Random IEM / Headphone Rants

sardar17 · December 17, 2013, 6:03pm

on xba,i got h1 but sent them back a couple of days later,just too overpriced,worth maybe 30-40$ not more.anyone who contests this is a sony fanboy

itsvel06 · December 17, 2013, 6:20pm

IMO, Sony Ex800 unlike the ex1000 is tuned to be more like a studio monitor than for personal listening… It might be, if I may say, too unexciting and dry sounding. B&O H3 on the other hand is tuned exclusively for personal listening whilst remaining kinda neutral so I think would suit better. Anyway an audition would settle it all. It also has an edge when it comes to fit, comfort and after sales support when compared to ex800.

sardar17 · December 17, 2013, 6:29pm

thats the biggest issue??
where are we supposed to audition??

even at sony stores we can’t audition earphones,only headphones are open for that.
we need to listen before spending big bucks!!

itsvel06 · December 17, 2013, 6:47pm

I was talking about h3 at B&O showrooms… You can try croma showrooms for the xba series but I highly doubt even they have those for demo.

sardar17 · December 17, 2013, 6:56pm

wow
h3 could be tried??:woot:
at the very least i have to try that:nailbiting:

itsvel06 · December 17, 2013, 7:04pm

Yup! You can… When I called them up a couple of months back, they told me that it was a part of their current order and was awaiting customs clearance! All B&O products can be tried but their prices here in india can be exorbitant.

hzant6681 · December 17, 2013, 8:00pm

My first ever full scale review http://www.techenclave.com/community/threads/review-signature-acoustics-elements-c-12-made-in-india.155222/#post-1902725. Thank you all for the inspiration, advice and rants

esanthosh · December 18, 2013, 2:40am

The reason they are saying that is that technically, the upgrades from GR07 are not a giant leap. From then on, it’s a matter of preference. EX-1000 and FX700 were both much better in dynamics compared to GR07 MK1, but you won’t be getting a 3-4X better deal. The other value IEMs within the $150 range include RE-400, TDK BA200/IE800. Hifiman has a history with failures, but the build quality has come a long way from RE0.

I saw a post in ZX1 thread, which labelled EX-1000 as a ‘mid-tier’ IEM. Wonder what the ‘top-tier’ these days is? SE846, K3003, TG334, 1Plus2?

Regarding 1+2, do you still send the impressions and is it made like a custom? Or is it a pure universal? Sorry, my IEM knowledge is too ancient. I am so 2011!

sardar17 · December 18, 2013, 4:28am

i am 100% sure i will not get sony,my experiences have been pretty bad.
also u cannot just compare mk2 which is going for 135-180$ right now depending on where u order it from with ex1000 which is above 400$ everywhere and 450$ at amazon itself!!
thats 3 times the mk2 price and add to that,ex1000 is known to be not very comfortable iem.oh yes i forgot the custon fees of at least 100-150$ and ex1000 will come for 600$,lol

mk2 can be had without customs everytime from singapore at lendmeurears
also re400 is just for 6100 in india itself
then rockit r-50 is going for 115$

i will buy tdkba200 if i get the chance and money.ppl praise it a lot like mk2

Post merged on Dec 18, 2013

kudos man
nice review,looks like pretty bassy so not for me but i am so happy with another indian iem after tekfusion,there appear to be better too

esanthosh · December 18, 2013, 4:49am

Why am I not allowed to say what you say, even though I said it already?

sardar17 · December 18, 2013, 5:00am

i wanted to fill more pages ,lol

Post merged on Dec 18, 2013

does anyone have the graph of gr07 mk2??
based on that i can try to plug the treble peak(occasional).has anyone tried it yet

Post merged on Dec 18, 2013

where is the like button??

kenpachiroks · December 19, 2013, 6:36am

@esanthosh

You haven’t lost your touch. But…but…we want the signature rambling
More “notes” in the future please…:hilarious:

I’d never seen the SM64 graph :wtf:. What does that cavern do to the music?? And at 5k!
Here’s a beautiful children’s playground people…don’t mind the huge open well in the middle though.

I’m still trying to understand the “presentation” bit.(535)
Overall, your review just makes me want to… try the EX-1000

PS: Finally hit 100 likes! Congrats and thank you from us all.

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FaH33m · December 20, 2013, 12:34pm

Its been ages since I visited this thread ! Good to see so much IEM activity going around . I recently tried the Shure 846 and they were but not sure worth the 1000$ pricetag

kenpachiroks · December 20, 2013, 1:03pm

Yeah, the thread’s getting back to its old pace

SE846 :hungry:.
Just this innards breakdown image makes me dizzy

Which universal iem(in your opinion) beats the SE846?

