Subjective testing
Subjective testing
How do you test ear buds? Well, listen to music I say. We tap the E352 into an Apple iTouch and start listening to tunes. I immediately noticed that the Bass levels are clear but much less present than the Sennheiser CX 380s which I currently use and own, no problem... we change the equalizer setting (blasphemy for audiophiles I know) and turn on loudness for my subjective preference. Let's walk through a handful of songs and try to explain what we hear.
We call this chapter subjective listening as there is nothing more subjective than trying to explain music, songs and how they sound. So as subjective as it is, I'll try to note down the primary responses triggered when listening to the music, which is subjective as heck.
Cake - Short Skirt Long Jacket
The band Cake released an album in, I think, the year 2000 called Comfort Eagle. The album had a song called Short Skirt Long Jacket, which to date is one of my favorite tunes. The E352 produces nice high tones, a clear voice and razer snare drums. Kickass in this song is the bass guitar, it's nice, raw and dynamic, it misses out just a tint of bass in the higher frequency, which worries me. Nice and high tones, sharp trumpets... oh, and if you know the song, the cowbell sounds just great. The E352 is very suited to this number.
Ilse DeLange - So IncredibleIlse is a Dutch pop/country singer with probably one of the best voices in the Netherlands. So incredible is the song we are listening to, and immediately when we start up the song we feel that the violins and higher tones seem a little dimmed, not as dynamic sounding as usual. The voice sounds great, the bassline is quite good but again, seems to miss just that little extra. Country / pop sounds good... could be a little better though. But overall very decent quality.
Justin Timberlake - Losing my Way
What a great and underrated soing this is. The song starts up with a slow funky pop rhythm, once it kicks in the bass is pretty good as it is quite deep but I can hear the E352s reach their maximum bass level, as when I increase the volume a little bit more the bass starts to sound a little distorted. Justin's voice sounds awesome, the background vocals are very clear. Overall a great song to listen to on the E352 earbuds, you won't be able to play it extremely loud though as that bass will break down.
Foo Fighter - Darling Nikki
Okay dare I say it, the Foo Fighters made a better version than Prince himself? What an awesome song this was yet became even better after the Foo Fighters covered it. We get very clear voices, great sound output, decent bass. The snare drums jump out and sound very clear. The guitar however sounds a tiny bit flat. Once Dave Grohl starts to howl like a werewolf (come back nikkeeeeeeh) the buds seem to feel a little bit embarrased as they can't take all the sound at a high volume level. Though it's as if Foo Fighters could be too much for any earbud, it's big headphones meterial :)
Johnette Napolitano and Danny - The Scientist
This seriously is a much better cover than the original from Cold Play. We feel the guitar is a little flat. Voices sound great, the synth is nice and warm sounding. Once the bass and drums kick in it sounds good, very good in fact. High tones could be a tad sharper, but I guess I'm nitpicking here. Overall a great tune that matches the E352s really well.
Booty Luv - Shine
yeah babeeh -- let's get back to the 80ies with the warm sounds from Booty Luv. Pop and disco in all it's way. Good sound, nice electric drums, a decent synth bass, clear voices. But yeah, we do miss a little extra bang on that bassline again. Nice clarity though. Definitely good enough to listen to on these buds.
RammStein - Pussy
Ehm... you know what... let me just skip this one, loved the song and video though ;)
Michael Jackson - Liberian Girl
Dating tip for geeks - whenever you try to pickup a girl you are in need of lines to use, go over and ask the girl this 'what's your all-time favorite song?' Whatever her reactions, you smile, nod and and say, that really is a great song. Now it's your turn and my tip. My music punch line with a lady always is that I tell them that Michael Jackson's Liberian Girl is my all-time favorite song. I actually used that line on a librarian girl once, though I slightly revised the title there, you'll have an instant hit and will be engaged in conversation. You are now in the tête-à-tête with the interested party smiling at you.
Okay, so Liberian Girl however, make no mistake, this is one of the music highlights from Michael Jackson. I respect the man and his music, what an artist he was. With Liberian Girl the King of Pop created warm tropical bass with a slow motion feel. Go and listen to it. For once the bass feels 100% right with this tune on the earbuds, likely due to the fact that the bass is somewhat deeper and less sharper opposed to the other songs. Michael's voice is clear and crisp, drums sound good, yeah -- overall a very well suited song for this headset as you'll easily fall into that dream trance the song seems to create. Very good.
