Goldring Dr150 headphones - UK

Alessandro MS series headphones - best ever headphone deal!

New Shure SRH headphone range continues to fall in price

New look Ultrasone HFI-15g headphones with only 4 and 5 star reviews from 8 people! 

Sexy new Ultrasone Zino headphones

Huge Ultrasone iCans price drop…. huge! 

Badge snobbery at its worse.

Philips is just one of those names that many ‘enthusiasts’ wouldn’t even think about, and that included me until a few weeks ago. Visit Amazon.com or EBay and you’ll see the new line of Philips headphones selling for next to nothing, which indicates to me that they’re not selling. In the past I could have understood this. The pair that I tried in Prague were a joke. But now Philips are producing stunning, well-built headphones. I bought a pair of SHP5400, and they rock, quite literally.

Read the full Philips SHP5400 review here

I mean, these Philips SHL9500 (below) are going for an absolutely disgustingly low price. In the UK they’re 4-5 times the price. That’s in the Sennheiser PX200 territory. So for those of you in the U. S. (once again) you’ve got a bargain on your hands!

As I’ve written in my review, the neckband headphones destroy the Sennheiser at the same price. Don’t be a badge snob, give Philips a go. I did, and I have no regrets! But stay away from the old SHP2500 headphones, they suck!

Hi Neal,

Sorry for the late reply, last week was a bit hectic, but I did promise and I forgot, so sorry. Anyway, about the amp situation, I had a go in my wife Mercedes and the results were interesting. As we discussed, on its own with the 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable that I got from who knows where, my Nano struggles to produce any real volume. As for my system, I’ve got a Blaupunkt Velocity 2Go 5, so I’m good to go.

Blaupunkt Velocity 2Go 5 speaker system for both in and outside of the car. Brilliant!

Belkin cable upgrade

The first thing I did was to switch the rubbish cable for my Belkin 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable, and the results were surprising. The difference was very noticeable, and the sound was as clean cut as the design of the cable. There was also an increase in volume.

The “Royal” Amp

iPod, C&C mini crystal 6″ mini-to-mini cable into the amp, Belkin mini to mini cable from the amp into the Mercedes jack. There was an increase in the depth of bass, and the volume, however I feel it was “overkill”. The amp can pump out more than the standard speakers can handle, even with the bass switch turned to the lowest settings if you’re not careful the speakers will wave a white flag. The speakers can handle the Belkin upgrade well enough.

FiiO E5 amp

Sorry no pics the battery ran out.

The FiiO E5 amp was another good choice, but again, the speakers began to show that they’d had enough, not as much as the Royal amp.

Conclusion

The Royal amp will provide a decent increase in volume. I didn’t analyse the sound to the standard set up. All I’d say is; if you want clean bass at a reasonable level, the Royal amp will do it. Personally, the Belkin cable will be a good way to clean the sound up and add a touch more volume.

Welcome To Our New Shop, headphonedeals.com

It’s the new headphonedeals shop. Headphones, amps, earphones, IEMs, cables, software, downloads, speakers, yes speakers and headphone modifications. It’s all there. plus links to headphone modifications.

Every day, for the last week or so, these Super.fi 3 headphones have been on offer. This used example is going for £34.50. I’m gagging to buy them, but I’ve already blown this month’s headphone budget. Please take the temptation away from me, and buy these, so that I can’t, else I’m going to be raiding the pennies jar!

The lower-end Shure earphones’ price fluctuates quite a bit. At the moment it seems to be working in our favour. But there’s a “but”. Word on the street is that Shure will only honour the warranty, if you’ve bought from an authorised dealer.

The Popular V-Moda Vibes are dropping to around the $50 mark, with colors in Gunmetal Rouge and Blush (pink). The Vibes offer a good grown up sound over the Sennheiser CX300. If only the build quality was equal to the sound quality.

So, which would you choose? AKG’s or JBL’s. Well, they’re one of the same thing, bar for a bit of leather here and there. Now where’s your money going to go? We at headphonedeals love the JBL’s (and the AKG’s) but for the sake of saving money, the JBL’s are a bit more comfortable. They’re not as open as the Sennheiser PX’s, but they dig far deeper than the PX’s when it comes to warm bass. I prefer them to the Sennheiser twins (PX100, PX200). And besides, there are far too many fake PX100 and PX200 headphones on the market.

