A Compendium of Audio Zone Reviews and Rankings: IEMs, Headphones & Sources

esanthosh said:
If you think yours is the only 'right' way to evaluate IEMs, then I'd say that opinion is the only thing that is plain wrong. The purpose of the thread is not to find 'right' or 'wrong'. Ranking is an individual opinion and everybody is free to have one. Everybody has their own ranking based on their own musical tastes, subjective preferences, hearing ability, listening experience, gear and so on. One of the intentions is this way, others will find someone who aligns with their own preferences better.

The disclaimer in the first post highlighted for your perusal



I have answered your query in the Random thread :)
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its cool man
i was a bit stupified as i have returned xba 1 and xba h1 recently
xba 1 had no bass and xba h1 was too bassy,lol
 
Yeah! XBA-1 was rolled off at both ends for sure. You should try EX-600 / 1000 if you wanted quality bass instead of XBA series. Though many complain of EX-1000 being a little hot in treble, I have hardly felt it, may be due to lower volume of listening.
 
esanthosh said:
Yeah! XBA-1 was rolled off at both ends for sure. You should try EX-600 / 1000 if you wanted quality bass instead of XBA series. Though many complain of EX-1000 being a little hot in treble, I have hardly felt it, may be due to lower volume of listening.
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cannot find ex1000 in india
will have to order from amazon and customs will be huge

any ideas on digizoid z02??pairing with gr07 mk2?
 
I have the ZO2, but haven't used it in a long, long time. I did not try it with GR07 though since GR07's bass quantity and quality was already good enough for me. I vaguely remember it boosted the bass, but colored the sound.
 
esanthosh said:
I have the ZO2, but haven't used it in a long, long time. I did not try it with GR07 though since GR07's bass quantity and quality was already good enough for me. I vaguely remember it boosted the bass, but colored the sound.
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thats what i thought
should i get e07k??

to pair with clip+ or settle for fiio x3 straight away??
i was actually waiting for fiio x1 as it will be cheaper

also x5 will be out soon
 
If you are going to use it as an amp only, FiiO may be a better choice to pair with Clip+. Unless you are in a hurry, I think it's better wait for first reviews of X1 and X5 and then decide. X-series players would definitely have more power than the Clip+ and would not need an amp.
 
esanthosh said:
If you are going to use it as an amp only, FiiO may be a better choice to pair with Clip+. Unless you are in a hurry, I think it's better wait for first reviews of X1 and X5 and then decide. X-series players would definitely have more power than the Clip+ and would not need an amp.
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actually clip has enogh power for any earphone i have or plan to use
i wanted a good dac and e07k seemed good enough.

dedicated amp is not my requirement at this stage.u are right though,x1 is also gonna have wolfson so its better to wait.
the only problem with clip+(even rockboxed) is its poor bass control,it just dosen't have anything like clear bass on walkman and mach3 bass of cowons!!
thats why i thought e07k with its bass boost will be good option[DOUBLEPOST=1387266596][/DOUBLEPOST]now vsonic has started another bullshit an released gr07 mk2 classic for 119$??
on the same site gro7mk2 is retailing for 179$ but they look 100% identical and the specs mentioned are the same too

this is fradulent in my opinion and they should clarify if there is any diff between mk2 and mk2 classic
 
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@esanthosh thanks mate for a place in first page!....which force me to write more(?!)
Ok I have added more headphones to my collection, so here is my updated ranking, now, I'm having problem with this ranking concept, clearly none of my higher ranked earphone will ever stay on top, there are many music types, simply one earphone cannot do justice, if you (the reader) are looking for 'jack of all' earphone, my ranking will not help you!
Top tier. Phanak Audeo PFE232 (Grey Filter) like: almost jack of all music earphone, non-fatiguing, good bass, nice mids, nice highs, unbelievably comfortable; dislike: little bit boring - laid back presentation. Black Filter: like & dislike: bass, good for some music, too much for some. Green Filter: nothing to write home about, nothing bad either having Grey/Black filter makes Green unnecessary downgrade in comparison; liked genres: contemporary instrumental, film music, pop music
Top tier: . Shure SE535LTD, clearly top tier, like: timbre, vocals, intimate presentation; dislike: messed up imaging mostly to the sides, not comfortable for looooong session, flat bass; liked genres: classical, film music
Meelec a161p: like: bass, clarity, musicality, presentation; dislike: nothing actually, I paid $50 this BF, I think it is terrific deal; liked genres: film music
Klipsch X10: like: bass, warm sound signature; dislike: nothing stands out or spectacular for the listed premium price; liked genres: Fusion
PFE012: Green Filter: like: bass and mids. Grey Filter: like: soundstage, mids, highs; dislike: limited bass; liked genres: jack-of-all
Shure SE215: like: mids, vocals, soundstage; dislike: kind-of-detached-not-intimate presentation; liked genres: rock, pop

Headphone: Grado SR60: Had huge expectation for this. Sounds great but very fatiguing, I realized open sounding gear is not for me.

