[illquid]

Bravo on the review and well done for the sheer amount of time and effort that was required.
 
Just wondering if it would be a fairer comparison to have done it all using foam or all using silicone tips though, as they really affect the sound significantly rather than a mixture (at least what I garner from the lovely little thumbnails you've included in the post).

 

[CaptainFlam]

Very Impressive

 

[saisunil]

brilliant!
 
Thanks

 

[ericp10]

Great job!! I really agree with you on the Custom 3. I think sound-wise it's the most underrated universal BA out there, and probably one of the most underrated universals period. I will change it into a custom soon.

 

[kenniepark]

Nicely done!

 

[Fin1211]

great review. maybe im the only one who prefers this, but it would be really cool if you could add a number rating on the end of each review so we could compare the earbuds, or at least one number rating in the summary for each iem. i have the custom 3's and love them, will be recabling them with silver-anybody interested can find it in the diy forums in probably a month-yay!

 

[mvw2]

Quote:

Bravo on the review and well done for the sheer amount of time and effort that was required.
 
Just wondering if it would be a fairer comparison to have done it all using foam or all using silicone tips though, as they really affect the sound significantly rather than a mixture (at least what I garner from the lovely little thumbnails you've included in the post).

 
I did use tips that benefited the earphone.  I initially had the tips that were shown in the pic, but I did change them later to what I felt were better.  I stuck to the stock e-Q7 tips.  I got rid of the IEM format of the OK1.  I so tried to work with it, but man, they just don't fair well without massive EQing.  No foam tips on the CK100, although it was fine either way.  The treble was refined and pleasant enough to not care.  I went away from the foam on the ER-ZERO and RE262 as well.  I stuck to the single flange silicon tips when possible.  I stuck with the foam for the RE252 because the treble was so authoritative and fitment gets harder with other tips.  The foam sits more so around the opening rather than in anyways.  I went back and forth on the Triple.Fi 10.  Foam tames the top end, but bloats the low end.  I typically liked the silicon tips more, and the treble, while emphasized, is likable regardless.  I actually wish I had more tips around to play with, but I don't.  Much of what I used came with the earphones.  Some fit my ears well, some don't.  I stuck to what worked.
 
 

 

[mvw2]

Quote:

great review. maybe im the only one who prefers this, but it would be really cool if you could add a number rating on the end of each review so we could compare the earbuds, or at least one number rating in the summary for each iem. i have the custom 3's and love them, will be recabling them with silver-anybody interested can find it in the diy forums in probably a month-yay!

Ratings implies personal preference to some degree.  To convey a number, I would still need to back it up with descriptive information describing why the item deserves that number.  For the most part, I have already provided the descriptive information, just no rankings.  Really, you should be able to read through the descriptions and say "yeah, that sounds like something I'd like." or "hmm, I'd prefer my whatever to sound a different way."  You should be able to generate a relative scale of personal fit from the written details.  That fit is effectively your own ranking which in turn would vary from my ranking.  I could rank in a generalized sense, but I would still be ranking on criteria that I would need to still define in detail.  A simply example is what is good bass?  Not everyone will agree o the same thing.  Some like tight, punchy bass and an earphone like the RE252 might rank high.  Some like a heavy, smooth note, and something like the HJE900 or Triple.Fi 10 will rank higher.  This hobby is all about personal preference, so it's best to follow that.  The best I can do is try and describe things in as much detail as I'm willing, and then for you to read that information and decide if that product fits your own preferences or not.   I don't feel there is a better route outside of actually listening to the product yourself.  Ranking is simply applying one number to a complex group of sound.  How one comes to that ranked value is very much open to interpretation. 

 

[Hero Kid]

A well earned home page feature! Well done
 

 

[FrankWong]

Awesome review, very good layout and informative! Kudos to the OP.

 

[turtlee]

Been away from Head-Fi far too long. This is the kind of post that keeps me coming back over and over despite my lack of funds. Thanks OP.

 

[2enty3]

My god man. That is a lot of Text.
Sorry I really don't have the time to read all of it, but I greatly appreciate the time and effort you put into such a detailed review. I also like how you sampled a single instrument that you were familiar with. I think this is a great way to judge and review headphones/earphones.
 
Good job and thanks!

 

[mvw2]

I don't think it's meant to be absorbed in one sitting.  I couldn't write it in one, so I expect no one to finish it in one either.
 
I enjoyed doing band in school.  I must say I'm quite rusty these days and the trombone sits alone in a closet for years.  Maybe one day I'll pick up the habit again and make something of if, if only casually.
 
Recordings are a different thing from reality unfortunately.  Especially recordings we have no control over.  We have no perception of the mic or any post processing done.  My roommates play in a couple bands do a moderate amount of recording.  I'm not really a part of their world, but it is interesting chatting with them and watching the craft, both playing and recording.  The actual sound from an instrument 2 feet from you is nothing like the sound of that instrument on a speaker after it's been recorded and engineered.  There's just so many layers of stuff going on that you don't know about unless you are actually doing it yourself.  Songs are engineered pieces using a lot of equipment with a lot of influence, and that creates quite the challenge when it comes to the end for us as users to say how something should sound or should not sound.  Even for a simple recording with one mic, it's still not as genuine as it would be if you where there.  It's always a guess, hopefully educated or at least of some experience but not always.  Sometimes we're just stuck with generalized ideas and just not worry about about the details.  I do try to review in a someone generalized sense for this.  I don't care if a guitar or drum sounds exactly this way or that, but if it's lacking, over pronounced, warm, or super edgy, you know the earphone's doing something to make it that way, and these are the hints that help you understand what the earphone is doing.  This is also why I like to own an earphone for a long time before reviewing.  I think my shortest is 2 weeks, but most of the earphones I've owned and reviewed have been products I've owned for a month or longer and have listened to a hundred different songs and mixes of genres with.  The understanding gets built over time and the breadth of experience also helps cancel out the individual changes per recording.  An earphone that's bassy with one song doesn't mean the earphone is bassy.  It could just be the song.  An earphone that's bassy with 100 songs is a bassy earphone. 

 

[kingtz]

Excellent review! This is one of the best written, thought out, and detailed I've read in a while around here.

 

[yifu]

Like!