[darkavatar1470]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrecked_porsche /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think your read my comment that the ES7 needs 300hrs of burn in. I can say FOR SURE that my ES7 sounds different from the day I got it. I was not impressed with my ES7 when I first got it. After a few hundred hours of pink noise I LOVE 'em.

Not too long ago, I don't believe in all this "burn in" stuff.
But when I bought a second ATH-SJ5 for my brother,
the difference really SHOCKED me.

The new one sounded muffled and had no separation,
even an absolute non-audiophile like my bro can hear the difference.

It was quite interesting to hear the new SJ5 "mature" with use,
and they finally became indistinguishable after around 200H...
the basic sound sig won't change too much though,
it just kinda opens up.

btw, I think all ATH cans need tons of burning-in,
so be patient with them

 

[wrecked_porsche]

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkavatar1470 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not too long ago, I don't believe in all this "burn in" stuff. But when I bought a second ATH-SJ5 for my brother, the difference really SHOCKED me. [size=small]The new one sounded muffled and had no separation,[/size] even an absolute non-audiophile like my bro can hear the difference. It was quite interesting to hear the new SJ5 "mature" with use, and they finally became indistinguishable [size=small]after around 200H[/size]... the basic sound sig won't change too much though, it just kinda opens up. btw, I think all ATH cans need tons of burning-in, [size=medium]so be patient with them[/size]

Heh... good to know that someone else out there validates my point and can pin point the obvious changes that take place with AT headphones burn in. It was pretty darn obvious to me, and that was my first proper headphone too. It was the first thing I bought when I joined head-fi. FWIW, I even noticed burn in on my Phillips SHE9500, but I was totally ignorant to the existence of audiophile world and did not even know of the existence of burn in. I was just anther regular guy on the street enjoying his music, completely oblivious to the impending doom of my wallet... head-fi...
I just realized one day that my SHE9500 sounded better compared to when I first got it. I didn't know it was burn in, but I did notice it. That was what that led me to sit up and take notice about SQ and finally lead me to Head-fi.

The points that I have highlighted in BOLD are exactly what I have been telling people, but some just choose to be ignorant and not be open minded, oh well, their loss.

Like I said, if anyone is skeptical about the sound changing, just compare a brand new one to well used one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackmore /img/forum/go_quote.gif How about ESW9? I expect any days my now, can be interesting to hear the differences. However it is not a full size of course. I am not using any EQ as well, they do sound very well from out of PETITE and GoVibe7.

Yeah, unfortunately the ESW9 is not full sized. If it were full sized I'd just buy that and get the heck out of head-fi ASAP

.
I'd probably be happy and there would be no need to go headphone hunting anymore....

I'd have found my perfect headphone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by redrich2000 /img/forum/go_quote.gif My gripe with the SQ was that they are very unatural sounding. They seem to have spikes in certain places across the spectrum which gives them the aggressive, sparkly sound that people seem to like. But to me they completely sacrifice a natural, accurate and balanced sound.

Those are the EXACT reasons why people who love the ES7 absolutely LOVE them. I think there are no in betweens when it comes to ES7, you either love it or hate it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by redrich2000 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I do feel that people commenting on them on head-fi have been a bit carried away with their enjoyment of the ES7s and have not given an entirely accurate impression of their SQ. Hence it seems a number of us have bought them only discover we don't like them.

Well, those who love the ES7 have always stated that they are FUN sounding, unfortunately though it comes at the cost of coloration to the sound. Some people just can't stand colored sound. I don't think anyone has mentioned the ES7 to be neutral/natural, and people on this forum should not conclude that just because some headphones are described to be good automatically means that they reproduce sound accurately.

I personally prefer fun sounding colored music to sterile and "accurate" sound. I hated the K701 for being soo neutral and sterile. Sounded very boring to me. But this is what makes this hoby fun. There is something for everyone to enjoy no matter what your taste or preferences are. Now if only it were easier to find what we are looking for...

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sinus1982 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I had both FC7s and ES7s - there's a major difference audible. Are you really sure you ain't got no fakes? Where did you get them?

I have a feeling that you hit nail in the head.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrecked_porsche /img/forum/go_quote.gif Those are the EXACT reasons why people who love the ES7 absolutely LOVE them. I think there are no in betweens when it comes to ES7, you either love it or hate it. Well, those who love the ES7 have always stated that they are FUN sounding, unfortunately though it comes at the cost of coloration to the sound. Some people just can't stand colored sound. I don't think anyone has mentioned the ES7 to be neutral/natural, and people on this forum should not conclude that just because some headphones are described to be good automatically means that they reproduce sound accurately.

Excellent point, they are not analytical or accurate cans. This is what big cans and rigs are for, but on the go ES7 "fun" signature could be much more appreciative.

 

[darkburnout00]

Yeah, fakes have been a huge problem of recent for the ES7

 

[wrecked_porsche]

Which just goes to show that the ES7 are indeed good, such that there is a demand for them. The pirates realize this and thus have started to make fakes. Damn them!

 

[PieRat]

I was going to ask the same thing, since I posted the fake ES7 thread. I have had the pleasure, or should I say agony of hearing the authentics, and the fakes side by side. The fakes sound like @SS! Plain and simple. I love my real ES7's, I also have the Denons as well, and can tell you the ES7's get more listen time. I like the Denons as well, but the bass on my Denons just farts to much on a lot of songs, and mess up vocals, etc... I have sponged, and cotton modded their enclosures, and with burn-in time the bass is getting more tamed.

