[Idsynchrono_24]

The 6 kHz bump is completely negligible to my ears. I don't notice a trace of harshness or sibilance on the Rockets. I also listen to the Rockets at louder volumes like the Tenore. The venerable Tenore is dethroned by the Rockets IMO, vocals are just awesome as you noted, very lifelike, and dare I say, very close to the LAB I's vocal reproduction

 

[vwinter]

shotgunshane LOL

gnarlsagan Bam.
I actually told SGS yesterday that I listen to the Rockets pretty loud. It's partly to do with how they can seriously separate out cues front to back, kind of a 1plus2 effect (which I also listened to at louder volumes when I had it). And when the right track comes on, it can pull images way out on the horizontal plane too.

It's also probably the hardest to drive IEM I currently own and from memory, takes about as much travel on the volume slider on my iPhone 5S as the ER4S did when I had that.

With an inherently very low gain high dynamic range track, you could find yourself hitting the volume limit, on the iPhone 4S and 5S at least.


Also, the Rockets are probably the only IEM I've heard since the Heaven V that can hold an image in space well enough through volume changes.

 

[jrkong]

I should add that while imaging is good, I haven't done a direct Tenore comparison yet. Been listening solely to the Tenore for a while though. Should be interesting.

The Rockets are very good at hiding flaws. It might take a while to scope them out, just like on the Tenore.

Wholeheartedly agree on this. At this point I've been listening to the ROCKETS for 2 weeks now giving them at least 5 hours a day and while there are flaws here and there the ROCKETS' delivery makes many of these issues less noticeable. This is a part of the ROCKETS overall charm if you ask me.

 

[vwinter]

Flaws so far (just for record, even those I find to be extremely minute but someone else might care deeply about):

- Slightly awkward to insert.
- 5-6kHz bump can be noticeable if track hits it just right.
- vocal tonality ever so slightly tinged by elevated 5-6k bump harmonics.
- some might want more bass body (not me).
- May lead to increased chance of hearing loss from being awesome at louder volumes, semi-lol
- enough subbass roll off from 25-20Hz to be called roll off.
- cable is microphonic when worn down
- elastomer tips can be troublesome for drier ears
- cable is heavy exerting pressure onto seal when worn down.
- wearing up without the (not yet included) antiloops does not really work well, at least not unless the cable becomes more flexible.

 

[Sokudoningyou]

shotgunshane LOL

gnarlsagan Bam.
I actually told SGS yesterday that I listen to the Rockets pretty loud. It's partly to do with how they can seriously separate out cues front to back, kind of a 1plus2 effect (which I also listened to at louder volumes when I had it). And when the right track comes on, it can pull images way out on the horizontal plane too.

It's also probably the hardest to drive IEM I currently own and from memory, takes about as much travel on the volume slider on my iPhone 5S as the ER4S did when I had that.

With an inherently very low gain high dynamic range track, you could find yourself hitting the volume limit, on the iPhone 4S and 5S at least.


Also, the Rockets are probably the only IEM I've heard since the Heaven V that can hold an image in space well enough through volume changes.

So, maybe an amp wouldn't go amiss with these? Granted, I don't play music on my phone, I have a Cowon x7, but I'm going to be using then at work in noisy environments. I already have to crank when listening to Doctor Who audio plays; I was hoping these would be clear and strong enough for me to hopefully play at a lower level.

 

[SkiesOfAzel]

Oh boy, this is reading better and better. Between Tenore and ER-4S. Come on delivery notification genie, time to come out of the bottle!

 
Whatever you do, please don't post positive impressions when you get them. My wallet is already on its death throes 

. 

 

[kyuuketsuki]

Man, I think this is a first for me... So far everyone is in... general agreement about a phone? I think we may break Head-fi if this keeps up.

 

[Idsynchrono_24]

I would imagine it's because phones tending to neutrality are less polarizing than ones with obvious coloration. And the Rockets will be fine for radio plays or podcasts. The isolation helps a lot, they just come alive at moderate listening levels and beyond

 

[vwinter]

So, maybe an amp wouldn't go amiss with these? Granted, I don't play music on my phone, I have a Cowon x7, but I'm going to be using then at work in noisy environments. I already have to crank when listening to Doctor Who audio plays; I was hoping these would be clear and strong enough for me to hopefully play at a lower level.

I would go out of my normal way and say that an amp might actually not be a terrible thing with these, again, if you listen to things that are low volume in nature and listen loudly.

Mainly vocal stuff like tv shows and podcasts are likely fine without an amp because vocals are generally recorded front and center.

I think it was mentioned at some point that Dale demoed these through an amp. I've been planning to try them through an amp but haven't gotten around to it.

 

[Idsynchrono_24]

I really enjoyed these out of the GEEK OUT 450. Wish I still had em around to test with the Calyx M.

Gnarl - Try removing the tritab and fitting the phones with the small tips. It should help with getting a seal. I grasp the housing and apply a twisting motion as I push them in and it works perfectly

 

[jrkong]

I'm using the Geek Out 1k when I'm not using my iPhone 3GS with mine.

 

[gnarlsagan]

Man, I think this is a first for me... So far everyone is in... general agreement about a phone? I think we may break Head-fi if this keeps up.

Chugga-chugga chugga-chugga... All aboard!

I really enjoyed these out of the GEEK OUT 450. Wish I still had em around to test with the Calyx M.

Gnarl - Try removing the tritab and fitting the phones with the small tips. It should help with getting a seal. I grasp the housing and apply a twisting motion as I push them in and it works perfectly

I will. The fit is fine, but if I remove the tri-tabs I could probably get a deeper fit and move the treble peak down closer to 6k. Not sure if that'd be an improvement or not though. I kinda like the 8k placement.

Also I use both the Leckerton UHA760 and my Nexus 5 (separately) and both power the Rockets fine, although the dial is closer to ER4 territory than most iems ime.

 

[Theogenes]

Agreed about finding myself listening more loudly than I otherwise would. In my experience, this is usually either because there's something you're missing and you turn up the volume to compensate (not the case here), or the sound is clear enough of distortion and artifacts that you end up listening louder than you normally would, simply because fatigue doesn't set in until a much higher volume. I'm guessing it's the latter. 
 
The Rockets also put the hat trick of being able to sound highly listenable out of a not-great headphone jack on a cellphone, and scale up enough with a dedicated amp to make it worth it. Either way ends up working, at least for me. 

 

[kyuuketsuki]

  Agreed about finding myself listening more loudly than I otherwise would. In my experience, this is usually either because there's something you're missing and you turn up the volume to compensate (not the case here), or the sound is clear enough of distortion and artifacts that you end up listening louder than you normally would, simply because fatigue doesn't set in until a much higher volume. I'm guessing it's the latter. 
 
The Rockets also put the hat trick of being able to sound highly listenable out of a not-great headphone jack on a cellphone, and scale up enough with a dedicated amp to make it worth it. Either way ends up working, at least for me. 

 
This is totally true. I test out of habit on my NFB-11. But I'm rather content listening on my Nexus 5. I haven't even tested on my Cowon J3 with Arrow 4G. 

 

[gnarlsagan]

Wow. Hyperbole aside, I'm pretty blown away at edm reproduction on the Rockets. Flat response with deep bass, not fatiguing, with ample treble emphasis. Very immersive experience. These definitely rank among the best I've heard for edm.