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eraserxiv said:

 
ljokerl, what would you say about the W2 bass impact vs the e-Q7?

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I'd say pretty similar - neither is anemic but then they aren't bass-heavy, either. Like rawrster I put a lot of value in the technical characteristics of the Ortofons' bass, which treads a fine line between 'natural' and 'accurate'. I remember it having pretty solid extension so the W2 may roll off a little earlier but other than that not very different.
 
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buffalowings said:

ljokerl, thanks for the additional reviews on the Westone family. with the right eartips, they should fit next to anyone right? could it be possible for a person to have ears that prevent the housing from...fitting

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I can see the W3 being a pain to fit for someone with smaller ears as they are a little fat for my liking. With longer tips they should still fit but you will have to get used to something pressing into your ear.
 

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xtasi said:

Wow so many planned reviews.  I have to say that is impressive.
 
I was just wondering if you also planned on reviewing the nuforce ne-700X?  It's unreleased, but I thought maybe its something worth looking at in the future.

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Ha, it'll be impressive if I actually get through all of them. I was not aware the NE-700X existed until yesterday, to be honest. I suppose I should contact Nuforce but at the same time that planned review list is pretty daunting and I feel like I should try and stay focused on those... dozen or so earphones.
 

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monoglycer said:

Great reviews of the westones joker, you captured what I thought about them as well as being a  really enjoyable read.
 

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Thanks 
 

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jxk said:

Great review joker.
Regarding the W1, I'm guessing it's closest competitor in terms of sound, price, and design is the PFE? 

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In terms of price, yes, but the PFE is a fairly analytical earphone so the W1 is to the PFE what the W2 is to the CK10 - a less energetic and aggressive sound that's noticeably warmer and slightly smoothed-over. To me the PFE has less sonic flaws than the W1 does although for vocal-centric  music I can see someone picking the Westones. I'd say for sound its closest competitors are the Soundmagic PL50 and UE SF5 v2, which are both a lot cheaper. Granted, neither is quite as resolving and transparent as the W1 but the difference is much smaller than the price indicates and the SF5 has a bigger soundstage while the PL50 doesn't lack as badly in extension.

amazing thread man! this makes everyones lives much easier! thanks again!

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ljokerl said:

Added Westone 1, 2, and 3. 

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Nice reviews, I enjoyed reading them. I'm happy I was able to loan you the W3 for the review.  I agree the fit of the W3 makes or breaks the sound.  I've found the UM56 custom tips give me the proper deep insertion and best sonic balance.  Otherwise, based on the sound signature I would describe the W3 as being almost like a universal fit UE11Pro.

personally, i like how every review is also sort of a review of the CK10.  haha.  its always a good read; things that i don't/won't have.  though it would seem to me that the W2 is what i would want out of the three.

Joker, I know it's kind of stalking but I can't help noticing that the RE262 is listed in your sig where the CK10 once was. Could it be that we've found a new king? Sorry if I'm just reading in to it too much

Excellent read!  I can't wait for your full write-up of the EarSonics SM3.  I just got mine yesterday and am blown away.  Coming from detailed yet uncomfortable and sterile Ety ER-4P/S's to these is a night and day difference.  Where the Etys are dry, neutral, analytical, and very flat in response, these are much more magical, warm, impactful, and sweet.  I always loved my Ety's but there was always something missing (or rather, there was NOTHING missing, but they just aren't fun).  If the Ety ER-4 is the AKG K-701, the SM3 is the HD650.  Sure, the IE8 may be closer to that, but these strike an incredibly fine middle path in all things...not too much anything, not too lacking in other areas.  I too need some more time with them to fully appreciate them for what they are.

If only the RE262 didn't make the J3 so inefficient. I might have to pick up one of those players with more power such as a C30 for the RE262 if I considered using it in my portable rig.

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golden monkey said:

Excellent read!  I can't wait for your full write-up of the EarSonics SM3.  
 
 
You and me both, I hope he tells the truth and nothing but the truth or forever hold your....I have a strong feeling these will blow....everything out of the water. This is my chart of reference, and it looks very promising.
 
 
 http://anythingbutipod.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15243

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confispect said:

You and me both, I hope he tells the truth and nothing but the truth or forever hold your....I have a strong feeling these will blow....everything out of the water. This is my chart of reference, and it looks very promising.
 
 
 http://anythingbutipod.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15243

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That chart is funny, on the CK10 he gives treble "medium", Isolation "medium", comfort "medium" ease of insert "bad".
 
Sure, people have different ears, but for me ease of insert is "high", comfort "pillow-like", Isolation "very good" and treble in the 6kHz-10kHz sector "supreme".
 
Unless there's something I don't know about q-jays or x-jays, I think the ck10 are surely the best IEM's in the world... for their size.

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kiteki said:

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confispect said:

You and me both, I hope he tells the truth and nothing but the truth or forever hold your....I have a strong feeling these will blow....everything out of the water. This is my chart of reference, and it looks very promising.
 
 
 http://anythingbutipod.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15243

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That chart is funny, on the CK10 he gives treble "medium", Isolation "medium", comfort "medium" ease of insert "bad".
 
