[Anaxilus]

Thinksound TS02 added.

 

[rawrster]

With the TS02 I was just able to enjoy. It's not the best on a technical level but on an enjoyment level it's up there. I found these to do better than my other earphones when listening to video clips such as tv shows or movies and the like.

 

[Inks]

Nice add. Agree with a lot of the impressions and even thought it doesn't sound all that positive, those little strengths (nice decay and timbre) made it really enjoyable for me, specially since I listen to mainly jazz and classical piano. But I do remember getting more quantity of bass from the TS02 than the HJE900s, while the SBs were somewhere in between for comparison. Certainly not the cleanest bass, but does a decent job on acoustic music. Didn't find the treble all that bad (like the IE7), but certainly can't see it stand well in that regard with the others used to compare, thought I would add that I'm not that picky in this aspect. I can see it having hard time with such tough competition in this price range, but I still find it a bit special due to it's ability to bring enjoyment with hint of fidelity. 

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

With the TS02 I was just able to enjoy. It's not the best on a technical level but on an enjoyment level it's up there. I found these to do better than my other earphones when listening to video clips such as tv shows or movies and the like.

 
Quote:

Nice add. Agree with a lot of the impressions and even thought it doesn't sound all that positive, those little strengths (nice decay and timbre) made it really enjoyable for me, specially since I listen to mainly jazz and classical piano. But I do remember getting more quantity of bass from the TS02 than the HJE900s, while the SBs were somewhere in between for comparison. Certainly not the cleanest bass, but does a decent job on acoustic music. Didn't find the treble all that bad (like the IE7), but certainly can't see it stand well in that regard with the others used to compare, thought I would add that I'm not that picky in this aspect. I can see it having hard time with such tough competition in this price range, but I still find it a bit special due to it's ability to bring enjoyment with hint of fidelity. 

Agree with both you.  On its own the TS02 is certainly a plug an play IEM that just sounds great.  I tried to get that point across saying I prefer it to something like the 900 myself.  Sadly, the framework w/ which I used to do the comparisons invariably pulls me out of the overall experience and favors the technical achievers.  It is certainly easy to come away believing I think one or two of these is a good phone and the others are bad.  That certainly isn't the case here.  Not one of these IEMs is bad.  Any one of them could be somebody's go to phone.
 
On rawrsters point, my MDs are my movie phone so I hear ya man!  Forward mids plus big booming canons and explosions is the only way to go. 

 

[soldiersixteen]

out of hje900, mc5 and xcape, what would be the best choice for rap/hip hop and rock?
 
 
thanks

 

[rawrster]

I've been using my R02 as my movie earphone and it isn't as good. When I get my TS02 back I'll go back to demoting the R02 and probably selling it since with the TS02 the R02 no longer has a function in my current lineup. I can definitely see the MD being good for movies although I never tried that when I had them on a loan a while ago.
 
I think the only way you would find the TS02 bad is if you are used to much higher quality and a bit of an audio snob.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

out of hje900, mc5 and xcape, what would be the best choice for rap/hip hop and rock?
 
 
thanks

Cross off MC5 no doubt.  Tough, for rock hje900 gives you that aggression and attack.  Hip Hop I generally like the overall quality of the Xcape's bass and more balanced sound but I run amped and I think it does help quite a bit.  Unamped the 900 might be the safer bet.  I would consider the TS02 for Hip Hop as well but not so much for rock IMO.    

 

[soldiersixteen]

how would this compare to Klipsch image s4?                                        thanks
 
 
 

 

[LarsPT]

Quote:

Quote:

out of hje900, mc5 and xcape, what would be the best choice for rap/hip hop and rock?
 
 
thanks

Cross off MC5 no doubt.  Tough, for rock hje900 gives you that aggression and attack.  Hip Hop I generally like the overall quality of the Xcape's bass and more balanced sound but I run amped and I think it does help quite a bit.  Unamped the 900 might be the safer bet.  I would consider the TS02 for Hip Hop as well but not so much for rock IMO.    

 
 What do you use for amplification? Thanks!

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

Quote:

Quote:

out of hje900, mc5 and xcape, what would be the best choice for rap/hip hop and rock?
 
 
thanks

Cross off MC5 no doubt.  Tough, for rock hje900 gives you that aggression and attack.  Hip Hop I generally like the overall quality of the Xcape's bass and more balanced sound but I run amped and I think it does help quite a bit.  Unamped the 900 might be the safer bet.  I would consider the TS02 for Hip Hop as well but not so much for rock IMO.    

