[urville]

Hi!

For the longest time I rocked a pair of MDR-V150's, literally ages. Man the fatigue. Everyone went through a DJ phase and suddenly it seemed like Pioneer was the only headphone maker on earth. No one ever wanted to let anyone else listen to them though, it was a thing. I used those MDR-V150's cause I was on a budget. Not the clearest of sound, sort of like their might be a bank of those old payphones in-between you and the music, or a big stack of cardboard. After long periods your ears would get insanely hot and seemed like the longer you wore them the worse it got, sound and heat. I always used them with my iPod till my pair died.

Then enter my first ear buds, iPod stock. Hardly any bass, muddled is a word I'd use. Then I went to buy some "in ear" buds, I tried these, Philips premium sound I believe. Never even got to listen to them much, not enough to make a judgment. See I didn't know there was a forum at this point for this sort of thing. I know those in ear buds made my canals hurt after awhile. Sore feeling. So I took them back and I remember thinking that I couldn't believe in a world of all of these awesome players and amazing gadgets and consumer headphones still sucked. I never got anything doifferent because I thought something was wrong with my ears, after alot of reading I see now it could have been just those buds and the size of rubber or foam ends I had on them.

So fast forward to now. I only use my iPod in my car, it hooks right in USB so I never remove it, the car charges it and the only time it comes out is for occasional track listing and playlist updates. My music now resides on my droid. Only cell phone I've ever liked, and I've owned many BTW including an iPhone. The Droid is far more bassy than the iPod was, still using iPod ear buds at this point. Still haven't bought new over the ears because I quit DJ'ing, I'm too befuddled by all this to know which to get, and I know I do more "production on hardware" and so i use borrowed Pioneers, which honestly I'm not fond of.

So, finally I decide to start searching and I find this place via a pretty interesting post on AVS forum:
Bang/Buck headphones? - AVS Forum

So close to Christmas and walking the other day I decide I've had it, I want better ear buds, but I'm tapped. I am left wondering what is good but not horribly expensive. I start the arduous task of sifting through he mountains of info here.

Enter the JVC Marshmallows. Lot's of people like these phones, which is fine, just not me. I though this sounded superb in the high end. I may not have owned great headphones, but I've owned some great stereo equipment over the years, so I'm not just comparing it to the like of the MDR-V150's or stock iPod buds... but... bass? What bass? I even, to be sure, turned them upside down to get them way in my ear, I even padded the existing foam, verified a seal, still.. where is the Bass. The stock iPod buds have slightly more bass than these things, without being directly in my ear canal, and on my bass heavy droid too. Tried the iPod and laptop, i dont get it.

I want something that wont cause me pain, easy to use, with great sound for primarily on my laptop and droid/ipod in an earbud. I think after reviews and having owned Sony headphones I didnt hate, I' leaning toward the MDR-V6's for my production and when ear buds arent required like walks downtown. Ear buds are great for in stores, work, sometimes at home... I know, I think, now that I'm going to have to spend more than i did on those Marshmallows. They were, in an area important to me, absolute rubbish.

So, given that past and the story maybe some people can weigh in. I can always return something, but theres so much and I already didnt like what appears to be a favorite. I appreciate the help and thank you!
Merry Christmas!

 

[torpy]

Oh wow, no bass from marshmallows? That's not normal, they're single-handedly the single bassiest 'phones I have..

In any case, it'd help if we knew your budget

Oh and welcome to head-fi, sorry about your wallet!

 

[barleyguy]

Agreed. Marshmallows are basshead IEM's. Even to the point of being rolled off in the treble. It seems like you aren't getting a seal. Though it sounds like you tried pretty hard to get one.

 

[urville]

That was my initial thought from all of this rreading. i figured I must not be getting a seal. Man, i tell you, I made sure. I even turned them upside down and put them in all the way with my ear lifted and mouth open even. I thought maybe something was wrong, so I reseated the jack twice, I switched through several songs, even plugged it in to the cars stereo and it was fine bass wise in the car. I tried two deltron tracks, two different mushroom jazz albums, and something else I forget.

I dont know, well.. At this point I guess I'd be willing to go at the highest... if I had to $70 dollars, this likely also has to do witht the fact that I'm going to have to buy another pair of phones, so... I dont know,call me crazy, I kinds dont want to be more than 200 or so in on just two pairs of headphones. sheesh. Indeed, I am sorry wallet.

Perhaps it's the size throwing me off here, but at that price, round $70, I'd expect something that would last and sound pretty decent. Then again i may not be as, refined, in my listening as you guys. I also might not understand at all the price levels of these things either.

I didnt think the v150's were too bad, nor the iPod stocks, though they were worse, but livable, though uncomfortable and also quiet. I noticed with the iPod stocks, that they never really pointed down my ear canal, I could turn them and the music would get much clearer and louder but as soon as I let go the twisted back. I think if I have it right wearing them on the opposite ears than the labels provided better results.

oi

 

[torpy]

Bassy IEMs under $70? Hm, I really don't know to be honest, I usually tend towards the other side of the spectrum.

