i've got 125 hours on these. There is an upper mid-range sibilance that hurts my ears, mostly piano and sax in that range. Is this normal?
2036522
Every set of headphones breaks in differently. The short answer is that at about 125 hrs the phones are probably less than half fully burned in. Mine did not display that characteristic, but others. But at about 350 hrs. all the quirks seem to have been resolved.
2036523
I'm not a believer in break-in periods, since I've never yet heard someone claim that their break-in period worsened the sound. It's a random process so some break-in periods theoretically should worsen the sound. Its the ears that are actually getting acclimated. That said, you may not be someone who likes planar-magnetic headphones. They are very fast and can be bright. Amplification may be another possible issue. Lastly and most troubling, the headphones may be faulty. I've never encountered this issue with my pair.
2036524
Hi Jay. I don't thinks so. I have mine pretty well and I've never heard this kind of problem in 500. Maybe you can search it on Head-FI.org. I think sibilance should be unnatural in any headphones at this price... Does it happen for all piano and sax or just one song? Try more songs and make sure it's headphone's problem or not, and if so, burn in it more hours. If still, wish you a good luck...
2036525
There take a 500 hundred hours to break-in also you need a good external amp
2036526
I wonder what your source component is and if possibly your converters are somehow not "playing nice" with the HiFiMan transducers.; I am into year 2 with mine and after 200 or so hours of break-in the mids and low end have opened up along with the soundstage but only positives have happened, nothing negative. (I am using an Oppo BDP-95 running via XLR to a Teac HA-501-B headphone amp. ALSO, it may be something is loose inside the cups that is resonating. I can honestly say other than not liking the way my cables attach, I can find very little to complain about regarding these cans. Good luck! Cheers! Marty G
2036527
I listen to a lot of Diana Krall type jazz and classical piano music and have not heard the sibilance in the headphones. Sadeo Watanabe's sax seems smooth to me in my head. Not a normal shortcoming of the phones but anything is possible. If you less than 500 hours on them just let them play a while longer at normal volume with a variety of music and see if it goes away.
2036528
I wonder what your source component is and if possibly your converters are somehow not "playing nice" with the HiFiMan transducers.; I am into year 2 with mine and after 200 or so hours of break-in the mids and low end have opened up along with the soundstage but only positives have happened, nothing negative. (I am using an Oppo BDP-95 running via XLR to a Teac HA-501-B headphone amp. ALSO, it may be something is loose inside the cups that is resonating. I can honestly say other than not liking the way my cables attach, I can find very little to complain about regarding these cans. Good luck! Cheers! Marty G I wonder what your source component is and if possibly your converters are somehow not "playing nice" with the HiFiMan transducers.; I am into year 2 with mine and after 200 or so hours of break-in the mids and low end have opened up along with the soundstage but only positives have happened, nothing negative. (I am using an Oppo BDP-95 running via XLR to a Teac HA-501-B headphone amp. ALSO, it may be something is loose inside the cups that is resonating. I can honestly say other than not liking the way my cables attach, I can find very little to complain about regarding these... » Read More I wonder what your source component is and if possibly your converters are somehow not "playing nice" with the HiFiMan transducers.; I am into year 2 with mine and after 200 or so hours of break-in the mids and low end have opened up along with the soundstage but only positives have happened, nothing negative. (I am using an Oppo BDP-95 running via XLR to a Teac HA-501-B headphone amp. ALSO, it may be something is loose inside the cups that is resonating. I can honestly say other than not liking the way my cables attach, I can find very little to complain about regarding these cans. Good luck! Cheers! Marty G « Show Less
740746
That seems to be normal for these headphones. Mine also are bass heavy, and other reviewers have said the same.
1704795
I have found these to be tinny. So what you are hearing may be normal. I do not find them to simulate live music. Their greatest quality for me is that they have little to no wire noise when moving, compared to all of my other headphones ranging from Sony to Sennheiser and Bose (which are highly overrated as well).
233621
i just got mine and the sound is on par with my bluebirdx , as a matter of fact im returning those and get me 140 bucks back , these are lighter and i got 7 hours continuous play and a few phone calls with them non stop , i will review them as soon as i get a few charges under my belt and really get them broke in , the bass is a bit strong so i used my eq on my phone to get more treble and they are louder than the bluebird x headset
376727
I actually put them on speaker stands so they are at ear level when i sit down. If you hang it, maybe find a stud to anchor it. They sound great for mid range set.
