[Anaxilus]

Quote:

It doesn't move much air like dynamic drivers.

Also, if anyone's interested, I don't have a preference for dynamic or BA, it entirely depends on the headphone. Having heard quite a few IEMs the EX600 and hf5 remains my favorites, both are fairly flat, yet they sound so different.

Impact is more a function of speed and focus than air volume alone which BA's have in spades.  Plenty of BA's hit harder than either the HF5, ER4 or EX600 but not as general rule.  If you move a lot of air slowly and unfocused, you will get little impact.  F=M * A
 

 

[staxxx]

Yes I agree, the hf5's drivers move so fast that is also why it lacks body/impact/slam etc

 

[jiff]

 
Quote:

 F=M * A
 

 
My physics lesson for the day

 

[Spyro]

But there are thunderous bass inducing BA IEM's out there so just because an IEM is BA doesn't mean it will characteristically be bass lite.

 

[jiff]

 
Quote:

But there are thunderous bass inducing BA IEM's out there so just because an IEM is BA doesn't mean it will characteristically be bass lite.

I agree and I don't know why some people think just because it might be a single BA that they automatically think their bass light.  If I hook my HF5's up to my little E5 amp along with bumping up the level on my Cowon's Mach3Bass they really start to hit pretty hard with surprisingly good depth.  Even without the amp and just bumping the bass up in the EQ they still sound very impressive for such a small BA.
 
At first when I got my new JVC FXT90 I thought it had better bass response than my TF10's but after doing some back to back listening I feel my TF10's sound a bit smoother with better texture than the JVC's.  The FXT90's do sound like they can go a little deeper with better punch but not by much.
 
I like both types of transducers and like others have said wants you get up into to the higher priced IEM's it just comes down to preference. 

 

[james444]

I think the difference is more in speed/decay and (somewhat related) texture than impact, but many folks don't differentiate, they just say less/more bass.

 

[Inks]

Yeah. 
 
You can make a BA punch very hard, but it's still going to be fairly quick compared to dynamics due to the nature of BAs. 
 
You can make a dynamic bass light, but it will also tend to decay a bit more cause it's slower in relation to BAs. 
 
 

 

[mark2410]

neither is strictly more right, that said i oft prefer BA stuff.
 
mind you dynamics do treble much better

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

mind you dynamics do treble much better

Not all.  Shrill, harsh and piercing have been adjectives for some DD's I've heard.

 

[Inks]

X2.
 
But I think it really depends, on a whole, BAs do treble better though there are more top tier BAs than dynamics. 

 

[mark2410]

Quote:

Not all.  Shrill, harsh and piercing have been adjectives for some DD's I've heard.

oh im not saying all dynamics get treble right, just that the very best treble ive found to be pretty much always the preserve of dynamics.  BA stuff has trouble right at the very top frequency range and often begins to get little gritty.  i am talking about the best of both types mind.

 

[DevilDog]

After reading all of this, other threads referenced here, and watching some videos, I at least know what BAs are now. I guess all this explains why I think drums and pianos sound so good on my X10s.Since BAs are "faster", they seem to do the percussive effects very well.
But doesn't all this just boil down to what somebody likes? In full sized cans, some like Sennheiser, some like Grado. I guess technically they have the same components, which is different than this discussion, but I wouldn't say one is better. Trying to compare any two different headphones is always going to be subjective.
But then again, I don't have that much experience with IEMs.

 

[Spyro]

Quote:

After reading all of this, other threads referenced here, and watching some videos, I at least know what BAs are now. I guess all this explains why I think drums and pianos sound so good on my X10s.Since BAs are "faster", they seem to do the percussive effects very well.
But doesn't all this just boil down to what somebody likes? In full sized cans, some like Sennheiser, some like Grado. I guess technically they have the same components, which is different than this discussion, but I wouldn't say one is better. Trying to compare any two different headphones is always going to be subjective.
But then again, I don't have that much experience with IEMs.

Exactly.  You are 100% right.
 

 
 

 

[Audiophile2]

what about hybrids like the AKG K3003, they have both dynamic and BA though they are pretty expensive, has anyone listened to these?

 

[tinyman392]

Quote:

what about hybrids like the AKG K3003, they have both dynamic and BA though they are pretty expensive, has anyone listened to these?

The Atomic Floyd SuperDarts have BA + Dynamic, the Scosche IEM856 (REALM) have BA + Dynamic, Audiofly (new company) has a BA + Dynamic.  The Superdarts are around 300 US, Scosches 250, and Audiofly 200.  The AKGs aren't the only ones.  Of this list, I have heard both the Scosche and Atomic Floyds.