[Bboy500]

Well, it could be many things:
- IEMs aren't for you
- these particular iems aren't for you
- you are not getting a good seal/fit
- the synergy with your source is not good
- you have a defective pair

I'm not sure which it is. All I can say for myself is that I have been disappointed with lots of IEMs, but the kc06's are not one of them. In fact, I generally like them as much as any of my much more expensive IEMs.

 
My issue is I need IEM's for the gym. It's not a choice, so I have to get ones I enjoy. IEM's being not for me isn't an option lol.
 
Should I try out better, higher end IEM's or try out some with a different sound signature first? I know there's a lot of hype for these but they just don't sound good to me =/
 
I am also talking about the KC06, don't worry

 

[Netforce]

Yea, the vanilla kc06 also has its own topic and probably should of taken your post there
 
But in all honestly full size headphones and iems are quite different sounding and the logic of spending 4 times as much and expecting 4 times the performance doesn't really work especially with headphones when you run into diminishing returns. I am not one to numerical grade performance on most things especially headphones when my tastes and usually take one pair of headphones and compare them to another.
 
But while I would say the vanilla kc06 doesn't have the deepest bass or the impact that I typically like, it isn't anemic by any stretch. It does sound like you prefer a bassier and brighter sound if the treble doesn't cut it for you then I would say to try and look at another bassier iem.

 

[Exesteils]

The kc06 tend to be rather polite when it comes to highs. Yes, they have detail and is quite well done, but they lack the sparkle to present some genres to the fullest. I'd suggest something a little bassier but with more aggressive highs. Only one I can think of right now is the Bassos

 

[Bboy500]

  Yea, the vanilla kc06 also has its own topic and probably should of taken your post there
 
But in all honestly full size headphones and iems are quite different sounding and the logic of spending 4 times as much and expecting 4 times the performance doesn't really work especially with headphones when you run into diminishing returns. I am not one to numerical grade performance on most things especially headphones when my tastes and usually take one pair of headphones and compare them to another.
 
But while I would say the vanilla kc06 doesn't have the deepest bass or the impact that I typically like, it isn't anemic by any stretch. It does sound like you prefer a bassier and brighter sound if the treble doesn't cut it for you then I would say to try and look at another bassier iem.

 
I didn't expect 4x the return, but I expect a $60 IEM to be much better then just marginally better (As an overall sound) compared to a $15 one.
 
I get that IEM's are typically 4th when it comes to perfectly replicating sound (1. Speakers 2. Open Headphones 3. Closed Headphones 4. IEM's) but I still expected more of a jump at this price range.
 
I also couldn't find the topic talking about KC06, which is why I posted here. If you could link me to it that would be great
 
Edit: I'll look into the Bassos, thanks

 

[Netforce]

   
I didn't expect 4x the return, but I expect a $60 IEM to be much better then just marginally better (As an overall sound) compared to a $15 one.
 
I get that IEM's are typically 4th when it comes to perfectly replicating sound (1. Speakers 2. Open Headphones 3. Closed Headphones 4. IEM's) but I still expected more of a jump at this price range.
 
I also couldn't find the topic talking about KC06, which is why I posted here. If you could link me to it that would be great

http://www.head-fi.org/t/706595/review-ostry-kc06
 
Marginal differences is what we're all about in the audio world if you get really right down to it. The noble 4 I just got sound great in my opinion but the performance isn't too much better than the other iems in my collection. I think the kc06 and kc06a are great iems at their price point but if you really don't think they are worth it then maybe return them/sell them for a lower costing iem with a sound signature of your liking.

 

[Bboy500]

  http://www.head-fi.org/t/706595/review-ostry-kc06
 
Marginal differences is what we're all about in the audio world if you get really right down to it. The noble 4 I just got sound great in my opinion but the performance isn't too much better than the other iems in my collection. I think the kc06 and kc06a are great iems at their price point but if you really don't think they are worth it then maybe return them/sell them for a lower costing iem with a sound signature of your liking.

I didn't realize that was a topic, I thought that was one of those reviews on the headphones page. Woops.
 
As far as the marginal jumps as the norm, I disagree when it comes to this price range.
 
The jump from Panasonic HTF600 ($20-$30) to AKG K-271S ($80) is more then marginal as an example.
Or a Samson SR850 ($50) to a Ultrasone Pro 550 ($125 at the time I bought them) is around the same thing.
 
I would say K-271S and a Ultrasone Pro 550 is marginal and comes down to preference, but that's in the $100-ish mark. Though a jump from Either of those to a HE-400 (Which you can get for $300 some times) is absolutely worth it and not marginal in the slightest. I would say the HE-400's alone are twice as good as any $150 headphones I ever heard. They are worth the price and even the $400 I paid for them.
 