The list:
1. PFE232 (Grey)
2. Shure SE535LTD
3. Meelec A161P
4. PFE012 (Grey/Green)
5. Klipsch X10 / Shure SE215
6. Klipsch S4i
7. Signature Acoustics: C12
8. Brainwavz R1
9. Senn CX300
? What's next: (Brooding over ER4P/HFx or TripleFi or some Hybrid or HiFiMan earphones)

Earbuds/Cheapies:
1. PAA-1 Pro : Refined sound
2. PAA-1 : Aggressive fun sound
3. Philips SH3890: Fantastic! Great across all frequencies.
4. Panasonic Eco125: Great sound for the price, good for on the go headset

Headphones:
1. Denon AH-1100
2. Grado SR-60i
3. Koss KSC75

Gears:
Top Tier: iPhone 4 (Seriously, this sounds so good), Venturecraft DAC + any idevices
Mid Tier: iBasso DX50
OK Tier: iPod Classic 6th/7th Gen, Clip+, Cowon J3
Value for Money: FiiO E11
 
My rankings among what all I've had the pleasure of owning so far are as follows:

Headphones:
Grado SR325
Bose QC15
Sennheiser PX100ii
Sennheiser HD202

Earphones:
Shure SE535ltd-J
Ultimate ears Triple-Fi 10
Sony MH1c
Soundmagic E10
Bose IE2
Sennheiser CX95
Philips SHE3590

Source units:
Cowon S9 eqed with Ballad>BBE HP1>Maestro / iPod Shuffle 1G
iPad 1G/4G
Sony PSP 1000
 
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itsvel06 said:
My rankings among what all I've had the pleasure of owning so far are as follows:

Headphones:
Grado SR325
Bose QC15
Sennheiser PX100ii
Sennheiser HD202

Earphones:
Shure SE535ltd-J
Ultimate ears Triple-Fi 10
Sony MH1c
Soundmagic E10
Bose IE2
Sennheiser CX95
Philips SHE3590

Source units:
Cowon S9 eqed with Ballad>BBE HP1>Maestro / iPod Shuffle 1G
iPad 1G/4G
Sony PSP 1000
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good stuff u got here man

i will get shure se 535 sometime later when i get some rebate.
otherwise after gr07 mk2 i just want either ie 80,ue900 or se 535 to upgrade.

ordered pro coppers but i guess i will dispose them off as they won't be upgrade over the gr07 mk2.

then maybe i will get fiio x3 as i want something better than clip+ and ability to pla 24 bit files.
 
Updated first post with changed rankings after the SE535LTD-J review.

Included some headings for each tier (carried over from my blog post). Headings need to be refreshed though since I do not think of tiers the same way as I did long back. Any suggestions for headings is more than welcome.

Other's rankings have been linked in the first post.
 
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esanthosh said:
@sardar17,

That's quite a big thumbs up for EX083. Updated first post with your current ranking
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thats what i hear mate,,,its truly amazing all arounder.
cannot compete with mh-1 and m3 in details and seperation but overall its just better and the bass,oh my god(better thangr07 mk2,u heard that right)
 
Hey, am Jared basshead on head-fi
based on the way i perceive music, my experience with IEMs and cans and the deep love i share with them goes in the order:
ATH CK100PRO
MH1C
IE8
ATH CKS77
TDK BA200
soundMagic E10m
sony XBA4ip
Philips SHB9000
ATH-PRO700MK2
HFI 580
Velodyne v-pulse
Sony ex-500
HD280 Pro
iball-irocker

and few others
 
My Ranking:

1. EarSonics SM64 V2
2. Yamaha EPH-100 = HiFiMan RE-400
3. VSonic GR06
4. Fischer Audio Eterna Rev. 1 (sold)
5. VSonic GR02 B.E.
6. Brainwavz M2 (sold)

I have not heard or listened T-Peos IEMs till now so cannot add them to the list.
 
santhoshr said:
MH1C above IE8 and XBA4! very interesting...!
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IMO ie8 and mh1 kinda complement each other but most of the times i see my hands hovering over mh1 instead of ie8, its just the vocals sound so sweet and smooth but i have yet to hear IEM with soundstage capability of ie8, hell am even wondering to trade my ck100pro for ie80, hope thats my sanity talking.
Talk about xba 4, i dont know why sony went with the finicky design as well no crossover implementation but the treble sounded artificial and the hiss was unbearable, my ie8's are 8 ohms too they dont hiss that bad, infact i would even say they to the point that the hiss is bearable unlike sony, well technically they were better sounding in some tracks but to me, very fatigue
 
jared said:
IMO ie8 and mh1 kinda complement each other but most of the times i see my hands hovering over mh1 instead of ie8, its just the vocals sound so sweet and smooth but i have yet to hear IEM with soundstage capability of ie8, hell am even wondering to trade my ck100pro for ie80, hope thats my sanity talking.
Talk about xba 4, i dont know why sony went with the finicky design as well no crossover implementation but the treble sounded artificial and the hiss was unbearable, my ie8's are 8 ohms too they dont hiss that bad, infact i would even say they to the point that the hiss is bearable unlike sony, well technically they were better sounding in some tracks but to me, very fatigue
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MH1c is a brilliant iem no doubt about it. It improves with proper amplification too! From what I've read xba 4 is very picky about its source and the way you describe its sound to be, makes it seem like you've matched it with the wrong source! Can you let us know which source units You've tried them with... And btw, If you are ever looking to trade the ck100pros for anything I'm your guy :)
 
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