BuyOtherSoundEquipment Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Just bit the bullet on a pair of custom-3s for use with an 80GB ipod classic. Needless to say, I'm stoked! I plan on using it in synergy with a Portable Amp 2 Version 2 built by "Gary" (http://www.electric-avenues.com/), specifically for walking around campus all day. I doubt the PA2V2 will sound as delicious as the Rudistor amps at the pilgrimage, but it should be an improvement over the puny stock ipod amp nonetheless. They should be at home tonight as I felt the need to pay $18 [:'(] for Amazon to ship them to me overnight. Oh well, not every decision can be a good one... I'll post some pics of me "sticking it in my ear" and give some initial impressions as soon as possible... You can all thank Prof. Thump for getting me hooked! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 I've got mine connected to the same player (without the Amp 2). As long as they're staying in my ears (I use when outside working and when my ears get sweaty, they slip out a bit, losing the seal) Anyways, they sound killer, I suspect you will love them. [Y] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuyOtherSoundEquipment Posted August 21, 2008 Author Share Posted August 21, 2008 Got the little guys this afternoon and gave a few quick listens from the stock computer sound card using itunes. It makes me realize just how far backwards music has gone. I can literally hear every flaw in a song at 128 kbps... Now, granted, I have no way of telling if the flaw is from when the song is originally recorded or if it arose from when it underwent compression. Also, I tried switching from using the sound card headphone jack over to my promedia 2.1's jack. It emphasized certain things slightly better, but when there was no music and the volume was adjusted to listening volume, there was an overwhelming background hiss. Nevertheless, I can tell now that I have a long road ahead as far as finding what I'm really satisfied with... Don't get me wrong, these 'phones are fantastic, but the battle is uphill as far as source and amplification goes, I'd think. Anyway, I await my ipod and amp in the mail. It never ends! Also, and I direct this question to whomever already owns custom-3s or ideally, professor Thump: Which EQ settings are ideal? I had it set to rock but to me the frequencies which were adjusted higher seemed out of whack. I've got it set at "flat" right now and it actually sounds good to me. But what do I know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 I've got it set at "flat" right now and it actually sounds good to me. But what do I know? Sounds to me, you know what you like.... isn't that half the battle?!! [Y] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLSamuel Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 Set it to whatever sounds good to you.... I leave the EQ and EAX processing off on my Creative Labs Zen XTra. I suspect the EQ is good if you like a different sound or maybe can make up a bit for phones lacking bass for example. I spend a few minutes trying the EQ and EAX processing, long before I got my Custom 2, and they all seemed to make the sound more artificial to me. But what do I know? Enjoy 'em. And yes, I hear a lot more noise and stuff with my Custom 2 than with anything else I've used (mostly Grado Labs SR60). And a lot more music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Thump Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 Congrats on your new C3 purchase! Thanks for supporting our new venture. The good news is now you can hear all the details of your recordings. This is also the bad news because poorly recorded files will sound like doggy dudu. You will also realize that you may need to re-rip some of your MP3 files because the sample rate was too low. If you use 128 k you are at the bare minimum. I would recommend that you try using the variable bit rate setting which is a little more intelligent algorithm. When you need more sample rate it give it but if you don’t need it because it is only LF then the rate becomes lower. As far as EQ goes… I recommend that you use the “Flat” setting for your EQ. If you do not then you won’t be hearing the voicing the way we intended it to sound. You should experience extremely articulate and warm music with a C3. It should also be very full range and spacious. If you do not hear bass response then you most likely have an air leak between your eartip and your ear canal. C3 will literally go down to DC. (That is below 1 Hz) The only reason you may not experience this effect is due to air leaks. Enjoy your new travelling companion for your ears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuyOtherSoundEquipment Posted September 19, 2008 Author Share Posted September 19, 2008 Thanks for the reply, professor. Yeah, I noticed right away that the true enemy was recording quality.... and to think, millions of kids listen to such awful compression through those tinny lil' ibuds everyday! I may have even unintentionally done Klipsch headphones a disservice by letting one of my lesser-audio-informed friends listen to the C3s on a 128 kbps file. I tried explaining that the reason he didn't like them was because of the recording quality, but he wouldn't hear it. Oh well.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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