[james444]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ignorant /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just bought the Sennheiser IE8s a month ago and now I'm looking at these guys for an upgrade : ( I feel the statements about the bass to be true; they just don't produce that nice vibrating bass that I've been looking for. They do have a lot of mid and upper bass but I want to feel the bass. There isn't enough treble quality for me either (I came from the Phonak Audeo PFEs) and I'm hoping that the mids aren't as recessed with the FX-500s as they are with the IE8s. I still feel that the IE8s are a great set of IEMs because they produce that nice full sound, instrument separation, etc(you've heard it all before) but there's still some things left to be desired

The IE8 is surely capable of producing nice vibrating low bass, the problem is the mid/upper bass hump at 80-100Hz which is way too prominent and simply drowns out everything else. Try a low frequency sweep and you will see it can vibrate quite nicely and go down below 20Hz. Same with the mids, they are not that recessed, a bit laid back ok, but I suppose the main reason you find them recessed is this massive mid/upper bass drowning out part of the midrange.

Now the FX500 doesn't have this mid/upper bass hump and therefore more room for the low bass to shine. On the other hand, with no mids-invading upper bass to blame, the mids on the FX500 are *really* somewhat recessed. So, as much as I like both of these phones I don't believe jumping from the IE8 to the FX500 in search of better mids will make you happy.

I'd recommend trying to tame the IE8's bass before dismissing them. IME there are two possibilties: pair them with a bright amp/source or a source with a high quality equalizer. I'm doing the former with the Nuforce Icon mobile and the latter with a rockboxed Fuze. Both give great results and transform the IE8 into entirely different, more likeable phones IMO. I own quite a few IEMs and I do not think any them is an upgrade to the IE8 if you take the bass hump out of the equation.

I do realize you have no EQ on your Zune at the moment, but you plan upgrading to Sony X or Zune HD in the future which both have EQ, the Sony's supposedly a very good one. My advice would be to upgrade the source first before jumping from the IE8 to a different IEM.

 

[MadDog]

Quote:

Originally Posted by james444 /img/forum/go_quote.gif My advice would be to upgrade the source first before jumping from the IE8 to a different IEM.

This makes sense...this is what I learned after two unnecessary purchases.

 

[shigzeo]

Well, I did it - I re-got the FX500... and, after a long time away, they are still one of my favourites for sure.

 

[AnAnalogSpirit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shigzeo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, I did it - I re-got the FX500... and, after a long time away, they are still one of my favourites for sure.

NICE!! Way to go shigzeo!! Now the only question is... what Tips are you going to play with??

 

[cpk]

I tried the Koss tips and was very happy with them. I like them better than the Sony Hybrid. The Sony tip is very small at the end. Where the Koss is larger opening and set back more. It improved the upper end and tamed it down. A little loss on lower bass, however an overall improvement. I had a concern about receiving the wrong tips. However when I contacted Koss they stated that all their earcushions were the same. It came with 2 sets of 3 different sizes. You should try them out at only $5 with free shipping.

Joe

 

[AnAnalogSpirit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cpk /img/forum/go_quote.gif I tried the Koss tips and was very happy with them. I like them better than the Sony Hybrid. The Sony tip is very small at the end. Where the Koss is larger opening and set back more. It improved the upper end and tamed it down. A little loss on lower bass, however an overall improvement. I had a concern about receiving the wrong tips. However when I contacted Koss they stated that all their earcushions were the same. It came with 2 sets of 3 different sizes. You should try them out at only $5 with free shipping. Joe

SWEET! This was the kind of info I was looking for about the Earcushions from KOSS!

 

[cn11]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shigzeo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, I did it - I re-got the FX500... and, after a long time away, they are still one of my favourites for sure.

Shigzeo-
Excellent! It's always hysterical when you re-buy a phone. I did it with the IE8's. The FX500's are really nice, and I'm grateful for your thread and original review. Then it was Duncan discovering them himself that rekindled my interest in purchasing them. Glad I did.

 

[penguin121]

I got the Koss ear cushions a few days ago, so far the medium size from the set is working good for me. I had been using the Victor medium silicone tips that came with the FX500, which gave me a good seal at first, but after a few weeks they started to not seal as good. I think they lost a bit of their spring, so they wouldn't hold in place as well. The Koss tips are a little larger and have some texture on the tip surface which combines to give me a good seal that stays in place. Now to see how well this holds up after some use.

 

[cn11]

I'm going to have to order some of these Koss tips I think, and see how they compare to the Sony EX and Hybrid tips, since either of those are what I always seem to have the best luck with on dynamic phones such as the fX500. I'm hoping they work on the Victors, as well as my new Denon AH-C710's.

 

[timaishu]

Im thinking of pulling the trigger on the FX500. I read through the first 20 pages and I think these are what Im looking for.

Only thing I didnt really see mentioned were how it performed music genre wise.. Like, it appears from what Ive read it sounds fantastic with instrumental type music. But how does it sound with hip hop/pop or trance, or classical etc? I see alot of people mention the lows but not so much the highs.

This would be a direct replacement for my current maximo iM-490's and would be used for all my different music genres played off my computer

 

[cn11]

timaishu-
I think they perform fine with most genres. The mids maybe are a hair recessed, but other than that they're fantastic. The lows are remarkable, yes. But so is the treble. They have treble resolution/detail that is stunning for a dynamic driver earphone. Their stage is really wide too. I find them great for rock, hip-hop, jazz. I've not heard them with any classical music, although I'd imagine they would be great for that as well with their detail, soundstage, and lows (for those really dynamic passages).

 

[timaishu]

Thanks, thats exactly the kind of answer I was looking for.

 

[james444]

Quote:

Originally Posted by timaishu /img/forum/go_quote.gif Im thinking of pulling the trigger on the FX500. I read through the first 20 pages and I think these are what Im looking for. Only thing I didnt really see mentioned were how it performed music genre wise.. Like, it appears from what Ive read it sounds fantastic with instrumental type music. But how does it sound with hip hop/pop or trance, or classical etc? I see alot of people mention the lows but not so much the highs. This would be a direct replacement for my current maximo iM-490's and would be used for all my different music genres played off my computer

Overall they are excellent phones with these genres. Shortcomings would only be slightly recesseds mids, notably with trance, when I sometimes have to struggle to hear laid back voices over pounding bass rhythms. Also, with classical music their extended and prominent highs can result in triangles/cymbals sounding a bit too shrill, but both are minor quirks and can be easily corrected with an equalizer.

 

[shigzeo]

i find they are great for hip hop, but not perfect. the recessed mids work with certain artists, but others not so well. as for trance, they are good, but if your source cannot give definition to the bass, you will be blown away by a boomy bass.

 

[fureshi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shigzeo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, I did it - I re-got the FX500... and, after a long time away, they are still one of my favourites for sure.

Nice. I was so close to getting them again on my last trip to Japan and they're definitely on my buy list on my next trip to Tokyo in Sept. After hearing a few other IEM and canalphones, I realized that I've been missing the musicality of the FX500.