So I finally got my hands on the Crossroads Mylar One LBi. This one is very similar to the X3i earphone also made by Crossroads. There will be quite a few X3i owners after the Jaben contest. But I don't think anyone here has an LBi as yet, so I decided to get the LBi and see how it sounds. 
Please note the earphones are not burned in yet. I will update once they are fully burned in.
I will be testing these with my earlier Mylar X3 earphones from the same company. The earlier earphones were lacking in bass but had a fantastic midrange and the soundstage was simply awesome (A earphone/headphone is said to have a good soundstage if you can clearly pick out the different instruments being played when listen to music.)
The newer series of earphones from Crossroads - X3i, LBi, XBi were designed to try and match the sound of the old X3 but with much more substantial bass. So I was worried that the wonderful soundstage and midrange of the X3 would be missing in the new LBi.
Specifications :
Type: Stereo In-ear earphone
Driver: 10mm Mylar Speaker
Sensitivity: 95 ± 4dB/mW
Impedance: 16 Ω
Frequency response: 20Hz – 22KHz
Build quality :
There were initially many concerns on the build quality of the new Mylar earphones. The wire used to break, the sound in one channel would suddenly go off etc. However Crossroads did not sit idle and they improved their build quality. So now reported problems are rare. Hopefully mine are the new build and I won't have any problems. :bleh:
One point I have to mention is that the plug of the LBi is smaller than the old plug of the X3. So its not easy to grip and pull it out of the source player and I fear I may yank the cable instead of the plug and cause the cable to break.
Package contents :
Here is the overall packaging :
The inside contains this pouch containing the earphones and the silicon tips.
A change from the old Mylar X3 packaging is the inclusion of the new bi-flanged tip which is considered to provide better isolation. Unfortunately I have small ears and only the smallest tips fit my ears comfortably.
It contains an airline adapter for listing to in-flight music on planes. Crossroads used to provide a cable wrapper but they have discontinued it.
The carry case is nice and sturdy and quite light unlike the previous case with my X3.
Here is the full package -
Sound quality :
Well the main point of buying a earphone is its sound quality.
As most earphone reviews go, this is entirely subjective since no two ears are equal. So please keep that in mind.
Few tracks I used to test the player - ( These are high quality MP3 with the lowest quality Mp3 is a 160 kbps file)
Roxette - Fading like a flower.
Acapella - Awesome God
Alan Parson's project - Eye in the sky
Westlife - Us against the world
James Blunt - Wisemen
The source was my Sandisk Express Mp3 player and I turned off the equalizer.
The first thing you notice is the bass when you put on the LBi ! A huge change from the X3 !
But that nice feeling quickly went as I realized the bass is boomy and nothing like the tight bass that the X3 had. In fact I realize now why people called the bass on the new Mylars - X3i, LBi and XBi as 'muddy' as it clouds the midrange.
I was forced to use the custom EQ to reduce the bass by 1 and increase the midrange by 1. The sound was now much more balanced and enjoyable. The soundstage that I feared was missing in the new LBi was there and it was as good as the X3. It was so easy to position the instruments and you can imagine yourself sitting in front of a band and picture where each member was !
The midrange was a bid laid back compared to the X3 and were not coming out too well. I pushed up the EQ to compensate but it was still not as good as the X3.
The bass was a no contest as the X3 had hardly any bass though the bass was tight. For a majority of music, the bass would seem sufficient but listing to Roxette and the Eye in the Sky, the lack of bass from the X3 immediately hits you. No such problem for the LBi though and all the test tracks were beautiful. I however am hoping that the bass gets a bit tighter after a burn in.
The Treble was not too good on the LBi. I felt they were muddy and lacked detail. The X3 were a bit better in this regard. I suppose the bass muffles the treble on the LBi.
The isolation of both the X3 and the X3i are awesome and I use them extensively when traveling by train to work everyday. And apart from the isolation they are very comfortable to boot and I can wear them for hours together without discomfort.
So will I sell off the X3 and keep the LBi ?
I would say yes ! The X3 are still amazing earphones and the clarity is simply awesome ! But the bass is just a tad less than what suits me and so I have to say goodbye to my X3.
Oh and before I forget I got this also with the package -
Its a Crossroads Pro portable amp. It is quite small actually though in this pic it looks rather big.
After adding the amp, I found no discernible difference with the X3. With the LBi however the bass gets a little bit tighter and the mids get slightly less laid back. Its quite subtle actually but its noticeable and improves the sound somewhat.
The amp is not too big either and I can easily keep it in my shirt pocket along with the player.
Conclusion :
So all in all this is a great portable system. It sounds great and has the much better bass than my old EP-630 while still having most of great midrange and treble of the X3. The amp does make the whole system bulky but since it improves the sound a bit its fine with me if i take it along. Also its volume knob is far easier to use than the volume buttons on my Sandisk Express player. This one is staying with me for a long time now. :hap2:
I paid a total of SG $99 (approx Rs 3000) coz my sisters boyfriend got these for me when he came down from Singapore (he has definitely got into my good graces !
hyeah: )
Sorry for the inconsistent pics. Some pics I used a tripod. After a while however I got a bit fed up and used a flash.
