rkivie

i can never understand why it is such a crime to be seen using the stock earphones that come with the iPods. the most obvious reason as to why people are using them, contrary to what seems to be the general consensus here, is simply because they came packaged with their players! if i buy a desktop system from Compaq, i can use the stock optical mouse that came with it right? i mean, sure Razer or Logitech have much better offerings, but there isn't anything wrong with just using the stock mouse, is there?

http://www.northernsound.net/Sales/Wireles...elessframe.html listed price is USD$450 for the K701, but email them for their "LOW PRICE". i'll be interested in that too.

i understand what you mean. but i had thought that was a problem with the jack rather than the connector. my experience was that i had no such problem with the LDM+, but the same set of IC and earphones, were sensitive to the merest of touches when used with my Hornet, resulting in a loss of connection. and i think the hiss that i'm referring to is different from yours. the hiss i am talking about is the background hiss that is present once the amp is switched on, regardless whether there is music playing or not. this hiss you mentioned seems to be intermittent, triggered by touching the connectors.

lol you mean Jaben is a dirty word now? anyway, shiro you mentioned that the hiss may be caused by the stock IC. can you elaborate more on this? i didn't know an IC can be a source of hiss. when i had the LDM+ previously, i could hear a lot of hiss with the UM2 plugged into the LDM+ and the amp was not even connected to anything else.

the "try on for 1 hour" part is so very true. better yet, if it's possible, lie on your side, running around the shop, eat, drink, yawn, stretch and do whatever you think you will be doing with those headphones heh.

i had the original black Nichicon capped Hornet. had, because i've just sent it back for the M mod. straight out of a 4G iPod, the sound felt sort of loose like it lacked definition (i'm not too sure how i should be describing it). out of the Hornet via the iPod lineout, the sound gains more body and is more engaging, probably as a result of the Hornet's forward, intimate presentation. the bass feels a bit loose still though. however, i must confess that i'm not certain if the improvement in sound quality is a direct consequence of the Hornet, or simply the use of the lineout. either way, it doesn't matter, it just sounds good. p/s: you guys saw Aron's ES2 announcement? my jaws literally dropped.

nope. USD$300 leh! but i'm still thinking of putting artwork on...except that i don't have anything to add!

well, you should contact Wilson or Aron, of Jaben and Stereo respectively to find out about ES2 pricing. the iPod was a $300 refurbished set from Apple. i got the Hornet used from another enthusiast here on these boards. strangely, i actually disliked the colour when i first saw it as i have sent a colour sample to Westone requesting that particular shade of red, or darker, if they could not reproduce that. unfortunately, they disappointed me in that aspect. but somehow this red just grew on me ever since. it's not too bad now, heh. since i never did get the "forgot that they were there" feeling with the closed-jaw impressions, i'll say go with the open-jaw fit. it offers superior isolation (may be a good AND bad thing), doesn't break the seal however you move your head and jaws but it does take some getting use to.

i know what you're talking about. i also didn't think it would be like that. if you go to Head-Fi and look at the ES2 thread, you will see that for the translucent ones as well. i think that part gets covered up only if you apply custom artwork, like Braxton's. no lah, my arts and craft/handiwork sucks. i ordered the silver dock. and yah it's from ALO. dead quiet with the Hornet at low gain. some hiss straight out of the iPod headphone out. if memory serves, i think the ES2 has slightly less hiss than the UM2. but i could be wrong though.

i've finally received these last week, after an arduous five-week wait. these are the Westone ES2 and they represent the end of the road, the top of the ladder for me. upgraditis no more, i say! these were done with open-jaw impressions, as opposed to the closed-jaw impressions that my UM56 were previously made from. with the closed-jaw impressions, the seal would break every now and then when i move my head (eg: to check the traffic before crossing the road) or jaws (eg: to yawn). however, in terms of comfort, they were a bit more comfortable than the open-jaws ones out of the box. you could feel the open-jaw fit push outward against your ear canal. that said, i have to add that i'm in no way saying that i did not feel the closed-jaw fit in my ears. their presence are very much felt still; there wasn't a time when i could "forget" that they were there. in terms of isolation, the open-jaw fit does block noise out slightly better. now about the build quality. for persons thinking of going down this route, my suggestion is to find a nice picture or design for the custom artwork. i ordered mine to be a solid red colour, and i must said i wasn't exactly thrilled when i received these. my first impression was that they look sort of cheap and plastic. the finish on the outside of the mold wasn't as, errr, shiny as the ES2 with the flag we saw previously. however that wasn't the worst thing about it. upon careful examination of the earpieces, i discovered that there was some inconsistency in the colouring of the outer molds. some parts of it looked "translucent and i could see the drivers thats were housed within it. i saw this as a defect and i emailed music@westone and spoke with the rep. he claimed that it was not possible to achieve a earpiece that was entirely "opaque" as some part of the colouring needed to be removed so as to squeeze the drivers in. it was more of a build limitation, rather than a build defect. i then asked if they could make these into entirely "translucent" so i won't have to deal with the colouring incosistency. they said no, and added that it would cost an extra USD$300 to redo the molds. but they would let me send them back to add custom artwork though. i know this sounds suspiciously like a rant, well, yeah i suppose it is. the other thing i would like to talk about is the memory wires. i've had a horrid one day experience with memory wires on the UE super.fi 5 Pro before, so even before i received the ES2, i was already comtemplating the removal of those wires. however, the memory wires on the ES2 cables are nothing like those from UE. this time round, i could wear these comfortably with glasses on. i'm not sure why theres such a huge difference, but i know that the memory wires are not going anywhere now. well lets get to the sound now. having paid a bomb for these, one would expect them to sound stellar. as teddysaur said, the worst it could be was to sound like the UM2. well, not surprisingly, the ES2 retains the same Westone sound signature characterised by a huge bass and forward sounding mids. i was down at Jaben yesterday (to listen to the Orpheus) and since i was there, i picked up his UM2 demo set and fitted on the small Shure grey tips. i can tell you now that the difference between the UM2 and the ES2 is definitely not subtle. i can truly understand the old "blanket over speakers" cliche now. same type of sound, but in comparison with the ES2, the UM2 sounded extremely veiled, and if i dare say so, lifeless. at that very instant, i felt so much better having splurged on the ES2, heh. i'm no audiophile, neither do i possess such a vocabulary to adequately describe what i'm hearing. nonetheless, i shall have a go at it. the bass is the same tight, impactful bass, except that it seemed to have developed much more energy now...i mean the kick to the head becomes literal and it was like ouch! i think it may have something to do with the Hornet though, but we'll see; i've just sent it back for the mod. like the UM2, in my opinion, the mids is the biggest plus point of the ES2. forward and lush (and un-veiled now), the ES2 offers a level of intimacy with my music that i haven't experienced before. listening to the last two tracks of the Phantom of the Opera made me feel like i was really part of the mob to hunt the Phantom. the treble is another area that represents a clear improvement over the UM2, which was in my opinion, more than a little recess even for my bass biased taste. for instance, the triangles are now sparkling, have a very nice ring to it and does not decay prematurely. i didn't bring my UM56 along to do a ES2 v UM2+UM56 comparison, but i imagine there may be some interest in that. perhaps i'll remember that on my next Jaben visit.

