bass (the more-is-better philosophy) comes to mind when the Titans are compared to bass-heavy phones. I don't know how to describe it. The Titan bass reminds me of a properly set-up full-range main speaker/subwoofer system. By properly set-up, I mean a high quality sub that is properly crossed-over (below the mains bass output) & properly coupled to the room so the deep bass gives a strong foundation to the bass without dominating or adding any energy in the mid-bass region. Just a "feeling" of an extension of the bass way down low. BTW I am still convinced that my sample of Titans is "special" & not representative of the other samples.

That's my story & I am sticking to it!

 

[priest]

Quote:

Originally Posted by omega52 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am not a bass-head either. I like bass, but not bloated or muddy bass. IMO the Titans have abundant bass, but only when it is present in the music. Non-gratuitous bass (the more-is-better philosophy) comes to mind when the Titans are compared to bass-heavy phones. I don't know how to describe it. The Titan bass reminds me of a properly set-up full-range main speaker/subwoofer system. By properly set-up, I mean a high quality sub that is properly crossed-over (below the mains bass output) & properly coupled to the room so the deep bass gives a strong foundation to the bass without dominating or adding any energy in the mid-bass region. Just a "feeling" of an extension of the bass way down low. BTW I am still convinced that my sample of Titans is "special" & not representative of the other samples. That's my story & I am sticking to it!

I don't think you are alone. The AVGuide gave them a 2009 recommended product or whatever they call it. Here's what they said:

"Although they are the least expensive earbuds in our survey, the Titans are hands down the best budget in-ear headphones we’ve yet heard, which means they sound as good if not better than far more costly products. If the Titans err, it’s in the direction of a hint of excess bass richness, which is a minor flaw some listeners might regard as a serious plus. Those seeking maximum bang for the buck need look no further."

I especially like their second to last sentence.

 

[omega52]

By the way, if you have trouble seeing the tiny L/R markings on some earphones, do what I did. With IEM's like Titans that have large openings, I used a red sharpie to color the grill inside the earpiece. It is easy to just look into the end & see the shiny red & put it into the right ear. It's more discrete than marking the outside. I think that it helped smooth out the upper frequency response too. I think I will experiment with some other colors to see if they "color" the sound differently.

Cheers,
kev

 

[Halftrack]

I'm not going to review the sound, since I know nothing compared to most people on the forums.
What I am going to say is that I've owned them, and they broke in about 4 months (it wasn't even heavy handling, either)

 

[omega52]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Halftrack /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm not going to review the sound, since I know nothing compared to most people on the forums. What I am going to say is that I've owned them, and they broke in about 4 months (it wasn't even heavy handling, either)

They have a lifetime warranty.
How did they break BTW?