[midnightwalker]

This stainless steel combo is AMAZING 
 

 

[Maxvla]

So amazing, you're selling it?

 

[Kunlun]

Wow, seriously?

 

[midnightwalker]

So amazing, you're selling it?

I am selling it doesnt mean it is not good. Just because I am keep buying and trying new stuffs. I also want to sell the JH16/UE11/SM64 so if you are interested, I can let any of these go

 

[Littleted]

I went to Washington again and had another listen to them in terminal C in Dullas, Guy there in headphone shop has them for test.
 
I did have in my bag my IE8i and Ex1000.
 
They sound good, but I feel not the price tag they promote, if you have the cash buy them, I will never have that kinda disposable cash LOL.
Its prob the closest ive heard to a full size set.
 
but I,ll admit I,ll stick with the ie8s and Ex1000 because sign waves aside there wasn't much in it to my lugholes. Nice to try though and say ive held them

 

[DMinor]

Quote:

I went to Washington again and had another listen to them in terminal C in Dullas, Guy there in headphone shop has them for test.
 
I did have in my bag my IE8i and Ex1000.
 
They sound good, but I feel not the price tag they promote, if you have the cash buy them, I will never have that kinda disposable cash LOL.
Its prob the closest ive heard to a full size set.
 
but I,ll admit I,ll stick with the ie8s and Ex1000 because sign waves aside there wasn't much in it to my lugholes. Nice to try though and say ive held them

 
Is there any resemblance in sound signature between the AK3003 and the EX1000? Does the AK3003 sound airy? How about the treble between the two - which one is more aggressive?

 

[rasmushorn]

I had a chance to listen to the K3003 last week for a few days. They are amazing! I liked the high boost filter the best - by far! That signature suits me perfectly. 

 

[Aero Dynamik]

Quote:

@aero:
 
Did you ever consider that perhaps something which does not sound flawed to you may sound flawed to someone else? Flawed in this case meaning containing a weakness or fault.

Yes!

 

[lee730]

Quote:

Wow, seriously?

The same concept applies to most businesses. Would you say your own gear is **** and try sell it? lol . Then again I've done stuff similar and still easily sold the "said gear" lol.

 

[Aero Dynamik]

Quote:

I had a chance to listen to the K3003 last week for a few days. They are amazing! I liked the high boost filter the best - by far! That signature suits me perfectly.

 

​

 

[purrin]

Quote:

Yes!

So it's OK if I say I think it's flawed? 

 

[tumburu]

Quote:

 
Is there any resemblance in sound signature between the AK3003 and the EX1000? Does the AK3003 sound airy? How about the treble between the two - which one is more aggressive?

They are different. The only resemblance (that 3003 don't share with other BAs, being hybrid) is the solid bass both provide, but that doesn't mean the bass sounds identical.
 
EX1000 are a really good pair of portable phones, which remind me very much of studio monitors. From the first days I spent with them they left me that impression, somehow speaker like. The bass is excellent on them and, due to their dynamic nature, the dynamics (pardon the pun) are rendered in a natural (speaker like) way.
 
At first listen (coming from ie80 back in those days, which are too smooth and forgiving IMO) they seemed a bit hot in the treble, but I found out that (although I consider myself sensitive to high frequencies) after some brain burn in, they sounded fine.
 
K3003 OTOH don't sound like studio monitors. They sound more like high end full size dynamic headphones to me. They have tremendous detail, which is not speaker like, giving the sensation that you're listening through a microscope. They can be perceived a bit too bright (but HD800 are too bright to me too), especially with the "hi-boost" filter, which gives a very interesting auditory experience, where every detail is enhanced in a way that speakers simply can't do. It's like having some very powerful lens in your ears. Listening to them from the Lavry Black is a memorable experience. I call that "hyper realism". However, for my taste and approach the "reference" filter is more adequate. The interesting thing is that, although being bright, they sound refined (for instance if compared to the FIBASS). 
 
The most notable difference from full sized phones to me is in the way they render dynamics. It can be less obvious if you're not very familiar with the recording, but if you know what to listen you'll notice that the detail is somehow always there, and that the dynamic range is slightly reduced, the difference between soft sounds and louder ones being smaller that it should. It's like your music is going through a(nother) mastering compressor and comes out with slightly reduced dynamics. I attribute that to the response of BA drivers, dynamic drivers (be them headphone or IEM ones), always sounded more "natural" in this particular area. However, I'm still hoping to hear small DDs that can match the detail of BAs. Didn't hear the ie800 yet, but the reported heavy bass is off putting for me.
 
