[Bennyboy71]

Have never tried the DBA-02s, but have owned the CK10, e-Q7s and currently own the RE262.
 
I place the 262s ahead of the CK10 and e-Q7s by some margin.  They just seem to be so bloody musical and 'right;' sounding across all the spectrum, whereas the Ortofons suffered by lack of treble and constrained soundstage and the CK10s were so treble-heavy I couldn't get on with them.  Fit wise too, the 262s trump the other 2, especially the CK10s, which made mincemeat of my ears.

 
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Hey Joker. I am wondering why you rate CK10 and DBA-02 above the e-Q7 and RE262. What makes the dual armatures superior in your opinion?

Inherently - nothing. There are plenty of dual armatures I consider inferior to the 262 or e-Q7. The Ortofons and RE262 both have a do-no-wrong type of sound which, while pleasant, never really clicked for me (I like the RE262 better than the e-Q7 personally). 

 

[wendell c]

Thanks so much for this thread,  with so many IEM available it makes it really difficult to choose one especially when you can't hear them all.  After reading the reviews offered I was looking to get some DBA-02 except I could not find any.  I went and got the Panasonic HJE900 from the trade section.  I am enjoying these headphones a lot.  They sound great with the music I've thrown at it, jazz, r&b, classic rock, and even some old school hip hop. 
 
I am loving the fast hitting bass on this thing,  I do notice that the mids are a little recessed but I've eq'd it a bit to my liking, noticing some sibilance on some tracks but not really bothering me.  I am using sony hybrids with it and will try the foam tips as others have recommended.
 
I am still curious about the DBA-02, am I missing a lot with the Panasonics? 
 
What would be a worthy upgrade from the Panasonics?
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

[NimbleRabit]

 
 
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(3B2) MEElectronics Ai-M9 / M9
 

Microphonics (4/5) – Low when worn cable down; nonexistent otherwise

This seems either very misleading or wrong to me unless I just have a faulty pair of M9's.  Or perhaps the iPhone compatible model has more microphonics?  I don't know, but whatever it is, my M9's have what I consider to be quite a bit of microphonics, at least much closer to a 3 than a 4/5 since I would consider 4/5 to be very good.  Do you know if they've changed the M9 at all (I got mine a while ago) or anything? Because I sorta can't believe you would give these things such a high microphonics rating based on what I hear out of them.

 

[rawrster]

Well if you got them a while ago then you probably have the previous version.
 
I had the most recent M9 for a couple of months and there wasn't much microphonics at all.

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

Thanks so much for this thread,  with so many IEM available it makes it really difficult to choose one especially when you can't hear them all.  After reading the reviews offered I was looking to get some DBA-02 except I could not find any.  I went and got the Panasonic HJE900 from the trade section.  I am enjoying these headphones a lot.  They sound great with the music I've thrown at it, jazz, r&b, classic rock, and even some old school hip hop. 
 
I am loving the fast hitting bass on this thing,  I do notice that the mids are a little recessed but I've eq'd it a bit to my liking, noticing some sibilance on some tracks but not really bothering me.  I am using sony hybrids with it and will try the foam tips as others have recommended.
 
I am still curious about the DBA-02, am I missing a lot with the Panasonics? 
 
What would be a worthy upgrade from the Panasonics?

The DBA-02 is not so much an upgrade from the Panasonics as a different sound signature altogether. It doesn't seem like the slight imperfections of the HJE900s bother you much but to keep the dynamic and hard-hitting sound of the HJE900 while moving up the food chain you'd be looking at something like the Radius DDM or Monster Miles Davis. The DBA-02 is for when you want to try a different type of sound entirely - more dry, more detailed, and much more balanced out of the box.
 

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Originally Posted by NimbleRabit /img/forum/go_quote.gif
This seems either very misleading or wrong to me unless I just have a faulty pair of M9's.  Or perhaps the iPhone compatible model has more microphonics?  I don't know, but whatever it is, my M9's have what I consider to be quite a bit of microphonics, at least much closer to a 3 than a 4/5 since I would consider 4/5 to be very good.  Do you know if they've changed the M9 at all (I got mine a while ago) or anything? Because I sorta can't believe you would give these things such a high microphonics rating based on what I hear out of them.

It's a sliding scale - very few IEMs are actually completely quiet, but my M9 is certainly less microphonic than average. I can actually wear it cable-down which is not something I do with many earphones (and yes, mine is the latest version too).

 

[Confispect]

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The DBA-02 is not so much an upgrade from the Panasonics as a different sound signature altogether. It doesn't seem like the slight imperfections of the HJE900s bother you much but to keep the dynamic and hard-hitting sound of the HJE900 while moving up the food chain you'd be looking at something like the Radius DDM or Monster Miles Davis. The DBA-02 is for when you want to try a different type of sound entirely - more dry, more detailed, and much more balanced out of the box.
 
