Best mid price IEMs
Jan 2, 2015 at 1:38 PM Post #32 of 76
After going through the DAPs that I have, my conclusion is the same as Eke's. Happy rockin an iPhone 6. Difference was pretty scant to my ears, and a lot of it boiled down to volume matching. I'm sure the boutique DAPs matter more if you're using full sized phones as a portable rig, since something like an iPhone won't be able to drive them sans an additional brick of some sort, but I can't say I've ever noticed a meaningful difference between, say, a Calyx M or a DX90 and an iPhone 6 with any of the IEMs in my sig. It sounds a bit different, yes, but not necessarily better to my ears. /justmy2slicesofgovtcheez
 
Jan 2, 2015 at 8:17 PM Post #34 of 76
Nope. Unlike Eke, I actually went and bought these DAPs (whereas he got em on loan) so I actually invested something in the hopes of reaping... I dunno, something; anything. In the end, I'd be lying to myself if I said that what I heard justices the price. It just plain didn't. Doesn't matter to me though. I'm very happy with the iPhone
 
Jan 2, 2015 at 9:24 PM Post #36 of 76
is the birds avatar some sort of homage/respect to music 4321 ?
 
Jan 2, 2015 at 10:22 PM Post #38 of 76
idsynchrono_24 said:
Nope. Unlike Eke, I actually went and bought these DAPs (whereas he got em on loan) so I actually invested something in the hopes of reaping... I dunno, something; anything. In the end, I'd be lying to myself if I said that what I heard justices the price. It just plain didn't. Doesn't matter to me though. I'm very happy with the iPhone
Click to expand...

I did the opposite. I had boutique DAPs, then got fed up with the inconvenience one day and said, let me just use my phone. And so I did, for a few months. Neutron App, Onkyo HD app, etc. Not bad, I told myself, not bad at all. Why bother?
 
One fine day, I told myself, let me just try my boutique DAPs again for ****s and giggles.
 
Game over. No more iPhone listening for me.
 
Jan 2, 2015 at 10:30 PM Post #39 of 76
zsamuels28 said:
Hi audiophiles, I'm looking for a pair of in ear headphones and my budget is around $100-$300 with a little wiggle room if necessary. I mostly listen to rock, jazz and top 40 mp3s at 256 or 320 on an iPhone or MacBook Pro. What's your opinion? Right now I'm looking at:
Etymotics ER4PT
RE600
JVC FX850
Shure SE425
Click to expand...

 To try and get this back on track - could you please advise:
 
  1. What type of sound signature do you like?  What headphones have you heard or owned?  What did you like about them, what didn't you like?
  2. How important is very high isolation?
  3. Do you need iDevice controls?
 
A few more clues, and we might be able to give you better suggestions.
 
Jan 2, 2015 at 10:35 PM Post #40 of 76
mimouille said:
Because you are dirty... And naughty. You know you are. I love how we hacked this guy's thread. Anyways, Joker's thread is good place to find a mid-priced iem performing well.
Click to expand...

 
Meh. We had a long private conversation a few days ago. He already knew what he wanted, but felt skittish. Hence, this thread. He's already bought the ASg-2.5.
 
Jan 3, 2015 at 2:29 AM Post #42 of 76
mimouille said:
  Well I had to try....
 
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/714374/dap-off-astell-kern-ak240-hifiman-hm-901-sony-zx-1-fiio-x5-chord-hugo-calyx-m-aurender-flow-lotoo-paw-gold/1140#post_11184309
Click to expand...

Nice! One thing I admire about the French- apart from your beautiful country and language and food and history and... 
 
You call it as you see it (or hear it). Come what may.
 
Jan 3, 2015 at 2:58 AM Post #43 of 76
Respect Mike. That's exactly how I heard it, and once I realized that I was sacrificing battery life, rock solid/lightning quick UI, pocket real estate, and most importantly funds that could be diverted towards other I dunno... phones, I quickly hopped off that band wagon. I tried various well regarded DAPs as well as the vaunted Chord HUGO and arrived at the same conclusion each and every time. I could live without the extra 5% difference in SQ.

mimouille said:
Well I had to try....


http://www.head-fi.org/t/714374/dap-off-astell-kern-ak240-hifiman-hm-901-sony-zx-1-fiio-x5-chord-hugo-calyx-m-aurender-flow-lotoo-paw-gold/1140#post_11184309
Click to expand...
 
