UPDATE: After some research seems my pair has different pads which in turn changed the way the sound, that's also why they don't sound like the frequency response graphs I saw on Head-Fi.
For refference I'd like to point you to Z Reviews's Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ4hRrnBn5c
Mine's pads don't look at all like those in the video they are larger (as in they fit all the way around your ears), and there is less space between the driver and your ear with these pads.
As a side note 'Metallica - Sad But True' really showcases the problems these headphones have, at least my pair I don't know if others have the same pads as mine or the pads in the video or even other pads... I guess these headphones are a gamble if you get the good ones or not.
UPDATE 2: Apparently disabling 'Set the same volume level for all songs' on Spotify solves MOST of their problems to SOME degree... I don't even... Now they sound pretty decent actually, tho drums are still a bit louder than the rest, but still have ssssssssibilance
So I guess... if you have murder treble on your headphones disable that? it worked for me
And so please take my review below as an exageration.
As my first review on Head-Fi I'll talk about the 'oh so praised Somic MH463'.
I used them for about a week and a bit and I mean really used them, not 1-2 hours a day.
I will compare them mainly to the Apple EarPods, because those are the (sadly) the best headphones I've had thus far.
I'd also like to point out that I used the Somics with onboard audio and also an USB Soundcard, the sound was pretty much the same except i could turn them louder on the soundcard if I wanted.
Price: Thankfully I got my pair on sale for about $30, so at least I don't feel that bad for buying them.
Build Quality: Frankly I think they are built pretty good, and they even look great, the only problem I have is that on the left cup, the material on the ear pad began to peel off near the metal ring, which is weird cuz the right one is perfectly fine, and they are quite heavy I guess.
Comfort: Despite being heavy the comfort is on point, the headband has a really nice cushion and the ear pads are really soft and nice. Also I don't know if my ears are that big but the cups seem quite small as an observation.
Now for the juiciest part... The Sound Quality!
I've listened to alot of music from Metal to Indie Pop to Electro Rock, basically many rock and electronic genres.
Now I said at the beginning that I will compare them to the EarPods and so let's begin
Lows: The Somics have definitely a tighter and more controlled bass than the EarPods, and you can actually hear the bass guitar pretty nice with these or at least you should be able to if the drums weren't god damn louder than everything!
Now from what I've saw the bass is slightly boosted all the way down to 50hz then it abruptly goes down.
Mids: The vocals and synths that reside in the midrange are subdued comparing them to drums and even bass in general, because of course they are. That is when you don't hear sibilance.
And it only gets worse, the guitars are also subdued probably more than anything, now I am talking about about lead guitars not rhythm guitars those are fine, I guess that is thanks to the dip around 2k
The vocals also feel like they have only a body an high overtones which is what happens actually thanks to the 2k dip.
The EarPods definitely have much better mids with audible full vocals, guitars and synths.
Highs: Now here lies one of the big problems, that being Sibliance but it's not normal sibilance it is mostly on 'sh' or 'f' and less on 's' and while this is annoying this is part of a bigger thing which includes rare harshness/metallic vocals thanks to the 8db peak at around 3-4khz which is also the cause for 'shibliance' and also vocals sounding louder at the beginning and at the end of singing a word from what I've observed while trying to EQ these.
And they have peaks at 5-6k and 11-14k area which adds to the sibliance problem while also being the problem for bloody loud drums and even cymbals in some cases while also making some drums sound tiny.
The Earpods don't have the best highs but they are there and don't have sibliance, better than the Somics.
Soundstage & Imaging: They sound wider than the EarPods (as they bloody should) but have worse imaging...
I only recommend these headphones if u want to hear drums (also cymbals) and bass above anything else and I mean anything.
If not use the EarPods if u have an iPhone or buy a pair, if u want actual headphones and not earbuds, buy the Sennheiser 202 II they are most likely better than these and cheaper
If not wait till you have more money and buy the Status Audio OB-1 if you want open. CB-1 if you want closed or the ATH M40x
The Somics are just... not enjoyable you get some detail but its forced, the highs are bad the mids are pretty bad only the bass is good. Ooh and if it ain't obvious they are a nightmare to EQ (Using Equalizer APO)
For refference I'd like to point you to Z Reviews's Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ4hRrnBn5c
Mine's pads don't look at all like those in the video they are larger (as in they fit all the way around your ears), and there is less space between the driver and your ear with these pads.
