Impressive
These headphones are very impressive. First, let me admit that I don't JUST use my ipod. I regularly check head-fi.org for reviews and consider myself a intermediate audiophile, as pretentious as that may sound. I was WAY past Bose(the most overrated, overpriced headphones on the market), and wanted something that was actually a great value and sounded great; The ES7's do not disappoint. However, I have been burning them in, and lets just say that these need a LOT of burn in to sound their best. I have been burning them in since Friday at 12 pm, and I have read on headfi.com that these headphones need 300 hours of burn in to start sounding optimal, preferably done with pink noise and not music. When I first purchased the phones, I was somewhat disappointed. They sounded just like the overpriced Bose triports, without the boomy bass(although, it was muddy). With burn in, these are already starting to sound great. The bass is slowly tightening up, while the vocals are clearing up and the highs are starting to shine. I can officially say that I am a fan of Bob Marley's song " Exodus" and " No Woman, No Cry" and a few other songs, songs I never liked in the past. The ES7's sound pretty good with my ipod, but VERY good with my headphone out on my PowerBook G4. And this is all in less than a week's time of burning in these phones! Although these phones don't require an amp, I am probably going to purchase an amp/dac combo to optimize my listening experience. This way, I don't have to deal with the sound-card on my powerbook, and my sound experience can truly be called great. Also, when I'm on the go, my ipod--after I amp it up and Rockbox it--will sound a lot better! However, these headphones do not disappoint by themselves, and they will continue to impress someone the longer he/she uses them. Highly recommended.
