kiteki
aka Theta Alpha 1
aka Alpha Zeta 5
aka Alpha Zeta 6
aka Nanocat Systems
And many other aliases
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2010
- Posts
- 10,617
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- 174
~under construction~
Update 14th of August, 2011:
I removed J-phonic K2 SP from the versus list.
It became too complicated and unfair, they are not rivals.
- J-phonic versus RE0 as a stage monitor, the J-phonic wins outright.
- J-phonic versus RE0 as a music listening IEM, they have different qualities, but this is what the RE0 was designed for, and the J-phonic was not.
The J-phonic is not a musically entrancing IEM, it crushes the RE0 in bass depth and decay for example which is very impressive, and has a better sense of space and a well-tapered tone, but for the pure tone of an instrument and sheer musicality the RE0 is a better IEM if you're sitting on a subway and want to tap your feet to the music.
The J-phonic is designed for stage professionals and does exceedingly well at that, and for some listeners they'll enjoy that tone, personally a stage monitor IEM such as the J-phonic and Shure SE535 are not my favorite IEM's, not even the Shure SE425 which I liked better but I remember listening to it and then listening to the Sony EX700 and thought "ok nevermind", the same thing happens here, as much as I dislike the harshness on the Sony EX700, if I listen to the J-phonic for an hour, the full-on tonality and presentation of the EX700 will have me in it's favour quickly.
I'd like to differentiate between studio monitor and stage monitor, I like studio monitor sound it seems, such as my Sony MDR-V6 and Fostex T-5 headphones, the flat FR of the ck10, the balanced RE0 and RE252, the reference quality A2000X, the clean and neutral signal of the Teclast T51, etc.
If I was a stage musician, I might pick up the SE425 or the J-phonic, in a performing scenario, but as it is I'm just a hobby musician, and even in that setting I prefer listening to full-on tonality and crystalline detail rather than well-tapered equipment with technical depth.
I already have a fairly good feeling for the RE0 and RE252, however I'm going away for a couple days with long train rides and I'm bringing the RE0 and RE252 with me, along with a weak DAP with mp3 music (Sony gumstick 10mW+10mW) and a powerful DAP with critical listening music in Flac (Teclast T51).
So the review shall continue after that.
As far as the J-phonic is concerned, as outlined above it won as a well-tapered IEM with technical depth, impressive bass response and unheard of decay and speed at the same time, but loses out to the RE0 and RE252 in tonality and bliss. If the RE0 is a walk through a park, the RE252 is a walk through a graveyard, and the K2 SP is a walk through a factory.
RE0 versus RE252 versus ______________ ?
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