Sennheiser PC37X randomly goes bad after disconnecting the cable ?
Greetings, Yesterday I was using my headset like normal with my macbook, just listening to music and on a call with people like usual, and the headset was perfectly fine. The stock wire that came with the headset is extremely long and yesterday it annoyed me very much that it kept getting tangled with itself, so I decided to see if the cable is replaceable. I pulled out the cable from the headset and saw the adapter, and looked online for a replacement. Upon plugging it back in, the audio sounded extremely muffled and washed out. Im not sure what I did wrong to make it mess up like that as I've always taken good care of it, ive had it for about 2 years and its always just been chilling on my desk, but anywho I thought the cable just went bad and ordered a replacement. The replacement came, and the issue is still persistant, so I am not sure what the issue is I've tried multiple different headsets and the issue is not with the port, and I also tried it with my windows laptop and...
Apr 23, 2024
Kind of Music chosen; (Yes, I copied this list from the Topping review, because it's THE SAME LIST I ALWAYS USE),Lots of classical with much strings, voice, Beethoven through Bernstein and Glass. Lots of electronic music a la Wollo, Boddy, Roach, Serrie, etc. Much Leo Kottke guitar happiness, with some Bluegrass and Appalachian schtuff tossed in. Classical piano. Silk Road Ensemble. Popular and Rock, from Joplin to Foo Fighters to Neil Young to classic Santana, to The Killers to Maroon 5 and so on. Jazz and Blues , Muddy Waters, early Severin, Puente. I don't really do Rap, Dub, or Hip-Hop, although I did run a little Black Eyed Peas and Outkast through it. My musics were chosen to represent the spectrum and check out what the IEMs offer in the way of clarity, speed, presentation of details and ability to translate output from my iPad and iPhone, and iPOD,(Classic gen5), not from a computer or desktop DAC/AMP, as these are more about mobile device use. I do use the JDS Labs C421 portable amplifier, and a couple of iBasso portable amps, and a DIY Cmoy. I tried both sets of phones on all devices side by side, line by line.
About the sounds; The Finders are delightful sounding IEMs with 3 filters that offer a pretty nice ability to address the genre preferences of the listener. I personally prefer the filter that maintains a more flat and clinical representation of the sound, but I did note that the filters do what they are supposed to do for the frequencies they attenuate in order to bring forward either the bass or the higher range frequencies. Some folks do not feel that they are hearing much benefit from the filters, I can say that I do hear a fairly noticeable difference between them. The MEEs offer a filtering system as well, and I can say this; MEE's present a somewhat more forward bass without is being overwhelming, with nice, clear, mids and highs. Even when the filtering is used, the bass is more present. In a good way, and, I feel, a very well balanced way. The Finder bass is not as apparent, yet it gets the job done pleasantly, and I find the mids and highs clear and NON-shrill, no undesirable sibilance, and these are quick and responsive with vocal and acoustic music. They are fun to hear with rock and pop, but a bit lacking in the power some might desire for heavier rock and I found them a bit lacking when I tried driving musics where heavy bass needed to be very present yet presented clearly. I would not say that the bass is ever distorted, just lacking in presence.
Build; A major difference between the MEE and the Finder is that the P1 cable is braided and removable, while the Finder cable is not. For me, that is not a deal breaker, as I find that frequent plugs and unplugs can break down the connectoids, bend pins, etc., and, frankly, I think the Finders NEED the cables to be hardwired as one could, conceivably, have trouble getting them out of your ear canals, they are so small and seat so well. The Finder cable dosn't tangle, and, while it seems thin, has not demostrated any particular fragility, and neither demonstrates annoying microphonics, even when in motion. Both housings are built like tanks, yet comfy to wear. The Finder is the most comfortable of the two, in my opinion.
Summary; If you are looking for a lively, fairly punchy, SMALL IEM that isolates VERY well, and your tastes run to acoustic and classical music,or light popular and vocals, the Finder may well be the one for you, especially at this,(even lower), price point. I also would say that this IEM is WAY more likely to stay inside your ears at the treadmill than will the MEEs. Do not expect much "stage" with these. The MEEs have a "wider" presentation with a more present bass, and, I feel, offer a little more versatility re' music genres that they perform with comprehensive adequacy. They do not isolate as well as do the Finders, however, and, when I did jumping jacks with them on,(yeah yeah, I did that), they did dislodge from my ears, when the Finders did not.
You won't go wrong with either. I will likely buy a second set of the Finders, especially with the additional price drop, if that helps anybody understand what I think and will do with my personal purchasing choice. While I like the MEEs very very much,(more than the NuForce Hem8s), I find myself gravitating to the Finders for EDC easy in the pocket, leave'em in the iPOD to pick up and go. The MEEs are excellent, and I just tend to use them for more "serious" listening where I am less physically busy and can, because I am less busy, really appreciate the somewhat better depth of musical presentation. If I really listened to a LOT of rock, I would go with the MEEs, absolutely.
I can offer a more detailed review in another day or two... and I want to toss one out on the Kinnera's that I just received and which are busy "burning in", right now.
Cheers, whatever you choose!
Honestly, if I am watching a movie on the iPad, I tend to use closed-back headphones. More sense of "space" to be derived in full sized headphones than in IEMs.
That being said, I would tell you to consider the RHA T20's, MEE P1 Pinnacles,(yes, I know that drop has finished but request it, as they are quite nice), Kinnera. I think that you want something a bit "roomier" sounding with a bit more bass power for films, and these several will give you more of that than will the Finders.
BTW; I am finding the Kinnera I'm readying for review to be some of the most comfortable universal IEMs I've ever experienced. Stay tuned. :)
Honestly, after PROPER run-in, none of these is,(for me), particularly fatiguing. I think that the Kinera is the easiest listen of the bunch, fairly V shaped sig, REALLY comfy. Least expensive, too.
The Echobox is a little titan of an IEM, with excellent clarity and, once run-in, no obvious sibilance or stress, and you have incredible isolation. And you have the filters to tailor your sound to your liking.