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Multi-IEM Review - 281 IEMs compared (VSonic GR07 BE and R02 Silver Added 05/15/13 p.688) - Page 566

post #8476 of 10414
10/26/12 at 7:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by chipstjuven View Post

how is the bass quantity on RE-262 compared to EPH-100? I think the bass on the EPH-100 is just perfect, but now I'm looking for a nice, spacious sounding IEM to go with my E11

 

 

Compared to the EPH-100, the RE-262 are bass light. They can perform very well with the bass boost from a portable amp, though. The main advantage of the RE-262 over the EPH-100 are the mids, highs and soundstage. For bass alone, the EPH-100 are superior... I own both, and they complement each other very well!

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post #8477 of 10414
10/26/12 at 7:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by putente View Post

 

 

Compared to the EPH-100, the RE-262 are bass light. They can perform very well with the bass boost from a portable amp, though. The main advantage of the RE-262 over the EPH-100 are the mids, highs and soundstage. For bass alone, the EPH-100 are superior... I own both, and they complement each other very well!

ok, thanks. I might get them and see if they like the bass boost on the E11 then

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post #8478 of 10414
10/26/12 at 10:01am

First off, thank you for these reviews, this is an incredibly informative post.  I'm looking to bust out of the bottom of the barrel IEMs and try to move into some mid-level.  I considered posting this question in the recommendations thread, but it doesn't seem as though anyone responds there. 

 

With that said, I currently have Sennheiser cx55s (mostly use when mowing the lawn/walking), meelectronic M16P (too uncomfortable to wear), and Audio Technica CKM50 with comply tips (very comfortable, my go to IEMs for now).  Only headphones I have are HD555's, which I just recently foam modded and like the less muddled bass (by far my favorite to listen with).

 

I listen to a wide range of music: Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, Macklemore, Cold War Kids, Grouplove, The National, Mumford & Sons.

 

I'm looking to spend <$150 and hoping to find something comfortable (small ear canals), decently balanced, solid but non-muddled bass, with plenty of clarity in mids/highs.  Based on your reviews, these are what I have narrowed it down to (bold are top choices):

Head-Direct (HiFiMan) RE-ZERO ($99) - $59 on head-direct 
MEElectronics A151 ($100) - $50 on amazon
Shure SE215 ($100)
HiSoundAudio Crystal ($100)
VSonic GR06 ($65)
HiFiMan RE262 ($150)
Audio-Technica ATH-CKM99 ($150)
JVC HA-FXD80($105) - $75 on amazon

 

Any recommendations from anyone based on the above list and music selection?

Also, do many IEMs go on sale around Black Friday?  If so, I'd assume it'd be best for me to wait a few weeks till then.


Edited by AlBorland - 10/26/12 at 10:24am
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post #8479 of 10414
10/26/12 at 7:51pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlBorland View Post

First off, thank you for these reviews, this is an incredibly informative post.  I'm looking to bust out of the bottom of the barrel IEMs and try to move into some mid-level.  I considered posting this question in the recommendations thread, but it doesn't seem as though anyone responds there. 

 

With that said, I currently have Sennheiser cx55s (mostly use when mowing the lawn/walking), meelectronic M16P (too uncomfortable to wear), and Audio Technica CKM50 with comply tips (very comfortable, my go to IEMs for now).  Only headphones I have are HD555's, which I just recently foam modded and like the less muddled bass (by far my favorite to listen with).

 

I listen to a wide range of music: Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, Macklemore, Cold War Kids, Grouplove, The National, Mumford & Sons.

 

I'm looking to spend <$150 and hoping to find something comfortable (small ear canals), decently balanced, solid but non-muddled bass, with plenty of clarity in mids/highs.  Based on your reviews, these are what I have narrowed it down to (bold are top choices):

Head-Direct (HiFiMan) RE-ZERO ($99) - $59 on head-direct 
MEElectronics A151 ($100) - $50 on amazon
Shure SE215 ($100)
HiSoundAudio Crystal ($100)
VSonic GR06 ($65)
HiFiMan RE262 ($150)
Audio-Technica ATH-CKM99 ($150)
JVC HA-FXD80($105) - $75 on amazon

 

Any recommendations from anyone based on the above list and music selection?

