OK guys it's about time to do a small roundup about this weeke new toys.
I'm really short on time at the moment (wife and four kids combined with heavy work load and a lot of business trips in the next month make time pretty valuable in November) so I'll have to just give some brief impressions for now:
Logitech UE6000 (passive mode):
I bought these as a replacement for my Goldring NS1000 that unfortunately cracked the headband during a trip a while ago. My reason for getting these is for use on longer flights. I'm going to spend over 12 hours in a plane going to California in a couple of weeks so I just had to find a replacement to my former travel compagnion from Goldring. I'm not really a big fan of closed cans but they are undoubtedly very convenient in some situations. I've auditioned the UE6000 several times and always liked what I've been hearing but I have not been able to convince myself to pay the $300 that they cost here in Europe. When I found a pair on the auction site for just $125 shipped I could not resist anymore.
I really like these and I think they are going to be great for travelling. Altough the active noise cancelling on them are a joke. They have relly great passive canceling though so it should be sufficient and they are also very compact when stored in the included transport bag. Also comfort is extremely good.
Soundwise they have a very warm signature with a bit of bass emphasis, They have a nice impact in the subbas but the bass do blead a little bit into the midrange. They are not very analytical and I could wish for a little bit clearer/crispier sound sometimes. They sound great with movies and typical radio music so I think they will do their work on my trips.
I do think they sound way better in passive mode that with NC on but I'll guess that might change on a airplane.
Logitech UE600 (aka UE SuperFi 5):
Picked these up for cheap from the same selller from who I bought the UE6000 and got them shipped for free in the same package. I think they might have the best midrange I've ever heard in a IEM, They are really crystal clear and have a sufficient fullness to the overall sound. However I feel that they lack in extenstions in both the treble and the bass regions. They are not bass light but I would have liked more omp in the subbass particulary, They do respond pretty good to EQ'ing so with some bass boost the get much more satisfying. Soundstage is not more than average for an IEM.
I like them way better then my XBA-1's which are comparable in both price and technology. Male voices and acoustic guitars are just magical with them so they will absolutely have their place in my collection. Isolation is average at the most and they are very comfortable when worn over the ear.
LG Quadbeat:
These cost me $11,50 shipped on the auction site and I bought them because I was curios and won them for so cheap. Well I can say that they will be pretty tough to beat for the price
The sound very crisp and natural. They are a bit bright in the overall presentation and are way to bass light to satisfy me as an allrounder but they sound great with Rage Against the Machine for example. Don't get me wrong, these are really great at the price they are sold at but there's no doubt that they have their limitations,
LG Qadbeat 2:
So, finally, here's the discovery of this post!
While I said that the original Quadbeats do have their limitations it is far more difficult to find the limitations of the Quadbeat 2.
To make a long story short: these have very, very similar sound signature to the Philips Fidelio S2, Instead of describing the sound of the QB2's I'll try to describe the difference between them and the S2's.
The QB2's are a little bit brighter and the S2's has an equal tiny bit more sub bass. The result of this is that the QB2's sound a bit clearer while the S2's sounds a little bit fuller. These differences are really marginal. I don not actually think that one are better than the other but I personally prefer the extra subbass that the S2's deliver, however this may change when i get more time with the QB2's and I have no problem understanding that some people will prefer the QB2's.
The S2's definatley has a better feeling physically but the QB2's does by noe means feel cheap. The housing is aluminum (I think) and the rest i plastic. The QB2's isolate better then the S2's. I've found that the Sony hybrid tips or the silicon tips ftom the Gratitudes gives me the most comfortable fit. The cable is flat and tough not as nice as the one on the S2's it's clearly better then the one on the Gratitudes.
I would also like to mention that I enjoy the QB2's more then the Vsonic VSD1. As a matter of fact I like them more then most of my other IEM's.
Over all I'll have to say that the Quadbeats 2 has to be one of the absolutely best value I've ever come across in a IEM!