A $15 headphone just shouldn't sound marginally worse then a $60 one. IEM's may and probably are different, but I wasn't expecting it to be that different. I am going to give these a couple of days, I just don't see the hype as of yet
 
I have tried it with my amps on my PC, without amps on my PC, on my radio and on my phone. Neither sound really great to me.

 

[Netforce]

  I didn't realize that was a topic, I thought that was one of those reviews on the headphones page. Woops.
 
As far as the marginal jumps as the norm, I disagree when it comes to this price range.
 
The jump from Panasonic HTF600 ($20-$30) to AKG K-271S ($80) is more then marginal as an example.
Or a Samson SR850 ($50) to a Ultrasone Pro 550 ($125 at the time I bought them) is around the same thing.
 
I would say K-271S and a Ultrasone Pro 550 is marginal and comes down to preference, but that's in the $100-ish mark. Though a jump from Either of those to a HE-400 (Which you can get for $300 some times) is absolutely worth it and not marginal in the slightest. I would say the HE-400's alone are twice as good as any $150 headphones I ever heard. They are worth the price and even the $400 I paid for them.
 
A $15 headphone just shouldn't sound marginally worse then a $60 one. IEM's may and probably are different, but I wasn't expecting it to be that different. I am going to give these a couple of days, I just don't see the hype as of yet
 
I have tried it with my amps on my PC, without amps on my PC, on my radio and on my phone. Neither sound really great to me.

Nah its cool, it started out as review thread and kinda just became the main thread for the kc06. Funny eh?
 
The problem with arguing about the marginal things is how and who is determining what really is marginal and not. I had the akg k240 in the past and think it is the same driver as the k271 kinda by how often akg likes to reuse drivers and sold them since my he-400 sound better pretty much across the board. But to me that was still rather marginal difference in sound though I am rather content with the price I paid for my he-400. To me the he-400 performance isn't really worth twice the cost of $150 headphones but that is just my preference.
 
Perhaps there are a whole myriad of reasons you may think the kc06 is only marginally better than you other inexpensive sonys and idk. Still think the sound signature of the kc06 may not be for you or you may need time to adjust to iems.

 

[Bboy500]

  Nah its cool, it started out as review thread and kinda just became the main thread for the kc06. Funny eh?
 
The problem with arguing about the marginal things is how and who is determining what really is marginal and not. I had the akg k240 in the past and think it is the same driver as the k271 kinda by how often akg likes to reuse drivers and sold them since my he-400 sound better pretty much across the board. But to me that was still rather marginal difference in sound though I am rather content with the price I paid for my he-400. To me the he-400 performance isn't really worth twice the cost of $150 headphones but that is just my preference.
 
Perhaps there are a whole myriad of reasons you may think the kc06 is only marginally better than you other inexpensive sonys and idk. Still think the sound signature of the kc06 may not be for you or you may need time to adjust to iems.

 
I remember getting my HE-400's and thinking it was quite bad. Gave it a week, got used to it only to fall in forever love with them. Have not heard a headphone besides the LCD-2 that sounds better to my ears. I will give these at least 2-3 more days as I know time is needed, my first impressions isn't great though. Hoping that changes I hate returning things, I feel guilty doing so.
 
Thanks for all the advice so far Love this site. Would still be using marketed generic headphones if it wasn't for this place.

 

[Hal Rockwell]

I just got the regular versions of these.

Very underwhelmed coming from a regular, full-sized headphone user.

Are the soft ones supposed to sound better for female vocals and have really bad low's while the hard ones have great lows and forward mids, but seem to lose detail for the highs?

I need my music to be all around, I cant have one or the other. All of my songs require a balanced pair of headphones. If I am doing something wrong with my IEM's I'd love to know. Otherwise I definitely don't see the hype for $60...... The K271S I got for $80 last month absolutely blow these away in every single aspect and it's not even close.

Currently the biggest sized hard tips make the music sound the best for me,the mid's sound very... "generic" not bad nor good, lows are fine and about what I expected, but when it comes to the highs... Oh man do these disappoint me. The medium soft tips make female vocals sound pretty damn good and sounds very spacey, but it lacks in everything else. The big soft one's which I expected to be good for me sound extremely tinny unless I don't put them all the way in...

Are these just not for me? Can anyone point to me to some well rounded, more balanced IEM's? I need to use these for HD radio (Up to 300 Kbps) and MP3/Flac Player when working out the gym.

If this is going to be the best sound they give, these are not worth $60 for me.