 
 What do you use for amplification? Thanks!

I use a Headstage Arrow 2G.  You see some gear in my signature as well as others.

 

[LarsPT]

I was considering getting an E5 to help my Xcapes. You think it would be worth it? Either for my ipod or for a clip+ (which I'm planning to get), what do you think? Thanks!

 

[Skoj]

I was completely sure I would get me a HJE900 (based on this review set thread and joker's multi-iem thread), but now I'm doubting again.The 900 seems to be quite agressive and not always accurate because of the increased speed? I find the remark of the increased speed a bit strange since it seems to me impossible to have a faster sound than the source delivers and imo the faster the sounds gets processed, the better?
 
That review set thread convinced me to go for the HJE900 because of the "good sense of being there" and the good bass. I'm having a hard time choosing the right IEM, could anyone help me out? Listening to classical, jazz, (alternative) pop, soft rock, which drives me more to the Head-Direct RE-ZERO or Xcape, but I also listen to the electronical, dance, trance genres from time to time, which leads me to the HJE900 or maybe Brainwavz M3. Unfortunately, I can't buy two pairs. On the other hand, a good bass is also important for classical music, which leads me back to the HJE900. I never had the m1 in my mind because of the more moderate review in the multi iem thread..

 

[kmhaynes]

@Skoj: I just let go of my HJE900 because of how aggressive they were -- just too strong for me.  I'm trying to find that phone that hovers close to the exquisite, sublime detail + smoothness of the RE0, combined with some of the presence, bass and warmth of an HJE900/Rain.  The MC5 was too cold and aloof for me, the HJE900 was like a school-yard bully, the Thinksound Rain was pretty good, but the bass was loose, rumbly, not well controlled or textured.  I'm hoping the Sunrise SW-Xcape, which will arrive in the next day or 2 from a forum member, will be a good solution for me -- I will let you know how they sound when they get here.
 
@LarsPT: the E5 will probably help the Xcape some -- it is suprisingly good for the price.  I also have the iBasso T4 (>$100) with a bass boost, and it is a bit more refined and clearer, but not by tons, and use it with my Fuze + Rockbox for a really great SQ.  But the E5 will give the Xcape some extra power, which all phones respond well to.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

I was considering getting an E5 to help my Xcapes. You think it would be worth it? Either for my ipod or for a clip+ (which I'm planning to get), what do you think? Thanks!

I personally think the Clip+ needs more power which was why I originally got the E5.  I think the Xcapes do benefit from more power which IME the Clip has problems providing.  The key point is whether you like the resulting synergy between the two.  I personally enjoyed the E5 + Clip whereas some just didn't like the effect the E5 had on the Clip's sound.  My E5 was doing some weird things the first week that made me apprehensive.  After that it settled down and was quite pleasant.  I am not a fan of the Bass boost on it or 99% of amps or DAPs out there.  For $20 or less its hard not to give it a try and if you don't like it, t should be easy to sell w/o much loss.  As for the iPod there are just so many different ones to make a generic comment.  I recently tried my Nano 2G w/ a LOD and that was a nice improvement so I would definitely get a decent LO to go w/ an iPod and amp.  The iBasso T3 might be a better option for SQ if the price is not unreasonable to your sensibilities.   

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

I was completely sure I would get me a HJE900 (based on this review set thread and joker's multi-iem thread), but now I'm doubting again.The 900 seems to be quite agressive and not always accurate because of the increased speed? I find the remark of the increased speed a bit strange since it seems to me impossible to have a faster sound than the source delivers and imo the faster the sounds gets processed, the better?

Nothing renders faster than the source, correct.  The problem w/ speed is that you can lose out on things like decay, reverb and other components because the speed of the driver was too 'fast' to render it.  The ideal is to get the fastest driver that can render the most detail and information from a complex and fast song w/o loss of information while at the same time not missing out out on things like the reverb and decay of piano, strings, drums, etc.  Not an easy thing to do both perfectly.  There are other things like 'attack' and 'PRaT' which are more related to how frequencies are presented and reinforced giving the illusion of a more aggressive presentation as opposed to being laid back and relaxed.  Just a very simplistic explanation on more complicated aspects so take it w/ a grain of salt and head over to sound science if you want more.  Hope this helps.