Random IEM / Headphone Rants

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FaH33m said:
I guess Brendon is trying to say that TF10 didn't really show any improvements with the upgrade cable.
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Yup thats exactly what I wanted to say. :)

I am not completely dismissing cables but perhaps you need a highly revealing setup to make out the differences that cables bring to the table.
 
anubhav2345 said:
Thats My taste tooo :bleh:

So which IEM suits your taste , benny ??
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My favourite IEM's list.

http://www.techenclave.com/audio-zo...views-rankings-iems-184391-2.html#post1736190

Out of which only the SM3 are eq'ed, rest are all with eq off. SM3 really sound amazing when I boost the bass the treble a bit and take the mids a lil back. This results in a perfect spectrum, enough sub bass, punch, lower mids, smooth vocals, smooth treble, less sparkle(equals to no harshness/fatigue).

The sm3 are also the most comfy, I can easily go to sleep with them on. Only gripe being the lack of removable cables, so if incase something happens to the cables, its the garbage bag of the Earsonic SM3. It suits my weekly dose of podcasts by Above and Beyond, Gareth, Armin and Club life by Tiesto Purrfectly.!!! ;)
 
I really find the 262 to be bass lacking .Infact I liked RE-252s bass more. I am so tempted to try this out but don't want to screw up the bi-flange ! So who's trying it first ?
 
^The bass has great body, or area of impact I should say. A bit more quantity wise could have made it really good. Also its has negligible sub-bass, give it that plus the extra bit of bass quantity + some more treble and the product will be my dream IEM
 
Wish I had RE-262 now to compare to GR07. They are somewhat similar in that both are good in midrange and their treble is not up-to the mark for a treble-head. But, I think they differ very much in all the other aspects.

GR07 has a bit more extension in bass with decent impact, mids while not recessed sound a slight bit distant, treble again is not recessed, but is short on quantity. A slight tuning of Rockbox EQ would fix everything. Of course, at 50 ohm, it does not need an amp, but a bit more volume than I usually listen at.

Interestingly, I find it to be more aligned to my tastes. At the same time, I am not going to get all excited and say that "It just replaced TF10 and CK10, because it is 7, GR007" - that would be sheer non-sense. So far, it has not outright disappointed me (Unlike trying DBA-02 for Trance and RE-262 for treble happy music) - be it trance or death metal. It's mostly a Jack of all trades, scoring slightly above average with most things. While it may not do something outstandingly (like Hippo VB for Sub-bass), I don't think this is a bad thing at all. Seems to be a nice mid-way between dry analytical camp and warm, smooth musical camp.

Clarity is present all across the range. Separation is very good, sound stage is good as well. As for micro detail, I have not attempted to do any attentive listening thus far, so can't say for sure without proper A/B. Build quality is better than what I expected from a typical Chinese brand, but it is far from looking classy as e-Q5. Accessories are good - finally I bought a new IEM which has case, chin slider, ear guide and right angled plug :P.

Would be interesting to compare it to e-Q5, RE-252 and SM3 in the coming days.
 
^ Soon :P. But before that I got to get some planned reviews out of the way. For comparisons, I'd need the other IEMs for a while.
 
Every time i read MG6pro review, i get inclined towards a dynamic driver based custom.
I really like the sound of dynamic drivers.
I will wait for the day when UM or HD release a dynamic custom
till thn i will play with my 262 or probably 272 or sumthng else :ashamed: but not a custom
 
^ The problem with dynamic drivers is even a slight change in position of driver and shape of the housing/enclosure results in a totally different sound signature . So if a company ever comes out with dynamic customs , they probably will have to tune the drivers and do a lot of R&D on every single order they receive since no single pair would sound the same :P
 
I am pretty bored nowadays when it comes to critical listening. I've been listening more music than sitting down to take notes. But, here are random observations, which were done mostly with normal listening on GR07 (I still have a provision to take them all back anytime :P):

  • I really don't think of them as 'micro-detailed'. They are detailed, but not quiet to the point where I'll say micro detailed. Compared to RE-252's midrange, where all nuances are delivered, it's a bit lagging behind. Reminds me more of e-Q5 (in this aspect alone). Perhaps a bit of detail has been sacrificed for smoothness. Or it has better dynamic range than 252 resulting in quieter sounds moving to the background.
  • I took a little time to compare SM3 and GR07. I can't decide which treble is worse for me :ashamed:. SM3 is slightly more recessed & thicker while GR07 lacks sparkle, about right with thickness and a bit more in balance with mids. So for someone who finds RE-252 / RE0 sound appealing, GR07 is a no-go. Just like SM3, a bit of time and brain adaptation can work wonders (or EQ, whichever magic potion you choose).
  • I found bass to better on GR07 though. There's some body, impact and a tiny weeny bit of extension, which makes it sound better. I don't trust my audio memory, but I'll still say that GR07 will beat RE-262 in the bass department. Bass is not fat, thick, bloated, bumped, just about right.
  • I need to up the volume a little bit to hear GR07. One reason is due to the slightly higher impedance of 50 ohms. Secondly, I find GR07 to be a little better at higher volumes. I usually listen to IEMs close to -25dB on Rockboxed Clip+ and can go down to -30dB if desired (For some, it would be -28 to -35). But for GR07, -20dB works better than -25dB. Midrange becomes a tad distant at lower volumes.
  • The midrange is warm, but not quiet what I can call as sweet or lush. It is very smooth. Sibilance in recordings is smoothened a bit with "ssss" not sounding harsh at all. I can only describe the position as 'not forward' rather than recessed. I won't call it thick, more like well rounded notes.
  • Sound stage is wide with a good bit of depth. I've not paid much attention to imaging as I was more focused on how it goes with various genres. But, from whatever I've listened, it did not raise alarm bells mostly.
  • When I first listened to them, I felt that sounds were a little 'zoned' i.e., the separation was good such that there was no overlapping of each sound zone. At higher volumes, I did not feel much of the same. I've not paid close attention to such things yesterday.
  • I wish I had RE-262 on hand to compare. Rather than quote from memory, would have settled which one has a slighter edge in treble.
  • It is said that the driver requires at least 100 hours of break-in. So, will it sound better after 100 hours? Let's see :P.

That's all for now. Will try and post an 'initial impression' sometime later.
 
"I wish I had RE-262 on hand to compare. Rather than quote from memory, would have settled which one has a slighter edge in treble."

Interested in buying a RE-262 :P ? I havent even touched them since my first trial .
 
^ Not really :P. Was thinking more like getting them on loan ;).

With RE-272 coming, I am prepared to wait a while before getting the next Hifiman.
 
i have tried the mod mentioned by fang, and sorry to say i have screwed my biflanges. Bass seems to be increased but hard edges (produced due to cutting) hurt my ears and comfort is also lost.
 
^ Somebody should mail Fang and ask for a set or two of the new bi-flanges each for all the RE-262 owners here. How many are there? 5/6? May be they can send them with Meph's RMA-ed RE-262.

Add:

@Brendon,

The more I listen to GR07, the more I think about how you (and those who have a similar taste) may like it :P
 
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