Audio Random IEM / Headphone Rants

strategy said:
@santosh : EX1000 , whoa! :O
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Still, I am tempted by the comparisons to EX-600 and how some people prefer it over the EX-1000 :ashamed:.
titana said:
10 characters
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Irrelevant, you might think. But, what you typed, I wonder.
Ritvik said:
ended up buying the Miles Davis Tribute IEMs for everyday usage instead. Should have them soon, cant wait! :)
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Looking forward to your impressions. An IEM I always wanted to try!
Mephistopheles said:
Wow, I finally having no choice gave in to Head-Direct's request of $25 for the converter and instead of the converter they sent me a frikking earphone extender cable of sorts :facepalm:. I will sue them if they do not get this rectified now :mad:
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WTF! Can't believe they did this to you ... again! May be you should ask Faheem for that secret E-mail ID and fire on all cylinders about their lack of proper customer service.

red dragon said:
Please suggest me an iem with the best possible mids(even better than IE7 or SM3)
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Better is subjective, Doc! Probably Shure SE530/535 or Ortofon e-Q7 could fit the bill as they are the only other mid-focused IEMs I've read about. But overall, they could sound less endearing than SM3 and/or IE7. I think IE7 and SM3 both do bass well and treble reasonably, which I can't say about the choices I've mentioned.
 
esanthosh said:
Irrelevant, you might think. But, what you typed, I wonder.
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I had provided the link for DIY litz braid but then realized that strategy's google search link would direct to the same.
 
RE-272 becomes less interesting as I count down days for it's arrival. First, I thought they had taken 262, added more bass extension, slightly reduced mid range prominence and tuned the treble up. But, after reading mark's review, I got confused. Now, I am clear after reading clieOS comments - a better ER4P?

I have the Ety MC5 on loan and there's only one problem with it, which is

It makes sound, I want music :mad:​

I gather from another head-fier that even ER4P could be just making "sound" and not music. But, I think HF series and ER series are better than MC5 due to the BA sound.

I just hope RE272 presents a bit of music. A bright, bass light, over-analytical tuning is not really off for my tastes, but mark's remarks of them being "too thin" makes me suspect that these could be faithful successors to RE0's sound with an Ety like tuning. Just hope it doesn't suck! (At least not enough to ban me in head-fi after my review :p)
 
esanthosh said:
RE-272 becomes less interesting as I count down days for it's arrival. First, I thought they had taken 262, added more bass extension, slightly reduced mid range prominence and tuned the treble up. But, after reading mark's review, I got confused. Now, I am clear after reading clieOS comments - a better ER4P?

I have the Ety MC5 on loan and there's only one problem with it, which is

It makes sound, I want music :mad:​

I gather from another head-fier that even ER4P could be just making "sound" and not music. But, I think HF series and ER series are better than MC5 due to the BA sound.

I just hope RE272 presents a bit of music. A bright, bass light, over-analytical tuning is not really off for my tastes, but mark's remarks of them being "too thin" makes me suspect that these could be faithful successors to RE0's sound with an Ety like tuning. Just hope it doesn't suck! (At least not enough to ban me in head-fi after my review :p)
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Give it a good source and amp. It'll make music then. Initially I felt the same with the MC5 but I don't think so now. It is just brutally accurate and will show what you are throwing at it. With all portable sources I tried - Ipod/Creative/Sandisk, it sounded like crap but with the Audinst MX1, it sounds absolutely astounding. It has all the warmth, air, soundstage I ever wanted from a portable source. Compared to the RE0 which was totally colored with terrible build quality, this was like a breath of fresh air.

Forgot to mention - it has to be driven *hard* to get any bass out of it.
 
a better ER4P ? Could be the perfect successor to the legendary RE-0 . Finally something that will excite me :D .

Keeping musical IEMs aside which I love , the perfectly super duper neutral one's have always impressed me most :p
 
Yeah you need to find the right source , for me the MC5 was like a breath of fresh air after everything I listened to in the last 10 years. Its not the best for sure but with the right source there was a kind of quality that made music thoroughly enjoyable. Also it had the voices inside your head kind of sound :D
 
esanthosh said:
WTF! Can't believe they did this to you ... again! May be you should ask Faheem for that secret E-mail ID and fire on all cylinders about their lack of proper customer service.
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Fortunately for me, they have agreed to ship the correct cable without any additional cost. :)
 
Etymotics ! Something Ive always wanted to try . There was a time I was almost about to pull the trigger on a ER-4R-P . @ Bottle /Chaos ,How much did you get the MC5 for ?
 
Chaos said:
Give it a good source and amp. It'll make music then. Initially I felt the same with the MC5 but I don't think so now. It is just brutally accurate and will show what you are throwing at it. With all portable sources I tried - Ipod/Creative/Sandisk, it sounded like crap but with the Audinst MX1, it sounds absolutely astounding. It has all the warmth, air, soundstage I ever wanted from a portable source. Compared to the RE0 which was totally colored with terrible build quality, this was like a breath of fresh air.

