Audio Random IEM / Headphone Rants

mukulymn said:
I wont call dba02, fx700, sm3 low-fi.

I can only imagine right now hw well a custom can sound.
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For most people, the biggest jump in SQ comes from jumping from $10 IEMs to $50 good sounding ones. For me, the biggest change in SQ comes when it reaches my Tier-II (RE0/ZERO etc.,) from below levels. The jump from Tier-II to Tier-I (SM3 to RE252) is certainly not a big one, but meaningful and worth the difference in price sometimes. I'd think that the jump in SQ from universals to customs would be something similar. The improvements from the proper seal and fit customized to your ears enhances the effects of the improvement in SQ. The only issue is it's one custom vs two universals and I always side with two or more universals :ashamed:

@strategy,

I was just checking the Anedio D1 review by project86. According to some who used Audio-GD DACs with ESS Sabre DAC chip, they are too revealing i.e., Bad recordings, source quality all will be shown as-is. Are you ok with it?
 
Day 2 with the SM3

Source: iPhone4. I'm listening to them with the EQ setting on Electronic. With EQ off the mids are too upfront for me. Electronic eq'ing makes the mids go back and brings the bass and the treble forth(which is kinda lacking the sparkle that i'm currently used to with the TF10 and the CK10, especially the ck10).
I am starting to enjoy these. Last night i fell asleep while listening to these, something I couldn't do with the CK10(being analytical in nature). Safe to say that the SM3 are not really analytical in nature, rather smooth. The bass goes really low and its not rolled off. The sound sig reminds me of the JH10x3 universal mold I had tried at Jaben from what I can recollect.
 
IIRC, exactly what dfkt did too, because he is a fan of slightly V-shaped sound. But he finally went back to playing them as-is.

As for sparkle, no! it will never match your CK10 or TF10. DBA-02 is closer to CK10 (though I'm told CK10 is even better with the treble), I've mentioned my short comparisons b/w SM3 and DBA somewhere in the Top-Tier thread. It's likely that you'd feel the same way about SM3 and CK10 as well!
 
The treble sparkle is nowhere close to the CK10, TF10 - maybe closer, cause the CK10 definately has more treble than the TF10. The mids are more for a person who likes EQ5/EQ7/RE2x2/RE1 kind of sound. These would definately be an upgrade since I feel these sound as close to a JH10x3 as possible(or from what i've heard).

If the recording has plenty of treble, it reduces it, making it sound more natural, rather than boosted like other iems. If a recording/song sounds good on the SM3, it will definately sound better on any other iem. I guess it makes it the best iem for audio engineer/sound recording, etc. The vocal are very clear and distinct on these. The Ck10 being a tad more detailed, making the CK10 more analytical.
 
If you hate the Sm3s so much you can always sell them to me !!! :D

These seem almost perfect for me being a (more or less) IEM equivalent of my favorite HPs. The Re1s come close but lack the bass of the HD650s. The SM3 (from Esantosh reviews) seem to have more bass and better detailing which will make it closer to the HD650s performance. :)
 
Santosh , yeah I am fine with it. Its very transparant source. and have great sounstage and imaging , that is all i want.

but sourcing them here seems a big problem. :(

you have someone coming in the next 2 months?

( i was perusing a good second hand amp, but now the seller said he cant sell them , :( so i might be able to save enough for Anedio D1 , if i sell my D1 )
 
BF1983 said:
If you hate the Sm3s so much you can always sell them to me !!! :D
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To self : I like them I like them I like them, if i keep saying that i'll probably like them.
To brendon: Not so soon bro, need to burn-in my brain to start liking them. :p
 
1) @Benny

Inner Voice: Hope he likes SM3 so much that he sells CK10 to me :ashamed:

Outer Voice: Brain burn-in all the way! :hap2:

2) First impressions of Brainwavz B2 are out - First Impressions: Brainwavz B2 - Page 2 - Head-Fi.org Community. It sounds very similar to DBA-02 except for the unevenness in lower treble. After reading it, I feel that I'll like CK10 more than DBA-02. I'll have to wait a bit for a used CK10 in head-fi (two likely) to showup in FS or get a new one.

3)

BF1983 said:
Mee !!!!! RE1 with the bestest of the bestest mids is all I ever wanted in an IEM :D
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For me, it could be RE-252 even though I prefer many IEMs over it.
 
Hay, i am in as well if benny sells off , SM3 or CK10 !! :D ( these are the 2 out of three universals i am interested in :) )

Dont cast me out ! :cry:

Well on B2, i think its all on the price they are going to put on them. If its any thing below 130. great . But above that, i dont think people will buy it cause i am afraid of that cable they are using ( M2 has many problems, right ? )
Bad move they should have employed a removable cable system. ( if they were going to use the same old cable they used with M1/M2/M3 )

And i got myself a Fuze+
Fairly impressed . :) , why do i need rockbox the factory out Fuze + plays FLAC, and other formats.
Battery life seems good, this will be my on the go player ( after both Sflo and HM602 , run out of power :p , In a loong journey )
 
^ I am trying to get my hands on CK10 in whatever way I can. Let's see ;)

B2 uses the same driver as DBA-02 and comes from the same OEM factory as Fischer's. So, it's no surprise that pricing and availability would be the major differentiators apart from slight tuning differences.

As far Rockbox, you'll know once you have it ;). Fuze+ was not received well. Do you find any issues with it in daily usage?
 
the touch is not comparable to the Ipods but certainly not as bad as Sflo 2

As i am Ok with Sflo ( now ) i think i can live with that .

but certainly the original Fuze's wheel was a lot better than this, But i love the screen and theme. :p

On CK10, i thought , you already had the CK10. ( some posts in the last pages made me feel that way )

on B2 DBA-02 is well received on on the build also. SO these must be below 150 to pose any threat to DBAs
 
^ Nopes! I don't have them yet, but if all goes well - within a couple of weeks. Not sure at this point.

I'll attempt astral projection and inception to make benny sell his CK10s though.
 
^^ Nope. Its only for US and UK markets. :)

If they do decide to send one to India it will be a loaner only as I don't think they expect any great volumes here in India.
 
well, even if its a loaner, it'd be great if we get to read first hand impressions from someone from TE.

also its never a good idea to underestimate Indian market. THey should know this after selling Brainwawz M2 here. :)
 
^ Come on, achal! M2 is a 2500 range product, which will find more takers than B2, which is likely to be between $100-150. Anything more, I'd rather go for Fischer DBA-02 because it's twisted cable is less likely to tangle than the braided M series cable and there is no lower treble emphasis.

B2's signature is again tuned for a specific taste, whereas M2 can be enjoyed by many. Secondly, how many do you think (even in TE) will actually go for it? I am ruled out because I already have DBA-02 :p. A few others have good IEMs in the similar price range and/or have different tastes. Unless they price it much lower, I don't see how B2 can sell anywhere near half of M2.
 
Yes but the M2s are like $50. The B2s are more like $150 or so.

But yeah I am sure that they can do some decent nos if launched in India. :)

People now seem to be much more open to high end earphones.

BTW, it seems someone has added a new player to his existing 2 Clip+ 1 Cowon S9, 1 Fuze, 1 Zen V+ and 1 Ipod Touch 32 GB. :p
 
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