Woodees Vintage & Woodees "Blues"

eclein · « **on:** 5 Mar 2011, 03:47 am »

So as a Verizon customer in August when its upgrade time I'm getting an iphone so I was browsing headrooms B-stock and grabbed these up..anybody have them? heard them??
http://www.headphone.com/headphones/woodees-iesw100v-vintage.php

Noseyears · « **Reply #1 on:** 8 Mar 2011, 06:24 pm »

I'm not an Iem guy, but i remember a review on the IESW100B's at HF. Probably this is an improved version.

eclein · « **Reply #2 on:** 8 Mar 2011, 06:33 pm »

The price was right and they look pretty cool, they arrive Friday so we shall see...the more I look at them the more I think "for the price they probably don't sound very good". But that theory has been proven wrong many times for me in the past few years so...I'll let you guys know and of course I'll find out how to tweak them..LOL.

rob-fi · « **Reply #3 on:** 11 Mar 2011, 06:21 pm »

Cool...i really enjoyed reading your thread with grado mods. I look forward for your impressions on this one.

eclein · « **Reply #4 on:** 12 Mar 2011, 12:36 am »

I bought these B-Stock $45 shipped, ordered them Monday and just got them today..regular UPS from Montana to PA. not bad.

These little Woodies are incredible, I had no idea this type of earphone could have such nice rich and smooth bass...first off I'm into taking pictures of my stuff...so here are some shots, they are smaller than I thought they would be, the stock photos just made them look big and a bit bulky...they aren't!!

These are very easy to listen to, no fatigue or hint of it, no headache or that tizzy sound, these are smooth and rich top to bottom and I'm listening to Steely Dan- "Gaucho" hi rez files from HD Tracks and enjoying them thoroughly. I have never seen anything written about these and the price point leads one to believe they are middle of the road well if this is middle of the road I'll be sitting here for awhile. I need to find info on these, listen more which will be very easy and find out if these have been overlooked..now i got to find out what the best Inner ears earphones are and find a way to compare them, right now-I'm a happy camper with my Woodees!!!

eclein · « **Reply #5 on:** 12 Mar 2011, 01:47 pm »

OK some research, these were actually the flagship model and cost $69.99 new (even at this full price these are a steal in my opinion, after hearing these if I was looking to buy them and din't know the price I would easily go up as far as $250ish before moaning-I'm serious these are that good) They have a new version "The Blues" and they are $79 and in my future most definitely I think here is a pic of "The Blues":

Another awesome find by the Edmeister!!! Everyone, everywhere that reviews the Vintage ones like I now have pretty much loves them and I think the low price keeps people from buying them as strange as that sounds. If your looking for nice, good quality in-ear headphones the $69 price is low middle range and probably keeps folks with easily that much in the budget a bit backed off thinking they wouldn't measure up or perform well...guess what, they do and they do....I highly recommend you try some if you can, I've had mine on all night since receiving them all but a few hours while I ran Bob From St Louis of the road a bunch of times racing online playing videogames.
I would consider these Woodees a hidden gem and give them 5 Dancing Sunglass Guys

eclein · « **Reply #6 on:** 12 Mar 2011, 08:43 pm »

....its a disease I tell ya....I just bought some used Blues...hahahaha....I am a twisted f_ol....fooled ya huh...
anyway two sets of heaphones both highly regarded and well liked I'm finding out, both sets for what the "Blues" cost new....I just follow the guys who buy stuff and sell stuff all the time and pick up the spoils at half the price....I gotta system!!!!

tomwhite · « **Reply #7 on:** 14 Mar 2011, 10:34 pm »

Congrats! they look cool..it makes me wanna buy one too!

Welcome to the Iem's world.

eclein · « **Reply #8 on:** 14 Mar 2011, 11:08 pm »

Thanks....walking around town with some tunes in my head, IN my head is just what the doctor ordered!!!

eclein · « **Reply #9 on:** 18 Mar 2011, 02:08 am »

The Woodees "Blues" arrived today:

These are wonderful, more low end than the Vintage but better clarity up high and even smoother sounding. I love the Vintage but these are a step up and thats definitely saying something..Headroom is featuring them on the start page to the website and Amazon has them $10 cheaper if your looking at them. Nothing harsh, edgy or remotely edgy or harsh-LOL...I'm listening to some Tribal Tech on my main rig while I type and using these to monitor the tracks...they fit and become lost immediately in my ear, it doesn't feel as if your wearing them. I will sit tomorrow and do AB tests comparing the two models and try to be more precise but for me these are the new king of the hill for this type headphone. I took them out for a walk today and boogied-well the best I can boogie-and couldn't wait to keep listening. The Vintage displayed the same traits but these have a bit more swagger.
I gotta say that the head-fier's and the way they collect and sell headphones it really pays to check out the for-sale forum...I got these and the Vintage for a total price that equals a set of these Blues new. The Sleek audio SA-1's that are on the way were $25 and hopefully they don't fall apart on the way and I get a day or two before they busticate as I'm finding out they have a pension to do...but I had to check them out and will let you guys know how they stack up against the Woodees.
This kind of stuff is makes this hobby fun and finding a nice deal on a quality piece is way too much fun.....gotta change CD's...later...

rob-fi · « **Reply #10 on:** 18 Mar 2011, 10:39 pm »

You became an Iem guy Ed, we hope you are enjoying them.