for those who have splurged, or are thinking of splurging. http://www.metacafe.com/watch/261503/how_i...e_hearing_aids/

i heard the King today. /puts on flamesuit but i think he should abdicate in favour of the K1000 though. oh blasphemy!

thanks guys. i settled for something at Pedro. it was an interesting shopping experience, by the way. the sales staff there was super attentive, which was a stark contrast to the rather snobbish attitude i encountered elsewhere (shoes section of a major departmental store) just before i went over the citilink mall.

i will attest to the isolation power of the flanges...despite never using them before heh. i mean, there must be a reason why SAF issued earplugs for range are flanged, right?

nah no emart, besides, i'm cleaned out on emart credits since ORD and i've still on the reserve list heh. i was at Taka two days ago. alot of those newer, nicer shoes, like the hush puppies one for instance, are designed to be "sleeker", hence they appear longer than usual. but the problem is, i'm a short guy and i look clownish in those. dang.

any recommendations on where to get leather shoes from? i need to get a pair for my bro's wedding. thanks in advance. P/S: please keep prices below $150.

hmmm i cannot imagine how you will like the 5EB if you actually prefer UM1 to UM2. but heh who knows?

oh the magazine must be spot on this time then. thats exactly why i love 陳綺貞's music so much. plus her voice, girlish yet exuding maturity at the same time. and she writes her own music; i have a thing for female singers who write their own music hehe. i was quite annoyed that she lost out to Tanya at the last taiwan music awards. i think it's about time she gets the recognition she thoroughly deserved. OT: that wasn't the first time i read about someone else sharing a similar style to the 陳綺貞. i once read in another article about this 李欣芸. sadly, she isn't what i thought she was. i then decided that there is only one 陳綺貞 heh. OT2: i was at CD-Rama today and saw that 梁靜茹's new album has a duet with 陳綺貞. i bought it on the spot lol. OT3: i also recently discovered another singer that has a similarly sweet, girlish but 甜而不膩 voice. her name is 宇恆. and yes, she writes her own music too.

heh heh where can i get her CDs? i've been hunting for her album ever since i read a magazine review comparing her to my all time fav singer/songwriter 陳綺貞. i've looked at CD-Ramas, Sembawangs, Music Junctions to no avail.

well, erm, think again.

i was told the last transaction went for like USD$25000.

well i can personally tell you that is more hyperbole than fact. i have both closed jaw and opened jaw impressions done. in both cases, you will definitely be able to feel the earmolds tucked in your ear canals. the difference, in terms of "feelings", between these two, is that you can feel the opened jaw impressions pushing out against your ear canals more so than closed jaw impressions, which is not unexpected though. oh and do try some Oto-Ease. they do help quite a bit in achieving a good "acoustic seal" (quoting that from the user manual).

thats the problem with head-fi and over here too, to a lesser extent. it's just imperfect information taking on a new guise. from my experience, for instance, the ER4 does indeed has less bass quantity, but it certainly isn't as bass shy as they tend to be thought of. i was extremely surprised when i had the chance to listen to it at Jaben. but still, i enjoy reading all these reviews and impressions.

any suggestions for a Li-ion 9V + recharging unit?

but at this point in time, Apple is the one who is buying in bulk and enjoying massive economies of scale. case in point, the samsung flash chips. MS is losing money for every unit of Zune sold, and their music service isn't going to make them any more money too, since their pricing is similar to the iTunes music store. and just like their XBOX venture, MS is literally throwing billions of dollars away in their attempt to grab market share.