Multi-IEM Review - 352 IEMs compared (Pump Audio Earphones added 04/03/16 p. 1106) | Page 866 | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org

ljokerl · Feb 18, 2014 at 3:52 AM

johanchandy said:
I was considering the GR07 BE but reading about the sibilance has scared me off but I could get it for a good price here(140 CAD). I am still torn, I am really interested in the re-400 after reading modular's recommendation. I would like your recommendation as well. I am looking for an iem with upfront vocals and highs that sparkle. I also prefer a thinner sound. Where the bass is concerned I greatly prefer quality and speed over quantity. Looking for the most detail for the price. Basically something close to neutral but with pronounced vocals. I hope you could recommend something within the 100-200$ range for me. The options I'm looking at are the HF5, re-400, gr07BE, vc1000 and the dunu DN-1000(Please add anything you feel would better suit my tastes). I also here the se215's are good if the cable is replaced by a Fiio one.

Thanks!

Missed this post. I wouldn't pick the GR07BE for pronounced vocals or the SE215 for highs that sparkle (far from it). The DN-1000 isn't particularly neutral, either. The rest are all extremely solid options for neutral, detailed earphones with good mids and highs and controlled bass. The RE-400 is a little warmer and more full-bodied than the other two but doesn't have the treble sparkle of the VC1000 especially. The VC1000 is a little more sparkly but IMO sounds very good and has surprisingly tame treble overall for what it is.

xecutor said:
Great review as always, have bought a couple of IEMs myself based on your reviews e.g Monoprice 8320 and Rockitsound R50. But I was wondering when are you going to add the Ocharaku line up to your list of reviews, you should at least do the Kaede and Kuro.

Thanks

I have the Kuro (at least I think that's what it is) in the queue, but still a ways off from a full review. Will try to get some short impressions up soon.

OnlinePredator · Feb 18, 2014 at 6:28 AM

The sound in the left ear of my Vsonic GR06 have stopped working(took more than a year for that to happen, which is a record), so I'm looking for a replacement/upgrade.

Having had them for more than a year, I'm pretty sure I'm not an audiophile, as I still have no idea what any of the sound signatures(highs, mids, lows, balanced, warm and sweet, neutral, v-shaped etc.) mean, even after reading on it. I'm using the IEMs that came with my Galaxy S3(maybe you can review them as well) while I wait, and I don't think the GR06 sounds all that "better". I remember that was also my first impression of the GR06, I had been using earbuds(like the older Apple ones) before it, and I didn't really notice that much of a difference in sound quality. So am I not an audiophile, or were they not supposed to sound all that different, or am I deaf?

One thing I DID like/notice about the GR06 was the isolation, which I liked, but sometimes still isn't enough. Since it got a 3.5/5, I'm looking for 4+/5.

http://theheadphonelist.com/headphone-list/?model_search=&headphone_price1=&headphone_price2=200&average_rating1=0&average_rating2=10&sound_rating1=0&sound_rating2=10&build_rating1=0&build_rating2=5&isolation_rating1=4&isolation_rating2=5&comfort_rating1=0&comfort_rating2=5&microphone_rating1=0&microphone_rating2=5&accessibility_rating1=0&accessibility_rating2=5

With a budget of $200(although I'd obviously prefer to spend less), what do you recommend? To me, I'm leaning towards the RE-400. How does it compare to the GR06? Would you say it's a worthy upgrade?

Also, a lot of your reviews aren't appearing on the first page, like GR06 and some of 2C, all of 1A, most of 1B.

On a side note, I've been here since early 2011, and the TF10s have been in the "Upcoming Reviews" the entire time. But I guess people have lost interest since it's been discontinued and replaced by the UE 900s.

ozkan · Feb 18, 2014 at 8:40 AM

onlinepredator said:
The sound in the left ear of my Vsonic GR06 have stopped working(took more than a year for that to happen, which is a record), so I'm looking for a replacement/upgrade.

Having had them for more than a year, I'm pretty sure I'm not an audiophile, as I still have no idea what any of the sound signatures(highs, mids, lows, balanced, warm and sweet, neutral, v-shaped etc.) mean, even after reading on it. I'm using the IEMs that came with my Galaxy S3(maybe you can review them as well) while I wait, and I don't think the GR06 sounds all that "better". I remember that was also my first impression of the GR06, I had been using earbuds(like the older Apple ones) before it, and I didn't really notice that much of a difference in sound quality. So am I not an audiophile, or were they not supposed to sound all that different, or am I deaf?

