[boodi]

: e e k :

using them on portable
scary

maybe for the first time in headphones listening I can say that I've been left c o m p l e t e l y blown away

today is a particular day for me so I might be - i am - on the wave different kind of emotions
anyhow..

scary
first pair of "pro" canalphones
:scary with UM2 in:


more to come when i get home this evening and use them on my home rig

 

[rudemood11]

Congratulation for your new toy. I am currently a md33 user wanting to upgrade. Can you please tell me the improvment over md33? Specially the high frequency. I found cymbal sound artificial and not extended on my md33.

 

[boodi]

thanks

I am at a course now ( classroom not listening

) as i said this morning i've been blown away - after the first ten minute of getting used to the in-the-ear new UM2 sound while walking around the city for reaching here i have had so clear sensations -on hearing - that on the hype it seemed my eyes could look better at the world around

this effect was in part due to the hype but this is quite significative about the sound quality they're capable of.
I wouldn't even try to revert to md33s , the difference is absolutely relevant..texturing of sounds -that is fine details- is more then a step from md33 ..i mean sharp md33 are incredibly good headphones for the price , but there's quite no story here , even difficult to tell the difference as um2 are another level of sound (in fact they're used in pro audio)

and yes , some high frq.s on md33 are digital-harsh-metallic and are close to fatiguing ears on even short listening
the UM2 absolutely don't have a trace of this character ( but i wouldn't reduce them to this , really - it's just to answer )
so..more in general : on first listening i didn't notice one very evident flaw /frq. shift or frq. favor other then they're not on the cold / razor side of the sound but more on the warm -but fine and detailed- side ; maybe just little dismissing the highs region , but it's only an impression
more to come

 

[rudemood11]

Thanks for your quick impressions. I guess I'll upgrade to um2 rather than e5c now cause most people said the high of um2 is better and I'm afraid the lack of bass of ety.

 

[Thaddy]

Glad to see we have another happy UM2 owner here! Hopefully my Karma comes today, mine have been sitting in the case for way too long!

 

[tayano]

i'm going to buy my soon...where did you buy them and for how much ?

 

[boodi]

you have pm

 

[dano1122]

where did you get it from boodi?

 

[450]

TEAM KOSS KSC35 has just been sadly blown away by TEAM UM2 ...

LOL!!!

A sad day for TEAM KSC35 indeed...

 

[boodi]

dano you've got pm

I'd just not like to make commercials here for any company so..

based on the many pm I'm receiving and giving the UM2 are very likely becoming the FOTM here based on the many positive feedback they're having , I would say to interested to give me a little more time to get more neutral impressions , my ears accomodating to the new gift , my brain bit less fatigued ( I'm using them on and off repeatedly today ) so that I'll be more confident in giving reccomandations
I really wouldn't like to see lot of people going on getting them after only reading my eeking post , and my eeks, happening still, are going to be tamed by the time i pass with them so ...

now I'm home and I'll give a short listen to them .. that's likely tomorrow I'll have more time to spend with them and I'll use them ppamped for a part of the day
Quote:

Originally Posted by 450 TEAM KOSS KSC35 has just been sadly blown away by TEAM UM2 ... LOL!!! A sad day for TEAM KSC35 indeed...

you know i feel quite sorry for them but there's so much a gap here
wearing ksc35 after um2 today seemed a bit like getting some toys on ears

 

[james__bean]

Congrats... they're a great canalphone. I just wish they had a size between their large comply and their short comply tip. I may just spring for custom molds anyways though.

 

[boodi]

indid , that's another thing I considered when buying them and an added value
in fact you can get them custom molded whenever you want to upgrade

 

[boodi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by james__bean Congrats... they're a great canalphone. I just wish they had a size between their large comply and their short comply tip. I may just spring for custom molds anyways though.

I'm trying the mid size ( cutted some longer foamis spare sets I had to see sound results )
the more "convincing" upfront sound come from the shorter tips though , even if the longer one produce more highs and seems to produce more extension and a somewhat more articulate sound , the shorter give a more immersive sound exp and a more lifelike sound style.

the difference in sound between the long and the short tips is not little; nad I can't seem to find one I prefer , both offers the not subtles advantages aforementioned .

I'll probably stick with the midsize for a while.

 

[boodi]

update
the westone are breaking in after 15 hr. of use the sound is changed, quite suddenly (!) and noticeably.
Changed in a good way, they have gained smoothness on mids and highs and details in the form of more subtle textures ( nuances ) appearing in the bass/midbass region

My brain is adpating too

and it's nice to adapt to the "in the head" stage - this if you get it ; I'm becoming more and more adapted and able to do it faster; some hours ago I literally didn't get the head stage though and the UM2 while incredible for a lot of factor on first impressions were sounding flat.
I can see as some can do it in a relatively short time and others (I hope few) hardly succeed in managing the in the ar sound/thing.

Now I'm using them mainly with Karma hpout now from a time . The sound comes out good and clean, after a bit of eq'ing I don't feel any need to add the ppa amp on the Karma out ( even if I'm sure adding it would improve the sound, the Karma+Um2 solution seems just right on it's own)

They're noticeably source dependent and responsive.
Plugging them to my home rig give a very bodied sound and the stage can be tremendously expanded.
Plugging them to the Karma give a slightly "lighter" sound signature (it suits them well too), so you can apply some eq. for "building" the stage over the stock sound signature of the Karma which is not uncolored.
Due to the low distortions they're capable of on moderate volumes and the way they handle the audio signal you can really set the karma eq as you like the most, you won't experience easy distortions and they'll be quite always nice to be listened.

Is very much important when you use them -and probably this apply to canalphones in general- to adjust the volume to the "very right" level , this mainly for hearing loss prevention.
Really.
Ears easily adapt to an higher volume if they receive few/no distortion - I experienced this and it's easy to experience.
To try it play a cd , set a volume that suits you in the start, then raise the volume relatively slowly during the first tracks and your ears will set in a relatively short time to the new level of sound , and you'll not be able to notice it is too much high after adaptation - you can do it a number of times and your ears will likely readapt to the sound level till a quite high sound volume. Reached this volume , again after some minutes of listening (as volume readaptation seems to work on my ears on a minutes scale ) , lower the volume all-in-one to the first level you set in the start - your brain will notice it is too low: let adapt your ears/system some minutes and the volume will become right again, you will even be able to lower it again a bit and it'll be right.

My advice
to set a volume in the start - this dependent on the noise the environment around produce - then lower it a bit and let the ears adapt and keep this as a volume to listen to music for long periods of time (hours).

While I started the journey - on my karma as a source - with a volume of 12-13 peaking on 15-16 sometimes, now I'm set on a volume of 3-7/30 on quiet environments depending on the different moments of the day .


I still fatigue to find factors to dislike this earphones .. I'll report them if i find them

 

[Jmmmmm]

Last night I tried the shure triflanges and longer complies. I've been using the short complies, and I was amazed at the difference between the different tips. The longer complies opens them up a bit, emphasizing more treble than the short complies. Unfortunately they're too long and make the um2's stick out of my ear, instead of lying flat.
Then I tried the (modded) triflanges, and they emphasize the high end even more. The bass is still really good, but I feel like you can hear it more now, rather than feel it. I think I prefer the sound of the triflanges now (even though I didn't like them when I first tried the um2's). It's just amazing how much the sound changes with the different tips. I don't know if the ety tips are different, but I recommend anyone with um2's to get one of them - I was thinking the um2's were missing some treble, but this helps quite a bit.
I'm still extremely happy with the um2's, after about two weeks.