Audio Random IEM / Headphone Rants

Doing impressions can sometimes be cruel to oneself.

I started with the idea of doing something about PFE vs A161P. PFE enjoys a special place in my collection. It does nothing extra-ordinary, but does basic things right, very right on the money. In all my head-fi life, my avatar has been only two - PFE and now EX-1000. They are not the most perfect of IEMs, but the two I can enjoy anytime I choose to listen to them without worrying about technical this or technical that. Even SM3, CK10 and FX700 which I ranked far above PFE don't have that niche for my ears.

Anyways, I briefly tried them out of Clip+ a couple of days ago and liked A161P a slight bit more. Since I know from experience that PFE does better amped, I thought I'd do impressions with the brick (QA350 -> UHA6S). My impression turned upside down on A161P vs PFE. Right now, I have no mood to torture myself with A:B (especially with a medieval device like QA350 that does not support rewind / ffwd of tracks) and am continuing to listen to PFE. Screw impressions and comparisons :p
 
sandeepsachin said:
looks like you saved me 350 $ :p . going by a select few reviews, i some how got the idea that if i were to look for a spacious concert hall kinda sounding phone, ex 1000 was the one.

This is why i want to audition them and then buy.

i know sound quality is subjective, but want to ask you , of all the iem's you have owned so far, has there been any one that has given you that " you are there" feel?
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I can say that I dont always feel being there with ex1000 but I do enjoy music with them so much that I dont care about anything technical with them. I Have not felt anything like this before and I am satisfied with them. I dont want any other IEM.
 
There she is. Liking the detail retrieval and presentation of the smaller bits of music ....................it's not one of those cases of "I'm hearing things that I haven't heard before" but what I once appreciated as peripheral niceties seem to be presented much better than with most of my past headphones.

LF5ck.jpg
 
Battle of Single BAs: PFE vs HF2 vs A161P vs XBA-1

I am not exactly in mood to do a very detailed, in-depth comparison. So, will keep it brief (and will update this post as and when I listen more through the day).


XBA-1


  • Price: Rs. 3990 from Sony. Lesser from others.
  • J-Cord can be a bit annoying at times.
  • Used with stock medium single flange.
  • Smooth, laid-back signature with mid-focus. Least clear of the four.
  • Good mid-bass quantity and decent impact. Has a decent extension, but not to the lowest lows.
  • Mid range is smooth and non-fatiguing. Slight vagueness is present.
  • Most rolled off treble of the four. Details present up-to the point of roll-off, but with absolutely no sparkle. Not revealing of sibilance.
  • Imaging is a little off, Decent width but not much depth.

A161P


  • Price: $80 + $31 shipping using 20% Off coupon (~ 6600-6700 without customs duty)
  • Build quality does not feel as good as the other three.
  • Used with unknown tip.
  • Most efficient of the lot i.e., gets louder at lower volume levels than others (followed by XBA-1, HF2 and PFE in the order of volume level).
  • Balanced with a strong mid-range emphasis. Clarity is better than XBA-1, but a little less compared to PFE and HF2
  • Good bass with good impact and decent texture, a bit more detailed than XBA-1, but not as much as HF2. Better impact than HF2 and XBA-1.
  • More forward mid range. Very engaging, well detailed. Coloration wise, warmest of the lot.
  • Treble is not as prominent, but is better in extension, energy, details and sparkle compared to XBA-1. Very slightly revealing of sibilance (> XBA-1, >= PFE, < HF2)
  • Imaging is good within it's normal sound stage.

HF2


  • Price: $157 at Amazon, cannot be shipped to India. But, Etymotic HF5 (without mic) can be bought for $136.24 (~ 7900) shipped using Standard shipping (including import duty deposit)
  • Used with stock triple flange.
  • Deep insertion = Wax pusher. But very good isolation, most isolating of the lot.
  • Balanced with a slight emphasis on mid range. Very good clarity and the most revealing of the lot as well.
  • Bass has good texture, is well detailed to the point of it's roll off. While it does not have as much impact as A161P, but steps up when the track calls for it. Needs correct insertion to hear it.
  • Mid range is very slightly forward than PFE, but not as forward as A161P and is very well detailed. A little short changed on dynamics though.
  • Treble is well detailed. Good shimmer and sparkle allows for excellent reproduction. Most revealing of sibilance in the recording, but not to the point of causing fatigue.
  • Sound stage = What? But, excellent separation and positioning.

