shotgunshane’s IEM (custom and universal) recommendations, favorites and classics

Have you tried the ue18+ @shotgunshane ?

 

Ultimate Ears is right across the street from me at Blizzard. I go by about once a year (p.s. I don't think you can just walk in. I always email them first) hoping to find something to my taste. The closest anything has ever been to my taste is the UE 11 Pro.

I haven't heard the UE18+ yet. Maybe later this year I'll check them out. Probably too neutral for me.

 

Had a quick listen to the Tia Fourte yesterday (alongside PP8 and AW800). Immediate impression was not great. Unnatural peaks in HF created coloration in cymbals. U-shaped as others have described it. At least for me there was nothing that made me go "wow' this is worth 3 times the price of other TOTL IEMs.

Others have said it "takes time to get used to it", but to me that's kind of a strange statement. If something sounds off on first impression, to me that's not a good sign.

 

Interesting, I assumed I had a good fit because the bass response was pounding I'm not gonna loose any sleep over it, it's way outside of my budget or consideration. haha

 

just had a most fascinating saturday, meet up with @gixxerwimp and went on a marathon tyre kicking session around Mongkok. Knowing that @gixxerwimp is a more engaging writer and astute listener, i'll just give some brief impressions on iems that stood out for me. Both of us agreed that Prophile 8 stood head and shoulders above the others, especially when comfort, cost and ergonomics are factored in.

Control (iems the i own and brought to the pre-shoot out meet up, except for the andros which Gixxer brought his and i cbf)

*= denotes personal preferences only not necessaily the innate quality.

CFA Andromeda ****
Sony EX1000 ****
Fitear Parterre ***
Fender FXA2 **

iems auditioned:

Prophile 8 ******
neutral yet engaging, a clear winner, close to my personal ideal with the exception of bass texture which it lost to a few here, esp w900, dita dream and my dear ex1000. extra point for comfort, it went on my ears and stayed on without the need for endless fiddling like almost every other iem i have owned or tried, with the exception of the Trio. seriously considering selling my andros to fund these.

CFA Vega ***
Less bassy and trebly than i expected from reviews, i prefer my control(s) tho, with the exception of comfort, too intimate for my liking. Could live with it for its current used prices, less so full priced.

Earsonics SM 6
Earsonics SM 9 v1
Earsonics SM 9 v2
meh, sm9 v1 is the least meh, they
look and feel cheap, V shaped and sounded a little phasey, disguised as spacious, esp sm6.

Kumitate Lab Trio ****
the evil twin of vega, nowhere close to neutral but vibrant and engaging, bright without being strident, reminds me of focal utopia speakers, relatively cohesive for a hybrid, embodiment of the individualistic jap-fi sound in the best possible way. Beautifully built.

JH 13v2
sounded blunted
JH Lola
weirdass forward, harsh and strident mids.
JH AK Roxanne FMJ ****
wall of sound, engaging and hyperdetailed without lola's pain.
AK T8IE2 ***
aside from comfort and spaciousness prefer the sony ex1k from mids down to subbass, pleasant, preferred it to lyra and vega.

AZLA
nooo... looks cool af tho

Final E3000***
Final E2000***
best vfm all day, original recipe and spicy, rich or vibrant, buy them both.

Dita Dream ****
gixxer and i disagreed on this one, i really liked it and see it as a viable upgrade to the sony ex. #3 in my top 3 of the day.

Vision Ears VE8 ****
mids to die for... the density of the mids are addictive, but the price and lack of universal version precludes it for me.

Empire Ears Zeus XVR Adel**
too lean (bass off) too mid bassy (bass on) prefer prophile 8 and VE8

AAW 500**
son of sony ex, bigger bass (less than vega or fender/aurisonics but bigger than most) but upper mids are a little thin and strident, esp with hot recordings.

AAW 900*****
#2 of the day - if only it and prophile 8 had a child... like a souped up AND refined ex800st, seamless, a little too laidback but that's nitpicking. price is a lot higher in hk than singapore and the demo unit looked cheap , esp for someone used to fitears or the prophile 8 (which costs only half)

headphones
JVC/VICTOR STUDIO HA-MX100-Z ***
good vfm, worst cable since grados, like a much better balanced mdr v6

Sony MDR Z1000 *
worst of the day... harsh, strident mids that reminded me of the 7506... saddened me.

tunes used:
most of these have obvious sonic shortcomings but i cant live without them, so what i want is an iem that doesnt make them unlistenable.

Familar - Agnes Obel
Flicker (Kayne West rework) - Lorde
Weekend - Kelis
Bad John - Lou Donaldson
Indulge Me - Moses Sumney
Lies - Sherwood & Pinch
Good Man - Raphael Saadiq

MISSED OPPORTUNITY
Rhapsodio Galaxy v2- they moved to another part of town. will arrange for an audition at a later date.

over to you @gixxerwimp !

 

@deafdoorknob Thanks for your impressions. What source & amplification did you use for these auditions?

 

as i was mainly the tour guide lol, i was using my lowly iphone SE with ALAC, spotify extreme and apple music files/streams. @gixxerwimp carried a brick with him tho

 

I am hoping for that DD too... I am beginning to wonder if it's technically feasible. Have you listened to the Dream yet? It's not "it" but the dream has enough ex1000-ness albeit at a price (literally) on to Galaxy v2 ...

Btw, based on my impressions do you think the aurisonics 1plus are for me? I came across a pair of new old stock 1plus (in a hedious off white/flesh colour) but no demo. Thanks in advance!

 

Yeah, PP8 is pretty incredible. I sometimes miss W900's bass, or Andromeda's treble, but PP8 sits right in the middle and is the one IEM I can listen to everything with. Resolution and staging is really good too.

 

There is a loaner thread for the dream on hf for people who have reviewed other iems, perfect for you.

 

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/dit...imited-review-tour-starting-july-2017.853266/

I'm sure Barra will make space for you.

 

I've just gotten back to the office after a crazy 4 days in HK/Shanghai, so my detailed impressions will have to wait for a while. Much thanks to @deafdoorknob for his gracious hospitality and showing me around the head-fi Mecca of Mong Kok. Contrary to his undeserved praise of my writing and listening abilities, @deafdoorknob's ears are much better than mine, and for the most part I could just write "what he said". I'll try and decipher the chicken scratch notes I made at Jaben's friendly and comfortable showroom and get something up soon.