Perhaps the Sennheiser CX300? I'm sure there are better options out there, but till someone who knows a bit more chips in those are the second most bassy buds (after the JVCs) I've heard in that price range.

 

[slntdth93]

Skullcandy TiTans ?
read somewhere they were one of the half decent SK out there

 

[aconteceu]

Sounds like you need to use an IEM with foam tips, not rubber. Something like Meelec AI-M6 ($30-35), which are comfortable, flat - no wind noise, non microphonic with the new cable and work wonders with Shure E2C orange foam tips. Shure orange tips would create better seal and hurt your ears less as there is less pressure from the foam.

Shure olives (black foam tips) also fit a variety of other standard sized phones (not M6 though).

 

[torpy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aconteceu /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sounds like you need to use an IEM with foam tips, not rubber.

The marshmallows are foam tipped

 

[macshooter]

Could be you are expecting a lot more bass out of IEMs than even "basshead" IEM's can provide. I have some SE530's and I have heard some describe them as basshead IEMs, those, to me they are lacking in bass quantity, though the quality of the bass is great, tested with Bink reference CD, they are capable of some serious bass, but listening to music, even bass heavy music, the bass is tight and clear, but feint, and small in the background.

Right now I am looking at the Sennheiser IE8, since I feel, I am probably what people around here would consider a basshead. With those you can dial in the amount of bass you want, and they are supposed to be damn good.

I think you are going to have to shell out a lot more cash than you initially wanted to get a really good set of IEM's $250-$300 should get you something pretty nice.


These might be worth looking into. I have a pair, and they are big. They have huge bass if you get a good seal. Still I think the money you could spend on these, would be better spent on the IE8.

 

[urville]

I dont know guys I'm thinking I must have gotten a bad pair? Just as a test i put the ipod stock buds in to listen, and they area bit more bassy than the JVC's were to me, if that maybe can give some sort of baseline to go off of. These stock ipod buds came with my 8 gig nano chromatic, maybe a just short of a year old.

I wish there was some sort of listening station for multiple brands and kinds!!

the v150's werent short on bass and those are $20 sony's.

 

[DervishD]

Hi urville

My wife is a long-time JVC Marshmallow lover, and she swears they're VERY bassy. I don't think the same, and yes, it's a matter of seal. I don't know about your ear canal, but mine is small and the foams that came with the mallows just don't seal it, don't ask me why because I've tried many combinations. They just DON'T seal me!

So, even though you may have a defective pair, it may just be that they are not for your ear canal.

Well, anyway, I can recommend a pair of "bassy" IEMs. If you want to spend a bit, you can go for the JVC HA-FCX50. They're, in my humble opinion, not very comfortable. But they sound great, a bit better than the other alternative I'm going to give, but only a bit if you ask me. If you want to spend less, the Ai-M9 (or the M6, which has the same driver but the casing is different) is very very very good. Extremely comfortable even with small ear canals, great basses and a very detailed sound, maybe a bit lacking in the midrange, but I love them. They isolate a bit less than the JVCs, but that's a little price to pay in my humble opinion.

Given that you will have to test, because it's impossible to know if you will like them or not, the Ai-M9 are cheap enough to test. Even the Ai-M2 have great basses, and they are ridiculously cheap! If you are not willing to spend a lot just in case you don't like the phones, go for the Ai-M9 or the M6.

Good luck!

 

[cswann1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by torpy /img/forum/go_quote.gif The marshmallows are foam tipped

They may technically qualify as foam, but the Marshmellow is the worst IEM ive ever tried as far as comfort.

I bought a pair from a Japanese eBay seller for $5 and I wish I had my $5 back. I haven't thrown them in the trash but for the life of me I don't know why.


Edit: I've been using my $12 Koss Sparkplugs (available at Amazon) for a few years and the bass is very nice on these. Soundstage and upper end clarity is lacking though.

 

[Pageygeeza]

This is pretty much on topic.

I have a pair of Shure SE110's and I have to admit, they're pretty lacking in the bass department. Now admittedly I've only used the rubber tips, but they irritate my canals sometimes. I've got the foam tips with them, but to be totally frank, I'm not really sure the best way to insert them, considering I use earplugs for sleeping. If I did use the foam plugs for the IEM's, I would roll them. Is that a bad idea, or do they need to be inserted without compressing the foam?

Thanks.

 

[JeFFz]

U could try the hippo vbs from Jaben.net

 

[karma]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pageygeeza /img/forum/go_quote.gif If I did use the foam plugs for the IEM's, I would roll them. Is that a bad idea, or do they need to be inserted without compressing the foam?

You've got the right idea. Foam tips should be rolled so that they're compressed when you insert them into your ears. They'll expand once inserted and conform to the dimensions of your ear, thereby (hopefully) creating a seal.