 

[redrich2000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrecked_porsche /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, those who love the ES7 have always stated that they are FUN sounding, unfortunately though it comes at the cost of coloration to the sound. Some people just can't stand colored sound. I don't think anyone has mentioned the ES7 to be neutral/natural, and people on this forum should not conclude that just because some headphones are described to be good automatically means that they reproduce sound accurately.

That's largely true, but there has been talk of them being very detailed, I'm not sure how accurate that is. But it does seem that the general opinion of these has become more accurate though, that they are highly coloured but fun sounding and that people who like that love them.

Personally I don't think its necessary to sacrifice a natural reproduction to get fun sounding phones. Maybe not at that price point though.

 

[ronnielee54]

I love my ES7's. I am currently using them amped by a Headamp AE2 connected to Ipod Classic 80g with Turbo LOD. This has been a very well matched combo IMHO. I may buy more cans, but I will always have my ES7's. Everybody needs some "fun" sounding cans every now and then.

 

[Blackmore]

Just dont understand what people are talking about when they are talking about coloured sound. Every single headphone are coloured and only few arent. The thing is which direction your preferences goes, no more, no less...
The same goes to naturality of the sound sig, which is simply depends on possibility of particular phones to reproducing of the record. And I truly believe ES7 reproduces pretty well. In their own way, yes, but still very well. One of the things to mention is that they are not sounding like typical closed back and thats a huge improvement for such portables. For me, only this was enough to keep them, not to mention soundstage they have. And with the right amp they would shine even better. For example using them with PETITE gives you a very focused, punchy with quite deep bass sound. But using with GoVibe7 makes them more airy, not that punchy with less deep bass. So, to make it short I tell like this, if any portables sounds less than Koss KSC75, they simply do not sound at all.

 

[m0nkeybl1tz]

So, I just got mine today. The first thing I noticed was how light they were. I had these in one box, and a CD and DVD in the other, and these were lighter. They are also very pretty. I heard some complaints about how they were too pretty, which I figured was BS, because who really cares what they look like? But when I first saw them, I honestly didn't want to risk touching them.
I do see where the discomfort complaint comes from, as they slowly squeeze your head until you can't handle it any more. Hopefully, the headband mod will make it even slower, however there will always be a limit as to how long you can wear these things for.
The isolation is decent, and not as bad as I feared. True, these won't block out the roar of an airplane, but they should at least reduce all that background noise to a reasonable level.
My only question is how they improve over time. My main complaint in the SQ department is that cymbals etc. sound a bit tinny, and drums don't have enough kick. Will this change? Thanks for all your advice.

 

[Blackmore]

Burne them like for 50 hours at least. Do you use any amp?


Quote:

Originally Posted by m0nkeybl1tz /img/forum/go_quote.gif So, I just got mine today. The first thing I noticed was how light they were. I had these in one box, and a CD and DVD in the other, and these were lighter. They are also very pretty. I heard some complaints about how they were too pretty, which I figured was BS, because who really cares what they look like? But when I first saw them, I honestly didn't want to risk touching them. I do see where the discomfort complaint comes from, as they slowly squeeze your head until you can't handle it any more. Hopefully, the headband mod will make it even slower, however there will always be a limit as to how long you can wear these things for. The isolation is decent, and not as bad as I feared. True, these won't block out the roar of an airplane, but they should at least reduce all that background noise to a reasonable level. My only question is how they improve over time. My main complaint in the SQ department is that cymbals etc. sound a bit tinny, and drums don't have enough kick. Will this change? Thanks for all your advice.

 

[-=Germania=-]

Audio technica makes there stuff to last...which makes me not surprised that the drivers would be super stiff comming out of the factory.

I was wondering about break-in and making great headphones better...maybe by doing a phonon blasting treatment by using sound waves not played through the driver, but across it from another source while also playing the drivers. Maybe that could help by doung everything in half the time.....yay sound chamber!

 

[michaelJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by redrich2000 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I do feel that people commenting on them on head-fi have been a bit carried away with their enjoyment of the ES7s and have not given an entirely accurate impression of their SQ. Hence it seems a number of us have bought them only discover we don't like them.

Well I think that's head-fi in a nut shell

It starts with a user praising a phone he loves. Soon a lot of people are praising said phone. A lot of waiting for my phones to arrive posts. Then there's a "Am I the only one who hates xxx" and then the recoil starts...

However it's fun reading

 

[Andrew_WOT]

ATH-ES7 were around for quite a while already to fall under this category. But for new comers praised in a single thread, the "Emperor's new cloth" syndrome works exactly as you think. People gets over enthusiastic about their new toys, esp. if the best thing they've heard before was some no-name Sony or Boss.
You should also be selective by filtering out from whom the praise comes and always trust your own ears, if you can.

 

[souperman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by michaelJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well I think that's head-fi in a nut shell It starts with a user praising a phone he loves. Soon a lot of people are praising said phone. A lot of waiting for my phones to arrive posts. Then there's a "Am I the only one who hates xxx" and then the recoil starts... However it's fun reading

FOTM much?