Ever since my Panasonic RP-HJE50 start to have "death symptoms", I started to worry that it cannot serve me anymore.
Actually, I've had bad experiences with Sony earphones before. Both the Chinese made MDR-808 and the Japanese made MDR-838LP gave the same symptoms before they died. Then I began to look at what's the trend in audio arena. Then at that time, the IN thing was canalphones.
So I've got a $20 popular voucher. Bought Panasonic RP-HJE50 @ $58.90. That meant $38.90 after the discount. It sounded a lot better than those conventional earphones. Because of the superior sound insulation, you don't have to turn up the volume to get the right volume. I was happy with the purchase.
It served me 2.5 years, before it cannot tahan liao.
Now, it's time to move on from there. I went to HWZ to look for some information. I also asked around, including Bay. They recommended me Crossroads X3i, Shure SCL2, some UE models and Westone UM1, UM2.
Initial budget I set is $100.
Yesterday I booked Yong Sheng to go to Jaben to test out the abovementioned earphones. (Skip thru the lunch part...) Yong Sheng is actually more informed in this area than I am since he was an important member of the AVA club in his JC.
The Adelphi was not difficult to locate. A 5-10 min walk from City Hall MRT station. Surprisingly, the building actually looks old. At least older than I expected. Never mind the building. Came in more surprises.
The shop was small!! The difference was much greater than the building itself. Never mind again, it's the service and the products they sell. Straight away, Yong Sheng request for demo with one of the UE model (forgot what's model liao), while I set my eyes rovering the shelves for earphones to try.
After demo-ing with some earphones, here's the pros and cons.
Crossroads X3i and X3 LBi
Pros: sound quality, price v performance ratio
Cons: the moment I held on it, it felt filmsy, build quality is not there, but that's my first impression on them
Shure SCL2
Pros: clear sound, price not bad
Cons: is Shure on anti-bass sentiment?
Shure SE110
Pros: same as SCL2's pros, short cord but comes with an extension cable (this is what I wanted)
Cons: same as SCL2's cons
Westone UM1
Pros: very balanced, more bass than Shure's line up but a bit less than X3i/X3 LBi
Cons: expensive leh!
Westone UM2
Pros: almost a perfect scorer with low, mid and high range very well balanced, mainly attribute to the twin drivers in the earphones itself, blown off by its performance
Cons: 1 UM2 can buy 3 UM1s, what do you think?
I almost settled on a crossroads, when...
A couple came in and asked for earphones with 'good quality'. So the man attended to her recommended some very high spec earphone. She was super duper ultra shocked when he told her the price. In the end she and her ang-moh husband purchased two UM1.
They made me reconsider my decision. Yong Sheng said he don't mind buying one if I gonna purchase a Westone. Waa... This kind of situation can make me mad.
Seriously, it's just a few wires with 2 plastic casing plus few micro-magnet (copper wires coiling around) devices inside. Is it worth the price? But what forumers over at HWZ said was true la... The X3i seriously had build quality issues. If you're lucky, you could get away with it. Otherwise, try to become a regular customer at Jaben ba~ UM1 is highly recommended. I agreed with them after listened with the demo set. But I would prefer UM2 than UM1 for it's all-rounded performance. But my wallet wouldn't give way to that.
The UM1 came with 2 packages, $179 and $209. Both includes some zapalang amplifier, iDock and some connectors. I don't need that professional loh... lol Minus away those items, the UM1 still cost $159.
I asked the man if he could gave a better price since both of us wanted to buy. The man insisted on $159 but he could throw in some freebies. Like USB splitter, some ear buds... We were reluctant to accept his offers.
After that, we were quoted a good price from Stereo. So we headed north.
Just discovered a good place for some dimsum buffet. Heh heh~~
Upon reaching the shop, I was given another chance to try out UM1 again. Indeed, it is a good earphone. I thought I would never go wrong with it. Then I proceed to make payment. This is my first time buying an IEM (In-Ear Monitors).
Chit-chatted with the female boss there. She's also considering of putting braces. I think I've given her some boost in confidence. Think she's more willing to go for the braces after hearing some optimistic comments on braces from me. LOL...
On the way back, got a call from some survey company or MINDEF. The caller said he gotten my info back during my BMT days when I did one survery. (Please, people did a lot of surverys long long time ago, which one you're referring to?) So he wanted to meet me up to do 1-to-1 interview... After which, I called Choo and Peng Guan to see if they gotten similar calls before. Sadly, I'm the only one to tio this.
Tested UM1 with my own collection of MP3s. Some songs were completely different from what I hear using previous earphones. They sounded much more beautiful. It's a clever buy. Photos next time!
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