Ultrasone iCans are tumbling down in price. For today, there’s a White pair, going for a mere $50. that’s a steal, so get yourself a bit of headphone bling, for next to nothing.

There are some great deals for The Shure SE310 earphones right now. Price are going below the $150 mark. Just make sure that Shure will honor the warranty before you by. Word on the street is that Shure are getting tighter on proof of purchase, from authorized dealers.

Update On Bass

It still hasn’t arrived after over 48 hours burn-in.

In my first review of the Shure SE110 earphones, I stated that, in comparison… with the UE Metro.fi the Shure sounded natural and neutral with vocal and instrumental music. I still stand by that comment. However, the Shure are far from off the hook. In comparison, Shure bass sounds muted.

What’s happening with the bass, Shure?

Bass is a natural part of music. Some companies want to artificially enhance it, but I’ve yet to come across a company that has artificially subdued the bass. I have IEMs that aren’t particularly strong in the bass department, Mylar One for example, not known for their gut-wrenching bass, but it’s there. The Audio-Technica ATH-ON3 aren’t going to blow your eardrums either, but at least they’ve attempted to put it in.

The Shure earphones do have bass, it just doesn’t dominate in the way that other IEMs do. The thing is, I don’t really have a problem with the rest of the frequency range, but I do have a problem when you have a good bass line like “What Is Love - Haddaway” and nothing really comes in.

The Reason

That label isn’t for show.

After a heavy discussion at Head-fi.org, I manage to get a few decent reasons for this. The main reason is that the Shure are aimed at professionals, musician, artist and the like. So there’s a need to get away from the usual commercial “booming bass” and let the other frequencies though.

Isn’t bass an integral part of the music?

The answer, put simply is; there’s more to life than bass. I’m not saying the bass is completely gone, I’m saying it sounds muted compared to other IEMs i’ve experienced. I wasn’t prepared for how much. I’ve been told that this is a common aspect of high end monitors.

I disagree

From the Shure faithful, there’s harsh criticism about the SE110. Comments suggesting that you should start with the SE210 is a common belief. I have to say that overall, I’m more impressed with the SE110 than I thought I would be. Having never tried any others in the Shure range, the only thing I can say is, that buying the SE110 earphones has been a good purchase, and I’d do it again.

Shure’s Recommended?

You could do a lot worse for yourself. Any product will pick up its fair share of bad comments. For me, coming from a basshead point of view (which I’m trying to change) the Shure SE110 are a bit of a culture shock. Experience them first, then ass judgment.

10 Minutes in….

The Shure’s seem to want to show you their sonic skills and talents, whereas the UE’s feel as though they want you to enjoy yourself with the music, you know, really get involved, have you singing and dancing around the room.

I just want you to know that, I’m only 10 minutes in with the Shure SE110 Monitors, and yes these do need to burn in. I’m currently listening to Play With The Changes album by 4 Hero, Enya - A Day Without Rain. OK, here’s what I think so far;

Good:

• They sound a bit more involved than your standard ipod earphones
• The carrying pouch is good, not that I’ve ever used a carrying pouch for any of my headphones/earphones though!
  
• Flat frequency response. No exaggeration in the highs or lows. Reminds me of the Roland RH50 headphones
• Full and well-selected complement of ear buds as standard
• They slipped into my ears with the standard ear buds, with no problem. And they’ve stuck there.

Not So Good: here goes!

• No memory wire (flexible wire that goes over your ears)
• I know they’re a fair size, but they need to be an over-the-ear cable design. Try them without hanging the wire over your ears in a normal position, and you’ll loose performance
• The over-ear wire is uncomfortable
• Push the volume with the wrong music, and they’ll wave a white flag
• Better suited to vocal and instrumental music, rather than fast, hard beat-driven music
• With so much interaction with the cable, it’s no wonder people complain of cable failure

The first brief conclusion is that they’re not bad things really, provided you’re in the right frame of mind and you have the right music. The Roland RH50 headphones (which I love) also have a flat response, yet they also respond better to different music. Unfortunately, the SE110 monitors are a bit fussy.

Fitting & Comfort

Nothing bad to report really. Fitting is a very personal issue when it comes to IEMs, but I’m fine. Comfort, …well it’s an over-the-ear design, so what do you expect. Yeah, the cable is noticeable when you wear them.