Also, do many IEMs go on sale around Black Friday?  If so, I'd assume it'd be best for me to wait a few weeks till then.

 

Out of those I would probably try the GR06 to see if you can get along with the fit. It's not the clearest earphone out there but not bad for the asking price and it makes up for it in other ways. Also, that's a great price for the RE-ZERO but it might be a bit bass-lean compared to the options listed. You can also get the MEElec A161P <$100, which is a pretty big improvement on the A151 IMO. Better bass and better clarity, among other improvements. It's reviewed in this thread as the Fischer Audio SBA-03. 

 

Black Friday - earphone solutions usually has a coupon code applicable to most items on their site. I am sure MEElec will have some promotions as well. The Chinese brands - unlikely. 


Edited by ljokerl - 10/26/12 at 7:54pm
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post #8480 of 10414
10/26/12 at 8:27pm

The GR04 is still about $50 on ebay and at lendmeurears.com, and is one model up from the GR06

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post #8481 of 10414
10/26/12 at 8:28pm

Thank you both for the input, really appreciate it.

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post #8482 of 10414
10/27/12 at 12:03am

Heh, I need to start an IEM dissection thread. I'll be using Brainwavz M2 as the cable donor for RE272. (Since they're not that great sounding anyway and happen to have a superb cable and a nice case that might be useful.)

 

Now I'm also fixing GR07s, which have clogged filters in their shell. I've removed the drivers correctly, they even have a nice sparse grille and put them in the M2's case's front (to attach the back, I'd have to unsolder the cable).

 

It seems they still sound like GR07, lighter and more controlled than original R02 drivers. However, it seems I'd have to get a deeper fit, so this case is not that good for them. They apparently have been tuned for 0.5 cm deeper fit than possible in the original case.

M2's half-case can go that deep with RE272's long silicone biflanges, but it's very unpleasant, stretching the ear canal a lot.

Alternatively, soft shorter silicone biflange (UE? It's very old and for 5mm) works well. Much better than anything that's attachable to original VSonic case.

 

Funny thing though, the 6k resonance is all case resonance in GR07, not a driver resonance. There's not even a trace of it in those configurations.

I'll try to print something nice for it and RE272 on a 3D printer. Might happen to be black, red, yellow or pink in color, ABS. wink_face.gif (I'll find a UV filter lacquer and apply that on top, obviously.)

The tricky part will be sourcing the metal grille. I might do a secondary hack and print it onto the M2 aluminum case instead, which has an integral grille of the same variety.

 

(I also know now why Brainwavz doesn't use this case - aside from being expensive, oce the driver is in there's no way to remove it.)


Edited by AstralStorm - 10/27/12 at 1:14am
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post #8483 of 10414
10/27/12 at 9:54am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by AstralStorm View Post

I'll try to print something nice for it and RE272 on a 3D printer. Might happen to be black, red, yellow or pink in color, ABS. wink_face.gif (I'll find a UV filter lacquer and apply that on top, obviously.)

The tricky part will be sourcing the metal grille. I might do a secondary hack and print it onto the M2 aluminum case instead, which has an integral grille of the same variety.

 

I've been wondering myself whether it's already possible to print custom eartips with a 3-D printer and a 3-D scan of the ear. If not, it probably will be very soon. Once more audiologists start using 3-D scans in place of conventional molds you could just take a copy of the scan with you after you get impressions taken wink.gif

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post #8484 of 10414
10/27/12 at 12:31pm

Well, I pulled the trigger for the B2, It should be arriving in ~ 2 weeks.

I hope to have done a good choice, got it by 114€ shipped.

 

I would like to thank everyone, specialy ljokerl and AstralStorm for their help.

