I want to update my Rankings, as I'm still learning about my IEMs. There are many things about sound source and gears
Some points based on experience with SE535/J3 plus other gears like smartphones:
i) You need to get 'acquired' to the sound source (j3/PC/clip+/etc) and earphones. Over the period the same earphone/source which you hated can surprise you, they remain same, but you are learning and start appreciating the nuances
ii) If you happen to drive earphones at high volumes, it can surprise you to see, some high end earphones (particularly SE535) can surprise you with level of details, soundstage, layering which gets improved when you drive them at low volumes. Try low volumes than you used to to see if it improves your earphones
iii) Sound that headphones produce has many attributes audiophiles can tell you warm, liquid, attack, decay, etc but you can keep it simple, categorize into Soundstage, Bass, Mid-Forward, V-shaped, there are threads in Head-Fi by ClieOS, which would be very helpful, this is not end there are other attributes like Neutral, Detail-retrieval/Clarity, Transparency, etc but you don't have to dig too much to 'actually' enjoy music.
iii) Mid-Forward, which was Shure's strength and often labeled as Shure house sound, initially did not get me excited at all, but when you realize meaty part of most song lies in Mids, you will start appreciating how Shure earphones particularly SE535, was amazingly tuned to deliver Mids, you will be addicted to that sound, and would not like to part away, it is non-fatiguing sound, I can't wait to hear those!
iv) Most important, If you hear any gear or combination, forget there is better out there, or don't pinpoint when listening 'I can see a huge lack of this here', etc, just enjoy what you get out of it, start appreciating and DON'T COMPARE otherwise you will kill yourself
My updated ranking (actually this doesn't mean anything, S4i is not just below SE535, there are so many out there between and above of SE535, out of what I have this is how I will list, this goes for any ranking, so when you see a ranking don't jump to get one ranked above your preferred, take it with pinch of salt of any rankings):
1. Shure SE535
2. Klipsch S4i
3. PFE012 with Green filter (only filter I have!)
4. Shure SE215
5. SA-C12
6. Brainwavz R1
7.CX300
I'm not including earbud PAA-1, it was novel factor when I purchased it! and the excitement long gone due to practicality of using them everyday and having good IEMs didn't help as well. Still for earbud it is Fantastic I would heartily recommend it.
Other than this, I purchased Koss-KSC75 from fellow techenclave member, what should I say, if perfection can be achieved it is KSC-75 (note here I'm not comparing them to anything else) the sound is amazing from these, and they are unbelievable value.
List without ranking one I use everyday, if you are planning to buy them I heartily recommend them:
Headphone - Denon AH-D1100
Neck band - KSC-75
Earbud - PAA-1
5.1 PC System - Logitech Z906
2.1 TV System - Sonodyne PQube 2.1 (this one they are closing down the dealers, so check the manufacturer if you are planning to get one)
DAPs
Cowon J3
Sansa Clip+
i917 (windows phone)
iPhone 4
DAC
FiiO E11
Soundcard
Asus D2X using Unisonar drivers
the mids were a little distanced & a hence veiled to me so i dampened the back of the driver leaving the holes intact and the inner side of the headphone casing,by pasting thick aluminium foil and insulation material,and put extra foam inside the earcups as my ears when touching the inner foam.
- still miss them badly)
