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F.A.Q. and KNOWLEDGE BASE:

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Q. What is the International Mail Transit Time?

A. International Mail can take anywhere between 7 to 25 days depending on customs delays and security delays.



Q. When am I going to receive my tracking number?

A. If you placed your order before 5:00PM New York Time your tracking number will be sent via email by 7:30PM New York Time on that same day.



Q. I did not receive an email confirmation for my order. Did you receive my order?

A. Please make sure you check your Spam Filter or Junk Email folder. If you use a spam control service, we will not be able to validate the email. You can always check the status and tracking information by going to our website and going to the “Order Status” page.



Q. There is no record of my order. Where is it?

A. If you placed your order about 30 minutes ago, your order may not be in the order status system yet. That doesn’t mean we don’t have it. Please check it again in a little while. If you placed your order after 5:30PM New York Time on a Friday, there will not be any updates until Monday when we start processing orders from the weekend and end of Friday.



Q. I cannot find my tracking number and my shipping method is International MAIL

A. There is no tracking number with the shipping option you chose.

The only international shipping option that has a tracking number is FedEx International and you will be responsible for all taxes, custom duties and brokerage fees due when you receive the package. With the MAIL option there is a better chance that you will not have to pay taxes.

To date, we have not lost any packages sent via International Mail to the countries we currently ship to, although the delivery times may increase considerably during holiday season. We have a few packages that are taking up to one month to be delivered. Shipments to Europe however, usually take no more than three weeks. Rest assured that your package should be arriving soon.



Q. What is the best earphone for jogging and exercising?

A. The best earphones for jogging and exercising, in my opinion, are these: best earphones for jogging, exercising and working out.



Q. What are the sizes of the ComplyTips Standard and Small?

A. The ComplyTips sizes are roughly 25mm for the standard and 12mm for the short Comply.



Q. What are the best earphones for use in bed (as in sleeping with them on)?

A. These earphones are the best choice for comfort and use in bed: best earphones for use in bed (sleep with). A word of caution however and this applies to all earphones: you need to be careful that you don't wrap the cord around your neck nor twist it in a way that will rip the wire from the monitor itself.



Q. What are the best earphones for riding a motorcycle?

A. I'm assuming you use a full-face helmet. Believe it or not 90% of the staff here rides and the only earphones we use are these: best earphones for riding a motorcycle as these are the only earphones that are flush with your outer-ear (aside from the Shure SE Series which also provide a flush fit). All other earphones stick out of the ear and will probably jam in all the way into your brain when you put the helmet on. :-) Seriously though, the only earphones to use on a bike are the Westone hands down followed by the Shure. ** Please check with local authorities as the use of earphones while riding a motorcycle maybe against the law in your state or country and they may impair the rider's ability to avoid hazardous situations.



Q. What are the best earphones for small ears?

A. The best recommendation for not only small ears, but for sound quality for the money, is the Westone UM1. Check it out here: best earphones for small ears and children. My 12 year old daughter loves them and she is a tiny thing. :-)



Q. Which earphone is better for my 9 year old son: the Ultimate Ears 3 Studio or the Westone UM1?

A. I have to say that the UM1 will be your best option. The 3Studio is cheaper, but they are much bigger than the UM1. And the cables on the 3Studio are detachable (we know kids have a "tendency" of not being extra careful with certain things...). So he/she might have some problems with the cable's connectors after a while. They can become loose. My 10 year old boy have been using a UM1 for a year now. We go thru a lot of sleeves ("Mom, have you seen my sleeves?"), but so far the unit is "standing strong".



Q. What does "drop shipment" mean?

A. That means your order is being shipped directly from the manufacturer. We do not work with distributors and drop shippers so ALL drop shipments are sent directly by our manufacturers: Shure, Westone, Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, Audeo and Ultrasone.



