I grabbed these as a lightly used demo unit for sale on Amazon. Total steal for $110, but I would've paid $150 for them.   I was looking for an upgrade to my SE215, and these are it. The bass is tighter and has better control, the midrange and treble are more detailed, and it doesn't get over-warm like the SE215. I actually prefer it to the SM3 personally; while its a hair behind in detail and the bass isn't quite as satisfyingly tight, it's about 95% the same sound, and doesn't get overly intimate or "weird" sounding like the SM3 did; I swear I...

I've been listening to a sample unit of HRT's new flagship DAC, the Music Streamer HD, for about a month now, and have been comparing it pretty extensively to the microStreamer. I began my demo by listening to the HD as soon as I got it, and I loved the sound right off the bat, but unfortunately I had a few things come up in my life and didn’t get to use the HD much in the following weeks due to travel and general lack of time. I kept using the microStreamer, as it is literally attached to my laptop, and used it for essentially all of my listening...

These were my favorite sounding universal IEMs, and my praise for their sound can be read throughout the most recent iteration of the SM3 appreciation thread, but I feel a strong need to let people know about the durability issues with Earsonics products, and the company's treatment of customers as a whole.   My first pair of SM3 V2s lasted about 3 months before half of the right shell came off while walking down the sidewalk. I pinched the IEM gently by the shell to pull it out of my ear, and it just came straight apart. I got in touch with...

I will report back for a more in-depth review of the sound, but for now suffice to say that I love the SE215 and it is my go-to beater IEM when I'm not willing to risk my UM3X. It does bass and vocals exceptionally well, which are my two biggest desires from any headphone. Durability is unparalleled, especially for the price. I take these everywhere: workouts, running, beach, etc. and never feel like I have to worry for even a moment about anything going wrong. They are isolation monsters, too; they made great commuting companions when I took the...

My setup for this review is Foobar2000 + WASAPI Event Out -> HRT MicroStreamer -> UM3X RC with Moon Audio Silver Dragon   I traded for the UM3X about two weeks ago and I haven't used another IEM since.   Currently listening to Classic Sinatra II in FLAC. Everything is well separated, to the point that it feels about as well-differentiated as my HD598 and DT770 in terms of instruments being presented distinctly from one another and not bleeding into each others' space; obviously soundstage size is nothing to speak of by comparison, and the UM3X is...

I got my Silver Dragon in a trade, and am really loving it. I will probably come back to do a more in-depth explanation of the differences I hear on my UM3X between the stock EPIC cable and the SD.   For now, suffice to say I am definitely impressed by the construction. The cable is thick and obviously sturdy, but also very flexible and soft. All of the strain reliefs and connecting points also feel strong and are flexible where they need to be. Despite the lack of memory wire, the cable tucks snugly behind my ears and doesn't give me any...

Having recently reviewed the Charm 3, I've become more aware of the actual benefits of the earbud form factor; prior to the Charm 3, I had only ever heard iBuds and the new earpods. The Charm 3 introduced me to the very real spacial benefits of the earbud form factor, which, despite the popularity of IEMs, especialy multi-armature universals and customs among earphone-oriented audiophiles, seemingly deserves more attention, especially for the "soundstage-heads" among users of in-ears.   Sunrise claims that the Dragon 2 is their most technical...

My setup for this review: Foobar 2k WASAPI Output ->HiFiMeDIY Sabre DAC -> FiiO E11   As everyone knows, Apple has new "Ear Pods" that come packaged with their new products, and seem to be pretty popular, coming from someone who sells iPhones in wireless retail. They are a bit of a hybrid IEM-Earbud style, which I find pretty cool, but the sound signature is decidedly oriented to the masses, and while they are a welcome improvement over the old iBuds in just about every way, they also pursue a decidedly thick and bassy signature, which, while not...

My chain: FLAC/320kbps MP3 -> Foobar 2k WASAPI Output-> HiFiMeDIY Sabre DAC -> E11 -> HD598   My first taste of the Sennheiser house sound came in the form of the HD439, which I purchased while looking for a balanced all-rounder for casual listening on the go and in coffee shops while writing. I enjoyed the signature, so when it came time to look for an open headphone, the first place I looked was Sennheiser.   I usually favor phones that have slightly elevated bass and are a bit darker, and after reading reviews saying that the HD5x8 series...

Got these babies open box from ebay for a hundred smackers, can't beat it.   The bass is AWESOME. Notes go waaaay down low, not the tightest I've heard from subwoofers but still sounds great with plenty of subbass grunt to make anything with lots of bass sound .   Overall the sound is bass-slanted as one would expect from a 2.1 system with a sub this size, but the mids and treble do not suffer. Treble seems to extend plenty far enough and the mids are only occasionally overshadowed by the bass; the main low-end emphasis seems to come in...

My chain: Lossless -> Foobar 2k -> HifimeDIY Sabre DAC -> E11   The HD558 are doing it for me right now. I was not blown away, but they really don't do anything wrong. The bass is not boomy but does bleed a tad, not ideal for classical but it's not hugely problematic.   The mids are nice. Never overly resonant, just enough bite to give realism but not intrusive. Imaging is very nice, but transients are a little weak.   Having started my hifi game at IEMs and gone far enough to see the kind of soundstage they are capable of (TF10, SM3)...

Great little piece of kit! Just bought this bad boy to upgrade from my ELE DAC, which served its purpose but was too bright with my DT770s, and overall just couldn't really do justice to either the Beyers or my HD558.   Compared to my other sources (Voodoo'd Samsung Infuse w/ Wolfson WM8740, ELE DAC), it is definitely a step up in terms of overall performance. The highs are not quite as sharp as the ELE, and the overall tone is clearly warmer with more bass. With my DT770, I get noticeably thumpier, slightly tighter bass, and more forward mids...

Really liking these so far. The LEs are not quite fully powered by my Nexus 4, but my Samsung Infuse with Voodoo Sound does them justice well below full volume. The soundstage is really impressive for a closed can, it seems almost as big as my friend's DT880s, albeit not quite as deep and natural; however the vocals are not as noticeably recessed as the 880/990 which seem to place vocals further from the listener as an artifact of having more depth.   Big, dynamic, but clear sound, no portion of the spectrum noticeably colors the rest. The...

  I bought the WOWee One to have a speaker that gave decent bass for when my girlfriend and I go busking with our glow poi and glow hoop, so we could have something portable with a rechargeable battery that would give enough bass for us to have a beat and for people to hear in subway stations. I had an idea of what I wanted, but thought it was a pretty ridiculous idea/expectation until I saw reviews on this little sucker. It was $39.99 from Amazon.com.   I have to say, the WOWee definitely delivers for what it is intended for. Bass impact...