So I've been playing around with them for a while now, time to give my two cents. Don't take the frequencies that I talk about too seriously; they are more like a personal reference. Also, excuse me for my English.
As I noted earlier, I was looking for an upgrade from the ex15's. Not that I was really missing something, but you must be able to do better than 10eu buds. Good thing is these buds have a similar presentation. Most headphones I have heard completely over do it, these keep things simple but definitely deliver the goods. No plasticy mids, hollow soundstage, overly textured bass...just buds.
Maybe I was hoping a bit on the "hifi-experience" you get with speakers, where the set forms a window into the recording if you will. That these won't do at all I am afraid. Maybe I am a bit naive but after hearing a lot of good stuff - and considering some buds cost 500+ euro - these left me a bit disappointed. At the end of the day there are still just a pair of buds firing into your ear. My HD448 gives a sense of space and 'greatness' much better than these can ever do. What can be around your head with the phones happens all in between your ears with these. Not to mention the Ultrasone hfi2200's, which do lots of cool stuff spacial wise. Compared to the ex15's these have slightly better soundstage I would say, but it is pretty much a 1D story.
Not only spacial, also the dynamics are pretty narrow to me. The overall spectrum seems to be compressed/squeezed a bit between a seemingly peak around and 200Hz and 8kHz. Leaving some sounds a bit compressed. A guitar on my old 'budget'(still 10 times the price of the Sony's) speakers (ELAC fs67.2's) already begins to show some extension through the frequencies, these buds won't do that.
My current tower's are a couple of ELAC fs209A's. What they really make apparent is that the ex650's lack some of precision and dynamics. Whereas a high hat on the speakers is a small piece of fireworks in a pitch black night sky, the high hat on the ex650 seems to be blurred by a smokescreen which also happens to be lighted by the streetlights(hope this metaphor makes any sense).
There is no real crisp/bite in the sound, it's all silky smooth and soft. The sound is a bit veiled and doesn't draw attention. Sweet like cinnamon, smooth like butter...a bit of caramel perhaps - whoops there I go - but to me simply too suppressed. A spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go away but this isn't medicine, this is music. I have to note that my s4 worsens this effect.
As I told earlier I really like the overall presentation/sound signature. There is not too much apparent coloration. Making the HD448's sound like a complete joke. It's a pretty organic type of sound.
The bass started out a bit lumpy but has softened and became even a tad more dry than punchy I would say, which is the type of bass that I like. There is a painfully obvious mid-bass peak - which I hate - but it doesn't cross its borders, meaning that the low-mids are not influenced by this. They don't go extremely deep but deep enough for every day use.
The low-mids seem to be a bit recessed to me, if I was to equalize I would 'raise' a bit around 900Hz. Moving further into the mids sound pressure starts to increases to my ears making it possible for voices to get the attention they deserve. The mids are quiet dark but I like that. There is plenty of detail to be discovered in these regions using the 650's without forcing it.
The most noticeable feature in the highs is seemingly a peak around 6-8Hz. Not precisely the comfort zone. This makes the sound really snappy. The funny thing is that the ex15's had the exact same thing bit they flattened out really nicely over 500+ hours. I am noticing the same thing with these @ 50+ hours, it really starts to settle. It still is snappy but in a less clinical way. I noticed some people talking about hot treble, I am looking more towards overly active upper-mids.
From this point all seems but a smooth roll-off. To my ears these buds are not a V-shaped, more like /V\
Compared to the ex15's these have way more authority, control and dynamics. No more grain, subtle fluctuations in instruments become clear and the bass seemingly has unlimited power reserves. It's not that I won't be able to listen to the ex15's again but these are a very clear improvement.
One other thing I really like are the looks and build quality. They look awesome(like really awesome) and probably are capable of surviving an atomic blast.
Comfort depends on the tips, normally I would pick one of the smaller sizes and shove the entire nozzle into my ear canal. The nozzle on these is not suitable for that leaving me with painful ears after an hour or so. Now I use the largest and hang them loosely into my hear, this works for me.
The mic is also pretty good, you'll be able to call even when facing the wind.
Bottomline:
Are these the final answer in hifi? Nope
But their relaxed but snappy, organic/natural type of sound makes the competition - as far as I have listened - look like they aren't even trying, or rather trying too hard, and have me nodding my head to the rhythm.
Equalizing might do some great things to these, but they sound pleasant nonetheless(or pair them with a treble happy source might do some good). They really do sound good enough for in-ears never wanting me to upgrade again.
65eu gives you awesome looks, a serious sound upgrade from budget buds and a mic; a no-brainer.