If you dont't own the S2's and would like to get a feeling about their sound go get these, if you allready own the S2's go get them anyway
I'm sorry that I don't have the time to do a more in depth review at this time. I'll come back stronger the nex time.
And no, I don't like them more than the Gratitudes
I'm really short on time at the moment (wife and four kids combined with heavy work load and a lot of business trips in the next month make time pretty valuable in November) so I'll have to just give some brief impressions for now:
Logitech UE6000 (passive mode):
I bought these as a replacement for my Goldring NS1000 that unfortunately cracked the headband during a trip a while ago. My reason for getting these is for use on longer flights. I'm going to spend over 12 hours in a plane going to California in a couple of weeks so I just had to find a replacement to my former travel compagnion from Goldring. I'm not really a big fan of closed cans but they are undoubtedly very convenient in some situations. I've auditioned the UE6000 several times and always liked what I've been hearing but I have not been able to convince myself to pay the $300 that they cost here in Europe. When I found a pair on the auction site for just $125 shipped I could not resist anymore.
I really like these and I think they are going to be great for travelling. Altough the active noise cancelling on them are a joke. They have relly great passive canceling though so it should be sufficient and they are also very compact when stored in the included transport bag. Also comfort is extremely good.
Soundwise they have a very warm signature with a bit of bass emphasis, They have a nice impact in the subbas but the bass do blead a little bit into the midrange. They are not very analytical and I could wish for a little bit clearer/crispier sound sometimes. They sound great with movies and typical radio music so I think they will do their work on my trips.
I do think they sound way better in passive mode that with NC on but I'll guess that might change on a airplane.
Logitech UE600 (aka UE SuperFi 5):
Picked these up for cheap from the same selller from who I bought the UE6000 and got them shipped for free in the same package. I think they might have the best midrange I've ever heard in a IEM, They are really crystal clear and have a sufficient fullness to the overall sound. However I feel that they lack in extenstions in both the treble and the bass regions. They are not bass light but I would have liked more omp in the subbass particulary, They do respond pretty good to EQ'ing so with some bass boost the get much more satisfying. Soundstage is not more than average for an IEM.
I like them way better then my XBA-1's which are comparable in both price and technology. Male voices and acoustic guitars are just magical with them so they will absolutely have their place in my collection. Isolation is average at the most and they are very comfortable when worn over the ear.
LG Quadbeat:
These cost me $11,50 shipped on the auction site and I bought them because I was curios and won them for so cheap. Well I can say that they will be pretty tough to beat for the price
LG Qadbeat 2:
So, finally, here's the discovery of this post!
While I said that the original Quadbeats do have their limitations it is far more difficult to find the limitations of the Quadbeat 2.
To make a long story short: these have very, very similar sound signature to the Philips Fidelio S2, Instead of describing the sound of the QB2's I'll try to describe the difference between them and the S2's.
The QB2's are a little bit brighter and the S2's has an equal tiny bit more sub bass. The result of this is that the QB2's sound a bit clearer while the S2's sounds a little bit fuller. These differences are really marginal. I don not actually think that one are better than the other but I personally prefer the extra subbass that the S2's deliver, however this may change when i get more time with the QB2's and I have no problem understanding that some people will prefer the QB2's.
The S2's definatley has a better feeling physically but the QB2's does by noe means feel cheap. The housing is aluminum (I think) and the rest i plastic. The QB2's isolate better then the S2's. I've found that the Sony hybrid tips or the silicon tips ftom the Gratitudes gives me the most comfortable fit. The cable is flat and tough not as nice as the one on the S2's it's clearly better then the one on the Gratitudes.
I would also like to mention that I enjoy the QB2's more then the Vsonic VSD1. As a matter of fact I like them more then most of my other IEM's.
Over all I'll have to say that the Quadbeats 2 has to be one of the absolutely best value I've ever come across in a IEM!
If you dont't own the S2's and would like to get a feeling about their sound go get these, if you allready own the S2's go get them anyway
I'm sorry that I don't have the time to do a more in depth review at this time. I'll come back stronger the nex time.
And no, I don't like them more than the Gratitudes