IEM general discussion thread

Discussion in 'IEMs and Portable Gear' started by Griffon, Nov 1, 2015.

  1. Frigatedate

    Frigatedate New

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    Anyone have experience with Boarseman? They're a pretty lesser-known Chi-Fi brand. I'm planning to spring for the CX98, anyone can vouch for it?
     
  2. haywood

    haywood Friend

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    Reviews of these seemed right up my alley for budget iems to replace my always lost Carbo Tenores so I grabbed a pair from Amazon ($55).

    The packaging was pretty spartan and cheap but that's the $50ish market. The pouch was likewise junk but they had a decent selection of tips (though I ended up not using them) and a set of ear guides. The build quality on the actual iems seems good but there's next to no strain relief so don't expect them to last very long even if babied. On the plus side as ddk pointed out the cables aren't very microphonic and seem relatively tangle free.

    Out of the box they didn't really impress so off to the sock drawer to burn in. Time passes sound improves, rinse-repeat. I've probably put 100 hours on them off and on.

    I'd read that they weren't great for female vocals and that seemed true at first but I think maybe they're just kind of u-shaped, and in general seem to need more volume to sound their best. The semi-open design obviously won't isolate as well, compounded by the relatively shallow insertion depth (even if it didn't sound better it'd be hard getting them out otherwise) and that could lead to more volume yet which could be fatiguing.

    All the caveats aside I like them, they have a sweet, romantic type sound without sounding rolled off or like you're losing detail. The qualities that make isolation worse make spaciousness and comfort better. Studying in a library or listening in a relatively quiet room these will be killers, commuting or jogging maybe not so much (though I didn't try the ear guides). They're probably not versatile enough to be the budget audio king but if your use patterns match up and you don't mind them not lasting forever they're definitely worth checking out.
     
  3. deafdoorknob

    deafdoorknob Almost "Made"

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    i got a pair for myself as well for podcasts and to fall to sleep to, got better balance using sony hybrids and paradoxically their tips works amazingly well with my sony ex1000 and 800st, go figure lol
     
  4. TomHP

    TomHP Facebook Friend

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    Any impressions of Jomo 4 by anyone? I found a few reviews left and right, but seems quite a rare piece... Have the chance for a trade for this piece so I'm curious.
     
  5. Degru

    Degru Facebook Friend

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    If I already have an HF5, would an ER4SR be a meaningful upgrade? I'm mostly interested in detail resolution and tonal balance than build quality and impedance.
     
  6. Za Warudo

    Za Warudo Acquaintance

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    I'm looking for an affordable replacement cable for my UERM. Should I just buy the one from the UE store? Nocturnal audio offers a 4 core cable for $75. What are my options?
     
  7. CEE TEE

    CEE TEE MOT: NITSCH

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    UE cables: Good price, they have connectors that cover the extended socket to hopefully keep stuff out and offer some strain relief for the pins.

    The only thing that may not be to your taste is how the silver cable can oxidize over time. I think it turns a pretty cool green in some areas over time, usually where you come in contact with the cable (varies with use and humidity).

    I have UE microphone, 2.5mm TRRS, and some 3.5mm TRS cables. All solid and a good standard in cables IMO.
     
  8. Kunlun

    Kunlun cat-alyzes cat-aclysmic cat-erwauling - Friend

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    Not really, but if you love your hf5 and have some money, sure, get the er4. They are aiming at the same curves, but the er4sr may get there better.

    It's been a while since I heard them both. Frankly, I think the er4sr does what it does better than what the u18tzar or Tia fourte do. Not that the er4 is better technically, but that it is better thought-out and realized for the price. I would buy the er4 and an overseas vacation versus the Tia fourte.
     
    Last edited: Aug 26, 2017
  9. k.e.

    k.e. Winning combo: narcissistic and stupid

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    [​IMG]

    Sennheiser IE80S just leaked.
     
  10. Forza AudioWorks

    Forza AudioWorks MOT: Forza AudioWorks

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    My enthusiasm about this product equalls 0, but I've had some good memories with previous version. Detachable cable is a smart thing to do, props for Senn for doing this again.
     
  11. elguapo

    elguapo Gringos falling from the skys

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    Has anybody else tried the Sony EX800ST out of a ZX2? I love the bass, but everything else sounds a bit murky to me. I'm mainly looking for a sanity check.
     
  12. k.e.

    k.e. Winning combo: narcissistic and stupid

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    Added the new Westone UM1 to my collection. It is a new and revised version. Sounds not bad at all. Slightly boosted fullness and warmth but voices manage to separate themselves nicely. Very suitable for Rock and higher volume listening sessions.
     
  13. deafdoorknob

    deafdoorknob Almost "Made"

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    i didn't find it to be murky but more closed in than usual, putting an amp (alo national+, medium gain) between them brought the spaciousness back with a vengeance. truth to be told, in some ways, the ZX1, with its lighter, brighter tone is more synergistic with that generation of sony DDs.

    the ex series seems to like medium gain clean power more than their specs suggest.
     
  14. Forza AudioWorks

    Forza AudioWorks MOT: Forza AudioWorks

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    This is a very nice picture. Very catalogue alike. Kudos.
     
