chinesekiwi
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Feb 29, 2008
- Posts
- 3,799
- Likes
- 42
Initial impressions (straight out of the box, no burn-in):
Why do I need to read a manual to use these?
Wouldn't it just be easier to label them with 'L' for left and 'R' for right like every other manufacturer does?
What the PL-30 offer to the table is an adjustable Y-cord. What I mean by this is that you can separate the two cords together and separate them to the point in which they feel comfortable. This has it's pros and cons: Pro being that you can separate them to where you desire as sometimes in other models, the Y-cord can be too long. The big negative however is that it's not stated in the manual anywhere and if one was to wear these from default, it would be extremely uncomfortable and in fact, I wouldn't even be sure that they'll fit.
Also one might easily break the cable if one was to separeate these in an improper fashion.
The PL-30's come with a built in shirt clip which is good.
That said, the package is rather good accessories wise, with some white bi-flange tips, a bunch of spare single-flange universal tips, some larger single-flange tips and even a pair of cone-shaped tips.
These also come with a good sized case to store your PL-30's in and even something to wrap them around with.
However as with my RE2 case, I did notice a strong chemical smell. The chemical smell however is not apparent on the actual PL-30's which is good.
That said though, what you want are sonic impressions:
Oh sorry, sonic sound impressions:
What I used was a Cowon D2:
Songs were:
Pendulum - Hold Your Colour (my bass test song)
Porcupine Tree - Arriving Somewhere But Not Here
Both in Vorbis -q8 ripped from FLAC.
I have only tested these on the default 'Clear Bass' setting and with the default single-flange black tips.
1) These are VERY easy to drive. I had to turn the volume down because slightly shocked at how loud it was at first. This counts as both a good thing and a bad thing. Good thing being of course that your turn your volume down increasing battery life. The bad thing however is that with them is you get a noticeable hiss when it's silent.
2) What actually impressed me the most about these wasn't the bass at all (will write about the bass next), it was actually the instrument separation.
The instrument separation on these PL-30's are very good considering they are $20. The instruments are clearly defined.
3) The 'clear bass' bass, as marketed as Soundmagic, is just that. The bass is clear and defined much like the midrange is. However the bass is rather slow and not very deep. The bass impact on these are average.
4) What makes the PL-30 fall over is that it does not do complex passages well. It gets quite muddy in complex passages.
These are my impressions so far.
Are they worth more than $20? Yes.
Are they a giant killer? No.
I'll burn them in a bit and see what happens to the sound.
Why do I need to read a manual to use these?
Wouldn't it just be easier to label them with 'L' for left and 'R' for right like every other manufacturer does?
What the PL-30 offer to the table is an adjustable Y-cord. What I mean by this is that you can separate the two cords together and separate them to the point in which they feel comfortable. This has it's pros and cons: Pro being that you can separate them to where you desire as sometimes in other models, the Y-cord can be too long. The big negative however is that it's not stated in the manual anywhere and if one was to wear these from default, it would be extremely uncomfortable and in fact, I wouldn't even be sure that they'll fit.
Also one might easily break the cable if one was to separeate these in an improper fashion.
The PL-30's come with a built in shirt clip which is good.
That said, the package is rather good accessories wise, with some white bi-flange tips, a bunch of spare single-flange universal tips, some larger single-flange tips and even a pair of cone-shaped tips.
These also come with a good sized case to store your PL-30's in and even something to wrap them around with.
However as with my RE2 case, I did notice a strong chemical smell. The chemical smell however is not apparent on the actual PL-30's which is good.
That said though, what you want are sonic impressions:
Oh sorry, sonic sound impressions:
What I used was a Cowon D2:
Songs were:
Pendulum - Hold Your Colour (my bass test song)
Porcupine Tree - Arriving Somewhere But Not Here
Both in Vorbis -q8 ripped from FLAC.
I have only tested these on the default 'Clear Bass' setting and with the default single-flange black tips.
1) These are VERY easy to drive. I had to turn the volume down because slightly shocked at how loud it was at first. This counts as both a good thing and a bad thing. Good thing being of course that your turn your volume down increasing battery life. The bad thing however is that with them is you get a noticeable hiss when it's silent.
2) What actually impressed me the most about these wasn't the bass at all (will write about the bass next), it was actually the instrument separation.
The instrument separation on these PL-30's are very good considering they are $20. The instruments are clearly defined.
3) The 'clear bass' bass, as marketed as Soundmagic, is just that. The bass is clear and defined much like the midrange is. However the bass is rather slow and not very deep. The bass impact on these are average.
4) What makes the PL-30 fall over is that it does not do complex passages well. It gets quite muddy in complex passages.
These are my impressions so far.
Are they worth more than $20? Yes.
Are they a giant killer? No.
I'll burn them in a bit and see what happens to the sound.