[james444]

Imagine yourself in the possession of a budget IEM of questionable origin and precarious build quality that sound like a muddy mess. On the verge of dumping them you decide to give them one last chance, only to find out that properly EQed they can keep up with the likes of the FX500 and IE8. You have no reputation whatsoever on Head-Fi to support this claim. What would you do?

Both serious and funny suggestions are equally welcome

 

[shigzeo]

you should have substituted 'you' and 'yourself' with 'my friend' and 'himself/herself' - it removes the context further from your situation. i'd pm a big headfier who is famous for starting big threads (think hpa) and get him/her to start one for you. he/she could be your ghost writer.

 

[ljcii]

I would pm certain people on head-fi, then i would finally start a thread on that ****ty earphone and it's equalizer settings as proof for other people to try.

 

[Menisk]

So which IEMs does your 'friend' own? And how is he equalizing them?

 

[blawhh]

I would send it to members with good reputation who have good gear+ears to do they trying out for me

 

[Bilavideo]

In the past, I've stated things that rubbed some people the wrong way, only to get the query, "Who do you think you are?" Well, who do I need to be? Do I have to quote an authority to express an opinion, share an observation or suggest a pattern? I think not. So, if you'll pardon my tendency to swim against the current on this thread, I think you should stop standing on form and just throw it out there, come what may. I've heard a lot of things on Head-Fi, some of them sublime, most of them just parroted gadget talk from people who've never heard the phones they're discussing.

You could do a whole lot worse than to tell us what you've discovered, and to do so without permission.

After looking at the frequency response graphs for all of the Knowles Acoustic drivers that KA felt like publishing, it's obvious that if you want the driver to sound like a hi-fi driver, and not merely a hearing aid focusing on the midrange frequencies most closely associated with speech, you have to EQ. You can apply a basic cap as a miniature crossover, but most of the EQing is accomplished by swapping out filters and tuning tubes.

So, from where I stand, you are hardly engaging in crazytalk. Forget about ghostwriters. Speak your mind. Speak your experience. Inquiring minds want to know. You've got the floor.

 

[jaw2ek]

Post pics and eq settings and nothing else. It might just be intriguing enough to get people interested (more so than this thread)

 

[Graphicism]

ahhh haa haa haar that would be awesome... If it were me I would post it right away, not my problem if no one believes me, at least I put it out there. Furthermore if this budget IEM is indeed budget then others would try it, and if it lives up to the claim others will follow.

Make sure you take pictures of all headphone being compared, some people say there 'lesser, cheaper' headphone is better than the likes of IE8 without actually hearing them, either to justify there purchase or contemplate themselves.

 

[billybob_jcv]

Sounds like good FOTM material to me!

 

[iponderous]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bilavideo /img/forum/go_quote.gif In the past, I've stated things that rubbed some people the wrong way, only to get the query, "Who do you think you are?" Well, who do I need to be? Do I have to quote an authority to express an opinion, share an observation or suggest a pattern? I think not. So, if you'll pardon my tendency to swim against the current on this thread, I think you should stop standing on form and just throw it out there, come what may. I've heard a lot of things on Head-Fi, some of them sublime, most of them just parroted gadget talk from people who've never heard the phones they're discussing. You could do a whole lot worse than to tell us what you've discovered, and to do so without permission. After looking at the frequency response graphs for all of the Knowles Acoustic drivers that KA felt like publishing, it's obvious that if you want the driver to sound like a hi-fi driver, and not merely a hearing aid focusing on the midrange frequencies most closely associated with speech, you have to EQ. You can apply a basic cap as a miniature crossover, but most of the EQing is accomplished by swapping out filters and tuning tubes. So, from where I stand, you are hardly engaging in crazytalk. Forget about ghostwriters. Speak your mind. Speak your experience. Inquiring minds want to know. You've got the floor.

Applauding, they rose to their feet as one.

 

[Bilavideo]

So, let's hear about this EQ'd result. Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[pyrokid]

I'd tell no one, until I'd bought them all for myself. (assuming they ARE budget phones.)
Then I'd give them out randomly to people who posted things that made me laugh/were well thought out and informative, and offer to tell them the EQ settings if they promised not to tell anyone about them.

 

[hockeyb213]

Why such a secret? XD

 

[Graphicism]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iponderous /img/forum/go_quote.gif Applauding, they rose to their feet as one.

No their exaggerating, if it's a good review with comparisons it doesn't matter who it comes from.

 

[james444]

Thanks to you all for your suggestions and patience!

Bilavideo, your post made my day! I'm glad that nasty response has been deleted.
Shigzeo, I value your opinion and strongly considered going this way. But in the end it seems not appropriate to bother a "big headfier" with what might only be my own personal hype.
Graphicism, I 'm not going to post pictures of all my headphones here, but if anyone doubts that I own them please PM me and I'll take pictures together with daily and fingerprints.
Hockeyb213, I'm not being secretive, I just wanted some opinions on how to make this public.

Here's what I decided: I will state my opinion, come what may. If my assessment is proven wrong by members with better ears, then be it. I will not do an in-depth review, I leave that to more skilled and eloquent headfiers. But I will do my best to answer any further questions. In the meantime I have been ordering a second pair and if any of you "big headfiers" care to give these a try, PM me and I will send you a my burnt-in pair.

I have been evaluating the Playaz N1 for more than a week, going back and forth between my top IEMs (IE8, FX500, SE530, X10) and I believe that these can keep up with all of them. But before I say any more, here's a ...

DISCLAIMER - PLEASE READ!!!
- I bought the Playaz N1 from ebay-seller 4satisfaction-store who sells headphones and lingerie.
- I am not in any way affiliated to him.
- On flat EQ these are utter crap, believe me this is no matter of personal taste, they really are.
- If you have an iPod you're out of luck, none of the fixed EQ presets sound good.
- Build quality is precarious to say the least, they make a scary crackling noise on insertion (probably the diaphragm). Same noise whenever you touch them while worn, don't even think about wearing them in bed.

You still with me? Ok, other than that they are fine, really damn fine! If you have a custom EQ like on the Fuze and use the Graph shown below I believe you're in for a big surprise. I paid €20 excl. shipping for the first and €27 for the second (price is 40 now, but he accepts offers) and based on SQ solely this is incredible bang for buck IMO.

Of all dynamic driver IEMs I have heard so far, these have the best midrange (think SE530). Female voices are smooth and gorgous. Bass might not go as low as the FX500 but has excellent texture and great authority, even EQ'd down like that. Speaking of EQing, the drivers respond incredibly well to it, you can EQ the highs to your taste as these are much less prone to sibilance than the FX500. I will not claim that they are really better than any of my top IEMs, but IMO they are second to none. EQ'd to such extremes it seems like a contradiction, but they have an awesome naturalness and coherence in the way they present music. Call it FOTM, but the Playaz N1 are currently my favourite IEMs

Thanks for your attention!