HiWire

She may have blinded us with science, but there's nothing wrong with Tyll's hearing... or his measurements.

I just got these from a computer store for about $90. Since I got my iPod Shuffle 3G (4GB) last year, I've been looking for a reasonable upgrade from the stock iBuds. The Klipsch X10i were about $280 in the same store, which was tempting, but I thought the S4i were more appropriate considering my "active" lifestyle and my use of lossy compression. It also seemed freakish to buy headphones three times more expensive than the humble Shuffle. I plan to burn these in at a lower volume and gradually ramp up to normal levels. I rip tracks at 320 Kbps AAC using iTunes, which may not be the audiophile's preferred method, but it works for me. As a reference, I compare the sound of these beauties to my Alessandro MS-1 and Grado HP-2. My first test album is Olivia Ong's self-titled SACD Olivia, which should be a fairly gentle bossa nova start (it comes in a pink envelope). All of the tracks include Olivia Ong's talented vocals, saxophone, synthesized beats, and an occasional harp. Next up is DJ Tiësto's In Search of Sunrise compilation. This is good news - the bass doesn't overwhelm the rest of the music and I'm more excited than I've ever been to hear this album. Probably because I can move about while I enjoy the music [dance break - imagine Strong Bad, The Cheat, and Homestar Runner having an old-school rave party]. Rhythm and pace are quick, without any hint of boominess or fake reverb. The Beastie Boys' Ill Communication was my third test album. My ears are starting to get sore, so I don't think I'll be able to test too many more albums tonight. Since this album is mainly instrumental, I wanted to see how it captured ambiance - that wonderful sense of flow and spontaneity in the Beastie Boys' earlier albums. Well enough, I think. I ended up listening to the album twice. Alice in Chains' Jar of Flies EP is last in the queue. The Klipsch phones do a great job of conveying the energy in Cantrell and company's guitar playing, but Staley's vocals and the acoustics are still a bit hollow-sounding. I guess it's going to take a while for the drivers to settle. In the last few days, I've listened to the following albums: Michael Bublé – Michael Bublé Blue Lines – Massive Attack Tainted Love: Mating Calls and Fight Songs – Shivaree Love Tattoo – Imelda May Jar of Flies – Alice in Chains One of These Nights – Eagles Downward Spiral – Nine Inch Nails Light Years – Kylie Minogue Dutty Rock – Sean Paul Positive – The Grassy Knoll Hit & Run Holiday – My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult A Grand Don't Come for Free – The Streets Smoker's Delight – Nightmares On Wax The Dark Side of the Moon – Pink Floyd Piece of Paradise – Sky Hello Nasty – Beastie Boys Endtroducing – DJ Shadow Sir Lucious Left Foot – Big Boi It's Time – Michael Bublé Discosis – Bran Van 3000 The Tension and the Spark – Darren Hayes Mezzanine – Massive Attack Need for Speed: Underground Soundtrack – Various Artists The Cream of Clapton – Eric Clapton Pretty In Black – The Raveonettes Marry Me – St. Vincent Sap – Alice in Chains Supernature – Goldfrapp The Score – Fugees My Way – Usher Tales of the Inexpressible – Shpongle At low volume, sound quality is similar to the stock iBuds'. I can tell that the highs are well-defined, but bass and a rich midrange have yet to kick in. The overall sound is a bit "plasticky," which doesn't worry me, since most dynamic headphones sound a bit like this fresh out of the box. I noticed that these canalbuds aren't particularly loud – I normally play music at about three bars out of my MacBook to the Alessandros and the Klipsch don't sound close until about five bars. I've noticed the Shuffle's battery drains more quickly as a consequence. After about a week and a half of listening, the sound has finally changed. This morning, the midrange finally started to come in. Anybody who doesn't believe in burn-in needs to try these canalbuds. I was secretly thinking about exchanging them until this morning. They're still a bit bright in presentation, but music is more enjoyable now – voices and instruments sound more natural. Soundstage isn't much to write home about – stereo effects are good, but I don't think these things present a three-dimensional image or anything. Using the regular tips, the S4i seem to have about 10-20 dB isolation, with no significant microphonic problems from the cables - I'm wearing them in "Sport Fit," with the cables going over and behind my ears. The tips don't go very far into my ears, just starting into the opening. Comfort is excellent so far. By the second album, I am feeling the slight pressure of the silicone tips a bit. Switching to the small tips, comfort is improved and sound remains the same. I can listen all day if I don't fiddle with the fit. The cables are fairly thin, using about the same gauge as the stock iBuds and a rubber jacket rather than the fabric-style coverings of more upmarket products. Fit and finish of the 'phones and 3-button remote is excellent - I'll have to be careful to protect them from my accustomed iBud abuse (the iBud cables are grayish and the rubber comfort rings around the buds tore off completely after a year of gentle use). 3 Week Update I'm listening to my Alessandro MS-1 and it is a truly superior experience. The Klipsch are great for convenience and they are comfortable for wearing over long periods, but they pale in comparison to a set of Alessandros coming out of a PCDP. The Alessandros have a richness, dynamism, and bass presence that are completely absent in the Klipsch buds. I'm hearing details and acoustic cues that simply disappear from the tiny buds' output... it's not a fair comparison, as I'm driving the Alessandros with a gumstick battery that is the same size as the entire iPod Shuffle, but it's nice to have choices. I bought some new music recently and I guess I'm going to enjoy the "new album" experience all over again on a real CD player. 3 Year Update One thing that I discovered recently – the double-flange oval tips change the character of the S4i's sound. There is less sibilance, less harshness, and more isolation (obviously) if you use the double-flange tips. Soundstage and imaging are about the same. You have to turn the volume up as well... the music is travelling down a slightly longer distance through the tips (versus the single-flange), which is the main contributor to the change. I recommend using the double-flange tips over the singles. They are a bit less comfortable because they go further down your ear canal, but you will get better sound for the same money, provided you can get them in your size. Otherwise, the S4i sounds about the same after 3 years. The S4i conveys compressed music in a pleasing way, but it lacks the fluidity and involvement of higher-end headphones like the Grados. For example, I was listening to the Zenph binaural re-recording of Glenn Gould's Goldberg Variations and the treble notes of the piano sounded slightly artificial (although it was recorded on a new piano with new equipment). Also, they've help up fairly well – the middle button (Pause/FFWD/REW) on the controller doesn't work reliably because it got soaked in a downpour, but it is in excellent condition after years of daily use.

