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Good while they last
Posted by AJ from Binghamton, NY on 2012-10-16Posted on Maximo iMetal iM590
Recommend Product: No
Pros: Short burn-in, decent range
Cons: Terrible build
These headphones were my first purchase from headphone.com. The design is aesthetically pleasing, and the tips are comfortable and well designed. The sound quality is comparable to similarly priced Skullcandies, minus the bass. The first pair of iMetal590s I had lasted three months before the sound cut out on the left ear. Their A+ customer service sent me a free replacement. However, after two weeks, the same thing happened again. I'd expect this level of quality of a $10 pair of headphones; not a $50 "recommended choice."
1 out of 1 people found this review unhelpful. Did you?
Good Sound, Horrible Durability
Posted by grizzly from Denver, CO on 2012-09-02Posted on Maximo iMetal iM590
Recommend Product: No
Pros: comfortable fit, good sound
Cons: very fragile, tangles and kinks in wires.
Since the carrying case for these earphones requires them to be coiled up quite tight, you'd think that they'd be made to handle it. Nope. The cables quickly acquire kinks and become very difficult to untangle.
After a month or so of light use the housing for one of the earphones popped apart. I repaired it with superglue. A couple months later the other one did the same thing. Why didn't they use better glue on them in the first place?
The fabric cover on the cables frayed, then started to let the wires pop through. Repaired with some black duct tape, and again superglue where wires hadn't yet popped.
Then the wires shorted out just above the microphone bead.
$50 for the headphones. $5 for the glue and tape. About a year of light duty service.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you?
Good sound. Poor durability
Posted by Goronmon from Portland, ME on 2012-08-13Posted on Maximo iMetal iM590
Recommend Product: No
Pros: Solid sound for the price
Cons: Fragile
As many others have said, these things just don't last. I had to get a replacement because one of the earbuds stopped working. After 6 months or so, the replacement set now has a earbud that only produces sound at about half the volume of the other and it seems to be getting worse over time.
I just can't recommend these given the durability issue.
2 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Did you?
have to be the most fragile earbud cables, EVER!
Posted by G from Fort Worth, TX on 2012-06-07Posted on Maximo iMetal iM590
Recommend Product: No
Pros: sound is good, until wires short out
Cons: fragile, wires break, tangle very easily
i had not given up on these ear buds...UNTIL NOW.
i do not wrap my cords up tightly or stuff them in my pocket.
i lay them down with my ipod. i am very gentle with them after the first 2 pairs.
the first set i bought sounded great until the wires started coming out of the rubberized housing the SHORTED OUT.
the second set (replacements from Maximo cust supt) sounded great until the WIRES SHORTED OUT AFTER 4 MONTHS (right side).
the third set (replacements from Maximo cust supt, again) sounded like cellophane crinkling in your ear while wearing them and moving your jaw even the slightest. cord was better with fabric cover....but still SHORTED OUT AFTER ABOUT 4 MONTHS (right side again).
** threw them away
the fourth set (still love the sound when they work). bought from individual.
guess what....WIRES SHORTED OUT AGAIN! (and on the right side...go figure)
.
.
i have a $20 pair of Sony ear buds that i purchased in 2006 that are still going (i use them for yard work now)
!!!!buyer beware of the iM590's!!!!
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Did you?
Worked Briefly!
Posted by Borderheart from El Paso, Tx on 2012-02-23Posted on Maximo iMetal iM590
Recommend Product: No
Pros: Cheap.
Cons: One channel stopped after only a few hours.
Altho these are touted as a terrific value, one channel had no output after only a few hours of use. None of the provided ear pads fit my external canals adequately and if "screwed in", remained stuck in my ears after I removed the driver. The sound while they worked was just OK.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you?
Great sound, poor build quality
Posted by KikassAssassin from Granite City, IL on 2011-11-23Posted on Maximo iMetal iM590
Recommend Product: No
Pros: Excellent sound for the price, very strong bass
Cons: Very thin cord, earpieces fall apart after awhile
For the money, I have a hard time believing these things can be beat when it comes to the quality of the sound, especially if you're a bass lover. They have a warm, clean, inviting sound that works well with pretty much every type of music I've listened to with them.
With my ears, at least, it was a little tricky at first to get a good seal, until I found the right ear tip (I had to use the largest one provided) and the proper angle to insert them. With practice, though, I can now get a seal without much effort. You'll know when you get a seal when the bass fills out--without a seal, there's almost no bass whatsoever.
Once they're sealed, they do a pretty good job of blocking outside noise, though I've found that very high frequencies will get through. For example, a cricket chirping sounds almost as loud with them on as it does with them off, but voices and my computer's fans get blocked very well.
They're comfortable to wear for awhile, and the rubber tips are soft and pliable and will conform to the shape of your ear without exerting much pressure on them, though after having them in for over an hour or so, the edges of the entrance to my ear canal can become sore where the metal rim of the earpiece presses against it, and I need to take them out for a bit to let my ears rest. Leaving IEMs in your ears for too long without giving them a chance to air out probably isn't a great idea, anyway, so it's good to let your ears rest from time to time.