Jan 11, 2015 at 7:45 AM Post #44 of 76
I'm pondering a similar choice as the OP did, and there has been some informative advice dispensed ITT, so let me try here.  For me, it pretty much boils down to SE425, RE600, and IE80.  Plus there is some chance CKR9 could be available.  (I'd strongly prefer to buy it in my city bc of the currency issues etc.)  On the other hand, I'm fine with waiting a couple months with the purchase, as my present set up is satisfactory.

I mostly listen to FLAC (16/44.1 and  24/96) on a udac2, but plan on getting a iDSD nano.  Music-wise, its mostly jazz (mainly early 70s fusion), classical (mostly symphonic), and funk, afrobeat, and soul.  Sound-wise, I'm looking for something to improve on SHE9850 in the details and perhaps also bass departments.  I quite enjoy the SHE9850 (single ba) despite all its rather obvious shortcommings as it's able to handle even not-so-well mastered recodrings without ever getting tiresome.  Also, the sound with complys is much more enjoyable than with the stock silicons.  Previously, I had AKG k324p (dynamic), which were pretty disappointing--sounded plasticky, hollow, and thin to me.  Often, the k324p sounded as if the cymbals were right in front of me, and the rest of the band in the next room.  What's worse, compression artifacts were pretty prominent, and sibilance occurred frequently.  I would like to avoid these things at any cost, even if it means accepting say a treble roll-off, or less 'neutral' reproduction, or sticking with SHE9850.  The reason why am I looking on these three (four) is that in this price range the IE80 seems like something almost everyone can enjoy sound-wise, and both the RE600 and SE425 seem to be labeled as 'neutral', and 'smooth.'  I'm mainly curious about the differences between SE425 and RE600.
 
Jan 11, 2015 at 11:34 AM Post #45 of 76
gvz said:
  I'm pondering a similar choice as the OP did, and there has been some informative advice dispensed ITT, so let me try here.  For me, it pretty much boils down to SE425, RE600, and IE80.  Plus there is some chance CKR9 could be available.  (I'd strongly prefer to buy it in my city bc of the currency issues etc.)  On the other hand, I'm fine with waiting a couple months with the purchase, as my present set up is satisfactory.

I mostly listen to FLAC (16/44.1 and  24/96) on a udac2, but plan on getting a iDSD nano.  Music-wise, its mostly jazz (mainly early 70s fusion), classical (mostly symphonic), and funk, afrobeat, and soul.  Sound-wise, I'm looking for something to improve on SHE9850 in the details and perhaps also bass departments.  I quite enjoy the SHE9850 (single ba) despite all its rather obvious shortcommings as it's able to handle even not-so-well mastered recodrings without ever getting tiresome.  Also, the sound with complys is much more enjoyable than with the stock silicons.  Previously, I had AKG k324p (dynamic), which were pretty disappointing--sounded plasticky, hollow, and thin to me.  Often, the k324p sounded as if the cymbals were right in front of me, and the rest of the band in the next room.  What's worse, compression artifacts were pretty prominent, and sibilance occurred frequently.  I would like to avoid these things at any cost, even if it means accepting say a treble roll-off, or less 'neutral' reproduction, or sticking with SHE9850.  The reason why am I looking on these three (four) is that in this price range the IE80 seems like something almost everyone can enjoy sound-wise, and both the RE600 and SE425 seem to be labeled as 'neutral', and 'smooth.'  I'm mainly curious about the differences between SE425 and RE600.
Click to expand...

 
just get the RE-600 , i listen to these genres as well and i am very happy with my RE-600 - great iem , especially when you feed it with good recordings (not mp3 or crappy overcompressed recordings)

i think that the re600 is a 400$ iem with a 200$ price tag , but since it's not made by senheiser/shure/westone (the big 3, brand-wise) they don't get the love they deserve

425 and ie80 are not even close to the re600, quality wise

cheers
 
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