How do they compare to the grado's you own? (sound signature)

eclein · « **Reply #11 on:** 18 Mar 2011, 11:07 pm »

rob-fi--great question and to be honest they are extremely similar thats what got me so pumped up about the Woodees. After modding the Grado's and hearing the tremendous benefit of doing so each of the two times so far when I put the first ones into use (Vintage) I was really pleasantly surprised and thrilled because I love the sound signature of the Grado's but just didn't want to look like a tremendous Geek walking chugging along the streets of Allentown with walker or cane, the Woodees give me the sound I have come to really love but without the excess baggage of the shells etc..I'm sure like everything I'll try each thing with every other thing until all options are exhausted and then look for more to try-I actually have some Sleek Audio SA-1's on the way I got for $25 so playtime is not over.
I wouldn't even begin to know how to explain or communicate sound signature, do mean like are the low end bloaty, punchy bass, etc...??

charmerci · « **Reply #12 on:** 27 Mar 2011, 02:45 am »

Well gosh, based on this - it looks like i'll have to buy some.

charmerci · « **Reply #13 on:** 12 Apr 2011, 04:20 pm »

Well, I wish I could be more excited about the Blues.

(Though I haven't broken them in yet.)

I bought them to replace my over-the-ear, foldable, noise-cancellation Sennheisers that I use with my traveling MP3 player. I'm not saying that the Woodees are bad - it's that the cheap MP3 player's amp (I'm on a budget) makes it sound horrible. GIGO!!!

The Sennheisers actually sound "better" because they roll off the harsh highs....

mcgsxr · « **Reply #14 on:** 12 Apr 2011, 05:08 pm »

To cure the poor fidelity, I recommend the $15-20 Fiio e5 portable amp. Works a treat with my iTouch and my Shure iems.

Bass boost can be put on too, to get your freak on!

eclein · « **Reply #15 on:** 12 Apr 2011, 05:38 pm »

I also use the Fiio E5 for anything I listen to from my ipod touch. I hope I didn't steer you wrong.....
The Fiio really makes a difference, if you go that route get the cable that plugs right into the port used for charging, it will then bypass the internal sound card of the ipod all together...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003UCESP8
Get the L3, I bought the cheaper L1 and it was cheap...I currently use the L3 and E5 with my ipod..

charmerci · « **Reply #16 on:** 12 Apr 2011, 05:53 pm »

Quote from: mcgsxr on 12 Apr 2011, 05:08 pm

To cure the poor fidelity, I recommend the $15-20 Fiio e5 portable amp. Works a treat with my iTouch and my Shure iems.

Quote from: eclein on 12 Apr 2011, 05:38 pm

I also use the Fiio E5 for anything I listen to from my ipod touch. I hope I didn't steer you wrong.....
The Fiio really makes a difference, if you go that route get the cable that plugs right into the port used for charging, it will then bypass the internal sound card of the ipod all together..

I am trying to keep things to the minimum. I actually put in an order for one a while back and then thought - eh, just more stuff. So I canceled it. (Hey, I'm a minimalist!

) It'll just make things more complicated. But OK - they're on order.

Even budget audiophilia is expensive!

charmerci · « **Reply #17 on:** 17 Apr 2011, 04:16 am »

Well, I just got the Fiio E5 today. In my preliminary listening. It definitely does soften the harshness of the Blues highs and tightens up the bass. I can listen to them louder but I still don't like listening to them very loudly. (Again, I can only use them on the headphone output.)

There is more (but looser) bass on the PXC-250's and it's still more listenable because the highs are more rolled off so I can listen to them longer and louder.

Due to my situation, it's taking a long time for me to break in the Blues. I have only about 12-15 hours on them. How long does it take in your experience? I'm assuming I should do 50 to 100 hours before making a final judgment.

eclein · « **Reply #18 on:** 17 Apr 2011, 11:36 am »

Since I read your initial post about getting the Blues and feeling like maybe i was wrong I've been listening to the Blues more lately and I don't hear any high end harshness regardless of how I setup my rig.
I use:
1) ipod touch
2) Line Out Dock cable (Bypasses the ipods internal sound card)
3) Fiio E5 with the eq switch in different positions depending on whether I want more bass or less.
Using this current setup I have to set eq on Fiio E5 to less bass and change the eq settings in the ipod software to treble heavy to get anything like what I would call harsh highs. Using the Line Out Dock (LOD) cable bypasses the sound card but the ipod software itself lets you still manage EQ even though no volume can be affected which is odd by itself and for another thread. What is the make of your MP3 player? The only thing I can think of is your source player is heavy with treble on playback or you got defective Woodees.
Yesterday my kids came into town and spent the day and I had both of my sons listen to both models of Woodees that I have and they both mentioned the nice tight bass but neither mentioned any pronounced high end-my youngest at 12 has my ears and would have been all over me if they sounded harsh.
Can you try them with any other source at all? I was listening to a movie last night with mine for kicks...try another source if you can. Good luck..

charmerci · « **Reply #19 on:** 17 Apr 2011, 03:34 pm »

Well, as I have said - I'm just using them through a crap MP3 player, the cheapest Coby. I am on a severe budget restrain so despite my high-end tastes (yes, my ears taste!

) I'll just have to "suffer" for the foreseeable future....

I do have some decent stereo equipment but they are stored in a distant land far, far away until I get back their next year.

Though interestingly, the Woodees people claim that they have a rich wood sound but the speakers in the headphones are attached to the metal and have a metal screen over them. I really don't see how the wood affects the sound.