Q. What is the transit time to Australia via MAIL?

A. Certain areas of AU take longer than others. We imagine it has to do with airport delays and customs. Some of our Australian customers get their package within a week while others have to wait a month. We wish we could tell why this happens. I'm sure you will be receiving your package soon.



Q. My UM2 sounds muddy. What can I do?

A. As explained on the literature that was sent with your UM2, out of the box, the UM2 are flat and muddy. They will not "open up" until after some relative use. Using them 2 or 3 times is not really enough to appreciate the level of detail of the UM2. I suggest you give the UM2 some time to open up. I spoke to a customer a few days ago that told me that he hated his UM2 out of the box but after listening to them for a few hours he realized that the sound clarity and detail was increasing and that he now loved them. I'm sure the same will happen to you.



Q. When I track the USPS package, there are no status update?

Unfortunately, the "tracking" number provided by USPS is used primarily for delivery confirmation and very little, if any, tracking occurs. Your package shipped the day you got the email and it is in transit. USPS has a better transit time than UPS Ground but their tracking system lacks.



Q. I would like to know, specifically as a Rap music/ Hip Hop music listener, which would you guys at earphone solutions recommend: the Shure Se420's or the Westone UM2's? Thanks a lot. Other information that may help is that I am looking for a good crisp deep sounding bass with little distortion. I don't want bass that sounds "muffled" or "rattley." It does however have to hit hard. My music with my current e4c's just sounds like all treble and no bass.

A. The bass on the SE420 is more controlled and more refined. The bass on the UM2 is stronger, but not so refined. It is very hard to put that kind of stuff into words. But if you have been listening that kind of music with your E4cs, any of these two models (SE420 and UM2) will have tons more of bass. Please feel free to contact us if you have any additional questions.



Q. Best Earphones for runners. Hi I am running a marathon and I want really good quality earphones ...that won't fall out of my ears - what is your suggestion - I am interested in best quality that meets my fit/comfort consideration.

A. We strongly recommend either the UM1 or the UM2. Their comfort/fit is the best there is and they will stay in place. Their cables are thin and braided, making it very easy to manage the cables (especially when you are running). The UM1 is a single driver and the UM2 is a dual driver. The more drivers you have, the better the sound will be because you'll have more detail and more separation. Sweat is not a problem. Usually you just have to let them dry overnight. Or you can purchase the Monitor Saver to extract the moisture out of the earphones. I would stay away from the UE models in this case because they are big and are designed to stick out of you ears. So the "stay in place" issue might be a problem. The new Shure SE series models are excellent as well, but our jogger customers prefer the thinner cables of the Westone models (UM1 and UM2).



Q. Which phones work with the iPhone?

A. No high-end in-ear earphones will work with the iPhone at the moment unless you buy an accessory called MPA which is made by Shure and for the time being can only be purchased at an Apple Store. Once you get the MPA accessory, you can use ANY earphones we sell (you can purchase the earphones from us for a MUCH lower price than an Apple Store :)



Q. I have been considering ordering from EarphoneSolutions for some time now, and I am about ready to make a purchase. Before I do, I'd like to know what EarphoneSolutions might suggest, if it wouldn't be a bother.

I was fairly satisfied with my 5th gen (late 2006) Ipod earbuds until they started to distort whenever there was a sudden increase in levels. I think they were just worn out since I never noticed it before. At any rate, I listen mainly to classical and new age music with the occasional meander into rock/alternative. I'll also occasionally watch movies as well. Fairly eclectic.

Is there an earphone that is fairly general purposed like the stock buds but still offers improvements for every range in comparison? I am open to the idea of purchasing two different sets for different purposes if that'd be more suitable for my needs. Comfort isn't a concern since just about any earphone is more comfortable than earbuds. I'd also like to keep the price below $200.00 for now unless there is an adamant opinion pointing otherwise.

The two earphones that I am on the fence about are Westone's UM1 and Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 pro. Please let me know your opinions and suggestions.

