Hey joker,
 
What would you say is a good dac to purchase around $300 that would work well with the GR07 or Westone W2's. Do you think using a dac with these iem's would make a difference in sound quality?
 
Thanks.

Quote:

ljokerl said:

 
Etymotic Etykids, maybe? They aren’t as thin-sounding as the BA-based Ety sets. I haven’t done a full review but I’ve heard them three times now and have always been impressed. You simply won’t beat the isolation for the price. The Etys won’t have as much bass the GR06 but (without A:Bing) I would say the quality of the mids/treble would be nearly on-par. Another option might be the VSonic VC02 but it won’t isolate as much as the Etykids and sounds brighter overall. If you want something with more bass and are willing to give up a chunk of isolation the UE500 might work for you - it comes with Comply tips and has above-average isolation. Most of the appeal is in that it's currently quite cheap, typically <$40 on amazon.
 

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sound like a better sounding and better deal than the MC's series?

ljokerl said:

It depends on your budget. The aging Brainwavz M2 is a more refined ProAlpha at $50 or so. It’s not a huge step up, though. If you’re okay with a brighter sound something a little more v-shaped, like the Astrotec AM-800 ($65), would be a good option. 

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Thanks. I can spend up to 170$. M2 are a little bit too bassy compared to more balanced ProAlpha (I like bass, it should be strong but not too much and overwhelming like in SoundMAGIC E10). I would prefer smooth treble and sweet sounding. Recently I've tried Yamaha EPH-100 (I couldn't stand quite harsh high frequency drums like tambourine and its horrible microphonics - except that, they are great). After your last reviews I bought Vsonic R02 Silver in hope they deliver better sound, I'll see. Of course I'm open to your suggestions.

justblue said:

Thanks. I can spend up to 170$. M2 are a little bit too bassy compared to more balanced ProAlpha (I like bass, it should be strong but not too much and overwhelming like in SoundMAGIC E10). I would prefer smooth treble and sweet sounding. Recently I've tried Yamaha EPH-100 (I couldn't stand quite harsh high frequency drums like tambourine and its horrible microphonics - except that, they are great). After your last reviews I bought Vsonic R02 Silver in hope they deliver better sound, I'll see. Of course I'm open for your suggestions.

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Did you let the EPH100 burn in?

Mine have no harsh treble whatsoever. I find them quite smooth and balanced.

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lifted andreas said:

Did you let the EPH100 burn in?

Mine have no harsh treble whatsoever. I find them quite smooth and balanced.

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Yes, it took over 50 hours. It's strange, because I don't find EPH-100's treble harsh entirely - I noticed only problem with excessively exposed drums (cymbals, tambourines ect). Nevermind, maybe I'm to sensitive to it, now I'm searching for something different, but in line with my sounding expectations. I like ProAlpha, they're great for the money, but I want something better quality, more accurate but still sweet, warm and natural.

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justblue said:

 
Yes, it took over 50 hours. It's strange, because I don't find EPH-100's treble harsh entirely - I noticed only problem with excessively exposed drums (cymbals, tambourines ect). Nevermind, maybe I'm to sensitive to it, now I'm searching for something different, but in line with my sounding expectations. I like ProAlpha, they're great for the money, but I want something better quality, more accurate but still sweet, warm and natural.

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Ah I see, yeah it could be many things... source, audio itself etc...
 
Maybe the Fischer Audio Tandem fits the bill for you?

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lifted andreas said:

 
Maybe the Fischer Audio Tandem fits the bill for you?

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I know them, nope, they're too mid-centric, like earbuds - focused on vocals with lacking bass. Also I don't find them better enough than ProAlpha in other aspects, to make it profitable spending 89$ for FA Tandem.

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justblue said:

 
I know them, nope, they're too mid-centric, like earbuds - focused on vocals with lacking bass. Also I don't find them better enough than ProAlpha in other aspects, to make it profitable spending 89$ for FA Tandem.

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Might be good for you to check out the discovery thread, you will probably find something you like there:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/586909/the-discovery-thread-new-jant71s-take-on-the-new-ath-clr100-pg-618-zero-audio-carbo-basso-pg-601
 
I ordered these yesterday, really hoping they might be an improvement over the Yams:
http://www.amazon.co.jp/ZERO-AUDIO-%E3%82%A4%E3%83%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%BC%E3%82%A4%E3%83%A4%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B9%E3%83%86%E3%83%AC%E3%82%AA%E3%83%98%E3%83%83%E3%83%89%E3%83%9B%E3%83%B3-%E3%83%86%E3%83%8E%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AC-ZH-DX200-CT/dp/B0093VVP0Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369305991&sr=8-1&keywords=carbo+tenore+zh-dx200-ct

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ljokerl said:

Sounds like you don’t like the v-shaped sound. The EPH100 has more focus on the mids relative to the treble so in that respect it should be better. The only caution would be if you’re used to very forward upper mids, which present forward and sort of ‘shouty’ vocals, from some other headphone. The EPH-100 doesn’t do that.