I also hope Stalker doesn't mind but I used his review as a reference since I really had no idea how to structure the review. :ashamed:
Comments and criticisms are most welcome since this is my first product review.
Please note the earphones are not burned in yet. I will update once they are fully burned in.
I will be testing these with my earlier Mylar X3 earphones from the same company. The earlier earphones were lacking in bass but had a fantastic midrange and the soundstage was simply awesome (A earphone/headphone is said to have a good soundstage if you can clearly pick out the different instruments being played when listen to music.)
The newer series of earphones from Crossroads - X3i, LBi, XBi were designed to try and match the sound of the old X3 but with much more substantial bass. So I was worried that the wonderful soundstage and midrange of the X3 would be missing in the new LBi.
Specifications :
Type: Stereo In-ear earphone
Driver: 10mm Mylar Speaker
Sensitivity: 95 ± 4dB/mW
Impedance: 16 Ω
Frequency response: 20Hz – 22KHz
Build quality :
There were initially many concerns on the build quality of the new Mylar earphones. The wire used to break, the sound in one channel would suddenly go off etc. However Crossroads did not sit idle and they improved their build quality. So now reported problems are rare. Hopefully mine are the new build and I won't have any problems. :bleh:
One point I have to mention is that the plug of the LBi is smaller than the old plug of the X3. So its not easy to grip and pull it out of the source player and I fear I may yank the cable instead of the plug and cause the cable to break.
Package contents :
Here is the overall packaging :
The inside contains this pouch containing the earphones and the silicon tips.
A change from the old Mylar X3 packaging is the inclusion of the new bi-flanged tip which is considered to provide better isolation. Unfortunately I have small ears and only the smallest tips fit my ears comfortably.
It contains an airline adapter for listing to in-flight music on planes. Crossroads used to provide a cable wrapper but they have discontinued it.
The carry case is nice and sturdy and quite light unlike the previous case with my X3.
Here is the full package -
Sound quality :
Well the main point of buying a earphone is its sound quality.
As most earphone reviews go, this is entirely subjective since no two ears are equal. So please keep that in mind.
Few tracks I used to test the player - ( These are high quality MP3 with the lowest quality Mp3 is a 160 kbps file)
Roxette - Fading like a flower.
Acapella - Awesome God
Alan Parson's project - Eye in the sky
Westlife - Us against the world
James Blunt - Wisemen
The source was my Sandisk Express Mp3 player and I turned off the equalizer.
The first thing you notice is the bass when you put on the LBi ! A huge change from the X3 !
But that nice feeling quickly went as I realized the bass is boomy and nothing like the tight bass that the X3 had. In fact I realize now why people called the bass on the new Mylars - X3i, LBi and XBi as 'muddy' as it clouds the midrange.
I was forced to use the custom EQ to reduce the bass by 1 and increase the midrange by 1. The sound was now much more balanced and enjoyable. The soundstage that I feared was missing in the new LBi was there and it was as good as the X3. It was so easy to position the instruments and you can imagine yourself sitting in front of a band and picture where each member was !
The midrange was a bid laid back compared to the X3 and were not coming out too well. I pushed up the EQ to compensate but it was still not as good as the X3.
The bass was a no contest as the X3 had hardly any bass though the bass was tight. For a majority of music, the bass would seem sufficient but listing to Roxette and the Eye in the Sky, the lack of bass from the X3 immediately hits you. No such problem for the LBi though and all the test tracks were beautiful. I however am hoping that the bass gets a bit tighter after a burn in.
The Treble was not too good on the LBi. I felt they were muddy and lacked detail. The X3 were a bit better in this regard. I suppose the bass muffles the treble on the LBi.
The isolation of both the X3 and the X3i are awesome and I use them extensively when traveling by train to work everyday. And apart from the isolation they are very comfortable to boot and I can wear them for hours together without discomfort.
So will I sell off the X3 and keep the LBi ?
I would say yes ! The X3 are still amazing earphones and the clarity is simply awesome ! But the bass is just a tad less than what suits me and so I have to say goodbye to my X3.
Oh and before I forget I got this also with the package -
Its a Crossroads Pro portable amp. It is quite small actually though in this pic it looks rather big.
After adding the amp, I found no discernible difference with the X3. With the LBi however the bass gets a little bit tighter and the mids get slightly less laid back. Its quite subtle actually but its noticeable and improves the sound somewhat.
The amp is not too big either and I can easily keep it in my shirt pocket along with the player.
Conclusion :
So all in all this is a great portable system. It sounds great and has the much better bass than my old EP-630 while still having most of great midrange and treble of the X3. The amp does make the whole system bulky but since it improves the sound a bit its fine with me if i take it along. Also its volume knob is far easier to use than the volume buttons on my Sandisk Express player. This one is staying with me for a long time now. :hap2:
I paid a total of SG $99 (approx Rs 3000) coz my sisters boyfriend got these for me when he came down from Singapore (he has definitely got into my good graces !
hyeah: )Sorry for the inconsistent pics. Some pics I used a tripod. After a while however I got a bit fed up and used a flash.
I also hope Stalker doesn't mind but I used his review as a reference since I really had no idea how to structure the review. :ashamed:
Comments and criticisms are most welcome since this is my first product review.