Sure, people have different ears, but for me ease of insert is "high", comfort "pillow-like", Isolation "very good" and treble in the 6kHz-10kHz sector "supreme".
 

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Hmmm, I would have thought comfort to be good, I can understand treble medium though......sibilance. Different ears.

I found this chart a little more useful in the descriptions: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/476315/top-tier-universal-iem-comparison-chart-frequency-response-charts-discussion
 
Coincidentally, SM3 topped the list, lol.  In a recent convo with average_joe, he stated that his favorite IEM was still the SM3, and I'm inclined to agree, although I don't have nearly the breadth of knowledge that he or dftk or joker has with them.  I just know what I like...and I LOVE these, lol.

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ginuwine said:

amazing thread man! this makes everyones lives much easier! thanks again!

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Thanks, glad the the thread is useful.
 

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headphoneaddict said:

Nice reviews, I enjoyed reading them. I'm happy I was able to loan you the W3 for the review.  I agree the fit of the W3 makes or breaks the sound.  I've found the UM56 custom tips give me the proper deep insertion and best sonic balance.  Otherwise, based on the sound signature I would describe the W3 as being almost like a universal fit UE11Pro.

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Thanks. To be honest it was your disclaimer on loaning them to me that made me persevere with the fit of the W3 - as much as I like to think that I would've been patient enough to figure it out on my own, I have to admit that the sound of the W3 with stock single-flange tips is quite discouraging 
 

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germanturkey said:

personally, i like how every review is also sort of a review of the CK10.  haha.  its always a good read; things that i don't/won't have.  though it would seem to me that the W2 is what i would want out of the three.

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I have to have a consistent benchmark and since the CK10 is the one I am probably most familiar with of the IEMs I actually own (and scores high on technical points) I think it makes a good one. Plus it gives those who own/have heard the CK10 a relate-able perspective although I do try to throw in some comparisons to other earphones when reviewing higher-end gear.
 

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joethearachnid said:

Joker, I know it's kind of stalking but I can't help noticing that the RE262 is listed in your sig where the CK10 once was. Could it be that we've found a new king? Sorry if I'm just reading in to it too much

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Ha. Actually, my CK10 is out on loan so I've had to settle for the next best thing lately. I agree with rawrster that the RE262 is not a reasonable portable solution with the J3 because it drains mine in under 7 hours but I don't have room in my sig for all of the IEMs I have in rotation..

 

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golden monkey said:

Excellent read!  I can't wait for your full write-up of the EarSonics SM3.  I just got mine yesterday and am blown away.  Coming from detailed yet uncomfortable and sterile Ety ER-4P/S's to these is a night and day difference.  Where the Etys are dry, neutral, analytical, and very flat in response, these are much more magical, warm, impactful, and sweet.  I always loved my Ety's but there was always something missing (or rather, there was NOTHING missing, but they just aren't fun).  If the Ety ER-4 is the AKG K-701, the SM3 is the HD650.  Sure, the IE8 may be closer to that, but these strike an incredibly fine middle path in all things...not too much anything, not too lacking in other areas.  I too need some more time with them to fully appreciate them for what they are.

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Thanks and I definitely understand what you mean about the SM3 being magical and not sounding like a compromise despite not being the absolute best at everything. It seems that they are an even better match for you than they are for me since it only took you a day to like them 
 

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confispect said:

You and me both, I hope he tells the truth and nothing but the truth or forever hold your....I have a strong feeling these will blow....everything out of the water. This is my chart of reference, and it looks very promising.

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Well I've already admitted a couple of pages back that I have to re-scale the chart for the SM3 which is part of the reason why it's taking so long . 
 

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kiteki said:

That chart is funny, on the CK10 he gives treble "medium", Isolation "medium", comfort "medium" ease of insert "bad".
 
Sure, people have different ears, but for me ease of insert is "high", comfort "pillow-like", Isolation "very good" and treble in the 6kHz-10kHz sector "supreme".
 
Unless there's something I don't know about q-jays or x-jays, I think the ck10 are surely the best IEM's in the world... for their size.

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Agreed and I also don't understand how DFKT managed to coerce microphonics from the CK10. I've worn them while jogging and even cable-down, which they weren't designed to do, microphonics were still very low. Everything else is relatively subjective but microphonics I don't get .

Just remember that the chart on that site is just one man's opinion. The last time I saw that chart I disagree with a lot on that chart but it is based on his opinions. If I made a chart it would be very different in many ways.
 
Regarding the CK10 many users have used them with triple flange tips to get them to sound the best and triple flange tips are not as easy to insert as the sony hybrids. I had much better comfort with the hybrids although then it was prone to sibilance compared to triple flanges which did not have sibilance but was not as comfortable.

anyone here who owned RE0 and q-jays?
That chart is strange. It says little bass to q-jays and medium to RE0????

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mcnoiserdc said:

anyone here who owned RE0 and q-jays?
That chart is strange. It says little bass to q-jays and medium to RE0????

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So what do you feel it should say as Rawster said this is just his opinion dfkt is known thru-out head fi as a good reviewer. So I'd say he's accurate....but different ears.