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Wish I could find a shop in Hong Kong which has EPH-100 for demo ... anyway, I would say I'm happy with the sound of FXT-90 for most of my tracks.  Thanks for the reply.

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ljokerl said:

 
You can't really have a ton of bass without it getting in the way. I guess something with a ton of subbass boost would be closest - the RHA MA-350, for example. 
 

Agreed. Just got back from my morning walk with something similar:
 

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Hi ljoker, Seems that your ear canals a bit tighter than mine...I have enormous ones  !  Resolved this with Meelec big short double flanges - enhanced with some 3M foams. Prefer short  tips , better soundstage IMO.
BTW great reviews! Thanks

You are right! I've tested all seals and with only 1 set the sound turn from bad/awful to wonderful and just right for me Never had in-ear headphones and didn't realise, that seals makes most of the sound properties.
THANK YOU for good recommendation and a professional advice.
 
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ljokerl said:

It sounds like you’re not getting a proper seal with the Trident – the lack of proper imaging, weak bass, and excessive treble are all indicators of a bad acoustic seal.

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Quote:

kobetastic said:

Hey joker,
 
What would you say is a good dac to purchase around $300 that would work well with the GR07 or Westone W2's. Do you think using a dac with these iem's would make a difference in sound quality?
 
Thanks.

Click to expand...

 
It depends on your source. A good-quality portable player isn't far behind a good DAC in sound quality and probably not worth upgrading. A (non-Apple) smartphone or sub-par computer sound card, on the other hand, can definitely be worth switching from. I've only tried one new DAC in recent history - the Sunrise Audio Ray. My thoughts can be found here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/660291/short-review-sunrise-audio-ray-excellent-portable-dac-amp
 
Quote:

zelda said:

sound like a better sounding and better deal than the MC's series?

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Yeah, I thought so, I wanted to do a full write-up but haven't had the time.
 
Quote:

justblue said:

Thanks. I can spend up to 170$. M2 are a little bit too bassy compared to more balanced ProAlpha (I like bass, it should be strong but not too much and overwhelming like in SoundMAGIC E10). I would prefer smooth treble and sweet sounding. Recently I've tried Yamaha EPH-100 (I couldn't stand quite harsh high frequency drums like tambourine and its horrible microphonics - except that, they are great). After your last reviews I bought Vsonic R02 Silver in hope they deliver better sound, I'll see. Of course I'm open to your suggestions.

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Hmm... I didn't get any harshness from the EPH-100 either. It wasn't a smooth as the Tandem (for example) but it wasn't really harsh. I think you should try the R02 Silver and see what you think, then go from there. Might not have enough subbass if the Tandem didn't. I haven't heard the ProAlpha in a while (though I still have my M1 and M2) so the R02 Silver might be a better starting point for an upgrade.
 
Quote:

astrud said:

Hi ljoker, Seems that your ear canals a bit tighter than mine...I have enormous ones 

!  Resolved this with Meelec big short double flanges - enhanced with some 3M foams. Prefer short  tips , better soundstage IMO.
BTW great reviews! Thanks

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Wow, that makes them look positively tiny...
 
Quote:

prakalejas said:

You are right! I've tested all seals and with only 1 set the sound turn from bad/awful to wonderful and just right for me Never had in-ear headphones and didn't realise, that seals makes most of the sound properties.
THANK YOU for good recommendation and a professional advice.
 

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Great, glad they're sounding better 

Thanks for the informative thread.
 
Just something I wanted to clarify, with the ratings given to each IEM within their respective price sections;
 
are the values standard and linear across the price platforms?
 
For example in the $0-$15, we have (3C21) Monoprice 8320 (MEP-933) rated with a Sound rating of 7.5/10.
 
Would this 7.5 rating be directly comparable to something from the $30-$60 section, for example (3A5) Soundmagic PL50 rated 6.9/10 in terms of sound?
 
Would this mean that The monoprice 8320 has a better sound than the soundmagic PL50?
 
Or are the ratings confined within their own price range?
 
Thanks for the clarification.

Quote:

mastermindjapan said:

Thanks for the informative thread.
 
Just something I wanted to clarify, with the ratings given to each IEM within their respective price sections;
 
are the values standard and linear across the price platforms?

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Yep, it's all the same scale. No discrimination based on price, which is why things like the MEP-933 are such good value (for sound at least, not so much everything else).

Thanks for the clarification, really helpful!