[Pokefan]

I'll start by saying hey, seems to be a lot of knowledge floating around this board. I'm fairly new to the headphone scene, best set of phones I've ever owned up until a couple weeks ago were a set of $20 skullcandy's. I started using them more and more lately and decided it was time to upgrade to a more comfortable and better performing set. Like i said, ive never really been into the headphones, besides the occasional road trip and flights I've never really had much use for them. That's not to say I'm not a huge music fan, I definitely am. My car is completely outfitted with aftermarket as well as a fairly decent home theater set up. (I actually found this place from blu-ray.com) so after some very light research I jumped on the first decent set I found, CX300 II's from best buy. There's my intro now onto the real question.

The 300's were obviously a huge jump from what I was accustomed but after a little more research I felt like I had jumped the gun. I looked around a little more and decided I would return them and order the iM-590's, while reading up on them the M2's came into question. From all my reading and comparison it seems like they have a slight edge over the 590's. Problem is they're about a month out from shipping right now. Does anyone have experience with both that could tell me if they're worth the wait or will the 590's be just as good? Most of what I listen to is bottom heavy such as rap and R&B or pretty laid back genres like Jack Johnson and such.

Both of these IEM's are similar in style and build it seems. It looks like it all comes down to SQ. Sorry for the lengthy post, any insight would be much appreciated!

 

 

[ljokerl]

You can get the OEM version of the M2 (ViSang R03) from ebay without waiting but it will cost you a bit more. You can also get the ViSang R02 which is very similar in sound but uses a less pretty housing (and is also cheaper). I would say that either the R03 or the iM-590 can have the upper hand SQ-wise depending on your preferences but for most people I'd put the R03 a step higher, especially for those who like heavier bass. 

 

[Pokefan]

Thanks Joker, I don't know why but I never even thought about looking for a pair of the RO3's. I should also add that as of right now I plan on adding either the cmoyBB or the small bravo tube amp to the mix for no other reason than I'm a bit of a power junky. So id like something that will play nice when amped

Kind of leaning towards the Bravo though, I've always wanted a tube amp and this seems about as close as I'll get any time soon.

 

[ljokerl]

An amp, especially a desktop amp, is overkill for either of the IEMs if you ask me. The iM-590 doesn't really benefit from amping in my experience and the R03 has minimal balance gains from added power. If you're getting an amp anyway might as well get an impedance adapter for the R03.

 

[lie495fc]

it seems to me that the RE0 is a better value for $25 than M2, base on joker's review.

 

[Pokefan]

This is probably an area I should do a bit more research but my main music source is my iPhone, if your using a line out dock connector the signal doesn't carry any power, is that right? If that's the case would an amp still be overkill? Part of the reason I'm drawn to the bravo is I've always been very intriqued by the way people describe tube amps sound. I really want to experience that sweet mellow and laid back sound I always hear people talk about. If it's still overkill than I'm fine with holding off until I can get a set of phones that will benefit from it, honestly it's just a novelty anyway.

 

[Pokefan]

Lie, I'd probably agree with that but I'm not willing to expand my budget that high just yet. I know how I work if I add another $25 to my budget I'll start looking at things pushing the $125-150 range and I'm just not sure how much I'm willing to invest in this hobby just yet.

 

[lie495fc]

i have just started looking into head-fi myself recently, im learning too 
 
i looked into Brainwavz M1, M2, and Head-Direct re0 and re-zero, also the good looking meelec M6.
to me the M1 at $30 is a better value than the $50 M2. But i'd rather get a re0 for $75.
 
M1 is usually $40 but often go on sale for $30 after 25% off. There is also a M1 combo deal at mp4nation/com that comes with Fiio E5 amp plus Fiio L2 cable for $49.50 . that's the ultimate starter kit if you ask me.
 
personally i'm not ready to decide on which IEM to get yet. for now got myself a cheap jvc ha-fxc50 and been waiting for a good IEM deal to come around.

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

This is probably an area I should do a bit more research but my main music source is my iPhone, if your using a line out dock connector the signal doesn't carry any power, is that right? If that's the case would an amp still be overkill? Part of the reason I'm drawn to the bravo is I've always been very intriqued by the way people describe tube amps sound. I really want to experience that sweet mellow and laid back sound I always hear people talk about. If it's still overkill than I'm fine with holding off until I can get a set of phones that will benefit from it, honestly it's just a novelty anyway.

Haven't tried the Bravo myself but I would think any desktop amp is overkill for these particular IEMs, but if the Bravo has a low noise floor perhaps it will work. I would still recommend picking up a 60-100 ohm impedance adapter for the R03 if you plan to go that route regardless.

 

[Pokefan]

Thanks for the help Joker, I'll probably just hold off on the amp. I'll look more into that if I ever go the route of full size cans, like I said before it was more of a novelty than anything. I'd say only 10% of my time would be used in front of my computer at home which is where the amp would live anyway.
 
As of right now I'm leaning towards the M2 route. As far as the R03/M2 goes I don't have a problem with ordering from an overseas company normally but with regards to warranty issues I'm thinking I should probably hold off until the M2 is back in stock. Has anyone had issues with the R03 that would require warranty inquiries? I'm just concerned something may go wrong and I have to buy a new pair because I can't get them covered.

 

[leosia]

Thought I would provide an update to this thread. I've had the M2's for a while now and think they're fine, especially for the pre-order price I paid. However, I've just received a headphone amp (electric-avenues PA2V2) and connected it to my iPhone via a FiiO L3 line-out dock. These are both low-priced upgrades from the headphone line-out socket, but the difference is substantial.
 
I've used Grado SR60 and Etymotics (ER6i) in the past, connected to the headphone line-out socket but this sounds better. Slightly less detailed, but a warmer, deeper sound with a better sound stage. So, even for these budget IEM's, IMO they sound great with a headphone amp and dock line-out.

 

[paulypaul]

I agree the soundstage is quite nice on the M2.
Theres plenty on the bottom end too.
All in all a nice warm full sounding IEM.
The highs are there too, but the bass and mids do standout more

 

[liamgupd0]

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An amp, especially a desktop amp, is overkill for either of the IEMs if you ask me. The iM-590 doesn't really benefit from amping in my experience and the R03 has minimal balance gains from added power. If you're getting an amp anyway might as well get an impedance adapter for the R03.

Nice writing, I understand this part, Thanks for your sharing!