[J0nny]

Hey guys, been a while since I posted here. My fantastic Sennheiser IE-80s have finally bitten the dust. The sound tube of the left earpiece snapped off; this is the 2nd time it's happened and I don't fancy having to superglue it back together every few months, so I'm looking for some recommendations as I've been out of the game for a while, something under £300. Soooo, I'm a massive drum and bass head so I need something with a very solid low end with plenty of extension. I'm really into drumfunk and the techier, darker, grittier side of dnb well, so I'd like something with excellent impulse response/detail on the high ends to bring out the intricacies in the very detailed percussion. Obviously the mids should be nicely resolved as well but those sorta take a back seat for me, obviously I don't want anything Bose like where the mids are just thrown straight in the bin though. Just to sum it up, I'm looking for an in ears that satisfy:

1. Loads of bass detailed with deep extension
2. Crips highs with good impulse response/speed/resolution
3. Decent mids
4. £300 or under

Cheers guys!

 

[Infoseeker]

Final Audio e5000 would be an affordable suggestion.

 

[rggz]

Sony XBA-N3

The Final E5000 needs an amp or a potent DAP to handle this thing, otherwise, it'll sound meh and slow.

 

[surfgeorge]

I second the XBA-N3 but maybe also check if you can find a Beyerdynamic Xelento used close to that price.
Just be aware of fake Xelentos.

 

[IEMusic]

I think the ThieAudio Legacy 9 would fit your desired criteria very well, but it is above your stated price limit.

The Xelento is a very well respected IEM, so if you can find it used for that price, that would be perfect.

A very good bassy IEM is the TFZ No.3. The highs are clear and crisp, but don‘t really extend past 10KHz. The bass is very prominent, but not a muddy mess. The midrange is recessed, but definitely decent.

 

[J0nny]

Soz for the late reply guys, uni work has been a bit mental (trying to study from home during lockdown is a nightmare!).

I'm really liking the looks of those TF No.3's though IEMusic! I've noticed there's a major discrepancy between the prices for the Ti shell and other shell shell options on Amazon £235 vs £86... Is there a reason behind this? Does the Ti shell provide more favourable material properties in terms of damping unwanted resonances etc? And if it does sound superior, would you say the gain in quality scales linearly with the price?

Cheers,
J0nny

 

[Infoseeker]

The Ti model was graphed by Crinacle if you want.
https://crinacle.com/2019/07/29/tfz-no-3-unboxing/

 

[IEMusic]

Soz for the late reply guys, uni work has been a bit mental (trying to study from home during lockdown is a nightmare!).

I'm really liking the looks of those TF No.3's though IEMusic! I've noticed there's a major discrepancy between the prices for the Ti shell and other shell shell options on Amazon £235 vs £86... Is there a reason behind this? Does the Ti shell provide more favourable material properties in terms of damping unwanted resonances etc? And if it does sound superior, would you say the gain in quality scales linearly with the price?

Cheers,
J0nny

From what I’ve read, the Ti No.3s don‘t sound significantly different. It‘s really just aesthetics. I have the resin version with CF design, but now there are even more designs available.

The other IEM to consider is the BLON BL03. It also has a lot of bass, and is very well tuned overall, but doesn’t have quite as much bass as the No.3. It’s only around $30.

 

[baskingshark]

Soz for the late reply guys, uni work has been a bit mental (trying to study from home during lockdown is a nightmare!).

I'm really liking the looks of those TF No.3's though IEMusic! I've noticed there's a major discrepancy between the prices for the Ti shell and other shell shell options on Amazon £235 vs £86... Is there a reason behind this? Does the Ti shell provide more favourable material properties in terms of damping unwanted resonances etc? And if it does sound superior, would you say the gain in quality scales linearly with the price?

Cheers,
J0nny

It's controversial, some reviewers/consumers claim they can hear a difference between the TI and regular, some say no. I don't have the TI version, but the regular version is a basshead set for sure. U shaped, with above average technicalities for a single DD set. Soundstage is average, and there's a some upper mids harshness. The subbass extension and decay and midbass thump is superb (I'm a basshead), but there's slight midbass bleed due to the copious amounts of bass. One thing to note, it is highly sensitive and hisses a lot with certain sources.

 

[bland125]

I would recommend the Campfire Audio Polaris V2 if you can get them in your price range. Massive bass, mids can be recessed but with electronic music, I don't find it an issue at all. Treble has a presence but is not harsh or anything.

I like electronic music (dnb and EDM mostly) a lot and it's, and by far, my favorite IEM for that genre of music. It's my portable night club!