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Trying out senn HD25 and Philips fidelio L2

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16s View Drop Down
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    Posted: 20 Jun 2014 at 11:29pm
I have been fed up with the sound of my Klipsch IEMs for some time so I have decided to try over ear cans to use when I am travelling.
The senns were 129£ and the L2s were 153£. First impressions: the Philips look very well styled and finished. The senns are no-frills but certainly solid.
Listening straight out of the box, the HD25s didn't really impress. I think they are closed back. There wasn't a particularly good sound stage, there was too much bass and generally all sounded a bit closed in. Sound isolation is pretty good though... Which is important because I spend a lot of time on airplanes.
The L2s were different. Too me, out of the box sounding better. Lighter, quicker, more spacious. But because they are semi open they leak sound sound like crazy . Probably not good for the person sitting next to me.

I will run them in for 20 hours or so and then give them both another good listen. If you are interested I will report back after a bit more listening.
Cheers
Rich

Michell Gyrodec SE, Michell Tecnoarm, Ortofon 2M Black, Systemdek IIx 900, RB300, 2M Blue, Rega Fono mkII
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Drewan77 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Jun 2014 at 7:06am
Hi Rich, like you I spend a great deal of time travelling overseas and have been through a number of headphone types before finally settling on something that ticks all the boxes (for me). Compact size combined with excellent sound quality and as little leakage as possible are my main criteria. I listen quite loud and my choice of music can be quite eclectic Wacko so I do not want the embarrassment of imposing that on others 

After various mistakes along the way, several years ago I settled on Shure in-ear SE535s. Not cheap but, with three drivers per side and multiple bud types to choose from, these fit perfectly, sound superb and isolate the outside world to a very high degree (also excellent for when I am cutting the lawn)

They have very robust Kevlar reinforced replaceable cables which was also important because with the amount of use I put them to, I have eventually snapped a cable on several other types over the years. So far these are still going strong

Using the softest ear bud of the correct size, these push quite deeply into the ears and as the material expands over the first minute or so, sound quality blossoms out after initially sounding thin and weak. This did take some trial and error to find the best size and I am using the Comply brand replacement types. If the buds are too small, the sound never fills out properly

Scroll forward to 2013 and I discovered the Bitzie to partner with these and my Galaxy S3. These three items give me a ‘portable hi-fi system’ and are my constant travelling companions. Everything I own from Graham Slee sounds exceptional but I think the Bitzie is the most amazing item of all when combined with a good source and headphones. That something so compact can deliver music to such a high level of realism and quality is a constant source of pleasure. Likewise when using with Foobar or JRiver Media Centre on a laptop

Once you settle on the best headphones for you, I highly recommend you borrow a Bitzie on the loaner scheme


 

…… ‘senior moment’ last summer – cutting away back and forth across the front lawn with something really loud & good going on in my head, I hadn’t noticed that I had yanked the power cable & the electric motor had stopped. After a couple of ‘stripes’ without power I noticed a neighbour eyeing me strangely, taking my lifeless mower for ‘walkies’ Embarrassed

Older than I once was, younger than I'll be
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Jun 2014 at 10:50am
If you want fantastic sound quality, small size and excellent isolation/no leakage, go with an Etymotic ER-4S in-ear monitor. I sold mine because I only needed my HD540II for listening. However, the ER-4S is very transparent, neutral and puts many full-size headphones to shame. I got mine from Amazon UK for about £173 a few months ago.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 16s Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Jun 2014 at 3:52pm
Great recommendations guys. Thank you. I travelling all next week but I will order up some iems while I am away and try them next wkend. The ER4s are more in my price range than the shures unless I go for the 315s , which I might try actually. Btw went to London today on train and although the L2s don't isolate very well they are sounding very sweet and balanced. Enjoying them a lot.
Rich

Michell Gyrodec SE, Michell Tecnoarm, Ortofon 2M Black, Systemdek IIx 900, RB300, 2M Blue, Rega Fono mkII
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 16s Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Jul 2014 at 10:33pm
...past couple of weeks have been really busy with travel and work so apologies for not posting earlier.
So I had the L2s the whole week in Sweden away from home and totally love the open sound. I realised I have spent the best part of ten years jamming IEMs into my ears and I'm not ready for round 2 - however good the isolation. I'm really enjoying the comfort of the on ears and the open, breathing sound stage. I really think the L2s are very good cans for the price.
...now of course I want to try the Bitzie but I need to get myself upgraded with an appropriate player first. I am currently listening via a toshiba gigabeat F20. Which luckily had a reasonably good wolfson DAC that will allow me to listen to hi res flac files with Rockbox installed ( instead of tosh's own firmware). I have started to look for cheap Galaxy S3s which would enable me to connect to the Bitzie as I don't think I can hook up my toshiba to it. I would only use the S 3 as a music device as I have apple devices (and prefer them).
So... Some more good stuff to get into over the months to come.

Cheers!

Edited by 16s - 05 Jul 2014 at 10:33pm
Rich

Michell Gyrodec SE, Michell Tecnoarm, Ortofon 2M Black, Systemdek IIx 900, RB300, 2M Blue, Rega Fono mkII
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote HiFifanatic1963 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Aug 2014 at 8:10pm
Have You replaced the stock cable that comes with the L2 yet ?  the one provided tends to veil the mids a little and the bass on those cans with a good cable can tighten some :)  I tried a few , silver, etc... if You have any spare that will fit its worth experimenting a little..... they make a lovely sound with the SRG too :)  I was quite shocked at how open they sounded with Grahams little amplifier....
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 16s Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Aug 2014 at 8:36pm
Thanks. Actually I'm considering one of Graham's cables and maybe the Bitzie as well but first I need to aquire a good second hand galaxy S3 as I lost my toshiba player with very good internal wolfson DAC on a flight to canada two weeks ago
Rich

Michell Gyrodec SE, Michell Tecnoarm, Ortofon 2M Black, Systemdek IIx 900, RB300, 2M Blue, Rega Fono mkII
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