  15. deafdoorknob

    deafdoorknob Almost "Made"

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    tyre kicker auditions (weekend audition) :

    In search of the ideal DD (for me)

    TLDR, the search continues, Sony EX1000/800 are still the best vfm for relatively linear yet engaging DD iems if you don't mind their lack of isolation, though i'll will dream about the Dream for a bit...

    source: iphone 5se + dragonfly red

    Dita Dream: second audition, this time the shop was willing to swap in the warmer Brise UPG001 cable, which fleshed out the mids and made it more coherent and less in your face. still spacious, hyperdetailed with a beautifully precise and muscular subbass (more swimmer than powerlifter muscular) it's closest to my "closed ex1k" ideal than the others, in fact, treble and mids (with brise cable) are marginally improved against ex1k, more elevated overall but more even as well . The price tho...

    Vega (spinfits): less extreme v than reviews led me to think, engaging but for its price, preferred the dream and Xelento as they are more balanced, spacious and ergonomically "better".

    Xelento v AK T8IE
    less different than their retail prices suggests, T8 is a little more laid back and less U shaped. T8s are permanently discounted here at around 770$ usd, but aside from isolation and a less spiky treble, i don't find it an upgrade to the ex800 let alone ex1k.

    Lyra 2
    like a vega on prozac, coherent, inoffensive, gets out of the way, but for the money... i'd rather get any or ALL of the following lol:

    Final e2000
    Preferred the richer, more spacious sound of the e3k but if you listen to a lot of already bass heavy releases, the lithe and nimble bass on these would make more musical sense. e2k and e3k should be sold as a set lol, both are possibly the best vfm dds of the year, and a pair of each still cost less than a pair of shure e215se.

    Future Sonics G10
    I love its organic beautiful solid and voluptuous bass, overall tonality/timbre but 3 caveats A) looks like a $50 iem with captive cable; B) slight "hooded" resonance with some male vocals, not exactly bass bleed just a slight head cold like tonality with some vocals. C) airless, claustrophobic in your head sound, like an "anti-final/dita" reminded me of HD25s. If you can deal with the caveats, the sound put many iems to shame, preferred them over polaris, all rha or audio technica DDs by quite some margin.

    Dita The Answer
    with a 70% off clearance discount, these costs the same as the G10. And almost the yin to G10's yang. Like a higher resolution take on the final e3k, liked them more than the Lyra 2, spacious and slightly bright but responsive, what i imagined the ex600 might sound like but with superior isolation. Not worth the full price but very attractive at $1499hkd/$193 usd.

    haven't tried Rhapsodio Galaxy v2 or the aaw900 yet, might also audition UM Martian and perhaps the EE Spartan.
     
  16. Grahad2

    Grahad2 Red eyes from too much anime

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    You can consider the FS customs - I haven't found anything regardless of price I'd pick as my primary. Does solve your problems as well.
     
  17. deafdoorknob

    deafdoorknob Almost "Made"

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    thanks for the suggestion! Are the FS customs more spacious/less claustrophobic?

    i suppose i'm still too much of a commitment phobe atm and with the vibrant 2nd hand uiem market in hong kong, i wish to experiment moar before settling down.
     
  18. deafdoorknob

    deafdoorknob Almost "Made"

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    btw, an interesting factoid, the engineer/designer of Sony's ex600/800/1k (as well as the MA900) is now the lead engineer of sony's just ear CIEM division. his mug and interview regarding ex1k and ma900 is on sony japan's headphone park subsite.
     
  19. TomHP

    TomHP Facebook Friend

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    Now that I'm well over my honeymoon period of the Katanas, I'm having second thoughts on whether I should keep them. Yes, they sound wide and spacious and kind of exciting somehow, but compared to the SE846 there's just something not right about them. When I switch between the two (they're very close in sensitivity which makes going back and forth easy), the instrument placement and particularly the timbre of the SE846 sounds much more accurate and real. The Katana is artificially boosted in the 6-8kHz range, about 6dB north of neutral, which gives it a "fake" boost in spaciousness. It also puts it dangerously close to being too sibilant. EQ-ing out the 6kHz peak and then brining it back in makes that painfully clear.

    Also, I did some measurements today of the output of the different bores and the outcome was a little surprising to say the least. I just wanted to find out which of the bores was producing the 6-8kHz peak, to figure out if some light modding with swapping out Knowles dampers could make things smoother. But that didn't go as planned. There is a wide overlap between the two mid/high frequency bores. This is not uncommon in itself as it's difficult (or even impossible) to really get sharp roll offs with BA x-overs, but what struck me with surprise was that the output of the high frequency nozzle by itself was higher than the combined output, which would only happen if it was a bad out of phase x-over alignment. The narrow bore that produces the low and part of the mids also extends surprisingly far into the mids. All in all some odd x-over decision being made that I can't help but think mess up the phase coherence and spatial accuracy.

    I'll do some more measurements tomorrow if I have time.
     
  20. MuppetFace

    MuppetFace Sultana of Seafoam Green - Moderator

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    I'm actually really interested in the brass edition of the DITA. Firstly, I have a special place in my heart for full range drivers in IEMs. Dynamic drivers too.

    The first DITA was interesting.

    And then there's the brass. Not sure why, but every pair of brass IEMs I can think of have sounded nice to me, from the Sony EX650 to the Cardas A8 to the HFM RE$2000. Probably a coincidence, but it's one of those things that catches my eye whenever I see it.
     

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