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post #8485 of 10414
10/27/12 at 2:38pm

I decided to purchase the Brainwavz B2. I have to say, it sounds really nice. Pretty revealing and not as enjoyable with the comply foams, and slight of that with the silicone tips it comes with, but it's much much better than the R1s I also recently got. Nothing is overpowering, but I do notice a bit more focus on the highs. It has a bit of sibilance on some of the tracks I mentioned, but it is not even close to being as bad as the Image S4s, one thing I appreciate about these. There is a lot of depth in these headphones, very spacious (though not as compared to the HD 598 for obvious reasons), but more than the ATH-M50s. I kind of have to have the mood to listen to the music to enjoy it completely, but when that happens, it's like I'm listening to that type of music with the proper headphones. They sound AMAZING in instrumental tracks due to their great positioning, non-distorted frequency ranges, a good focus on highs, S4-level bass with a wider presentation, and great clarity. I think I enjoy these more than my ATH-M50s to be honest. These tips don't give me a perfect fit, so I might try to find some Shure olive tips to replace these, but they aren't bad. It took me a few hours to find a way to fully enjoy different genres of music I listened to, and settled that to really enjoy, I have to be ready to enjoy the music, not focus on the flaws I listen to. Thanks for the review, they really convinced me to purchase them, and I have no regrets purchasing these with exception of their build quality.


Edited by Sycho - 10/27/12 at 2:40pm
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post #8486 of 10414
10/27/12 at 11:27pm

a friend of mine is looking for what he describes as an fx40 with thicker, fuller, and slightly more prominent mids on a sub $50 budget?

improvement in technical ability is a plus but he's just looking for that overall sound signature he described.
any recommendations?

 

how do the sony mh1c's and brainwavz r1 and m5 compare?


Edited by atomikn00b - 10/27/12 at 11:30pm
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post #8487 of 10414
10/27/12 at 11:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by atomikn00b View Post

a friend of mine is looking for what he describes as an fx40 with thicker, fuller, and slightly more prominent mids on a sub $50 budget?

improvement in technical ability is a plus but he's just looking for that overall sound signature he described.
any recommendations?

 

how do the sony mh1c's and brainwavz r1 and m5 compare?

if he can go for $60, then the CKM500, if not then maybe the FX31

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post #8488 of 10414
10/28/12 at 12:47am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by atomikn00b View Post

a friend of mine is looking for what he describes as an fx40 with thicker, fuller, and slightly more prominent mids on a sub $50 budget?

improvement in technical ability is a plus but he's just looking for that overall sound signature he described.
any recommendations?

 

how do the sony mh1c's and brainwavz r1 and m5 compare?

 

The M5 is pretty much the opposite of the FX40, with fleshed-out bass and forward mids. For a fuller and slightly less v-shaped sound than the FX40 I'd try the VSonic GR02 Bass Edition. 

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post #8489 of 10414
10/28/12 at 9:50am

@ljokerl:

Hey, I'm looking for new In-Ears because my Brainwavz M1 are broken. Since I want to have more highs (I used the following Rockbox EQ settings on my M1: 150: +2, 800: -2, 4000: +6), I tried the M4. They are pretty nice, but the bass is boomy sometimes, for my music (metal, rock) I rather like dry bass which helps hearing the bass lines. Furthermore the mids were recessed a bit too much, so guitar riffs sounds shallow sometimes and were in the background. But the highs of the M4 were very good, detailed enough for me, yet not aggressive or too much in the foreground.

You have a recommendation for me? You think the M5 could be what I'm looking for?

Sorry for my english. :P

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post #8490 of 10414
10/28/12 at 10:22am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by kais0r View Post

@ljokerl:

Hey, I'm looking for new In-Ears because my Brainwavz M1 are broken. Since I want to have more highs (I used the following Rockbox EQ settings on my M1: 150: +2, 800: -2, 4000: +6), I tried the M4. They are pretty nice, but the bass is boomy sometimes, for my music (metal, rock) I rather like dry bass which helps hearing the bass lines. Furthermore the mids were recessed a bit too much, so guitar riffs sounds shallow sometimes and were in the background. But the highs of the M4 were very good, detailed enough for me, yet not aggressive or too much in the foreground.

You have a recommendation for me? You think the M5 could be what I'm looking for?

Sorry for my english. :P

 

I don't think the M5 is what you want - it tends to underemphasize treble and has tons of bass compared to the M1. Not sure what your price range is and I've never heard the M4 but I think you'd enjoy something a bit more balanced, maybe a Maximo iM-590 or Xears XR120 Pro. If your budget goes up above $50, maybe a VSonic GR06, Rock-It Sounds R-30, Etymotic MC5, or MEElec A161P/Fischer SBA-03. The Rock-It Sounds has slightly more laid-back treble compared to the others but the midrange is nice and forward and it's a surprisingly detailed earphone. 

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