Forgot to mention - it has to be driven *hard* to get any bass out of it.
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It does require more volume than everything else I listen to. At least, I no longer fear deeper fit within 'touching distance' of ear drums :). I'll try with my desktop sources and see how it goes!

bottle said:
Yeah you need to find the right source , for me the MC5 was like a breath of fresh air after everything I listened to in the last 10 years. Its not the best for sure but with the right source there was a kind of quality that made music thoroughly enjoyable. Also it had the voices inside your head kind of sound :D
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No offense. But at this point, I feel the opposite - like I am short of air :p. But, will try more sources. IMO, I still think that for me, ER4S (not the P) / HFX would work out better than MC5.

FaH33m said:
a better ER4P ? Could be the perfect successor to the legendary RE-0
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Roughly, I think the plan is ....

-> RE-262 as an upgrade to RE2/1 (both discontinued or about to be)

-> RE-272 as an upgrade to RE0/ZERO

-> and of course, RE-252 being the balanced offering. But, it is discontinued or about to be.

-> And then for the el cheapo market, the colorful Hifiman Express RE-242 too! ;)

I still need to hear it before concluding anything!

red dragon said:
Thank you Santosh!Next target Shure SE530.
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Doc!

SE530 is not only old, but it had plenty of quality issues. 535 'fixes' those issues by adding a removable cable + adds a bit in treble + better presentation, but not as mid centric as 530. Considering their cost and non-removable cable, you need to be a bit more careful about SE530. But, I don't think there are many other "mid focused" options among the top-tier IEMs.

Mephistopheles said:
Fortunately for me, they have agreed to ship the correct cable without any additional cost. :)
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Happy to hear that :)
 
FaH33m said:
Etymotics ! Something Ive always wanted to try . There was a time I was almost about to pull the trigger on a ER-4R-P . @ Bottle /Chaos ,How much did you get the MC5 for ?
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I got mine off GEB for 5.5k, might be expensive compared to its MRP of $79 but didn't want it to get lost or stuck in customs or anything. I sold it to Chaos when i got my ER4S

esanthosh said:
@bottle,

No offense. But at this point, I feel the opposite - like I am short of air :p. But, will try more sources. IMO, I still think that for me, ER4S (not the P) / HFX would work out better than MC5.
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None taken and you might be right. I didn't really care for these at all at first and it really needed me to change my thinking mentally before I began to appreciate it. If my ER4S didnt arrive delayed I would have tossed it aside very soon. Even afterwards I tried it with Sansa Clip,iPhone and a very old iPod mini and it really didn't gel well at all with them.

Of course it depends on music taste as well, for one I prefer clarity of mids over anything else. I don't like it when bass and treble are emphasised over mids
 
Yep! Technically I won't say it's a "bad" IEM. My issues, only based on limited listening with portable sources is....

  • It requires a bit of power before it begins to sound half decent. I generally like more efficient IEMs which are good with details at lower volumes.
  • The bass quantity is not bad at all. However, even when compared to something like Sunrise XCited, the bass quality seems a touch lacking. XCited is tighter and carries a bit more impact, though it too extends only as much as MC5 and even has lesser quantity in comparison.
  • The mid range is good, but it lacks the emotion. It simply does not sound as dynamic as some of my better IEMs do. Also, does not appear micro-detailed or snappy either. This is where my problem lies - either emotion or details, I'd be happy, which is why I think ER or H-series could be a lot better suited for me.
  • The treble, no matter my insertion depth is a touch 'grainy'. Cymbals don't exactly sound natural to my ears (EX-1000 is natural).
  • When it comes to sound stage and presentation, MC5 is nowhere near immersive.
  • I have nothing to complain about build quality though! Glider tips are comfortable and tri-flanges only required a bit of time to insert.

I don't hate it as much if I start listening to it stand-alone. But then, switch / compare and it becomes a bit under-whelming for sure. I'll spend sometime with MC5 and desktop sources and see how it turns out though.
 
Got the RE-272 review sample loaner today late in the evening. I was completely confused about the signature so far (I just scanned the reviews, reading would have meant more confusion). I don't think I hear them the same way as some of them. As of now, I'll only say I am "happy" as it puts a smile on my face. Will the grin stay? I'll know for sure during the weekend.

Edit: Who needs an adapter when this thing can play straight out of Cowon S9? ;)
 
Got hold of Nuforce NE700X, I find these to be a huge jump over Melectronics M6. The M6 took some getting used to. But the NE700X is the kind of sound I was looking for. I love the treble on these. My ears don't get fatigued, love how the snare has a natural ring, small studio-ish sounding.
Very comfortable to my ears both soundwise and fit wise. Underrated, a bit? Or maybe because I haven't had a chance to try out any Brainwavz product. I dig these more than M6 at the moment.
 
Actually, I liked NE-7m a lot more than M6, no wonder you like NE-700X better than M6. They are under-rated due to the availability, not otherwise.
 
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