How do you compare the sound quality to the Sony EX800ST ? it's a well regarded IEM from what I saw online.
I am not the best person to ask as I'm a casual audiophile. Meaning, I love high quality audio. But I don't understand things on a technical level. I go off of how things sound and my own personal taste. So take what I say with a grain of salt.
But the Sony's are by far the best IEMs ive ever experienced when it comes to bass. If you tape the vents (I use a sliver of black electrical tape. It's very easy and takes a couple seconds), the bass absolutely rocks your skull. It's insane the punch and impact these things have.
So if you are a bass lover, and also want a headphone that isn't very harsh (so almost all music sounds good on it), they are great. I also think given their pricing, it's really insane the performance you get. I honestly think they are some of the best things I've ever owned, even in comparison to $1k + stuff. Also you can plug them in with no source, and they are still that powerful (I use them with my iPhone).
That said, if you are into treble, transparency, soundstage, detail separation, speed - that isn't what these are. The Sony are more fun, and simplistic. At the same time, I wouldn't say they are "silky smooth" the way I feel the Audeze LCDs are like. Only real negatives is that the cable it comes with is really poor. You can't swap it out unless you do physical work on it. Also I've heard some people have trouble getting a nice fit (not because it's huge, just the ear tips they come with and their size and angle). But given the price, I definitely can recommend, and understand why some think they are an end game IEM (if that sound sig is your style. Especially if you are a bass lover). They also scale extremely well with an amp. You can get even more out of them if that's what you want.
Comparing them to the isine, the isine have a much wider sound stage. Better detail/separation. The bass isn't anywhere near as impactful, but like the bigger Audeze it does have that nice bottom end slam. The bass feels detailed. There is a more "airy" quality. The bass is much more pushed back to the Sony (so if you go from Sony to Audeze, at first the bass seems much weaker. But I would argue it has more detail, and nice bottom end bass).
The isine remind me a lot like bigger over the ear headphones due to the soundstage and the space. The details. Keep in mind I'm using the 3.5 mm standard jack and not the cipher cable. I'm also not EQ, since I'm using with my iPhone and the Audeze app doesn't work without the cipher cable.
But to my ears, the isine 10 have a lot more speed and treble compare to the LCD-2 and 3. It's not as "thick" and warm sounding. It's kind of a weird hybrid of the LCD sound, with other over the ear headphones (so less thick/warm/melodic sounding, but it still has a lot of qualities that are true to the Audeze sound).
So that's my take as a casual listener. I think the Sony are worth it given the price. If you are a bass lover, I get why they are end game level for some. But if you are looking for an overall package, the isine does a lot more things right (such as sound stage, clarity, speed, separation, detail). The isine feels closer to an actual over the ear full size headphone. The build quality and design of the actual iems, isine is much better. The Sony cable is cheap, the housing is also nothing special (but they get the job done and are tough as hell. They basically are closer to a tool in terms of design). The isine imo are sexy as hell (I know some disagree with me on that). I think they look good aesthetically speaking, and the build material is much nicer.
If it wasn't for me getting intense ear fatigue on the isine, I think I would say the isine imo are better overall iems. But again, the price of the Sony given the insane performance, it can't be beat. And depending on your sound sig preference, it might be what you are looking for. It's def plug and play where most of the music sounds incredible regardless. And that's also a big positive. It should also be said that the reason the isine sound so close to over the ear headphones, is because they are basically open back. That is why you get the wide soundstage and airy quality. But this also means they leak. If you are on a plane, or are in a quiet room near others, the sound will leak out. The Sony doesn't have any leaking at all, and actually do a good job blocking out all outside noise. So it's a trade off back and forth. Ultimately it will come down to personal taste and what you are looming for. I feel confident that at least what I heard, the isine are delivering a bigger package. But there is merit in the Sony being plug and play, almost everything sounds good on them. The bass (if you are a bass lover) is absolutely insane.
And this isn't even to say the Sony lack detail and are only huge bass. They do a lot right too. But comparing the two side by side, I think there is a stark contrast to what they are trying to be. The isine are trying to be more than an iem, a bridge between IEM and full size over the ear headphones.
