Cans better than TF10 IEM in 35K?

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My friend has just tried my Brainwavz M2 and he said that they are *pretty good* (with the exception of wide soundstage & significant 3D depth missing).

Now he wants to know which cans (either open or closed) within 35K budget are *far better* than Ultimate Ears TF10 in every domain.

He was thinking of HD800/PS1000 but they are pretty out of budget at 60K. So he wanted to know what are the contenders in 30-35K budget. (If amp is needed, suggest the amp & its price too)

His preference:

Soundstage: wide

Bass: big, textured bass, should be able to distinguish bass guitar from drum bass & other type of basses. Would be good is bass can somehow be *felt* :S

Mid: forward

High: rolled off (he hates sharpness)
 
Options you can consider, AKG 702, Denon AH-D2000/7000 ,Beyerdynamic DT880 Pro.

I would've suggested 702 + a good amp for total 35k as one of the best sounding setups but the bass requirement of your friend might not match that of AKGs.. His bass descriptions looks like he needs something from Denon , Beyer.
 
Hmmm. Seems he likes the Audio Technica sound signature but the Sennheiser HD650 should be perfect for him since he prefers a darker presentation judging from your post.

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Though they wont have the bass impact as much as the denon's.
 
AKG 702/1 suits you perfectly if we cut that "big "part. it has good textured bass .....just not in quantity ....people say wit canamp that changes ( gives them a perfect low end)....but i have decided to stick with my Maverick D1 and mod it till its dead!!

BTW ....with burn in the bass has significantly improved ...and i am 200+ hrs in to it ....some say AKGs require 500+ to truly shine!( i am halfway and i really love them )

The beauty of AKG is that they change drastically with amp used .... get them a 50K amp and they will sound like a 50K can!!(is what i have read)

yeah ...if you really want thumping great textured bass ...with great mids and good highs.... get the D7000 ....it retails for $999

recently i looked in to them and found them at price of around 700 at most US only stores.

if you are ok with second-hand there is one available at head fi ( guy is from aus ) ......negotiate well and you can get it around 600-650 Aus$

though cause its a closed can it's sound-stage can never be close to the AKG's

they dont need expensive amp....portable amps should do.

yeah you can also look in to bayerdynamic DT880 and DT990s ...good offers available here at TE by Toxicdrift
 
You want something better than TF10's and M2 so i'm guessing your friend doesn't own even a single pair of hp's yet.

You have not stated which amp / dac would he has / will be using. Also what genre does he listen to. No point of recommending half the hps already mentioned above if it doesn't go with the genre.

Why doesn't he just get custom IEMs. UM Mage should fit his budget and suit his sound sig. Also doesn't require an amp. :P
 
bennysachdev said:
You want something better than TF10's and M2 so i'm guessing your friend doesn't own even a single pair of hp's yet.

You have not stated which amp / dac would he has / will be using. Also what genre does he listen to. No point of recommending half the hps already mentioned above if it doesn't go with the genre.

Why doesn't he just get custom IEMs. UM Mage should fit his budget and suit his sound sig. Also doesn't require an amp. :P
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Yeah he has no HP yet. He has no amp yet but he will buy whatever amp is needed for the purchased HP.

He listens to pop, trance, progressive (Dream Theater, Metallica), instrumentals (satriani, steve vai, etc), jagjit singh, soul music, some ambient.

Only things he does not listen to are death metal, growling metal, jazz, music like that of SOAD.

He doesnt want custom IEMs coz he has heard that IEMs never offer BIG soundstage & 3D depth/presentation, which are some of his prerequisites.
 
dragonball said:
My friend has just tried my Brainwavz M2 and he said that they are *pretty good* (with the exception of wide soundstage & significant 3D depth missing).

Now he wants to know which cans (either open or closed) within 35K budget are *far better* than Ultimate Ears TF10 in every domain.

He was thinking of HD800/PS1000 but they are pretty out of budget at 60K. So he wanted to know what are the contenders in 30-35K budget. (If amp is needed, suggest the amp & its price too)

His preference:

Soundstage: wide

Bass: big, textured bass, should be able to distinguish bass guitar from drum bass & other type of basses. Would be good is bass can somehow be *felt* :S

Mid: forward

High: rolled off (he hates sharpness)
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Dragonball ,

you say that wide soundstage and 3d depth was missing in the brainwavz ,i have tried these and i would like to know what songs and audio gear did your friend use .
 
dragonball said:
Yeah he has no HP yet. He has no amp yet but he will buy whatever amp is needed for the purchased HP.
He listens to pop, trance, progressive (Dream Theater, Metallica), instrumentals (satriani, steve vai, etc), jagjit singh, soul music, some ambient.
Only things he does not listen to are death metal, growling metal, jazz, music like that of SOAD.
He doesnt want custom IEMs coz he has heard that IEMs never offer BIG soundstage & 3D depth/presentation, which are some of his prerequisites.
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he has heard wrong
Customs improve on universals in everyway....so if IE8 is made in custom fit its soundstage will be on par with IE8 Universal ( if not better)

IEMs in genral fail to offer good sound stage....but expensive ones do offer wide and deep soundstage....comparable to good openear headphones
 
strategy said:
he has heard wrong

Customs improve on universals in everyway....so if IE8 is made in custom fit its soundstage will be on par with IE8 Universal ( if not better)

IEMs in genral fail to offer good sound stage....but expensive ones do offer wide and deep soundstage....comparable to good openear headphones
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WEll,

i just sold manjeet ie8's so you can ask him of the impressions he had on those .No idea as to how ie8 and tf10 compare to each other .Though i have sold both but not auditioned any of them ,We have a few peeps here who have tf10's though .
 