When directly compared the mids of EX1000 will sound somehow "dry", not exciting (probably that contributes to the studio monitor impression they gave me), and the highs not very extended. K3003 will sound significantly more detailed, drawing away the attention from the bass, giving a slightly lighter bass impression. K3003 sound definitely airier, but none of them sound aggressive to me (except if you're feeding them with aggressive genres). However, if switching from 3003 to EX1000, I have a "relaxing" sensation, because the hyper detail is gone.
 
If I had to chose one it would be K3003, because of their design meant for critical listening. But if enjoying music would be the only purpose, EX1000 could make me very happy, the only problem with them being the odd design which also is responsible from poor isolation and wind noise.
 
Hope this helps.

 

[music_4321]

^^  Excellent post!

The EX1000 is the only IEM I've sold that I've been tempted to re-buy several times. That stopped when I finally found a truly comfortable full-sized headphone in the form of the HD800 that allowed for long listening sessions AND provided exceptional SQ. I do practically all my music listening (be it IEMs or headphones) at home.

To this day I've yet to hear a more refined and capable bass like the one found on the EX1000s. The K3003's bass comes very, very close, and often appears to match it, but on closer examination with certain tracks/albums, the EX1000's bass seems to edge it out by a small margin.

I find your concept of "hyper realism" quite interesting and I think I can see where you're coming from, although we may hear things a little differently.

The EX1000s, to these ears, were absolutely incredible with well recorded and/or mastered material, of which I have plenty. For not such good recordings/masters—mostly "loudness wars" recordings being not only loud but often seriously lacking dynamics—the W4s and my customs (ES3X) were better/more suitable, more forgiving. The EX1000s on the latter material could easily become problematic, particularly at louder volumes. I also sometimes preferred the W4/ES3X on some solo violin / strings works where I felt that note weight, in particular, (and sometimes timbre, too) sounded more convincing on the Westones, IEMs where mostly the midrange, and the lower midrange, in particular, was more satisfying / lifelike.

The K3003s bridged that gap, allowing me to enjoy both good and poorly recorded/mastered material, though specially shining with the former. The K3003s on poorly mastered material seem to reach a point where they might begin to 'hurt'/'offend' my ears but never quite get to that point, allowing me to turn up the volume if I want to (though I tend not to)  — this is the exact same case with the HD800s.

I'm someone who craves a solid mid-range, and for the first time, with the K3003s, I was hearing the sort of midrange I regard as close to accurate (along with the HD800s) as I've heard — not as forward, though still very enjoyable, as the ES3X's or W4's, nor, at times, slightly thin (lower midrange, in particular) as the EX1000's.

My very first K3003 listening session went on for hours on end because my ears could simply not believe that whatever I threw at this IEM, they responded with aplomb — I very quickly realised the reference filter was the clear choice for me. I had just spent £1,000—absolutely unthinkable for me to spend that kind of money on an IEM!—and had serious reservations about having spent so much (fortunately, the place I got my set from offered a full refund [with no restocking fees] if not happy with the product (no questions asked — UK law, I guess).

We seem to view the FI-BA-SS similarly, a very dear phone to me, but ultimately the K3003s provide a cleaner, more convincing, more Hi-Fi sound to these ears. BUT, I'm still not sure I want to sell my FI-BA-SS even though I do know they'll be getting very, very little ear-time in the future.

 

[DMinor]

Tumburu - Thanks for your detailed comparisons between the two. It helps a lot to give me a broad pic of the AK3003. I wish I have a chance to audition this iem.
 
But from what you have described, I believe the EX1000 may be more suitable to my taste - which is to enjoy music other than "analyze" music for critical listening. If I am not mistaken, the AK3003 may be more analytically sounding than the EX1000. In my mind analytical sounding translate into dry sounding.
 
While I am not a fan of the EX1000's looks, I appreciate feeling the iem's weightless and non-existent while listening to music for long extended hrs. Very comfy. Yeah that comfy comes at the sacrifice of poor isolation and wind noise - both can be deterred by turning music a little bit louder.

 

[tumburu]

Quote:

Tumburu - Thanks for your detailed comparisons between the two. It helps a lot to give me a broad pic of the AK3003. I wish I have a chance to audition this iem.
 
But from what you have described, I believe the EX1000 may be more suitable to my taste - which is to enjoy music other than "analyze" music for critical listening. If I am not mistaken, the AK3003 may be more analytically sounding than the EX1000. In my mind analytical sounding translate into dry sounding.
 
While I am not a fan of the EX1000's looks, I appreciate feeling the iem's weightless and non-existent while listening to music for long extended hrs. Very comfy. Yeah that comfy comes at the sacrifice of poor isolation and wind noise - both can be deterred by turning music a little bit louder.

Glad you find it helpful. 
 
Regarding "dryness", I find quite the opposite to be true, K3003 having a more "lush" and "refined" sound, despite being over detailed, which is quite interesting. I believe it has something to do with what I said earlier about the compressor like behavior that smooths the dynamics a bit.