Shure E4c is 35Hz low enough?

[alfa147x]

Got a pair of Shure E4c and they sound great just wanted to know if it's normal for these types of earphone to only go down to 35 Hz

I ask this because my old JVC HAFX33P Marshmallow would go down to 25 Hz
Just want to know that I don't have a defective pair...


Thanks a lot!
~Alfa147x

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Are you going off the specs that say 35Hz or testing it and seeing how low you could hear things?

35Hz and up gets you the vast majority of the frequencies needed for music. Unless you're a pipe organ fan, you're getting almost everything.

 

[alfa147x]

Are you going off the specs that say 35Hz or testing it and seeing how low you could hear things?

35Hz and up gets you the vast majority of the frequencies needed for music. Unless you're a pipe organ fan, you're getting almost everything.

Thanks for the help!

I used this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUrk2W_r5fc

the specs only say

Speaker Type: High-Definition Driver with Tuned Port
Sensitivity (at 1kHz): 109 dB SPL/mW
Impedance (at 1kHz): 29
Cable Length: E4c: 1.55m (61 inches)
E4c (in black): 1.42m (55 inches)
Net Weight: 31g (1.1 oz)
Input Connector: 3.5 mm (1/8") gold-plated stereo plug

Nothing on how low they are suppose to go

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Yeah, I looked at Shure's site and didn't see that spec either.

So you listened with the Marshmallows and those you could hear down to 25Hz?

For movie watching with a lot of LFE, you'd be missing some of that, but I think for music there's not much to worry about. Most people listening on speaker systems don't have much output down that low either.

 

[Modelworks]

Also consider that while the quoted range for human hearing is 20hz - 20khz, that is not true for many many people.

I never listen to loud music and do not work around loud sounds but when I tested my hearing, my hearing range was 44hz - 14khz . The doc said that many people don't realize what they can actually hear because they grew up that way so it is normal for them and few people have perfect hearing.

Here is a simple online test, not as good as a clinic but should give you a rough idea.
http://audiocheck.net/audiotests_index.php

 

[0roo0roo]

25hz? at what level of distortion? at what volume? such specs are basically lies.

 

[alfa147x]

25hz? at what level of distortion? at what volume? such specs are basically lies.

I posted the link to what I used to 'test'

I don't care about numbers I just assumed these $350 earphones would go as low as my $10 one's do... I guess they don't

Even though everything sounds so much better (pirates of the caribbean soundtrack ) The Dark Night's sound track just makes the Shures sound like they are really are struggling to hit anything low

Just wanted to make sure that they where not a defective pair

 

[vi edit]

I posted the link to what I used to 'test'

I don't care about numbers I just assumed these $350 earphones would go as low as my $10 one's do... I guess they don't

Even though everything sounds so much better (pirates of the caribbean soundtrack ) The Dark Night's sound track just makes the Shures sound like they are really are struggling to hit anything low

Just wanted to make sure that they where not a defective pair

The Sure's are an in ear "monitor" replacement. They aren't intended to produce overinflated bass. They are made to accurately replicate music, which rarely goes that low.

It's like comparing a high end set of bookshelf monitors to a ghetto blaster set of Jensen speakers with a 12" woofer. They really have nothing in similar other than they both reproduce sound. Albeint with very different goals.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Also keep in mind that sensitivity of the human ear is reduced greatly at the low and high ends of the spectrum. It may be that you're noticing your natural insensitivity to low frequencies rather than a specific shortcoming of the headphones. (It's probably a combination of both?)

EDIT: Too bad headroom doesn't have measurements of that model
http://www.headphone.com/learning-center/build-a-graph.php

 

[vi edit]

Also keep in mind that sensitivity of the human ear is reduced greatly at the low and high ends of the spectrum. It may be that you're noticing your natural insensitivity to low frequencies rather than a specific shortcoming of the headphones. (It's probably a combination of both?)

EDIT: Too bad headroom doesn't have measurements of that model
http://www.headphone.com/learning-center/build-a-graph.php

The other part is simply just how well the headphones fit your ears. I've got some of the Maximo i-Metals. The same earbuds perform drastically different depending on the size of the pads I put on them. The smaller ones don't "seal" up my ear as well as the larger ones and the bass feels twice as strong with the larger tips. Same earbud, but vastly different depending on fit.

 

[vi edit]

http://graphs.headphone.com/graphCompare.php?graphType=0&graphID[]=1553&graphID[]=353

I just mapped out those i-Metals. What a bizzare response curve. I've never seen a speaker start out high at low frequencies and then drop.

 

[alfa147x]

http://graphs.headphone.com/graphCompare.php?graphType=0&graphID[]=1553&graphID[]=353

I just mapped out those i-Metals. What a bizzare response curve. I've never seen a speaker start out high at low frequencies and then drop.

Link fix: Link fix

 

[alfa147x]

The Sure's are an in ear "monitor" replacement. They aren't intended to produce overinflated bass. They are made to accurately replicate music, which rarely goes that low.

It's like comparing a high end set of bookshelf monitors to a ghetto blaster set of Jensen speakers with a 12" woofer. They really have nothing in similar other than they both reproduce sound. Albeint with very different goals.

This is what I assumed, that these two where catering to two different audiences. I'm still going to keep these, I like them a lot!

The other part is simply just how well the headphones fit your ears. I've got some of the Maximo i-Metals. The same earbuds perform drastically different depending on the size of the pads I put on them. The smaller ones don't "seal" up my ear as well as the larger ones and the bass feels twice as strong with the larger tips. Same earbud, but vastly different depending on fit.

Well I tried all of the ones that came with it and the seal feel about the same for both earphones

 

[alfa147x]

Also keep in mind that sensitivity of the human ear is reduced greatly at the low and high ends of the spectrum. It may be that you're noticing your natural insensitivity to low frequencies rather than a specific shortcoming of the headphones. (It's probably a combination of both?)

EDIT: Too bad headroom doesn't have measurements of that model
http://www.headphone.com/learning-center/build-a-graph.php

So I need to get a sub for this!

also what is the difference between earphones and monitors ?

 

[Tiamat]

Keep in mind that the 35 Hz spec is meaningless. For Shure, their spec might be a -1dB point where as JVC might use a -10dB point. The shures could be rated to 25 Hz at -10dB perhaps, but who knows? My point is, unless they tell you the sound pressure level at that frequency and the harmonic content, the frequency itself doesn't tell you anything.

Earphones can do 5 Hz, but they are down by greater than 80dB at that point if not more. Doesn't mean they can't do 5 Hz, so there is no one that can stop a manufacturer from stating that they do 5 Hz. They just don't do 5 Hz as well as they do 100hz or 3khz etc.

I reread your posts, the following is more applicable to your question:

The amount of bass coming from an IEM is very related to how well they are sealed within your ear canal. A slight leak due to an imperfect fit will eliminate the bass. This is why the upper end IEMs make you get your ears fitted by an ear doctor who takes a mold of your ear canal, sends it out to the IEM manufacturer, and you get personalized IEMs that are virtually a perfect fit (Westone and UE do this).

Assuming a very good fit, most if not all of the Shure IEMs get reasonable response down below 20Hz. This evident in their SE110-SE410 current IEMs. I may be assuming incorrectly, but I would think the SE410 is comparable to the E4C

 

[uhohs]

I don't care about numbers I just assumed these $350 earphones would go as low as my $10 one's do... I guess they don't

you paid $350 for e4c's? D:

 

[alfa147x]

you paid $350 for e4c's? D:

No that was just a number off the top of my head

I got them for free from my best friend

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2038748