One thing I DID like/notice about the GR06 was the isolation, which I liked, but sometimes still isn't enough. Since it got a 3.5/5, I'm looking for 4+/5.

http://theheadphonelist.com/headphone-list/?model_search=&headphone_price1=&headphone_price2=200&average_rating1=0&average_rating2=10&sound_rating1=0&sound_rating2=10&build_rating1=0&build_rating2=5&isolation_rating1=4&isolation_rating2=5&comfort_rating1=0&comfort_rating2=5&microphone_rating1=0&microphone_rating2=5&accessibility_rating1=0&accessibility_rating2=5

With a budget of $200(although I'd obviously prefer to spend less), what do you recommend? To me, I'm leaning towards the RE-400. How does it compare to the GR06? Would you say it's a worthy upgrade?

Also, a lot of your reviews aren't appearing on the first page, like GR06 and some of 2C, all of 1A, most of 1B.

On a side note, I've been here since early 2011, and the TF10s have been in the "Upcoming Reviews" the entire time. But I guess people have lost interest since it's been discontinued and replaced by the UE 900s.

If isolation is your priority then I can suggest Etymotic HF5 or Steelseries Flux which costs half the price of HF5s.

http://theheadphonelist.com/headphone_review/steelseries-flux-in-ear/

johanchandy · Feb 18, 2014 at 9:57 AM

ljokerl said:
Missed this post. I wouldn't pick the GR07BE for pronounced vocals or the SE215 for highs that sparkle (far from it). The DN-1000 isn't particularly neutral, either. The rest are all extremely solid options for neutral, detailed earphones with good mids and highs and controlled bass. The RE-400 is a little warmer and more full-bodied than the other two but doesn't have the treble sparkle of the VC1000 especially. The VC1000 is a little more sparkly but IMO sounds very good and has surprisingly tame treble overall for what it is.

This really narrows it down for me. A local store has the re-400 and hf5 for demo so I'm going to give them a listen after work. If I don't like them(I'm pretty sure I would though) I'll order the vc1000 off of ebay.

Thanks again!

b0000 · Feb 18, 2014 at 12:43 PM

What are some good sites to buy earsonics from the USA? It seems like its overpriced directly from the earsonics website since it's in euros. I'm specifically looking at the sm64. What price should i expect to pay for them? The review says 399, but i cant find any at that price. Theyre all 499+

eccom · Feb 18, 2014 at 4:54 PM

Quote:

onlinepredator said:
The sound in the left ear of my Vsonic GR06 have stopped working(took more than a year for that to happen, which is a record), so I'm looking for a replacement/upgrade.

Having had them for more than a year, I'm pretty sure I'm not an audiophile, as I still have no idea what any of the sound signatures(highs, mids, lows, balanced, warm and sweet, neutral, v-shaped etc.) mean, even after reading on it. I'm using the IEMs that came with my Galaxy S3(maybe you can review them as well) while I wait, and I don't think the GR06 sounds all that "better". I remember that was also my first impression of the GR06, I had been using earbuds(like the older Apple ones) before it, and I didn't really notice that much of a difference in sound quality. So am I not an audiophile, or were they not supposed to sound all that different, or am I deaf?

One thing I DID like/notice about the GR06 was the isolation, which I liked, but sometimes still isn't enough. Since it got a 3.5/5, I'm looking for 4+/5.

http://theheadphonelist.com/headphone-list/?model_search=&headphone_price1=&headphone_price2=200&average_rating1=0&average_rating2=10&sound_rating1=0&sound_rating2=10&build_rating1=0&build_rating2=5&isolation_rating1=4&isolation_rating2=5&comfort_rating1=0&comfort_rating2=5&microphone_rating1=0&microphone_rating2=5&accessibility_rating1=0&accessibility_rating2=5

With a budget of $200(although I'd obviously prefer to spend less), what do you recommend? To me, I'm leaning towards the RE-400. How does it compare to the GR06? Would you say it's a worthy upgrade?

Also, a lot of your reviews aren't appearing on the first page, like GR06 and some of 2C, all of 1A, most of 1B.

On a side note, I've been here since early 2011, and the TF10s have been in the "Upcoming Reviews" the entire time. But I guess people have lost interest since it's been discontinued and replaced by the UE 900s.

