History
I had bought a Crossroads LBi in the month of June 08 to replace my Crossroads X3 which lacked bass.
You can find the LBi review here - http://www.techenclave.com/reviews-and-previews/crossroads-mylar-lbi-user-review-115017.html
However the LBi's left cable started to fray in a couple of months and when I used them with my helmet on I tugged at them and the sound in one side suddenly stopped.
A quick check told me that due to my stupidity I had snapped the wire and one side was now completely broken. Heartbroken at blowing up 3000 bucks before even 1 year I was going to just buy some cheap earphones and survive with them for some time. However Stalker suggested I contact Uncle Wilson.
I just showed Uncle Wilson a picture of my broken LBi and I found out that I was careless enough to lose the bill ! But amazingly he asked me for my address, reminded me when I forgot to send it to him and shipped the Bijou 2 earphones free of cost the next day !!!!
As you will see from the review they are not the best bang for bucks earphones anymore, but in terms of customer service you will not find better anywhere !
Anyways before I stray let me get back to the Bijou 2 [BREAK=Package and Initial Impression]
Since its an RMA piece I did not get any package along with it. Just the earphones in a Hippowrap case. Still not bad at all.
The package
The earphones
The build quality has improved by leaps and bounds over the Mylar LBi and even the Crossroads X3. This should definitely last for some time. (Provided I dont lose them like the X3 or break them like the LBi :ashamed: )
The isolation of these earphones are no better than the LBi and they stick out of your ears a bit. The comfort is good as I have been using them for the past few days and the sound does not cause any fatigue.
Now for the all important sound quality -
[BREAK=Just shut up and tell me how it sounds !]
Ok so for the main part - the sound.
I used my Sandisk Sansa Clip as the source and most of my mp3 files are all encoded in 192 kbps while a few are the standard 128 kbps. Most of my songs are POP music with a few Rock numbers thrown in.
Lows
Ok ok I know you EP-630 lovers will be wanting to know if there is any real bass and I am happy to tell you YES ! The bass has both punch and depth so you will hear it. Yes it is a bit 'boomy' and 'muddy' but more detailed than the bass on the EP-630. Compared to the LBi it has less 'punch' but a bit more detail.
Mids
Ah ! Now we are talking ! The mids are sweet and have a hint of a warm signature. Basically female voices sound better than male voices. The mid range of the Bijou is definetly better than my LBi. The lower mids are a bit muffled by the bass but I believe some burn in will remove that.
Highs
Highs are rolled off and at times a bit harsh. Rolled off means that the high notes are a bit muffled and lacks detail. This is definitely their weak point as the highs were actually better on the LBi. Hopefully some burn in will improve the highs but I doubt it can improve by much.
Overall the sound is sweet. The soundstage which the Crossroads series were well known for is present in the Bijou 2 as well (A headphone with good soundstage means good instrument separation where you can easily pick out the different instruments playing in the song.)
In fact the Soundstage is one of the main reason to buy these phones (as most low end earphones lack any soundstage) with the Customer service being the first.
hyeah:
Basically these earphones are best used for listening to POP music, though Rock music sounds great too thanks to the nice bass.
[BREAK=Adding the Crossroads Pro Amp]
I still wanted to try these with my Crossroads Pro Amp to see if it made any difference at all. These earphones are rated at 16 ohms and are very easy to drive. The reason for using the Crossroads amp was to change the sound signature as the Crossroads amp boosts the mids and highs rather than the bass.
The Crossroads amp had a very subtle effect with my LBi and even my X3. However with the Bijou 2 the effect is much more pronounced and the laid back sound suddenly becomes more forward, more in your face sound as the mids get amplified while the bass impact remains the same.
The downside is that it amplifies the already poor highs. So certain tracks sound terrible but for the most songs it sounds fantastic. So much so that I listen with the Amp only.
Still even without the amp the sound is very pleasant and is suitable for a wide genre of music.
I wanted to try this with the $7 FiiO E3 amp. So I am hoping for someone to loan me his amp to try out.
[BREAK=Conclusion]
So at $57 ~ Rs. 2800 what are your options ? Actually there are plenty due to KMD.hyeah:
There are the highly regarded NuForce NE-7M where people at Head-fi say they are the best IEMs under 100 with no real shortcomings and good bass. However there are some who have received DOA earphones and replacing the same will be a very difficult task consider the lack of support in India.
Then there are the Soundmagic PL-30 earphones which are highly regarded. However the bass is lacking so many will not like the sound.
Now it seems the Head-direct RE2 are selling for $49 shipped to your house. Those earphones are better that the Bijou 2 in all departments except for the bass and even then the bass (from what I have read) is very detailed though lacking much 'punch'.
So should you still get these earphones even in the face of such stiff competition ???
Well yes and no. If you like some bass (but not a bass head) and want the best sounding earphones below 3000 bucks then get the RE2 from Head-Direct.com | YUIN
They ship it directly to your house.
However you will not find a single Chinese company who gives good after sales service. So if by some chance you break it (IEMs are unfortunately a bit fragile due to the thin cords) you are basically stuck with a 3000 bucks paperweight.
I would suggest those wanting to have piece of mind and good sound at the same time to go for the Bijou 2. They have a pleasant 'fun' sound (easy to listen to without causing fatigue) and they are comfortable to boot. Plus Uncle Wilson from Jaben.net will always replace your earphones NO QUESTIONS ASKED !
C&Cs are most welcome. Yes even Criticism.
