Earsonics SM3 Appreciation Thread - Third Time is a Charm? - Page 91

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gilly87 

Well yes obviously the sleeves cover the nozzle as well.
I'm second guessing myself now, I hadn't heard anything about Alien Ears before but now I feel discouraged. I wish another more reputable company made something comparable...anybody have any leads?

ACS and Sensaphonics make them - they don't list the SM3 as a compatible model but perhaps they'd be flexible?  Worth inquiring into it I think.

I recently got a pair of SM3 v2 and I was enjoying the hell out of them until an hour ago. I plugged them into my laptop and the left earpiece is significantly lower than the right one. I tried changing tips and sources. I also switched the cable from one side to the other but the left side is still quieter. It almost sounds like one of the drivers in the left earpiece isn't working. Has anyone ever had any such a problem? Is there any place I can get them checked from or just contact earsonics and send them in for warranty repairs?

Any help is much appreciated. 

Hey Gilly,

I was wondering if you could briefly descibe the difference between the TF10 and the SM3. I currently have the UM3X and the TF10 and am thinking of trading one for the SM3. I love the treble sparkle of the TF10 and the midrange of the UM3X and have been curious regarding the SM3 for a bit.

Thanks!

Hey folks, I've had my SM3 for about a week now and I'm in love.  I do, however, have smallish ears.  Can anyone recommend some slightly narrower bi-flanges?  I had the Etymotic Er-6i before these, and loved the small bi-flanges, so will those work on these headphones? I emailed Etymotic to inquire about the nozzle size of the Er-6i and they were a bit dodgy about giving me an answer, for whatever reason.

Well, I've owned and enjoyed the sm3 v1 for over a year, now. You can find my latest posts about the sm3 v1 around page 50 or so. I can no longer hear from the left earpiece, and have lost my original invoice, so I likely won't be able to get it repaired. Here is what I have to say about them.

The sm3v1 had a very warm, laid back sound signature. Too much so for my liking. Originally, I kept finding myself annoyed by how much the bass was interfering with the presence of vocals. Now, keep in mind, 95% of the music I enjoy is vocal. I know how my favorite artists' natural voices sound, and the sm3v1 colored them with a thickness, a throatiness for lack of a better term. It made the vocal sound more expansive, which is not what I want. I want bass sounds such as drums to sound expansive, not vocals or guitars.

Now, I know people were having the impression that the sm3v1's treble is toned down. I think while that is somewhat true, it's partly owed to the fact that these iems were very warm, almost dark. I remember when I EQed down the bass, I could hear treble in just the right amount. One thing I found very interesting: either the re0 (which broke before I bought the sm3) had great sibilance control (which is surprising considering their brightness), or the sm3v1 had little to no sibilance control. One thing that bugged me was hearing pronounced "sss" sounds. Sometimes, it got quite piercing when played at moderately high volume. I kept finding myself EQing the sound to get the frequency spectrum to be somewhere between the overly bright RE0 and the sm3v1... the sweet spot, so to speak. I didn't want to obsess with EQing, so I just stopped and learned to get used to the sm3v1's sound. I think my ears also eventually got accustomed to the sibilance. That doesn't mean I've come to embrace it, though. I like the sm3v1, don't get me wrong. I just don't love it, or even like it a lot.

I sm3v1 added to my knowledge of sound signature, for which I don't regret spending the $300 on them. However, now that my sm3v1's are broken, I'm finding myself revisiting head-fi and my interests are directed towards Westone 4, ATH-CK10, and Westone ES5.