a new budget IEM: Maximo iM-390 - Page 8

eric, they should have them around mid next week.

Hey Andrew,... what's up man? Just tryin' to get an update from the members on what's happening. Been too busy playin' Halo3 and drivin' around in my new C Class AMG to really be concerned. Lovin' it! Not that I'd be concerned sans Halo and/or AMG!!!!

Sent off my rebate redemption material about a week back,... so that's crunching. Once the new 390's gets to me,... I'll start asking Q's about how to exchange the old ones I have now for the new. 'Til then,... I'm good!

Anyone done some comparisons with other popular IEMs? I need to buy one and it seems like a nice choice. Buy.com is OOS now. They have the lowest price and from what I understand they will get new version next week and price won't get cheaper?

P.S. I see some places with similar prices after S&H. If I had bad luck and received an old model I could get a replacement?

I think that if you really want the new model, you are better off waiting until Buy has it in stock and Andrew believes that is only mid next week - doesn't sound too bad.

I've done some comparisons, but only with some models most members in here wouldn't even give a second glance to. I initally bought a pair of Phillips from the local Walgreen, which failed in little over 2 weeks,... then against a pair of Sony Performance IEM's I purchased at the local Radio Shack. The iM390's out performed both by a large margin,... and these are the older versions I'm speaking of. Night-n-day! Even against the $40 Sony sets that I eventually returned, the bass seemed fuller but not boomy, and the mids weren't way out in front, but balanced. I did my comparisons using two sources, iTunes and the wife's Treo 755p. Her Treo has pTunes Deluxe 4.2 doing all the mp3 and internet radio streaming chores. With rebate, which is no longer offered, I paid 18 bucks for the iM-390, which again, bested the high dollar Sony's.

As far as replacement, I'd imagine you could return them to the vendor for a refund if you immediately discover they sent you a pair Maximo is trying desparately to get out of the system. Some posts back, Andrew made an offer to the members in here for a painless and seamless exchange,... HOWEVER, he placed some time limitations on that offer. Check back around page 3,... I forget exactly what the limitations where. But if you're thinking of buying now,... odds are you'll get the newer version. Try buying from a source that IS NOW out of stock. Use caution with any online vendor who has them in stock as of now. That's prolly a clue that they're dealing the older versions since according to Andrew, Maximo won't be populating the pipeline with the new version until mid next week.

Good luck!

ericpd:

I am mostly interested in comparisons with:
im616
Ety ER-6i
super.fi 3
Mylarone X3

They are on that forum the most popular adviced for budget IEMs and I am curious if iM390's can be as good for a much lower price.

Yeah,... just by you being here, it's no surprise you were interested in the higher quality products. Don't know why I was thinking my comparison to "Phillips" would be of any value to you! LOL! Sorry man! Hell,... before using Google to flush out some buying advice, I had never even heard of many of the brands spoken of by the members here. If it wasn't on the shelf at my local Walmart,... I had no idea it existed. Oh sure,... I've heard of Shure headsets. Who hasn't? But as far as some of the names you listed,... hell, I'm just now gettin' my education on those pieces. Thanks to these threads and this forum.

Good luck anyway!

I have the creative EP 630 which is essentially the Sennheiser CX300 and in comparison the creative has a much more fuller sound. But I have the older version of the Maximo IM390 and I havent done any mods on them, so once I get the newer version from Andrew I can really comment on their performance. I work at a gadget store where we sell the Shures so I am takin my IM 390 to work tomorrow and do a comparison with the shures. Will post the results on here as soon as I get time to get on here.

I wouldn't say the EP630 and the CX300s are the same phone (though they do look similar), and don't think most people find the Creatives "fuller" than the Senns (which are $20 more than the Creatives, at least). Just wanted to let the OP know that there are two POVs on that Creative v. Senn issue.

In my view, you can't really compare the IM-390s, old or new (I have had both), with the Ety er6i, which are not budget ear phones. The Etys are totally different animal, with a strong focus on neutral, detailed SQ. The Maximos are not that type of phone.

For the most part, you get what you pay for (of course, there are some obvious exceptions, V-Moda Vibes, Bose IEMs on the downside; Yuins PK2/3s on the upside) on this budget level. If you want outstanding SQ and are willing to use ear buds, get a pair of PK3s, which are $38, and outperform the Maximos. Again, just my opinion. The Maximos are fine for what they are, but really are very different from the Etys or even the PK3s. And my guess is Maximo is not trying to compete with $80 IEMs, just the $30-$40 ear phone market. As such, it offers a pretty good product, just not my cup of tea. Andrew H was kind enough to send me a new pair of IM-390s, and while they sounded okay, I gave them to my daughter to use with her iPod (I had given the old version to my UPS guy). It's just not practical to compare $32 canal phones to $120-$190 IEMs, canal phones or ear buds. So if you want to spend $30-$30, then go for the Maximos if you need canal phones (there are no true IEMs at that price point), or consider the Yuins if you can live with an ear bud.

I will say that they can be very close to the PK2. But the problem is the Maximo's are extremely fit dependent and also benefit from better tips. So it is pretty much a crap shoot. If you are one of those that can't fit them right you won't be impressed. If they work with your ears you'll be like the ones who are saying they are better than KSC75/ ER6i etc. they have the edge on the PK2/3 out in the real world because of the isolation. Many people sit home in a chair and compare. Out and about the 390's start to sound better because what leaks in to the PK2's degrades the sound and makes you turn up the volume.

Although, my impressions, including them having slightly better treble and a bit more transparency than the PK2's were done at home in the quiet.

I would recommend anyone get them from a place that allows returns because they might just not work for you. But you don't know till you try.

I guess I am one of those who could not get a good fit, then. I can't see how they would outperform the Etys or the PKs (or the Ksc75s for that matter). Anyway, glad some folks are finding them to be on the same level as those phones.

As for ambient sound and the PKs, I don't really mind outside noise when walking around the streets. When I need iso, I use the Atrios or Denons. But when walking, jogging or other outside stuff, I just turn up the PKs, as you said.

To me, they are better than the iM716, KSC75, UE-3fis. AS i have previously noted, the bass is one of the best i have heard in an IEM.

The iM716s sound good, but didn't like the microphonics, the way they stick out of your ear. Both are very durable but the Maximo's been through a lot worse already and are still like new.THe 716s only problem as far as my opinion goes is that they sound too laid back at times and the bass can get very lean in the HDmode(too bloated and loose in bass mode) at times and ruins it for me.

Given all this, the only problem i constantly have with the iMetals is the driver crinkles. They are my preferred portable phones.

Got an Email from Buy.com this morning,... the iM390's ARE on the move. Got an Email from them some days ago which amounted to nothing more than an customer order status update. But this one,... actually states that the THEIR order to Maximo is being answered. If my assumptions are right, this should mean that they're on their way to Buy, and once Buy gets them in, they'll turn'em around and start filling customer back orders.

Also,... I agree with sachu. The bass on these things are incredible. Clean, tight & quick! However,... I am thinking of testing out some of the other brands I'm hearing the members talking about! Some posts back, I asked for advice on where I could find some better rubber tips. Got no response. Saw some packaged tips at Wal-mart, but they looked the same as the ones Maximo sent with the 390's. Someone spoke of red tips that offered a better fit. Where? Oh where?

Here...http://cgi.ebay.com/Earbud-for-in-Ea...QQcmdZViewItem