I had bought a Crossroads LBi in the month of June 08 to replace my Crossroads X3 which lacked bass.
You can find the LBi review here - http://www.techenclave.com/reviews-and-previews/crossroads-mylar-lbi-user-review-115017.html
However the LBi's left cable started to fray in a couple of months and when I used them with my helmet on I tugged at them and the sound in one side suddenly stopped.
A quick check told me that due to my stupidity I had snapped the wire and one side was now completely broken. Heartbroken at blowing up 3000 bucks before even 1 year I was going to just buy some cheap earphones and survive with them for some time. However Stalker suggested I contact Uncle Wilson.
I just showed Uncle Wilson a picture of my broken LBi and I found out that I was careless enough to lose the bill ! But amazingly he asked me for my address, reminded me when I forgot to send it to him and shipped the Bijou 2 earphones free of cost the next day !!!!
As you will see from the review they are not the best bang for bucks earphones anymore, but in terms of customer service you will not find better anywhere !
Anyways before I stray let me get back to the Bijou 2 [BREAK=Package and Initial Impression]
Since its an RMA piece I did not get any package along with it. Just the earphones in a Hippowrap case. Still not bad at all.
The package
The earphones
The build quality has improved by leaps and bounds over the Mylar LBi and even the Crossroads X3. This should definitely last for some time. (Provided I dont lose them like the X3 or break them like the LBi :ashamed: )
The isolation of these earphones are no better than the LBi and they stick out of your ears a bit. The comfort is good as I have been using them for the past few days and the sound does not cause any fatigue.
Now for the all important sound quality -
[BREAK=Just shut up and tell me how it sounds !]
Ok so for the main part - the sound.
I used my Sandisk Sansa Clip as the source and most of my mp3 files are all encoded in 192 kbps while a few are the standard 128 kbps. Most of my songs are POP music with a few Rock numbers thrown in.
Lows
Ok ok I know you EP-630 lovers will be wanting to know if there is any real bass and I am happy to tell you YES ! The bass has both punch and depth so you will hear it. Yes it is a bit 'boomy' and 'muddy' but more detailed than the bass on the EP-630. Compared to the LBi it has less 'punch' but a bit more detail.
Mids
Ah ! Now we are talking ! The mids are sweet and have a hint of a warm signature. Basically female voices sound better than male voices. The mid range of the Bijou is definetly better than my LBi. The lower mids are a bit muffled by the bass but I believe some burn in will remove that.
Highs
Highs are rolled off and at times a bit harsh. Rolled off means that the high notes are a bit muffled and lacks detail. This is definitely their weak point as the highs were actually better on the LBi. Hopefully some burn in will improve the highs but I doubt it can improve by much.
Overall the sound is sweet. The soundstage which the Crossroads series were well known for is present in the Bijou 2 as well (A headphone with good soundstage means good instrument separation where you can easily pick out the different instruments playing in the song.)
In fact the Soundstage is one of the main reason to buy these phones (as most low end earphones lack any soundstage) with the Customer service being the first.
hyeah: Basically these earphones are best used for listening to POP music, though Rock music sounds great too thanks to the nice bass.
[BREAK=Adding the Crossroads Pro Amp]
I still wanted to try these with my Crossroads Pro Amp to see if it made any difference at all. These earphones are rated at 16 ohms and are very easy to drive. The reason for using the Crossroads amp was to change the sound signature as the Crossroads amp boosts the mids and highs rather than the bass.
The Crossroads amp had a very subtle effect with my LBi and even my X3. However with the Bijou 2 the effect is much more pronounced and the laid back sound suddenly becomes more forward, more in your face sound as the mids get amplified while the bass impact remains the same.
The downside is that it amplifies the already poor highs. So certain tracks sound terrible but for the most songs it sounds fantastic. So much so that I listen with the Amp only.
Still even without the amp the sound is very pleasant and is suitable for a wide genre of music.
I wanted to try this with the $7 FiiO E3 amp. So I am hoping for someone to loan me his amp to try out.
[BREAK=Conclusion]
So at $57 ~ Rs. 2800 what are your options ? Actually there are plenty due to KMD.
hyeah: There are the highly regarded NuForce NE-7M where people at Head-fi say they are the best IEMs under 100 with no real shortcomings and good bass. However there are some who have received DOA earphones and replacing the same will be a very difficult task consider the lack of support in India.
Then there are the Soundmagic PL-30 earphones which are highly regarded. However the bass is lacking so many will not like the sound.
Now it seems the Head-direct RE2 are selling for $49 shipped to your house. Those earphones are better that the Bijou 2 in all departments except for the bass and even then the bass (from what I have read) is very detailed though lacking much 'punch'.
So should you still get these earphones even in the face of such stiff competition ???
Well yes and no. If you like some bass (but not a bass head) and want the best sounding earphones below 3000 bucks then get the RE2 from Head-Direct.com | YUIN
They ship it directly to your house.
However you will not find a single Chinese company who gives good after sales service. So if by some chance you break it (IEMs are unfortunately a bit fragile due to the thin cords) you are basically stuck with a 3000 bucks paperweight.
I would suggest those wanting to have piece of mind and good sound at the same time to go for the Bijou 2. They have a pleasant 'fun' sound (easy to listen to without causing fatigue) and they are comfortable to boot. Plus Uncle Wilson from Jaben.net will always replace your earphones NO QUESTIONS ASKED !
C&Cs are most welcome. Yes even Criticism.