@Amarbir: he used my s:flo2 + M2. Many varied songs were used including many Unplugged & live versions of various artistes of various genres.

@strategy: well, even i had read somewhere (on HeadFi perhaps) that any IEM whether custom or not can Never match the soundstage of cans. You only tell me will custom IEMs match HD800 or any high end HP's soundstage? If they did, why would HD800 cost >60k and custom IEM <40k ? I mean just tell me why do people prefer HPs over IEMs then?
 
dragonball said:
@Amarbir: he used my s:flo2 + M2. Many varied songs were used including many Unplugged & live versions of various artistes of various genres.

@strategy: well, even i had read somewhere (on HeadFi perhaps) that any IEM whether custom or not can Never match the soundstage of cans. You only tell me will custom IEMs match HD800 or any high end HP's soundstage? If they did, why would HD800 cost >60k and custom IEM <40k ? I mean just tell me why do people prefer HPs over IEMs then?
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Well ,

Sflo2 And M2 is a deadly combo ,no idea what more he wants ,Might be he is looking for more soundstage ,did you listen to anything other then m2 in the sflo2 and then see any difference ,I disagree with these guys that customs are better ,They fit nice and provide a good seal then the universals ,But then even universal once have great seal ,I recently recieved all models For review from meelectronics ,Yes you will see me reviewing IEMS And other stuff soon on TE .the R6 go deep in the ears and nearly isolate the sound ,Its like a injection going in your ear like puchhhhh haa haa .
 
strategy said:
he has heard wrong

Customs improve on universals in everyway....so if IE8 is made in custom fit its soundstage will be on par with IE8 Universal ( if not better)

IEMs in genral fail to offer good sound stage....but expensive ones do offer wide and deep soundstage....comparable to good open ear headphones
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Not really. No matter how expensive or high end an IEM/ customs are they really cant be compared to a pair of good cans in terms of soundstage. Its same as comparing the soundstage of a good cans with good speakers.:P. The soundstage of high-end customs might be better or comparable to some closed cans of its price range but open cans provide a much much wider soundstage than any earphones can produce.

Also IE8 can't be custom molded ,they have dynamic drivers.:bleh:

@ Dragonball,

If its a pair of awesome headphones is what your friend desires , let him go for it . AKG 702s, Denon AH D2000/7000.Beyerdynamic DT880 pro, Audio Technica A900 etc are some of the options he should consider. :)
 
Highest end custom's will offer better soundstage than highest end cans, unless you have a good source and good amplification. Even then, customs such as JH13/JH16 and UM Miracle will offer excellent soundstage.

But obviously, its easier and better heard using headphones.

But the highest end customs and headphones are out of your budget. In your budget, I would look at AD900, A900, Denons. Beyers and AKG do not have rolled off treble, they are sharp.
 
Superfrag said:
Highest end custom's will offer better soundstage than highest end cans, unless you have a good source and good amplification. Even then, customs such as JH13/JH16 and UM Miracle will offer excellent soundstage.

But obviously, its easier and better heard using headphones.

But the highest end customs and headphones are out of your budget. In your budget, I would look at AD900, A900, Denons. Beyers and AKG do not have rolled off treble, they are sharp.
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Superfrag ,

Do you use any of these higher end customs or some higher end cans .
 
Super has the JH5 and the protector and has been lucky enough to audition quite a few of the high end cans.
 
^^ And Ritvick is soon going to get a pair of JH-13s :D

So he can testify if high end customs have good soundstage or not. :ohyeah:
 
IMO, a properly driven HD800/T1 will have the best soundstage obviously. I managed to listen to them for over an hour since the table which had both, was empty, people were more interested in LCD2 and customs.

What I found ; HD800 was more neutral, T1 had slight warmth in mids that made it more enjoyable. HD800 had slightly more precision in the instrument placement and sound stage, but both cans had massive 3D soundstage.

Both cans have great clarity. Bass was more in T1, especially the mid bass, with drums.

But, the setup I was listening to was the Ayre QB9 + Phonitor, which is massively expensive. The DAC is $2500 approx, and Phonitor is $1700. I might be wrong though.

But with customs of equal price, like JH13 etc, a Protector, or Pico Slim or a good portable amp is good enough to drive it very well, and create a great sound stage. I've seen people drive their customs with WA6 and the likes, and have been VERY satisfied. I still feel more value for money lies with customs, but if you get irritated by them sitting in your ears, and can't stand them, well, its your bad luck. :P
 
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