PFE

  • Price: $199 at Amazon. Priced at ₹11257 at HS18 though it is OOS right now.
  • Comfortable fit, light weight, but my cable (after 2 years) is hardening a bit where ear guides are fixed.
  • Used with stock medium single flange.
  • Most balanced of the lot with nice speed, excellent clarity, smoothness along with good dynamic range.
  • Tight, decently bodied bass with good impact (which is a bit more than HF2, not as much as A161P), which makes it feel slightly fuller than the rest. Rolled off a bit.
  • Smooth, detailed mid range which is neither forward nor recessed.
  • Treble has a bit more sparkle than HF2, though not as well bodied or micro-detailed as HF2. A bit more quantity in lower treble than HF2, but not fatiguing. Slightly revealing of sibilance in the recording.
  • Best sound stage of all - normal width and good depth, but combined with good imaging and separation (a well rounded presentation), it pulls ahead of the rest.

Summary

For my preferences,

PFE >= HF2 > A161P >> XBA-1

If you want details, pick up HF2. For all the general perception of "Etys don't have bass", HF2 picks up details in the bass region very well and shows good impact and texture when the recording demands it. Of course, you need to remember I-AM-LYED (Insert any more, lose your ear drum) when inserting them. Or step up and pick ER4S (which I hope to hear some day).

If you do not want the righteousness of the Ety sound, PFE is a great choice. It has everything - details, clarity, treble, filters to change sound and beyond that, an element of great smoothness and fuller sound to go with it. While you can 'hear' with an Ety, wonder about it's technical capability, PFE is a better package where you can 'hear' and 'enjoy' the sound.

A161P is a step down from the HF2/PFE, but not by much. It's in the mold of PFE than HF2 - detailed, but retaining an element of 'fun' in the sound. If the shipping wasn't as much, A161P around $100 would have been a great choice for those who cannot step up to PFE (or cannot find a way to get them shipped to India), but want to hear what a good single BA can sound like.

That brings us to XBA-1. To my ears, XBA-1 is a small tier down from A161P. It just does not have the "it" factor of the other three. But then, it also costs much less than the other three and comes with local warranty. While stand-alone, I would not be willing to rip apart XBA-1, it's shortcomings are shown off when present in better company. It's a budget BA IEM done very well, but it certainly is not the best sounding single BA.
 
Hahaha, the colour thing was just a bonus.....traded for the protector. Didn't want to buy the HE400 and still hope for a buyer for the amp. Really don't want to hoard stuff when there's vast sums of money going out :(
 
ok, got that.

The HE-4 is bit of an unknown quantity, there aren't much impressions of it even though it was released before HE-400. Neither Tyll or purrin has measured it yet.
One curious thing about HE-4 is that unlike most orthos which have a membrane sandwitched between two magnets, this one has a single magnet. I know of only one more ortho which has this kind of construction.
Certainly an interesting headphone!
 
Finished the single BA comparison. Not as I originally intended, so not even half satisfied. But felt bad keeping around loaners for weeks together.

Other random thoughts........


  • Cowon X9 crossed a little over 70 hours "burning in". But the damn thing required 7 hours to fully charge from the USB wall adapter. At least, it gives a battery life of 10X the charging time and not the 'audiophile standard' of 1-2X :p
  • Resistive touch screen on X9 is a big irritant when trying to scroll the library.
  • 64GB microSDXC card arrived and is working fine with Clip+ after formatting it to FAT32. A 72GB player that I can afford to drop unlike the old fruit player I have.
  • I am going to give complete rest to my ears for a few days (Inserting HF2 a few times a day is not fun at all) after which there's an all JVC comparison to do leisurely.
  • FiiO X3 is back on: http://www.head-fi.org/t/528916/the-fiio-x3-thread-update-project-back-on/2160#post_8628128. Battery life, good format support, Coax out, decent working UI, physical buttons, correct price point..... it's a dream. If they could pull it off, I can make X3 the transport for UHA-6S dropping the giant QA350.
 
Why am I seeing so much brightness on this recent skin of TE :confused1:. This so much brightness are there where techenclave, welcome, inbox and all are written or it is the color only?
 
iaudio said:
I dont get this part! Do you mean, it is a very narrow soundstage? How is the imaging?
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Decent width, but not much depth - a narrow passage where things seem lumped together. But within that, it's separation is really excellent and imaging is good too. Imagine a low-end IEM's sound stage size - a bit wider just without the three blob (L,R, C) effect. If I didn't have good intentions, I'd send it so that you can pierce your ear drum trying deep insertion. But... :p
 
Ummm.... I am really not qualified for this and most of my technical knowledge is restricted to computer hardware, chipsets and graphics cards. Sound was a quaint subject and really temperamental so I did not explore it in depth until I ended up on TE, what with guys like Fah33m and esanthosh pouring their views on IEM's [which I used to refer as in-ear-phones] of a myriad hues and price-bands I was snagged and have not looked back since.