The Grado HP-1000's are great for checking tonality and things like timing and pitch, but they're only so-so for 3-D aural imaging.

According to my research, Bikini Bandits Go Dutch.

Congrats on getting it and take your time with the review. It's tough when you don't have a bunch of comparable setups to conveniently compare. Enjoy the music.

I heard two pairs of nice floorstanding speakers today. First, I checked out the PMC GB1i and then I heard the PSB Synchrony Two - both are about $3,500 at list price. The PMCs are a bit more compact than the PSBs (no giants themselves). They were hooked up to a Simaudio Moon CD3.3 and i3.3 amplifier. I played some music from Santana's Abraxas (Mo-Fi) and the SACD of Alison Krauss + Union Station's Live album. The PMCs destroyed the PSBs. They are much more lively and fast than the PSBs, without being overly bright or harsh. I heard the Synchrony Two years ago and I wasn't too impressed, but it was a very short session at the time. After reading a lot of positive reviews, I decided to give them another shot. Unfortunately, they didn't stand up to a comparison with the British pair. Bass in the Synchrony Two was boomy and slow. It sounded like the bass player was literally behind the PMC rendition by an quarter of a beat. The highs and mids were relatively clean, but they struggled to push through the veil of the mid-bass bloom. They also lacked the liveliness and drive of the GB1i. Imaging was diffuse in the PSB compared to the PMC. Switching back to the PMCs from the PSBs was a bit of a shock. It was easier to go from the high-energy, precise, and upfront performers to the more laid-back sound of the PSBs than the other way around. The GB1i isn't shy about details, but it offers a balanced presentation, overall. I still want to hear the Paradigm Signature S6 v3, but I'll also continue to audition other tower speakers in the $2,000 - $6,000 range. Based on my listening session, I'd be very interested in hearing the slightly larger, $5,500 PMC FB1i (perhaps the Signature edition) at length with a greater variety of listening material.

