[music_4321]

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[sofastreamer]

and now, please do a comparison with ue900

 

[aras]

Quote:

I didn't plan this comparison because I don't have a W4 within reach anymore. I did own and use the Westone for six months, though. I will drop a few lines based on memory for you:

The W4 will sound very congested in comparison. I always felt like the music does not have enough room to breathe. It's the complete opposite with the SD-3 - the StageDiver sounds huge: the space between instruments is much bigger and the overall presentation is airy. Depth is a lot deeper with SD-3. Layering is two tiers apart!
There is also no veil whatsoever with the SD-3. Voices sound warm with both - SD warmer than W4.
The W4 veil didn't really bother me, but the midbass hump did. You also get this with SD-3 but it will extend more linear into subbass also. Overall, W4 has less bass. The transition of bass into mids is very clean and warm with both.
Both sound relaxed but the W4 does so because of a dip in the upper mids; SD-3 because of too much warmth - bass can possibly also be overpowering (like for me). By a pure hifi standpoint, the SD-2 is the obviously better tuned product with more neutrality over both, SD-3 and W4.
Going by musical enjoyment alone, I will favor the technically superior SD-3. However, the special sound of W4 holds it own.

I can't A-B compare resolution, obviously, but SD-3 is up there with high-end customs. Not sure if W4 reached the same level.

 
Wow! Excellent comparison! How is the treble extension on SD-3? Are these dark iems? 

 

[Ultrazino]

I have added a comparison of PFE 232 and SD-2 in the first post.
 
Quote:

How is the treble extension on SD-3? Are these dark iems? 

 
Not dark, extension is great. Yet they are very warm.

 

[aras]

ok so what is the best way to order these from US? Are they going to distribute these iems in US before the price hike?

 

[Ultrazino]

Quote:

and now, please do a comparison with ue900

 
I have compared the SD-2 to UE900 and added it in the first post:

Spoiler: SD-2%20vs%20UE900

 

·      Logitech Ultimate Ears UE900

The UE900 has a very special sounding, and to be honest, by tuning alone, it is my favorite multi-BA IEM. The tonality of the SD-2 is very different, pushing mids forward and giving an overall more lively presentation with better timbre. The UE900 feels more precise and cleaner, though.
 
In the bass department, UE900 is so far the best IEM I’ve heard. The PRaT is simply amazing and the bass is very linear with extension that only reaches its limit by my hearing capabilities. Technically, the SD-2 is easily surpassed, feeling bloated in the kickbass area and delivering considerably less subbass. The differences in bass are on a scale similar to LCD-2 vs HD650.
However, I love how real the mids sound with the SD-2, appearing lush with full body and almost holographic. The UE900 sounds comparably lifeless, sucked from blood and very dry. Furthermore, voices are slightly veiled as they fall off after 2 kHz, resulting in a very relaxed presentation. I will have to give the edge to SD-2, which sounds more realistically tuned and just has a small dip in the 4 kHz area.
The Logitech does not recover before 8-10 kHz, which I’ve heard some people even complain about sounding bright. I did not perceive it as such, but I noticed the UE900 extends very well in the highs. The SD-2 has a much smoother transition with a warm fade-out from 5-16 kHz, avoiding any harshness.
 
Needless to say, the StageDiver has the much larger soundstage. The UE900 features very little space, but does well with layering and separation.
Actually, I have to give the edge to UE900 in terms of resolution as it performs incredibly solid across the whole frequency range. Though also precise, next to the UE900 the SD-2 sounds spongy in the bass, thicker in the mids and silkier in the highs.
 
SD-2 and UE900 are very different IEMs. One is of the engaging kind, captivating you with realistic timbre and soundstage, whereas the other is vaguely repellent, but also incredibly smart and talented.

 
BTW, here is a picture of the tips next to each other. I also use the UE tips for the StageDivers.

 
Quote:

ok so what is the best way to order these from US? Are they going to distribute these iems in US before the price hike?

 
I am guessing mp4audio (link is in the first post) is the best option for international deliveries, ATM.
Do not worry about the price, the lift will be announced beforehand.

 

[Oof Oink]

Thank you for the comparison between the 2 & 3. I must admit, the following really kills my interest in the 3:

However, from a high fidelity stand point, no matter how clean the bass is, it does bleed into the mids and colors them very warm. As a result, the highs take a back seat but are just as refined as with the SD-2.

That said, I suppose the 2 is the one I'm now interested in. I look forward to your extended review.

 

[Mimouille]

I am really reconsidering purchasing this iem. Every email exchange I have with them is inneficient and I have to wait a week for each reply. And all this because I wanted to be nice and buy straight from them. I do not like to judge too fast but so far not at all enthused by the service...and when I said so, all I got back is: I am really busy just wait. I imagine if I told that to my clients....

 

[Deviltooth]

Quote:

I am really reconsidering purchasing this iem. Every email exchange I have with them is inneficient and I have to wait a week for each reply. And all this because I wanted to be nice and buy straight from them. I do not like to judge too fast but so far not at all enthused by the service...and when I said so, all I got back is: I am really busy just wait. I imagine if I told that to my clients....

I get the idea this is a small company not equipped to deal with the increased level of international interest the Stagediver series has created.  I could be wrong but most of the custom folk aren't gigantic well staffed concerns.

 

[Mimouille]

I doubt the guy has more emails than Stephen Guo at UM, and he responds really fast. Just a matter of priorities.

I get the idea this is a small company not equipped to deal with the increased level of international interest the Stagediver series has created.  I could be wrong but most of the custom folk aren't gigantic well staffed concerns.

 

[Deviltooth]

Possibly, we don't know.  The fact that the website is only available in German suggests (to me) they're not taking the international market seriously yet. 
 

 

[Ultrazino]

As far as I'm concerned, the company never targeted the hifi audience in the first place. I am pretty sure they are overwhelmed by the demand in Germany alone.
 
Apart from showing their StageDiver face-to-face on a music fair (again, aimed at musicians), the company has never advertised their product anywhere. The popularity is only based on experience from users that actually heard the StageDiver series and were amazed. All publicity on Hifi-Forum and Head-Fi is from enthusiasts alone.
 
You cannot compare this to a big company making a huge international hype/fuss about a new release and deliberately drawing attention.
As the price-performance ratio shows, you are not paying for marketing.
 
I thus suggest to contact the big distributors like Thomann and mp4audio that are used to high quantity customer requests.

 

[Mimouille]

I would like to stay that after me complaining a bit, Marco at Inear was very nice and understanding and accelerated the process to take my order. I will be the owner of a pair of SD3 in a week I guess

 

[Deviltooth]

Quote:

I would like to stay that after me complaining a bit, Marco at Inear was very nice and understanding and accelerated the process to take my order. I will be the owner of a pair of SD3 in a week I guess

Great.  Let us know how it stacks up against your other high end universals (notably the Heirs), please.

 

[davidcotton]

Quote:

I get the idea this is a small company not equipped to deal with the increased level of international interest the Stagediver series has created.  I could be wrong but most of the custom folk aren't gigantic well staffed concerns.

I call it the headfi effect, goes something like this :-
 
1)Member highlights a undiscovered iem
2)Interest and demand increases
3)Company struggles to meet demand (generally being small ones)
4)interest wears off after a month or two (fotm?)
5)iems start appearing on trade board.
 
Something like that anyway