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sardar17 · December 20, 2013, 2:43pm

akg k3003
sennheiser ie800

depending on what u like these 3 should be pretty close

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toxicdrift · December 20, 2013, 3:33pm

Some actually prefer the 846 to the akg 3003 , so it makes u wonder how good these iems are, lol I heard the 846 with Faheem and I totally agree on the price tag vs performance ratio. Not worth the price IMHO, and I wouldn’t recommend it for electronic music as they are just too warm sounding , the typical shure sound.

sardar17 · December 20, 2013, 4:11pm

above 400-500$ range u will be hard pressed to justify ur investment

same goes for players like walkman zx1,i basso dx100 and ak120
the diff are simply not too huge.but once u are bitten by audiophile keeda,u just cannot stop!!:hungover:

FaH33m · December 20, 2013, 5:05pm

^ nah . actually having tried JH13 Pro , personally I would still justify a 1000$ + CIEM purchase from JH audio and the likes but then again it all boils down to personal preference . While trying out the 846 , we had a Westone 4 as well and I found its sound signature pretty close to 846 with that tight punchy bass and warm/forward mids . When I compared side by side it instantly hit me that these W4 at less than half the price are so much more VFM than 846 in which I could hardly make out any extra detailing.

It may also be because I was listening from a Fuze + electronic / edm music which doesn’t have a great dynamic range to so maybe the 846 wasn’t tested to its full potential ;). Will need to spend a good 10-15 days with them to draw a conclusion .

esanthosh · December 20, 2013, 11:36pm

As for “value”, my old post may be still valid (barring a change of names)

24K is not “too much” if one considers the price of a few universals like PFE-232, CK100Pro, not to mention the ridiculously priced FAD IEMs (FI-BA-SS for $1000 all the way up-to $2000+ for Piano Forte X-CC) and AKG K3003 ($1200-1400). If I was super-rich, I’d have surely bought FI-BA-SS, PFE-232, CK100Pro and AKG K3003. That is not for “show off”, but the curiosity to know why people think that these are “better”. That curiosity has always been my undoing.

Personal “Value” is very relative. Value for money is mostly objective and “worth” to a person is subjective. If VFM is the sole criteria by which audio equipment is bought, only the Chinese sweat factories will remain in business. But then, audio is terribly subjective. So for someone, this cable could be “value” where others would just faint at the price.

If all you want to find is bang for the buck, I’d say that $150 is where I draw the line. Beyond that, you need to make sure that it is absolutely what you need (and IF you need it). I own / owned / heard a few ~ $250+ IEMs (EX-1000, SM3v1, CK10, FX700, RE-272, e-Q5 and DDM2). I preferred the cheaper RE-262 and DBA-02MK1 over some of them. So, there’s no absolute certainty that throwing good money will bring greater returns in terms of SQ at least in my experience. Aside, audio is not the only field where the law of diminishing returns kick in. It is in every field where money is involved. I feel that same concept applies - larger sum may or may not get the best quality out there, so be sure what you need.

But, stop to consider the other side too. I paid about $100 extra over DBA-02MK1 to get CK10. In terms of pure SQ, I would say it’s a minor / trivial upgrade, but I certainly don’t mind that last mile of performance. Over time, I loved CK10, but only ‘liked’ DBA-02 so much so that I ended up selling DBA-MK1. Is CK10 worth that $100 extra for the better build quality and a little enhancement in overall SQ (minus that huge treble spike)? For me, it was.

Same with EX-1000. I paid $400 for it (it has dropped to $300-ish later on). Is it “worth” it? absolutely. It’s not because it performs 5-10% over the $200 IEM, but because it is one of the very few which does not make me think “Wish XYZ was better, wish ABC was different” (substitute audiophool lingo for ABC and XYZ) and just listen to music. But, if you ask me whether it’s value for money, I’d say I overpaid by about $100 even considering the brand value and all the exotics that went into it. For mukul, who paid less than $300 for it, I am guessing it’s both worth and VFM.

I think why these factors are different is because our subjectivity clouds everything. I can say that EX-1000 is only about 10% better than a good IEM at $150. But what counts is what that 10% has. If that set and your preference set has more in common, you could say that it is 30% better or even 200% better than the other IEM. If on the other hand, your preferences and that 10% has nothing in common, you could say that it’s ridiculous for people to buy EX-1000 at all. Same applies to every costlier IEM.

@FaH33m

I don’t think dynamics is one of Shure’s strong suits. I will wait for your final impressions.

Reviewing is like an old flame. It rekindles nostalgia and a certain fondness because I used to like it. But, I feel that my passion is just not there anymore. I will give one last ditch attempt at reviewing SE535LTD and C-12. But, if I can’t push myself into writing this weekend, then I would need to apologize for wasting time on me and send 'em back.

sardar17 · December 21, 2013, 1:33am

seriously dude,get something better than fuse+
it maybe an excellent dap but comeon??u are reviewing 1000$ ciem or iem with it

get hold of ak120 or ibasso dx100 and then we are good to push these monsters to full potential!!