The RE-400 is a clear step up in sound, though it feels more fragile. My Re-400 for example split down the middle of the earpiece and I had to glue it together again. For isolation the Re-400 is not even close to the etys with a deep fir on tri-flanges, the difference in isolation for me is large, in favour of the etys.

Rivalo · Feb 18, 2014 at 5:44 PM

Hey, yesterday I bought the SteelSeries Flux In-ear (non-pro) after reading the review here. After some extensive listening I think I will return them.
Coming from a stolen and discontinued Sennheiser model (CX870) the Sound quality is great. But I do not like the comfort.
These buds only rely on suction/isolation: That means if I won't keep jamming my left piece into my ear canal it falls out. My older IEMs won't do this.
I blame this on the microphone/button-combination hanging from your left-ear making the cable heavier (this really sucks) and on my seemingly different left ear canal.
Also the 3-pole connector won't work on all devices. Maybe only phones support these connectors. But the Electronic Engineer who designed my abandoned Creative Zen wasn't prepared for this abomination of a connector. It won't even play music :frowning2:

Image for better explanation:
http://i.imgur.com/kkHdEgv.png

So I'm thinking about a more expensive IEM: the Shure SE215. It's big, it will probably stay in my ears. And to wear this over-ear you won't have to turn your flimsy IEMs awkwardly upwards.
Now my question is how the sound quality matches up?
The Flux = (8.2/10 Sound) v.s The Shure (7.9/10 Sound)
And because the Shure is 2x the price of the Flux: are these scores given with also taking the price in account? It seems weird to me that a respectable audio company like Shure makes soundquality-wise worse IEMs than a Gamer peripheral companies first IEM.

lin0003 · Feb 19, 2014 at 1:10 AM

The SE215's sound quality is quite bad for the price IMO. It has awesome isolation though.

and Joker, if you get the chance do try out the Astrotec AX35. They sound awesome and are only around $80. I think they are better than the MA750 and DN-900 overall.

ljokerl · Feb 19, 2014 at 1:21 AM

onlinepredator said:
The sound in the left ear of my Vsonic GR06 have stopped working(took more than a year for that to happen, which is a record), so I'm looking for a replacement/upgrade.

Having had them for more than a year, I'm pretty sure I'm not an audiophile, as I still have no idea what any of the sound signatures(highs, mids, lows, balanced, warm and sweet, neutral, v-shaped etc.) mean, even after reading on it. I'm using the IEMs that came with my Galaxy S3(maybe you can review them as well) while I wait, and I don't think the GR06 sounds all that "better". I remember that was also my first impression of the GR06, I had been using earbuds(like the older Apple ones) before it, and I didn't really notice that much of a difference in sound quality. So am I not an audiophile, or were they not supposed to sound all that different, or am I deaf?

One thing I DID like/notice about the GR06 was the isolation, which I liked, but sometimes still isn't enough. Since it got a 3.5/5, I'm looking for 4+/5.

http://theheadphonelist.com/headphone-list/?model_search=&headphone_price1=&headphone_price2=200&average_rating1=0&average_rating2=10&sound_rating1=0&sound_rating2=10&build_rating1=0&build_rating2=5&isolation_rating1=4&isolation_rating2=5&comfort_rating1=0&comfort_rating2=5&microphone_rating1=0&microphone_rating2=5&accessibility_rating1=0&accessibility_rating2=5

With a budget of $200(although I'd obviously prefer to spend less), what do you recommend? To me, I'm leaning towards the RE-400. How does it compare to the GR06? Would you say it's a worthy upgrade?

Also, a lot of your reviews aren't appearing on the first page, like GR06 and some of 2C, all of 1A, most of 1B.

On a side note, I've been here since early 2011, and the TF10s have been in the "Upcoming Reviews" the entire time. But I guess people have lost interest since it's been discontinued and replaced by the UE 900s.

Hmm... not sure what's going on there with the reviews not showing up. Good thing there's the offsite backup.

The RE-400 might not have enough bass coming from the GR06 but otherwise is definitely better - clearer and more balanced, with more natural tone and less congestion. Not the option I would pick if you aren't noticing the difference between the GR06 and stock buds as it's an accuracy-oriented earphone. You might actually enjoy a bassier set - at the very least you'll definitely notice a difference between that and the Apple stock buds. The Klipsch X10 and Yamaha EPH-100 would be two I would recommend for the safe (bassy/warm) sound signature with great isolation and under $150.

johanchandy said:
This really narrows it down for me. A local store has the re-400 and hf5 for demo so I'm going to give them a listen after work. If I don't like them(I'm pretty sure I would though) I'll order the vc1000 off of ebay.