Bass

You know the feeling. The song starts, then 10-20 seconds into it the bass line kicks in. …Kicks! With the SE110’s it just doesn’t happen. For example Haddaway - What Is Love, the bass line never quite arrives.

It’s bass that you hear, whereas the UE Metro.fi have bass you can feel. Sometimes you want to think “the bass line is coming, I’m going to get a nice thump.” but it never really happens like that. Coming from the Metro.fi, it’s a bit of a letdown at first, but you will get used to it.

SQ

A quick listen to Lisa Stanfield’s - What did I do to you? these perform well. Sound staging is better than the dance tracks I’ve been playing. The cymbals are coming in on the far bottom left hand corner, with a nice percussion piece in the top right hand corner. All is well really.

Shure vs. UE

The Shure sound more natural and neutral, but only with vocal and instrumental music. I read a review where it says something like, ‘Shure puts the music around you, whereas UE puts you in the music’. I think I know what they mean. The Shure seem to want to show you their sonic skills and talents, whereas the UE feel as though they want you to enjoy yourself with the music, you know, really get involved, have you singing and dancing around the room.

The UE feel very commercial, with the midrange losing ground to the bass and treble. The Shure are even, but the UE will get your feet tapping more! The UE simply put a bigger smile on your face.

As an overall package, both have faults. The Shure cable hurts, and the Metro.fi cables are stiffer than my Nan’s dead parrot! Ask me which ones I’d take home, and the answer will depend on what mood I’m in.

Conclusion

I don’t believe there’s one headphone manufacturer that caters for all musical tastes 100% of the time. Sometimes I want a bit of bass slam, so I turn to my UE, Bose or the AKG, sometimes I want to relax with my Roland’s. The Shure aren’t particularly bad, but these are headphones that I’d have to be in the mood for. The Metro.fi I want 90% of the time, but when I want to lie back and relax, then I’d pick the Shure.

If you’re into vocal and instrumental music, then these will perform well, but there again, the UE will do just as well. So;

• Good if you want to relax
  
• Good if you like vocal and instrumental music
• But don’t discount the UE Metro.fi 2 (now Metro.fi 200)
• If you want to relax, what’s wrong with the Roland RH50?

Deals & A Big Warning!

There are loads of deals going on right now for the Shure SE110, especially on ebay.co.uk. Retailing at £50, I’ve seen them for as low as £29.99 with free shipping. BUT BEWARE! Shure earphones do have a reputation for unreliability, especially with the cables. Shure will exchange them if there’s a fault, but word on the street is, that they’re tightening up on their warranty and now they’ll only exchange them if you’ve bought from an authorised dealer, and you need a proof of purchase. As far as I can see, that doesn’t include EBay. Amazon it is then. And buy from Amazon, not from the vendors on Amazon.

Over an hour in now…

Thinking about my first impressions of the Goldring GX200 earphones, I said that basically they weren’t that good. Looking back, I’ve noticed that the frequency response is fairly flat. On reflection, flat response is a good thing, not a bad thing.

we’re all used to commercial sound

There are many different types of headphones and earphones. Studio, DJ, open, closed, portable etc, etc, and each manufacturer put their interpretation of how music should sound. Some manufacturers are fairly even on the products they produce. Sennheiser are safe and warm, Ultimate Ears lean towards bass, Sony are rubbish, Bose lean towards bass.

Roland RH50

On comparison with the Sennheiser HD212, AKG K518 and Kam KHP 1500, the Roland RH50 sound flat and boring. There are no peaks in the frequency range. No exaggerated bass, no tinny highs. Because most of us are used to commercial headphones where some frequencies are exaggerated, experiencing flat response headphones will lead to heavy criticism.

So was I too hard on the GX200?

Maybe I was, however the DR range headphones lean towards the shrill side of being detailed, the earphones lean towards a warm flat response. Even with that said, I still go for the Metro.fi 2 earphones.

Which High-End IEM’s Would You recommend?

I’m looking at the Shure SE310 or SE530’s

No matter how much I loved my Stax-SR001, Ultrasone Proline 750, the Sennheiser HD650, they aren’t as convenient In Ear Monitors, I get that, I get the argument. Its not as though I can slip my HD650’s in my pocket, and I regaled the Stax-SR001 with so much humble respect, that I didn’t dare take them outside.