Most of his articles seem particularly credulous. I admire his curiosity and sense of adventure, not his methods or conclusions.

I'm also looking forward to hearing about it. Do you have any SACDs to test?

Looks good - I'm looking forward to some objective reviews.

Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms (20th Anniversary Edition) [ATTACH=CONFIG]3974[/ATTACH]

I have the original CD and I didn't think it was dying for a remaster... if Trent wants to muck about, that's fine, but it was what it was. A bit crude and repetitive, but still fresh and brilliant for all that.

Great review. I only listened to the PS1000 briefly at a meet, but it does sound much different than the RS1, HP2, and PS1. The pair I auditioned was fairly new and coming out of an Esoteric SACD player - I'm not sure if they change much over time.

The Sony SCD-X501 might do the trick. It's on sale at Audio Cubes II.

Shpongle - Tales of the Inexpressible [ATTACH=CONFIG]3657[/ATTACH]

Arcam has a good history with dCS (specifically, I'm thinking of their last collaboration on the Arcam FMJ CD33's Ring DAC)... speaking of dCS, I just noticed the new Debussy DAC on their website. It's a couple of levels up from the rDAC and the digital volume control is interesting.

Yes, I think they must have done some math and figured out that the size of the market for high-end DACs is too small - that's why it's in the Solo range and not the FMJ. Still, it might sound better than some of its competitors in the price range and therefore justify its existence. The wireless function doesn't hurt either. I can't buy one of these - it would mean buying another headphone amp, which I can't afford at the moment. The headphone out of my MacBook to Alessandro MS-1 is good enough for now - the files are lossy 320 kbit/s VBR AAC. I finally got a chance to listen to Shpongle's "Are You Shpongled" album on my home rig - I was missing EVERYTHING by listening to it on my iPod Shuffle (stock earbuds) on the go. The rDac is also in a funny market - it has a "low-end" price but it has to have noticeably better output than whatever you're feeding it to justify its purchase. If you have an audiophile computer source (e.g. Squeezebox, Apogee Duet, Peachtree), they might be at the same level of quality. Perhaps I haven't researched enough in computer audio - most of my serious listening is done with CD and SACD discs.

Thanks. I've never used a USB DAC, and I'm not sure it how works on something like a MacBook, for example. From what I've read, most high-res disc players won't output DSD digitally anyway (the home theatre market is an exception). In other news, I was looking at the new Marantz disc players (e.g. the upcoming SA8004) and I'm glad they're still making "affordable" SACD, after major players like Sony have all but abandoned the format.

It seems like something they should have figured out by now... the first USB 3.0 motherboards were announced this January. Also, the Wolfson site says the WM8741 can take 192kHz and DSD, so it would have made sense to include an HDMI input for high-res sources.

Is it just me, or is this bad timing now that USB 3.0 is finally on the horizon (and years after the Cambridge Audio DacMagic's launch)? I'm not sure what the list price is going to be yet.

Awesome. I love the vintage aesthetics. Enjoy!

I still want an MS-Pro, just because. I listened to Looser101's pair and they were pretty good, even if they sound kind of like RS-1's.

Yes, it was interesting. I'll have to read that article again.

This is slightly off-topic, but has Sennheiser "fixed" the treble in the current HD 600 drivers? That seems to be a common criticism with them - I've seen take-apart pictures of both the HD 650 and the HD 600 that show production variances in the last few years.

I wonder how the Alessandro MS-Pro would compare in their lineup. I'm thinking of getting one as an alternate/backup to the HP-2, since it is far lighter.