Now for the bad part: These are not durable headphones.
First, and the most obvious thing you'll notice as soon as you open the box, is that the cord is extremely thin, and mine already had a kink in it before I even took it out of the box. I've taken pretty good care of them, and I haven't had any issues with the cord breaking, but several more kinks have appeared in it during the time that I've owned them. While I'm talking about the cord, I should mention that you will get some microphonics through it, though not a significant amount, and I've found that if I loop it over my ears and tuck it into the arms of my glasses, that mostly eliminates it.
The worst part, though, is with the earpieces themselves. After about six months of owning them, the right earpiece fell apart. It's held together with glue, and after awhile the glue will come lose and won't hold the earpiece together anymore. Once it comes lose, it's only held together by a pair of extremely thin wires.
I RMA'd them, and I'll give credit to Maximo here because it was a very quick and painless process. They mailed out the replacement pair within a couple hours of receiving the broken pair, and the replacement arrived a mere three days after I mailed them the broken ones.
Unfortunately, a little over a year after I received my replacement pair, the exact same thing happened again: the glue came loose and the right earpiece fell apart. I inspected the left earpiece, and it was coming loose as well, and I was able to pull it apart without any effort. This time, I decided I'm not going to bother RMAing them again, and I glued them back together myself. So far, it seems to be holding, but if they keep coming apart, I'll probably end up buying something else to replace them.
Another issue I had with the replacement pair: A few months after I received them, the metal mesh that protects the driver fell out of one of the earpieces. It snapped right back into place, and it seems to be secure now, but I would hate to get that stuck in my ear if it falls out while I'm wearing them.
Overall, it pains me to give these earphones such a mediocre rating, because the sound quality really can't be beat for the money. Unfortunately, it seems like they put all of their materials and design cost into making them sound good, and cheaped out on the build quality. I would gladly pay double what these cost to get the same sound with a thicker cord and more durable earpieces, but with all the issues I've had with them falling apart on me, I have a hard time recommending them.
8 out of 8 people found this review helpful. Did you?
Would have been the best purchase ever if only they were more durable.
Posted by Yann from Montreal, QC on 2011-08-18Posted on Maximo iMetal iM590
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Unbelievable sound! Full base, silky treble, cool look.
Cons: broke just after 3 months of usage.
I got to back everything Headroom has to say about these headphones in every aspect! These things sound just amazing. I'm really particular usually with my highs and I was floored by how AMAZING they sounded considering they were WAY under $200!
A reviewer complained about an unpleasant tinny quality to the sound but I just don't hear it. It's far from being flat, in fact the highs might seem a bit weak but it's totally tolerable in my book and their clarity completely makes up for it.
Fortunately this thing is under a 2 year warranty (which I am in the process of using right now) because mine's right side spontaneously died after just over 3 months of usage with no unusual wear and tear nor abuse on my part. Unfortunately, I have to say that this specific con is totally unacceptable.
8 out of 8 people found this review helpful. Did you?
To the Maximo
Posted by NA Blur from Bozeman, MT on 2011-08-03Posted on Maximo iMetal iM590
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Great sounding, bass extension, comfort
Cons: Sound a bit tinny, durability
I think these are a great upgrade from something like the Skullcandy Titan which is a decent enough IEM. Maximo really got the sound right. They are clear, bass to mid strong, and a tad weak on the high side. They sound a little tinny, but not for the price. I compared my set to Monster TurbinePro Coppers which is a huge leap in price.
The only problem seems to be with durability. The braided cable and then cable seems to have weak spots both at each earpiece and at the mini connector base. If you are extremely careful with your IEM's I say these are amazing for the price.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Did you?
Great sound value but bad build quality
Posted by Stu from Cabot, AR on 2011-08-02Posted on Maximo iMetal iM590
Recommend Product: No
Pros: Comfortable, Good Sound
Cons: Bad Quality, Poor Value
Much the same as the other review on this product, my Maximo cabling began "unraveling" at the jack end of the cord. Eventually the right ear bud went dead.
The sound quality was surprisingly good for what these cost, but mine unfortunately, just didn't last. Got a little less than a year out of them.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you?
build quality issues
Posted by jericho0o from Philadelphia, PA on 2011-05-23Posted on Maximo iMetal iM590
Recommend Product: No
Pros: good sound, isolation, accessories
Cons: quality issues
overall the headphones have been good in delivering the sound that they promised they would put out. However after mild use (and i mean mild because they will spend time in the case carefully put away) the plugs joint between the rubber tips and the cloth cable began to pull away and expose the wires (green) then the insulation began to pull away as well and the copper began to expose. Shortly after, the right bud began to act iffy and the sounds began to deteriorate and go on and off. Obviously, even after much care and careful burn-in time, these IEMs require much more than a slight improvement in build quality. For sound, they are among the best I've heard in the price range. But cheaper older versions of the CX300s have outlasted these putting doubts in my head for me buying Maximo in the future.
10 out of 10 people found this review helpful. Did you?
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