[ellis ip]

Looking for the right upgrade for re-400's to use with my dx50.
I listen to indie, hiphop, ambient, and edm. Big soundstage + slightlyyy boosted bass would be nice with decent overall clarity.
I have a couple contenders:

westone 4/4r/w40      very neutral, might be boring
sony xba-h3              fun, sony treble..
heir 4.ai                    tuned for jazz.. not sure if that's good or bad
ath-im02                   excellent clarity, possibly sibilant
noble 3                     might be the holy grail, maybe

Not sure where to start :confused_face_2:  Help me trim down my list please

actually i would look for the asg 1 or 3.a.i because ath im ba series or westone don't have enough bass for edm , im70 is ok for edm but the soundstage wasn't big enough , i try all of those , i finally pick the heir 3.a.i and change cable , it 's enough for me , but i start to look up for the westone um50 (i am so greedy XD) , arrived hongkong 1 week ago

 

[nati8056]

joker the dunu dn1000 and vc1000 is better then se535?
and what about se846?

 

[ethanc]

  Looking for the right upgrade for re-400's to use with my dx50.
I listen to indie, hiphop, ambient, and edm. Big soundstage + slightlyyy boosted bass would be nice with decent overall clarity.
I have a couple contenders:
 
westone 4/4r/w40      very neutral, might be boring
sony xba-h3              fun, sony treble..
heir 4.ai                    tuned for jazz.. not sure if that's good or bad
ath-im02                   excellent clarity, possibly sibilant
noble 3                     might be the holy grail, maybe
 
Not sure where to start

 Help me trim down my list please

I personally don't think the 4.ai is tuned for jazz, rather, it has very smooth mid range which happens to synergize very nicely with jazz.  The non-S version (older version) is considered to be very neutral, with a hint of warmth, and very detailed. The S version, I heard, has bass boosted a little bit.

 

[SyCo87]

Funny thing is, I use my M6 more than any of those except maybe the Philips, which makes for a good benchmark. The M6 just fits so well and stays so securely in my ears, and I know it will survive if I get a little sweat on it or if the cable gets snagged.

I tried replacing it with other sets as my active IEM but none have quite worked out. The Westove ADV was closest but I end up focusing on how crappy it sounds for $200. 

Yeah the fit was really good in my opinion. Wish the ATHIM50s had their small housing. With that being said, I have no idea what happened to my clear pair. Might have to pick up another pair for jogging.

 

[loomisjohnson]

do they do blind listening tests in these parts? if so, it'd be interesting to see how many folks prefer, say, the $50 vsonics to the the $200 models.

 

[kova4a]

  do they do blind listening tests in these parts? if so, it'd be interesting to see how many folks prefer, say, the $50 vsonics to the the $200 models.

It's not about looking at an iem and hearing it better just because you know it's more expensive.  But to answer your question I can tell apart even iems with smaller differences like the 3 vsonic VSD1 versions in a blind test let alone something higher-end.
Anyway, I still don't get what are you looking for? I already told you - there are great cheap iems but there are still no iems in existence that cost $50 and will fool anyone who knows high-end sound in a blind comparison with a good $200 one. 
Still as I said the cheap stuff is getting better and better and just a few years ago there were iems that cost 200 bucks and weren't as good as a bunch of the nowadays' sub-$100 ones, so who knows how much the low and mid-fi stuff will improve in the next few years - it's possible that at some point in the future they'll catch up but that time still hasn't come. 

 

[Lukalop]

It has just occurred to me that even though the JH lineup have Freqphase, in reviews people have said that despite this the Fitear 334 (Togo however I want to get the MH custom version for better fit & isolation) is very comparable, despite them not using Freqphase technology. I assume that this means the BA drivers of the Fitears are superior and that once fitear implements Freqphase that they will be much better than JH's set. Is frequency phase patented by JH?

I also am leaning towards the SE-5 as apparently they can change the decay of the sound to make it sound more organic. But they are made of silicone, doesn't silicone tear easily and acrylic is a harder material do I would assume it is more durable.

 

[Telltale]

Yeah the fit was really good in my opinion. Wish the ATHIM50s had their small housing. With that being said, I have no idea what happened to my clear pair. Might have to pick up another pair for jogging.

Out of interest how are the IM50s for active use? I'm considering getting the IM70s but they do look a bit big and I'd want to use then for running and the gym.

 

[ozkan]

Out of interest how are the IM50s for active use? I'm considering getting the IM70s but they do look a bit big and I'd want to use then for running and the gym.

They are good for running. No problem.

 

[ljokerl]

joker the dunu dn1000 and vc1000 is better then se535?
and what about se846?

 
I haven’t tried the SE846. I do like the VC1000 and DN-1000 very much, which I couldn’t say for the SE535, but they also have different sound signatures – the VC1000 brighter and more “analytical” and the DN-1000 brighter and more v-shaped.
 

Yeah the fit was really good in my opinion. Wish the ATHIM50s had their small housing. With that being said, I have no idea what happened to my clear pair. Might have to pick up another pair for jogging.

 
I still have a 1^st-gen maroon one from 2009 with the copper memory wire and microphonic cable 

 

It has just occurred to me that even though the JH lineup have Freqphase, in reviews people have said that despite this the Fitear 334 (Togo however I want to get the MH custom version for better fit & isolation) is very comparable, despite them not using Freqphase technology. I assume that this means the BA drivers of the Fitears are superior and that once fitear implements Freqphase that they will be much better than JH's set. Is frequency phase patented by JH?

I also am leaning towards the SE-5 as apparently they can change the decay of the sound to make it sound more organic. But they are made of silicone, doesn't silicone tear easily and acrylic is a harder material do I would assume it is more durable.

 


Freqphase is just a marketing word JH Audio uses for having their IEMs (supposedly) phase-aligned. That’s not to say FitEar stuff is not phase-aligned in the first place, or even what sort of difference it makes in what we actually here. IMO it’s not a good idea to let marketing-speak convince you whether something is or isn’t worth buying. I personally think the TG334 has significant shortfalls in balance and finesse compared to the JH13 but I don't know (or think that it matters ) if what’s responsible for the difference is the "Freqphase" tweak.

 

[Sabsjl]

Was wondering what you guys think about the Earsonics sm64? Would like to know how it compares to the W40 and Se535? Trying to decide on getting a pair of IEMs around this price range.

 

[nekromantik]

Hi Joker
 
Quick question, currently got Bassos and want to upgrade due to driver flex.
Which IEMs you think will suit electronic music for under £80?
 
Thanks

 

[suman134]

  Hi Joker
 
Quick question, currently got Bassos and want to upgrade due to driver flex.
Which IEMs you think will suit electronic music for under £80?
 
Thanks

 
    try xba-h1 , ma-750 .

 

[SyCo87]

I still have a 1^st-gen maroon one from 2009 with the copper memory wire and microphonic cable :

Lol I remember I was too cheap to pay the extra money. Those were awesome. The clear ones look like secret service equipment compared to those Maroon ones. Magnificent color choice.

 

[nekromantik]

   
    try xba-h1 , ma-750 .

 
Thanks
How are they compared with Audio Technica CKX9 or Phillips S1s?