As a side note 'Metallica - Sad But True' really showcases the problems these headphones have, at least my pair I don't know if others have the same pads as mine or the pads in the video or even other pads... I guess these headphones are a gamble if you get the good ones or not.
UPDATE 2: Apparently disabling 'Set the same volume level for all songs' on Spotify solves MOST of their problems to SOME degree... I don't even... Now they sound pretty decent actually, tho drums are still a bit louder than the rest, but still have ssssssssibilance
So I guess... if you have murder treble on your headphones disable that? it worked for me
And so please take my review below as an exageration.
As my first review on Head-Fi I'll talk about the 'oh so praised Somic MH463'.
I used them for about a week and a bit and I mean really used them, not 1-2 hours a day.
I will compare them mainly to the Apple EarPods, because those are the (sadly) the best headphones I've had thus far.
I'd also like to point out that I used the Somics with onboard audio and also an USB Soundcard, the sound was pretty much the same except i could turn them louder on the soundcard if I wanted.
Price: Thankfully I got my pair on sale for about $30, so at least I don't feel that bad for buying them.
Build Quality: Frankly I think they are built pretty good, and they even look great, the only problem I have is that on the left cup, the material on the ear pad began to peel off near the metal ring, which is weird cuz the right one is perfectly fine, and they are quite heavy I guess.
Comfort: Despite being heavy the comfort is on point, the headband has a really nice cushion and the ear pads are really soft and nice. Also I don't know if my ears are that big but the cups seem quite small as an observation.
Now for the juiciest part... The Sound Quality!
I've listened to alot of music from Metal to Indie Pop to Electro Rock, basically many rock and electronic genres.
Now I said at the beginning that I will compare them to the EarPods and so let's begin
Lows: The Somics have definitely a tighter and more controlled bass than the EarPods, and you can actually hear the bass guitar pretty nice with these or at least you should be able to if the drums weren't god damn louder than everything!
Now from what I've saw the bass is slightly boosted all the way down to 50hz then it abruptly goes down.
Mids: The vocals and synths that reside in the midrange are subdued comparing them to drums and even bass in general, because of course they are. That is when you don't hear sibilance.
And it only gets worse, the guitars are also subdued probably more than anything, now I am talking about about lead guitars not rhythm guitars those are fine, I guess that is thanks to the dip around 2k
The vocals also feel like they have only a body an high overtones which is what happens actually thanks to the 2k dip.
The EarPods definitely have much better mids with audible full vocals, guitars and synths.
Highs: Now here lies one of the big problems, that being Sibliance but it's not normal sibilance it is mostly on 'sh' or 'f' and less on 's' and while this is annoying this is part of a bigger thing which includes rare harshness/metallic vocals thanks to the 8db peak at around 3-4khz which is also the cause for 'shibliance' and also vocals sounding louder at the beginning and at the end of singing a word from what I've observed while trying to EQ these.
And they have peaks at 5-6k and 11-14k area which adds to the sibliance problem while also being the problem for bloody loud drums and even cymbals in some cases while also making some drums sound tiny.
The Earpods don't have the best highs but they are there and don't have sibliance, better than the Somics.
Soundstage & Imaging: They sound wider than the EarPods (as they bloody should) but have worse imaging...
I only recommend these headphones if u want to hear drums (also cymbals) and bass above anything else and I mean anything.
If not use the EarPods if u have an iPhone or buy a pair, if u want actual headphones and not earbuds, buy the Sennheiser 202 II they are most likely better than these and cheaper
If not wait till you have more money and buy the Status Audio OB-1 if you want open. CB-1 if you want closed or the ATH M40x
The Somics are just... not enjoyable you get some detail but its forced, the highs are bad the mids are pretty bad only the bass is good. Ooh and if it ain't obvious they are a nightmare to EQ (Using Equalizer APO)
If you plan to get the HM5 pads try to ge the pleather one, the velours usually remove some bass impact, so you would lose the "oomph".