Before I got into this hobby, all I was using were cheap Sony IEMs and headphones. My first real IEM was Sennheiser CX55 that was going for 75$ at the time and I got it solely by my friend's recommendation without even listening to them. At first, I had a hard time adjusting to a different sound signature. I was very happy with the in your face mids and the lush treble of the CX55, that has a great extention and lacks the grain that Sony had. But I was extremely disappointed with the bass or the lack of it to be exact. I gave the Senns another couple of days so my ears could adjust to the new IEM and after some time I finally heard the bass. The bass in the CX55 more extended than any Sony IEMs I ever had a chance to listen to and had a true sub bass rumble to it and not the mid bass boost that most of the cheap IEMs have. After getting used to the Senns, I never came back to listening to the Sony. I'm not trying to diss Sony or anything. They have some quality headphones. But none of them can be bought for under 150$.

 

[twister6]

   
My issue is I need IEM's for the gym. It's not a choice, so I have to get ones I enjoy. IEM's being not for me isn't an option lol.
 
Should I try out better, higher end IEM's or try out some with a different sound signature first? I know there's a lot of hype for these but they just don't sound good to me =/
 
I am also talking about the KC06, don't worry

 
In my opinion if you are looking for "IEM for the gym", I think "higher end IEM" is not really necessary.  You don't want to have too much noise isolation, gotta be aware of surrounding, you want to have something that is build tough, quality cord (maybe even removable), and to have good strong bass/beat with a balance of good mids to hear vocals as well, and something that will stay in your ears as you working out 
 
With all that in mind, and considering style of music you listed in your sig, I would HIGHLY recommend ATH-IM50 (killer bass, beautiful mids, overall detailed, tough build, removable quality cables, memory wire for over-ear - stays in during workout).  And you can get it for about $65 or less shipped.

 

[peter123]

@Bboy500

I've got pretty much the impression from them as you do so I think it's about personal preference.

You could also look into the Zero Audio Tenores as an alternative.

 

[Bboy500]

Before I got into this hobby, all I was using were cheap Sony IEMs and headphones. My first real IEM was Sennheiser CX55 that was going for 75$ at the time and I got it solely by my friend's recommendation without even listening to them. At first, I had a hard time adjusting to a different sound signature. I was very happy with the in your face mids and the lush treble of the CX55, that has a great extention and lacks the grain that Sony had. But I was extremely disappointed with the bass or the lack of it to be exact. I gave the Senns another couple of days so my ears could adjust to the new IEM and after some time I finally heard the bass. The bass in the CX55 more extended than any Sony IEMs I ever had a chance to listen to and had a true sub bass rumble to it and not the mid bass boost that most of the cheap IEMs have. After getting used to the Senns, I never came back to listening to the Sony. I'm not trying to diss Sony or anything. They have some quality headphones. But none of them can be bought for under 150$.

 
I never claimed the Sony's better, at least not a technical level. I am actually going to test them out side by side on Monday and see what my opinion of these are then.
 
 

   
In my opinion if you are looking for "IEM for the gym", I think "higher end IEM" is not really necessary.  You don't want to have too much noise isolation, gotta be aware of surrounding, you want to have something that is build tough, quality cord (maybe even removable), and to have good strong bass/beat with a balance of good mids to hear vocals as well, and something that will stay in your ears as you working out 
 
With all that in mind, and considering style of music you listed in your sig, I would HIGHLY recommend ATH-IM50 (killer bass, beautiful mids, overall detailed, tough build, removable quality cables, memory wire for over-ear - stays in during workout).  And you can get it for about $65 or less shipped.

 
I'll add that to my to-research list Thanks for the suggestion.
 

@Bboy500

I've got pretty much the impression from them as you do so I think it's about personal preference.

You could also look into the Zero Audio Tenores as an alternative.

 
Glad to hear it's not only me. Already looking at the Tenore's, thanks

 

[waynes world]

Good luck with the tenores. I like them and the kc06's pretty much equally.

You should definitely consider the IM50's though - I have a feeling they would be more to your liking.

 

[Bboy500]

Good luck with the tenores. I like them and the kc06's pretty much equally.

You should definitely consider the IM50's though - I have a feeling they would be more to your liking.

 
I will most likely be ordering them both and deciding that way. Might even keep both if I enjoy them both, or sell one off to a friend that is in the market for some IEM's.

 

[Hisoundfi]

@bboy500

Everything you described, it sounds like you are looking for something with a v signature, considering you liked the cheaper model sony over the kc06.

Try the xiaomi piston 2.0, just make sure you avoid knock offs and buy from a legitimate seller of these.

That's my suggestion, and it's probably more what you're looking for.

Either that or the ATH-IM50.

Hope this helps