Thanks to @sandeepsachin I just got a pair of VSONIC GR 02 Bass Edition, I have had them for just a day and have been listening to these OR burning them [using my favourite tracks; no pink-noise, white-noise method for me]. So plugged them into my Sansa Clip+ running on the latest edition on RockBOX, a few impressions the IEM's have left on me --
  • once again I thank Sandeep, he packed these so well it took close to ~20 minutes to unpack the package and inside was the largest IEM-box I had ever seen;
  • pulled them out and started with my roots in Breaking Benjamin, they reminded me a lot about my BRAINWAVZ M1's the treble and the vocal clarity between the two is very similar to me, although the overall soundscape of GR 02's is larger and more spread out, turning on bands like tool just widens this disparity;
  • the bass is something on the GR 02 Bass edition that completely out matches any IEM's I have heard to for extended durations. The M1 and SoundMAGIC PL-30 carry very nuanced bass signatures [in-fact I consider the PL-30 anemic in this department], the M1 has bass but no volume and punch to it. The PL-21's bass is taut and engaging though it overshadows the treble in the more complex music passages. The GR 02 took these in its stride and walked over all these, the bass has volume and a punch, the vocals are clear [and I like this], the treble although not as pronounced to me as the M1 was still engaging and listening to music was fun.
  • Another aspect is that the stock bundled bi-flange tips are great in isolation and as they are the only tips I have used till now, I cannot comment on the ~14 hybrid-foam tips I have lying in the box. Biggest issue is getting them on the driver, as their opening is too small and Sandeep told me not to force them on to avoid damage to the filter. Now the big question, what to do with these if these do not fit? Any help much appreciated.
  • I am still listening to them and they are turning out to be quite a handful I will keep posting as and when I feel this urge.

Hope this was decent for a complete n00b on sound, Cheerio!
 
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@ALPHA17

Please do not consider yourself a noob, everyone was noob. I consider myself as a learner in audio and will always consider the same :) because if I consider myself as an audiophile who knows everything about the audio so I may stop learning about audio that moment.

We are really very happy that you like this IEM so much. Thank you for your impressions :)

We are surprised to know that you found treble of M1 to be more forward whereas joker said "For the price there are very few sets that do treble this well without sacrificing brightness".

But we truly respect your opinion :)

Thanks again for the impressions
 
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abhi_jollyguy said:
We are surprised to know that you found treble of M1 to be more forward whereas joker said "For the price there are very few sets that do treble this well without sacrificing brightness".

But we truly respect your opinion
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See brightness another technical term I am not very well versed with. But I like reading you guys swapping your thoughts on various IEM's; can conclude safely that I am also addicted to this business of trying out new ear-gear and find out what suits my tastes.

Thanks for the encouragement, will definitely be more proactive. Cheerio! =D

Thanks for bringing these bands to India.

psygeist said:
nice impressions ALPHA17. The more you listen to different IEMs, the more you will be able to notice subtle nuances.
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Thanks for the encouragement psygeist.

Hope I am more help and less trouble on this thread.
 
ALPHA17 said:
See brightness another technical term I am not very well versed with
.
.
.
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Hope I am more help and less trouble on this thread.
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Once you listen to a bright IEM, you will understand the term. As for jargon, you only need to be well versed with the basic jargon so that we don't mean entirely different things, the rest is optional when describing a signature. As you listen more and more through A:B comparison, the differences become easier to pick out and describing them also becomes easier.

Looking forward to more impressions from you in the future :)
 
esanthosh said:
Looking forward to more impressions from you in the future
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Thanks for the faith Santhosh, how is the hard-drive coming along?

Another query, have you any idea how to use the hybrid-foam tips provided with the VSONIC IEM's. They are too small to fit on my GR 02's nozzle and @sandeepsachin warned me not to force them.

P.S. -- Which IEM's are put as your current AVATAR picture?
 
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@ALPHA17,

Unless the filters are too close to the edge of the nozzle and not secured (like HJE900), they may not easily come off. Now that I've read two complaints about tips being too narrow for the nozzle, I am beginning to wonder why VSonic would do so. If this causes major issues, then there should be a remark or two over at head-fi. If no such comment is there, either VSonic shipped the wrong tips or nothing untoward might happen if you stretch them.

Got the HDD. Looks like I am going to be busy all this week and next as random power cuts due to shortage are getting on my nerves. Will PM you soon.

The IEM in my avatar is EX-1000.
 
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