[chemosit]

I just ordered the k3003; they'll be here tomorrow.
 
I've been listening with the ie80 and um3x for the past year or so, and am really hoping for something better. I find the ie80 to be too dark, murky, and laid back - although Carbon Based Lifeforms sounds reasonably decent. The um3x, while excellent for certain source material (e.g. Andy Summers & Robert Fripp - I Advance Masked), yields over-powering vocals and a claustrophobic soundstage.
 
After I've had a proper chance to evaluate them, I'll post my thoughts to the impressions thread.

 

[midnightwalker]

Quote:

I just ordered the k3003; they'll be here tomorrow.
 
I've been listening with the ie80 and um3x for the past year or so, and am really hoping for something better. I find the ie80 to be too dark, murky, and laid back - although Carbon Based Lifeforms sounds reasonably decent. The um3x, while excellent for certain source material (e.g. Andy Summers & Robert Fripp - I Advance Masked), yields over-powering vocals and a claustrophobic soundstage.
 
After I've had a proper chance to evaluate them, I'll post my thoughts to the impressions thread.

Hope you will enjoy it

 

[tumburu]

Before having the K3003 I also had ie80 as my "main" portable headphone.
 
While the ie80 are not fatiguing they are slow, muddy, too forgiving and too bassy. If you don't mind having a bright IEM you'll be happy with the AKGs for a long time. They are superb IEMs.

 

[Turrican2]

Before having the K3003 I also had ie80 as my "main" portable headphone.

While the ie80 are not fatiguing they are slow, muddy, too forgiving and too bassy. If you don't mind having a bright IEM you'll be happy with the AKGs for a long time. They are superb IEMs.

They are bright but the bass is not lacking much. I've found my favorite tips, the comply ts-500. These really bring out the bass without messing up the wonderfully natural highs. More so than silicon tips I find.

 

[tumburu]

I can't say the K3003 lack bass 

 
However, the comply tips do attenuate the highs, but the "good" ones at 10kHz and above, not the "offending" ones around 6kHz. That's why I stopped using them and chose to use an eq.

 

[Turrican2]

Have you tried the ts series? They are the perfect length for the k3003. Regular t500 are not good at all (too long, hence the attenuation), but I find the ts excellent.

 

[eugenius]

I briefly had the chance to try these things - I couldn't choose the right tips for my ears but the medium tips fit reasonably well. What I heard was a totally disjointed sound, the bass and the mid-highs were totally separated, not even in sync.

It sounded like a high pitched elephant fart.

 

[tumburu]

They are obviously not for geniuses, only for mere mortal audiophiles 

 

[chemosit]

Listening to them right now in the sky. To me the driver integration is seamless. Wonderful, tight ( but spacious), sound with excellent clarity and very pleasant bass. I am listening to the Kronos Quartet to try and identify any timbre mismatches, but I just don't hear any. I should add that I'm on the slightly older side but my hearing goes up to 18Khz+.

 

[up late]

Schmick looking phones. Are they brighter than the EX1000?

 

[Kunlun]

Quote:

Listening to them right now in the sky. To me the driver integration is seamless. Wonderful, tight ( but spacious), sound with excellent clarity and very pleasant bass. I am listening to the Kronos Quartet to try and identify any timbre mismatches, but I just don't hear any. I should add that I'm on the slightly older side but my hearing goes up to 18Khz+.

If you really want to hear timbre mismatches, they will become obvious with further listening. Certainly with the Tokyo string quartet recordings I have of Beethoven's late string quartets, it was not difficult to hear the cello lacking some sharp detail compared to the violins when I spent a few nights with the k3003.
 
However, there's no need to hunt for reasons not to enjoy a earphone you've purchased, that's just a thing people do on head-fi and maybe not a good one. Enjoy your k3003 and treat them well and you'll get a lot of nice hours of music with them.

 

[tumburu]

Quote:

Schmick looking phones. Are they brighter than the EX1000?

Yes.

 

[james444]

Quote:

Yes.

 
Nope.

 

 
Left: Sony EX1000  |   Right: AKG K3003 (reference filters)
Source: innerfidelty data sheets

 

[up late]

"Well It is and it isn't honey!"

 

[tumburu]

Hehe, to these ears they are.
 
Must be the way the dynamic driver acts compared to the BA ones. Although measurements (based on pink noise) show similar responses between these two type of IEMs I found that the actual response (should I call it dynamic response?) with music does give me the impression that dynamic based ones sound less bright than the graph should let you believe.