[ REVIEW / COMPARISON ] Two Flagships Pass in the Night: Sony XBA-4 Review VS the MDR-EX1000... - Page 14

Quote:

Originally Posted by azmadu 

Nice :-)

 

Hopefully I'll get my 1000s next week as well. Can't wait :-D

Hi five! who did you order it from? 

Quote:

Originally Posted by audionewbi 

Hi five! who did you order it from? 

I was fortunate to see one being sold on Play.com for the paltry price of £287.  There were two being sold with the 2nd one priced at £499 so I made like Speedy Gonzalez and threw my money at them quick time (SotelPlay was the seller and are based in Germany).

Actually I've just checked back there now and there is another one on the list at £378, so cheaper than £499, but mine was cheaper still.

http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/19509514/-/Product.html?ptsl=1&listingid=980247686

If mine isn't the genuine article (it says it's new factory sealed blah blah) I'll just send it back, simple.

(Please don't be fake)!!!

EX1000 is too good to be faked.

You can't fake that big sound stage, airy sounding and beautiful extension/control of the bass. Then the treble, a love and hate depending on the ears. To these ears, the treble of the EX1000 is what I am dying for.

Hi everyone !

I own the XBA-4, and I really like how they sound : this is perfect for the musics I listen to, such as pop, rock, and alternative. 

I use them on a Cowon J3, and, though I really like the sound, I feel like something is wrong. That's very difficult to explain, but I feel like the XBA-4 could do a much better work. 

Now that I have read this review, I have maybe found what's wrong : the output independence ! 

Maybe the Cowon J3's independence is too high for the XBA-4 ?

What's the independence of the cowon J3 ?

I'd like to know another thing : would the XBA-4 sound better with an iPhone (which has an independence lower than 1), even though the Cowon J3 has a better SQ ? 

After what seemed like an age (some strange processing problem on Play.com website meant my order was just waiting for three days not processing), my MDR-EX1000 arrived in my hand today :-)

I'm currently listening to some Vangelis on my NWZ-F805 using my MDR-EX700s so it'll be interesting to hear the difference between the two IEMs.  The difference as I already mentioned between the supplied EX300s and the EX700s is like night and day and I'm hoping for more of the same from the EX1000s :-)

Will update the thread after some listening has been done and I may post a couple of pictures too :-D

I for one am interested in reading your update views. 

just sold my EX1000.. sigh

gotta collect some funds for my Japan trip

Quote:

Originally Posted by audionewbi 

I for one am interested in reading your update views. 

Me too

Quote:

Originally Posted by alex110394 

 

What's the independence of the cowon J3 ?

 

If I remember well is about 1,5 ohms, for me the XBA-4 sound better with the Sony F (2-3 ohms) than with the J3. But not a big difference, a slight difference and I have poor ears :)

For me it sound also better on the F than with my Sidewinder D7 (< 1 ohms) and the T51 (< 1 ohms), I not understand !

The misteries of the impedance

Quote:

Originally Posted by azmadu 

After what seemed like an age (some strange processing problem on Play.com website meant my order was just waiting for three days not processing), my MDR-EX1000 arrived in my hand today :-)

 

I'm currently listening to some Vangelis on my NWZ-F805 using my MDR-EX700s so it'll be interesting to hear the difference between the two IEMs.  The difference as I already mentioned between the supplied EX300s and the EX700s is like night and day and I'm hoping for more of the same from the EX1000s :-)

 

Will update the thread after some listening has been done and I may post a couple of pictures too :-D

Well I thought I'd refresh people's minds a little and add some new pictures of the old favourite of everyone :-)

The box is a nice size and you can feel the quality.

Opening the box is like opening a treasure chest inside a treasure chest just hinting at what awaits inside.

When I finally saw the MDR-EX1000s I was like Po in Kung Fu Panda - Wooooooaaaahhhhhh, awesome!!!

I removed the multi coloured ear tip case to reveal the additional short cable underneath, nice :-)

I took a closer picture of the EX1000s

I detached the EX1000s from their resting place to take a closer look.

And another colse up of one of the single drivers...

I think that's enough pictures for now, as I'm sure you all know the other item in the box is the leather carrying case which some of you dislike because it's very big, but I don't mind that because I know the EX1000s will always be well protected.

The real test of these lovley looking units is not in how they look, but how they sound and thats my next treat and that will take some time to get used to but for now I'm listening to Daft Punk's Tron Legacy then Ghost in the Shell Innocence is next. 

So far they feel just as comfortable as my EX700s to wear, and what I'm hearing already is very detailed soundstage and very expressive with the right amount of oomph in the basement (geddit?) but I'll listen to some nice vocal music as well to get a feel for how they perform with all types of music, but for now I'm listening with a smile :-D

Az

Quote:

Originally Posted by a_recording 

One thing now guys: I have the XBA-40, XBA-4, 7550 and EX1000 now. Would people like me to update with impressions of the XBA-40 and 7550?

Yes, Please! 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Migou67 

For me it sound also better on the F than with my Sidewinder D7 (< 1 ohms) and the T51 (< 1 ohms), I not understand !

 

The misteries of the impedance

Probably Sony engineers tuned it using their own players rather than ones with low OI. If you refer to GoldenEars and Rin's analysis, adding impedance makes XBAs relatively linear. I have XBA-3 which sounds better with a slightly higher impedance source as well. While there is no plot of the FR with 3 or 5 ohm impedance, I am guessing there would at least be a slight change for the better.

Thank for your response, it makes sense

Hi everybody!

Got my XBA-40 three days ago. Thanks to a_recording for the comparison with XBA-4 and choosing the 40`s)

It was rather painful to wear them according to R and L marks and also to instruction (yes, I did look into it just to make sure).

That seemed strange Sony made such uncomfortable fit for top iems.

I changed L and R - and they are super-comfortable now!

Mine are made in Thailand, and their silicone buds are significantly rougher than ones from EX700 - I swapped them and got another step up in comfort. 

Just give it a try prior to throwing rotten tomatoes for changing L/R!

It is half day and night difference between XBA40 and EX700. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by a_recording 
 

One thing now guys: I have the XBA-40, XBA-4, 7550 and EX1000 now. Would people like me to update with impressions of the XBA-40 and 7550?

+2 for comparison between XBA-40 and EX1000