nathris

So I've had them for a few month now and I figured I would give my opinion on them, to help and potential buyers.





I picked up my pair at Futureshop for $90, which I thought was a pretty good deal, considering they are $125 US on Amazon right now. In Canada, most of our retail stores seem to focus on Skull Candy, Brain Acid, or worse, Bose, and its hard to find a decent set of headphones. This mainly has to do with Sennheiser's underhanded policies, which require resellers to sell at a fixed price, which is anywhere from 200 to 500% higher than in the US. Right now you can get a pair of Sennheiser CX-300s for under $20 on Amazon, but Amazon.ca has them on sale for $82 right now

So you can imagine my surprise when I found the Super.Fi 4vi's inconveniently tucked away in the cell phone accessory section of my local Futureshop!



Features/Contents:

The Super.Fi 4vi differs from the Super.Fi 4 in that it is designed for iPods/iPhones. It features a built in mic as well as a button on the cord designed for music playback and answering calls. Since I only have an iPod touch, and not an iPhone, I won't be able to give any feedback on the mic or the calling features, but I have to say I'm loving the music controls.

A single push pauses/unpauses a song, and a double push goes to the next track. Combine that with the volume controls on my Touch 2G and I have nearly complete control without having to use the touch interface. I would have liked to see a bit more functionality, akin to the iPod Shuffle, but being able to quickly pause my music when I need to hear something has been a blessing.

The headphones come with a compact carrying case as well as a number of silicone ear tips. There is one small pair, 3 medium pairs, one large pair, and one pair of those strange double lobed ones. But I'll talk about them more later on.


Build Quality:

The speakers are housed in a nice metal shell, however the cord leaves much to be desired. For IEMs costing this much, I would have expected more than a semi-hard plastic coating. Not only does it transfer vibrations into the ear, it is not very durable. I've had mine for two months, and the simple act of putting them into my bag while still plugged into my iPod has caused the wiring at the base of the plug to wear away, causing the left speaker to cut in and out, depending on the orientation of the cord. If you are planning on getting these, make sure you unplug them every time you put them away, and you should be alright. Still, for $90 I would have expected a mesh cord, similar to what you get with some Sony models.


Comfort/Wearability:

I don't know if it is just that I have small ears, or the ear tips are poorly designed, but the only size that would create a good seal were the smallest. Unfortunately, the ear tips aren't secured very well, and the simple act of pulling the headphones out of your pocket is sometimes enough to dislodge them. I lost one of the smaller tips, then the other, 3 weeks into use.

Fortunately there are 3 sets of the next size up, because I've already lost one of those as well. Unfortunately the seal on these ones isn't very strong, and I find myself constantly pressing them in, lest they fall out. Part of the problem is due to the way they sit in your ear. The metal housing is rather bulky, and it simply juts out, making no contact with the ear, and leaving the silicone to bear all of the load. I've recently switched them out for the foam tips from my JVC Marshmallows, and they provide a much better seal.

The cord is just about the perfect length. Its a little short, and will occasionally catch on the strap of my bag and forcefully come out of my ears (ouch...), but for most people it should be just right.


Sound Quality:

All is not lost however! These headphones are by far the best I've ever heard. The highs tend to get a little uncontrolled, especially during 'S' sounds, and the bass will sometimes drop out, but after I switched from the silicone to the foam tips everything seemed to balance out nicely. I was absolutely floored when I first put them on. They sound as good on my iPod as my HD 201s do on my PC with my X-Fi Platinum, and on my PC they sound even better! (Although the short cord often prevents me from using them). For under $100 I don't think you can get better sound quality. They are a few notches above even the highly regarded JVC Marshmallows with Kramer's Mod. I haven't been able to test many different headphones, living in Canada, but here is how they rank against my other IEMs:

Super.Fi 4vi
..
JVC FX-34 w/Kramer's Mod
JVC FX-66 (air cushions)
JVC FX-34
Skull Candy Full Metal Jacket
Skull Candy Smokin' Buds


Recap:
Features: 9/10 - I would have liked to see some more controls on the cord, but otherwise its a great package.
Build Quality: 6/10 - With proper care you shouldn't have any issues, but they definitely could have, and should have done better with the cord.
Comfort: 7/10 - If you can get a proper seal they are alright, but better ear tips are a must.
Sound Quality: 9.5/10 - I'm docking it half a point because they don't sound as good out of the box. With foam ear tips the sound is absolutely perfect IMO.

Overall - 8/10. If you live in the US you are probably better off getting some Sennheiser or Shure IEMs, but these are by a large margin the best headphones under $100 if you live in Canada.

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procpuarie

nice review!

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