Thinksound Thunder & Rain IEM Reviews – The Eco-Friendly IEM (or More Wood) - NOTE: Thunder will... - Page 11

I've been burning these in over the past week. I have to say that I really like these. MUCH better than my UE 5 EB's. The bass is much more controlled. I prefer the Rain's bass vs the RE0 bass, no matter what the config. I've used them straight out of my Macbook, iPhone 3G and w/ a D10 and Hornet M. All good.

Sound stage is more than adequate, better than the 5 EB's. I would also put it out there that I like them better than my Shure 840's.

I did find that I had to use the largest flanges, even bigger than my 5 EB's, in order to get a proper seal. I don't know if I can use these for a long plane ride but they're fine for work.

I've had my Rains for a month or so now and really love them. They've been far less fatiguing than the NE-7's I was using.

I'd like to see some higher-end iems from Thinksound.

Sooo, after a few weeks of use, I can say a bit more. (Rains)

Comfort: Very good, after a while I barely feel them anymore.
Build Quality: These have gone trough some abuse, but do not see anything bad. (deal extreme buds usually gave up on me the first week, but thats not a fair contest ofc. )
Sound: Smooth, not fatiguing. I just wish the lower end had some more separation between bass and drums. Its not muddy, just not as transparent/clear as my AD700s for example. Mids and Highs are better then the AD700s IMO (non-grainy).
Isolation: Not really good. I can hear people talking when no music is playing.

Rig: I first used them with my sansa clip+ and Fiio E5. but later i found that i didn't need the extra bass , and the E5 made the rains lose its 'special sauce' as some other members described, so now I just have a super-small rig with only the Sansa clip+ (without the clip, I broke it off, didn't needed it anyways.)

One annoying downside is that the tips comes of too easy. Its not rare when I take the Rains out of my ears and one of the tips comes off and stays in my ear

Thanks for the follow-up, miloxo! I've been eyeing the Rains for some time now, and I believe next payday I might just order some from Amazon. My two main music players are my original Clip and now a refurbished v1 Sansa Fuze, so I look forward to trying the Rains out with them.

Also, I appreciate your comments about the use of your E5 with the Clip+. I have a pair of Soundmagic PL30's and E5 on their way to me, but I was coincidentally wondering how the E5 would work with the Rains and a Clip/+ and/or Fuze. Good to know that the Rains don't necessarily need the amping with the Clip+.

I just ordered a pair of the Rain iems as well; and I also use the Clip+ and E5 amp. Part of the reason I'm getting the Rain instead of the RE0 is because I don't want to have to use an amp to get a solid sound, so these seem to be just the ticket. I'll give my impression of them once they come in. :)

I lost on of my stock tips (they are very lose on the stems..), and now i use Sony Hybrids. Works very good. Equal or better isolation, same sound and a more secure fit. They also fit allot better on the stems to then the stock tips, allot tighter.

I'm thinking of getting these as a gift for a non-head-fi girlfriend.

 

Any owners want to chime in with encouragement (or steer me clear)?

I like the sound signature of my MEElectronic's M6 IEMs.  I like the texture of the bass and low end and the overall balance lows, mids and highs.  With that in mind, would the bass level of the Rains be for me, or would you folks recommend that I take a look at the Thinksound Thunders?

Edited by Whalesha - 5/17/10 at 2:46am

 

Pseudo disclaimer:  I prefer full sized phones while at home or at work.  Recently, however, I've been on  the more and more, using my PK3s.  They met an inquisitive kitten at my mother's house and, well, are no more. So I had to get a set of portable phones, and decided to go with the Thinksound Rains.

 

I've only had them for 2 days, so quite a limited amount of listening time, but I'd say that they would work fine for a non-head-fi girlfriend.  

 

They're fairly easy going with source.  I've tried a variety of songs in MP3s and FLAC, and they're forgiving with lower bit rates.  Out of my laptop (D630), the Rains are sensitive enough to pick up a bunch of noise, but it's fairly hard to hear the noise during songs.  Out of an old Creative Zen Nano, they sound good.  They sound better out of a Clip +, but it's not a huge difference. 

 

They're also comfortable.  No need for a deep insertion and they're small.  Oh, and they look pretty good.  Though a non-head-fier might not care if their cans are woodies or not.  

 

As for the sound:  you're buying the Rains for a non-head-fier.  It shouldn't matter so much for her, especially if she's coming from iBuds or the like.  Of course, if you plan on listening to her IEMs, then that's a different story.  Sadly, I lack the experience with other IEMs to make a true comparison.

 

But, from what I hear, the bass impact is more than enough for me.  Bass is fairly detailed, though it sounds likes theres a hump in the mid bass.  As others have said, the mids are full and rich, and maybe slightly forward.  I'd also call them decently resolving--I can't hear all of the details that my ESP950s bring out, but they're easily better than the JVC RX700s I have lying around.  I know, I know, that's a large disparity in price, but I don't have any other phones present to compare with.  The highs are clear and fairly extended, but a little splashy at times.  Some cymbal heavy songs lose a bit of coherency, imo.  It all comes together to make an enjoyable, musical experience.  It's not perfect, but you can't expect perfect in this price range.  

 

And that's the key.  For $55 or so, this looks great, sounds great, and is even eco-friendly (another plus, depending on your girl's politics).  And, just because you or I can hear the deficiencies in them, that doesn't mean a non-HFer will.  I'm more than happy with my purchase, knowing full well that I don't fully know the IEM market.  I can't imagine a non-HFer wouldn't like these.

I have been following Rain and TS01 for quite a while

 

I have a question for users, how does it compare with MEElectronics M6. 

 

My previous iem were CX-300. I prefer bass quantity of cx-300 but would like better quality since i am spending almost 3 times more compared to cx-300.

 

Please advise. 

cant compare it to the M6, but i have had the M9 which is similar.

IMO the Rains are a level above the M9.

I didnt enjoy the M9s at all because of its recessed mids.

The Rains on the other hand have very lush mids and better detail right through the frequency range.

There should be plenty of bass quantity in the Rains for you and Amazon have for $51 now.

Edited by paulypaul - 8/16/10 at 3:12am

But in the past 10 pages, they say thunder has more and better bass than rain. Are you sure Rain will have equal or more than thunder?

 

You can say i am a basshead. while i would prefer to get the Hippo VB, but i am just looking if i can get something 'similar' in bass for $30 less. 

 

the Rains will not have more bass than the Thunders, but certainly have more balance and detail in the mids and highs than the Thunders.

Mods, please delete this. doesn't belong here

Edited by mkv1500 - 8/19/10 at 1:29am