Thanks again!

Always a good idea to demo stuff. Etys can be tough to get a seal with if you're not used to them - hopefully they'll provide you with some deep-sealing tips to demo them,

b0000 said:
What are some good sites to buy earsonics from the USA? It seems like its overpriced directly from the earsonics website since it's in euros. I'm specifically looking at the sm64. What price should i expect to pay for them? The review says 399, but i cant find any at that price. Theyre all 499+

Earphone solutions used to carry them at $399 but they seem to be gone now. The prices from EarSonics' website probably includes VAT (unless they have two sets of prices listed) which you wouldn't need to pay if you're in the US. Might want to shoot them an email to see what they have to say about that.

rivalo said:
Hey, yesterday I bought the SteelSeries Flux In-ear (non-pro) after reading the review here. After some extensive listening I think I will return them.
Coming from a stolen and discontinued Sennheiser model (CX870) the Sound quality is great. But I do not like the comfort.
These buds only rely on suction/isolation: That means if I won't keep jamming my left piece into my ear canal it falls out. My older IEMs won't do this.
I blame this on the microphone/button-combination hanging from your left-ear making the cable heavier (this really sucks) and on my seemingly different left ear canal.
Also the 3-pole connector won't work on all devices. Maybe only phones support these connectors. But the Electronic Engineer who designed my abandoned Creative Zen wasn't prepared for this abomination of a connector. It won't even play music

Image for better explanation:
http://i.imgur.com/kkHdEgv.png

So I'm thinking about a more expensive IEM: the Shure SE215. It's big, it will probably stay in my ears. And to wear this over-ear you won't have to turn your flimsy IEMs awkwardly upwards.
Now my question is how the sound quality matches up?
The Flux = (8.2/10 Sound) v.s The Shure (7.9/10 Sound)
And because the Shure is 2x the price of the Flux: are these scores given with also taking the price in account? It seems weird to me that a respectable audio company like Shure makes soundquality-wise worse IEMs than a Gamer peripheral companies first IEM.

Sound scores are not weighted by price. The Flux sounds better to me, mostly having better treble energy and extension. It's a small difference, though.

A couple of people have reported that the stock Flux tips gave them problems but the issue was resolved either with Comply foam or the Klipsch Oval Gel tips. Won't solve the issue with the connector, though - you'd need a TRRS adapter for that.

quartertone · Feb 19, 2014 at 1:54 AM

I use the Flux with Sony hybrid tips, does the trick.

esteebin · Feb 19, 2014 at 4:17 AM

quartertone said:
I use the Flux with Sony hybrid tips, does the trick.

+1 I use medium (green base) and love it.
Seals better than stock tips. The stock large was too big and uncomfortable and the medium was too small and would easily slide off.

ljokerl · Feb 19, 2014 at 10:17 PM

qyrus said:
Hi Joker,

First off I'd like to thank you for this thread. It's been a great help when I was shopping for IEM's (decided on the GR07BE's). With your recent review of the DN-1000 I'm wondering if you'd consider the Dunu's to be a big upgrade on the GR's?

Thanks

Not a big upgrade, no, but a good alternative with a slightly different signature. There's a full GR07 BE - DN1k comparison in the review: http://theheadphonelist.com/headphone_review/dunu-dn-1000/

Mdraluck23 · Feb 19, 2014 at 11:16 PM

Deciding between B2's, VC1000's (~125) and a used pair of ER4S (~190) or similar. Anybody have thoughts? Comfort is huge, and I like to wear over ear... Not mandatory though. I had R-50's and want something similar, but a little smoother, just a touch. (maybe a slight bass quantity bump just a liiittleeeeee)

Endcode · Feb 19, 2014 at 11:55 PM

mdraluck23 said:
Deciding between B2's, VC1000's (~125) and a used pair of ER4S (~190) or similar. Anybody have thoughts? Comfort is huge, and I like to wear over ear... Not mandatory though. I had R-50's and want something similar, but a little smoother, just a touch. (maybe a slight bass quantity bump just a liiittleeeeee)

I think the DBA-02 MKII would be worth looking into also

Mdraluck23 · Feb 20, 2014 at 12:02 AM

endcode said:
I think the DBA-02 MKII would be worth looking into also

As I understand the B2 is remarkably similar but at a different price?

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