1+ or SM3...
 

 

[esanthosh]

 
Quote:

/img/forum/go_quote.gifI am still curious about the DBA-02, am I missing a lot with the Panasonics? 

 
What would be a worthy upgrade from the Panasonics?

The DBA-02 is not so much an upgrade from the Panasonics as a different sound signature altogether. It doesn't seem like the slight imperfections of the HJE900s bother you much but to keep the dynamic and hard-hitting sound of the HJE900 while moving up the food chain you'd be looking at something like the Radius DDM or Monster Miles Davis.

 
Or FX700. That's where the food chain ends for me, at least for now

. Have not tried MMDT though!

 

[Confispect]

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Or FX700. That's where the food chain ends for me, at least for now

. Have not tried MMDT though!

You know I've considered these as well how's the isolation though, annoying??? Compared to the Pana which is agitating until you get use to it I can imagine these would be quite worse. 

 

[esanthosh]

FX700's only issue is isolation. Much like DDM (but without it's fit issues), these are to be used in calm, quiet environments

. But, sound wise, I consider FX700 an upgrade over both DDM and HJE900. I am not talking about a huge step-up, but a combination of several small factors which make it worth. If you can afford to use one set of IEMs for outside and keep FX700 for indoor use, go for it by all means. I needed a bit of 'attitude adjustment' (more than foam mod) to tune to the sound signature of Panas and to a lesser extent with DDMs. I did not require that with FX700. YMMV, of course!

 

[Confispect]

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FX700's only issue is isolation. Much like DDM (but without it's fit issues), these are to be used in calm, quiet environments

. But, sound wise, I consider FX700 an upgrade over both DDM and HJE900. I am not talking about a huge step-up, but a combination of several small factors which make it worth. If you can afford to use one set of IEMs for outside and keep FX700 for indoor use, go for it by all means. I needed a bit of 'attitude adjustment' (more than foam mod) to tune to the sound signature of Panas and to a lesser extent with DDMs. I did not require that with FX700. YMMV, of course!

Figured as much sound wise as well as isolation, knowing me I would still try to use the FX700 on the train or something and be extremely dissapointed. 

 

[james444]

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Figured as much sound wise as well as isolation, knowing me I would still try to use the FX700 on the train or something and be extremely dissapointed. 

IME the FX700's isolation is only just ok for train and bus rides, but subway is an absolute no-go zone. Speaking of which, I'm about to try out a pretty crazy idea: I'll get myself a small on-ear noise canceling headphone (ATH-ANC25) and cut out their foam pads to wear them over the FX700 (or DDMs, FAD1601). The headphones themselves won't need a cord and will only be there for additional isolation and noise canceling. Granted, this somehow defeats the purpose of having IEMs in the first place, but the ANC25 look pretty inconspicuous and at best that combo will sound way better than any other on-ear headphones of similar size.
 
Don't know if this is gonna work, but it's only a small investment and at the very least it will be fun.

 

[Confispect]

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IME the FX700's isolation is only just ok for train and bus rides, but subway is an absolute no-go zone. Speaking of which, I'm about to try out a pretty crazy idea: I'll get myself a small on-ear noise canceling headphone (ATH-ANC25) and cut out their foam pads to wear them over the FX700 (or DDMs, FAD1601). The headphones themselves won't need a cord and will only be there for additional isolation and noise canceling. Granted, this somehow defeats the purpose of having IEMs in the first place, but the ANC25 look pretty inconspicuous and at best that combo will sound way better than any other on-ear headphones of similar size.
 
Don't know if this is gonna work, but it's only a small investment and at the very least it will be fun.

It'll work it's already been done I remember trying this is my construction class with highly rated class 5 muffs. Pretty cool, you feel as if your listening thru headphones no noise is let out/in. Your IEMS almost dissapear. When I say it sounds like it's thru headphones I mean soundstage and everything, but headphones are big and clunky so this as the usual routine would be a no-go.
 
Something like this:

 

[james444]

Yep, I know it works with around ear phones, I've already used my JBL 610 bluetooth headphones for the same purpose:
 

 
But the interesting question is, will it also work with small on-ears, and above all with active noise canceling?

 

[Confispect]

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 and above all with active noise canceling?

This I would love to hear/see but what would be the advantages vs. passive....if their is none passive would most likely be cheaper.

 

[james444]

I guess you won't find a headphone as small and light as the ANC-25 with good passive isolation. That'd be the advantage, provided it works.