1556552
It is normal. When music is not on you might hear a high pitch but not while listening to music. Enjoy!
579677
It says they are sound-isolating. I don't play them full blast because I don't want to be deaf! I asked my mate if she could hear anything when I was listening music and she said no. I had them at 6 out of 10 at that point. Hope that helps!
2254673
my shure headphones seem to be not very bassy at all... anyone else feel that way? I'm not a bass freak or anything I love highs and mids but the se535's seem to have less bass than my old se215's... Seems a bit strange
391879
I have the EXACT same problem. I use them on my laptop but the first thing I noticed was the hiss. I was shockingly disappointing and tried the other headphone outlet but to the same effect. Its just not one bud, but both, so I'm guessing its not like a damage issue.I'm not a sound blaster and usually have my music playing kinda low so the hiss is always noticeable.Right now I'm contacting Sennheiser about the issue.
1580450
I think they sound fantastic. They might be a little bass heavy for you, though. They clearly are built for genres that emphasize the low end, but it's not overpowering nor does it drown out the higher tones, although the mids ARE quite recessed. But again, the "midrange scoop" is pretty common.
564253
High end is definitely exaggerated on these. It borderlines on harsh but could be described as just extremely crisp depending who you ask. I have tinnitus and I've started to realize that the increased high end on these cans are irritating it quite a lot, even at low volumes.
1371333
Unfortunately I have to agree. I have an original pair that's falling apart, so I bought these. First, they are painful if worn longer than 20 minutes. They sit flat on the ears, so a lot of sound is leaked, and the bass response is severely lacking unless you smash them against your head. I have the travel fiio headphone amp. THAT was a great purchase. Used it on a long flight - 14 hours and no problems. Worked the whole way back too.
1119484
I had the same issue and returned them and got a less expensive fataly1. not quite as comfortable and in stero only. I run a sound blaster card with great 2. 1 and 5.1 plugged in back. It your choise.
952940
Disclaimer: I've spent quite a bit of time forcing these puppies into various depths and angles to try to find ANY angle where they produce any sort of bass, and I've failed miserably. I'm sure it's too late for these folks, but for anyone else in the same boat... To answer your questions directly, no - the design is COMPLETELY different from the Sonys, and I can't imagine anything like that problem would happen to these (it's pretty much all hard plastic (except for the interchangeable plugs.) However... as I'm also moving on from my previous two sets of the Sony headphones you guys are talking about, I should warn you that I'm thoroughly disappointed with the Etymotics. You should be forewarned that the Sonys you've been listening to, though not nearly as high quality a can as the 6i's, are rather bass-heavy. You probably already knew that, but as almost every review will echo, the 6i's are VERY light on bass. This equation will probably have you in the same boat as me, ready to return them because they HAVE TO BE BROKEN to sound that 'top-heavy'! I know, I know, bass isn't everything - but when you're going from a Sony to one of these it's just too big of a loss, no matter how much more 'accurate' they might be. And I'm sorry, but 20Hz? No way. Using test sources I dont' notice anything until 64Hz, and for an in-ear phone that's simply unacceptable. Only when I set my EQ to +12dB on 64Hz, with an even slope such that it's flat at 250Hz, do things ALMOST sound natural. Final recommendation: Don't buy them unless you've had a chance to listen to them, or know you can return them. And go ahead and SCHEDULE the return trip in your planner.
688758
I've happily owned a pair of these phones for a while, and use them daily. I'm aware of burn-in considerations, especially as I used to mess around with high end speakers and drivers years ago. My experience with these exact phones is that the bass notes did show some increased quickness within a couple of weeks. It was nothing earth shattering, but I remember noting that the bass response got a little more responsive as the phones broke-in. I do not believe that the Sennheisers need a formal break in with white noise generators or any such tools. It's just that you'll notice that you like them even a little more after the initial listening period. What I've noticed also is that I'm accustomed to the sound of these phones and when I use a different set, I'm not at all happy with the strange phones. The Sennheisers deliver a sound quality that is very attractive to me. They were a worthwhile investment in my way of looking at it. Good Luck with your decision.
1214345
This is not the kind of sound that you want for your harp. Unless you just want to get good loud mids. In the case of my piano, bass and high pitched notes were awfully distorted.
1136664
No, they aren't exactly comfortable. I would recommend the etymotics over these all day. As a stage musician I tried both and these ones muffled things worse than the old school spongy ones.