A roundup of microdriver IEM's
Aug 9, 2014 at 1:46 AM Post #47 of 74
I wonder if microdrivers measure better or worse as opposed to conventional sized diaphrams on things like square wave graphs and the such. I really don't know much at all about that stuff, but curious about it.


Not sure about waves measurement but micro drivers cannot produce the bass as opposed to conventional dynamics from 8mm-13.5mm dia's....(one or two models has beyond the 13.5mm dia) as they have enough energy to move more air but micros have enough bass presence.......
 
Aug 9, 2014 at 4:02 AM Post #49 of 74
Not sure about waves measurement but micro drivers cannot produce the bass as opposed to conventional dynamics from 8mm-13.5mm dia's....(one or two models has beyond the 13.5mm dia) as they have enough energy to move more air but micros have enough bass presence.......

 
I mentioned this in an earlier post, larger drivers being better used to be a law of physics you can't defy, not just for bass but also for the sake of quality treble. If we used 2000-2004 tech to create a 6mm driver, I suspect it wouldn't have just lacked bass, the whole frequency response would probably have been too narrow for music use. I think a fair degree of development must have gone on to enable these micro drivers.
 
8-10mm driver products from the past few years have been putting out much more bass compared to previous products, even (or especially?) in the bundled stock IEMs that need to cost next to nothing. It's not hard to imagine progress of a similar magnitude has also made 5-6mm drivers practical for all-round music use.
 
Once you can figure out a way to overcome the traditional deficiency of a setup, you should be able to benefit from its upside. Which in this case is that a smaller driver could in theory be more responsive, faster, and as I'd speculated in earlier posts, generally just appear to punch above its weight in resolution.
 
The micro driver situation is a bit analoguous to those "downsizing turbo" engines on new cars. I was a car guy for a while, and for 20+ years engineers would keep going, oh turbos are wrong in principle(!), the drivability sucks, turbochargers are fragile, we can't realistically overcome turbo lag, we need an intercooler, we can't do this we can't do that... and all of a sudden I don't seem to hear any of those complaints anymore. You can now power a Ford Fusion on a 3-cylinder 1-liter turbo, which if a 1987 car fan knew modern interwebs speak, would say "I can't even" and promptly faint at the scene
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I'm sure there are a few rough edges and folks giving reviews that glow a little too much, but based on the products I've auditioned I'd like to think we've really made some progress.
 
Aug 15, 2014 at 12:34 AM Post #50 of 74
I finally bought my Sony SBH80. It was on sale for $25 off to the cheapest price I've ever seen (under $100) and I could not refuse.
 
It sounded horrible on day one but began to open up the next day. Only got 15 hours on this thing so far; with battery life at 6-hours it's gonna be a bitch to burn these in.
 
They do sound like micro drivers I know: at the expense of stateliness and aplomb, you get turn-on-a-dime agility and an apparent ability to combine both bass and resolution.
 
Aug 16, 2014 at 5:38 PM Post #54 of 74
One of the best purchases I have made is the Octone dynamic one iem. Micro driver, metal enclosure... Cheap as chips from amazon. I´ts very well balanced and easy to drive. 
 
I don´t use it that much to be honest and i don´t know why. Every time i actually end up using it i am stunned how bloody good it actually is... To bad it is now discontinued i believe. 
 
Another great cheap micro driver iem is the JVC ha-fxc51. Not very neutral and quite v-shaped but the treble is sweet and well extended. Bass is sublime! Only downside is that the cable is very very prone to microphonics and it is also very very thin and flimsy. Some issues with fit as well. Tip rolling was something i had to do. and they are picky!
 
Sep 3, 2014 at 11:03 AM Post #59 of 74
I can now legitimately bump this thread because Sony has just announced the MDR-AS800BT.

 
The "AS" line has always been billed for sports use, but really, this thing really just looks like a more refined Backbeat Go 2, right down to the quoted 4.5-hr battery life (meh).
 
It carries 5.8mm drivers, possibly the first product from mothership Sony to have them, and "long" hybrid tips that may or may not resemble the ones from the XBA-BT75.
 

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