A. UM1 will have stronger isolation and they will be more comfortable. The sound of the 5PRO will be fuller, richer and your classical collection will mostly like play better with the 5PROs. The issue remaining is the fit. If you believe you have “regular to large” sized ear canals (I know this is a tough one), the 5PRO is your ticket. Otherwise the UM1 is one of the best sound/comfort for the buck. If you don’t want to risk one way or the other, the Shure SE530 (more detailed on mids and highs, more refined controlled bass -- $449) and the Westone UM2 (stronger bass, warmer, more balanced --$299) are both a very safe choices.



Q. Your company has been regularly mentioned in high regard on the web site Head-Fi.org. With this notion, I am turning to you for an honest opinion on the best IEM for me.

To give you an idea of my preference on musical presentation, the two full sized headphones which I own are the Beyerdynamic DT880 and AKG K701. I have chosen these due to their balanced presentation.

I am looking for an IEM that yields the same sound qualities...

Two IEM's I have been reading and considering are the Shure se310 and Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5. Regardless of price, which of these will yield a closer sound to the Beyer DT880 and K701's?

While both of these IEM's have received a lot of positive reviews, the only negatives I have read on them are:

Shure se310: rolled-off highs, over-emphasized mid range Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5: over-emphasized bass

Do you have any thoughts on these impressions?

A. One of the main things to consider with in-ear earphones (which are not an issue with headphones) is the fit. Sound wise my opinion is that the 5PRO is a better product. It's definitely bolder than the SE310 but overall sound is better. Fit wise, they are very different. The 5PRO is bulkier and designed to stick out of the ear. The SE310 is designed to fit flush in the ear. Some customers love the way the 5PRO fits and some customers really do not get used to it either for personal taste or because their ear canals are too narrow for the UE's nozzle. The SE310 provides almost twice the isolation of the 5PRO.



Q. What is Sibilance?

Let me qualify my comments a bit more to see if that helps. I am in my mid 40's have been exposed to audio at various levels a lot over the last 20 years and as such, my high frequency hearing is a bit rolled off (above 14k) Not a lot more then folks my age, but important to consider if your concerned about sibilance.

Its important to understand what sibilance really is relative to what were discussing/perceiving here, its much more complicated than this, just ask my wife who is a speech and language pathologist… but just to keep it simple here for folks to understand..

Simply:

Sibilance is the presence of strongly emphasized s, sh, ch, z, j sounds in speech.

Detailed:

These consonants are created by air moving through the vocal tract and being constricted by the position of the tongue and lips.

The spectrum of sibilants is that of narrow band noise in the high frequency range (5-10 kHz) and therefore their perception is the first to be affected by hearing loss with age (PRESBYCUSIS). Sibilants may be unvoiced (i.e. without pitch) or voiced (i.e. with an added vibration of the vocal cords).

With that in front of us, I do not perceive a lot of sibilance in the 3’s (as I did in my X10s and ER4’s for example) but younger folks may be more sensitive to it.

The one factor here IMO that makes me think this is a small group effected is that these IEMS are so flat that nothing stands out… so by definition of the term there is no strong emphasis in the 5-10k range…. Like the E530s or ER4s or the X10s have in the holes that I spoke of in earlier posts. The cross over from the low to mid to high frequency armatures is extremely well done (no simple feat by the way). They are just flat enough to be used for monitoring (something I know a good deal about). There is some coloring by the designer, but realitive to other IEMS were discussing they are flat.

I hope this helps for those on the fence, but the only real way to know if it effects you is to buy them and see…unfortunately nothing I or anyone else says is going to solidify what you hear, but I can tell you that sibilants can be “adjusted” if they exist by treble boost, cut and acoustical changes like different tips. Also IF it does exist from the artist or engineer that laid it down.. Nothing you do is going to make it disappear, you can only tame it to your taste.

Peace and Merry Christmas to all you Headfi-rs this is a hobby worth being passionate about. I sure am J

CMasten