The Ultrasone fair no better really. Good though they are, its not as though they small enough to go unnoticed on your local bus service. No, The only highend-ish headphones that can be considered portable, are the Sennheiser HD25-1’s.

IEM’s = Compact Convenience, I get it!

above: Super.fi size comparison. Getting into the box, sliced my finger

I understand that IEM’s offer a good portable option, but what about the sound ? I bought the Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5eb, and the results were disastrous. They were far too big and heavy. the cable that you hook over your ears, acted as cheese wire, cutting into the top of my ears. I’m sure the weight of the earphones didn’t help with this.

However, the biggest problem was the sound. Maybe, because I’m not used to the dual speaker set up, but the midrange was far out of sync with the bass and treble. Even playing the same artist, you just couldn’t predict if the singer was going o be two blocks away or screaming down your ears. I didn’t take long to realize that the UE 5EB’s weren’t for me, and so I downgraded (in price terms) to the Metro.fi 2’s (pictured below), and UE gained my trust once more. Don’t get me wrong, the bass was the cleanest and almost the deepest I’ve experienced, but a slight movement, and that’s all lost.

Metro.fi 2, ipod shuffle, IASUS Mobile amp

Now I’m Thinking About Shure SE310 or SE530

Hands up I’ve never tried a pair of Shure, which is probably why I want to try them. Reading many reviews on ebay and headfi, here are, what I see are the main pros and cons of both the Shure SE310 and the SE530:

Pros:

• High degree of clarity
• Midrange and treble strength
  
• Serious loved by Musicians/Professionals

Cons

• Serious issues with the cable. This is covered by Shure’s warranty, provided you have bought from an authorized dealer and you have the receipt
  
• Bass is in short supply
• Some feel the price is too high
• Issues with fitting

On first impressions, you might feel justified in thinking that the Shure’s might be a risky investment, but I’m getting curious about how they sound. Some reviews throw up usual reactions. Everyone will have their own experience, and not all of them positive. Comments like these are not uncommon:

• Sound quality not that good for the Price
• Quality problems
• fitting problems

Lack Of Bass? Not With The “Royal’ Amp

The lack of bass doesn’t really put me off. I’m sure he “Royal” amp from Penguin amps will help with that. With the ability to adjust the bass response, it turned my Sennheiser HD650’s into bass bins. The sheer bass weight and control is awesome.

Shure SE310 SE530 Build Quality Issues

Apparently this is an issue which Shure hasn’t really addressed, preferring to replace your earphones, providing you can prove that you’ve bought them from an authorized dealer. So no buying used Shure’s from ebay folks! I’m looking at buying from amazon or a used pair from amazon “warehouse deals”.

Amazon warehouse deals are covered by the Shure warranty!

I rang Shure UK, to ask if buying a used pair from amazon “warehouse deals”. Click here for more info on warehouse deals.
The gentleman said that if you buy a “Used pair” from amazon “warehouse deals” then you’re covered by the Shure Warranty, few! Personally, when I do buy, I’ll get mine from amazon, but look on the Shure website for a list of dealers, before you buy, because I think that the warranty might come I handy. Some reviews say that they’ve had to changed theirs 4-5 times because of cable failure.

Why Shure can’t get its act together and create detachable cables or something, is beyond me. But if they’re willing to exchange them, then the warranty is worth its weight in gold. And word is; Shure’s customer service is top notch.

So, Should I go for it?

Should I brave the new world, and embrace a pair of Shure’s? I was going to start of lightly and try the SE310’s first. I’m also considering going the whole hog and get a set of custom molds ear sleeves as well. But I also fear that the Shure’s, like the UE super.fi 5EB, will be too heavy and too big. Problems with fitting seems to be an inherent problem with IEM’s and so it doesn’t put me off. But what about the sound? Will they be sound out of sync, like the UE’s? if you’ve got a comment, then I’d love to hear from you.

WeSC Premium Headphones, going cheap. You’ll look great in these.

It’s just a shame they sound rubbish!

Just to let all you style guru’s know, that there are a few pairs of WeSC Premium headphones going cheap on ebay. The bidding starts at $39.99.According to the amazon retail price, that’s nearly 50% off