[gvz]

If anyone is interested, I am planning a sub-$300 iem shootout soon.

Sounds great, keep us posted.

 

[jay567]

If anyone is interested, I am planning a sub-$300 iem shootout soon. The iems are arriving (just bought some, will be borrowing others, etc) over the next few weeks.

Iems I'm considering in the lineup: dunu dn2000, jvc 850, fidue a83, ath im70, aurisonics rockets, hifiman re600, phonak 232, earwerkz supra

Literally can't wait altho I soooo wish you EQed FX850 with my settings prior to reviewing them

 

[ZSamuels28]

I wish I had the money to buy earbuds and test them...

 

[jay567]

  I wish I had the money to buy earbuds and test them...

No audio shops nearby? Korea is heaven for testing out IEMs... Everyone lives in the capital and the second hand market is so well developed that you can literally buy and sell in the same day after trying out an IEM with no loss after the transactions.

 

[Mooses9]

Etymotic er4pt blow away the shure se425 easy out of the box.. i found the shure se425 to be too much of a step down from the se535 to be worth buying if you are thinking of getting the se425 go ahead and save your money and get the se535 if you want shures.

But for what you are looking at in youf liat the etymotic are fantastic some might gripe about the bass however they have more of a neutral sound signature so if you are looking for a bass head or bass heavy iem they might not be for you. But they are hands down a fanstastic in ear monitor.

 

[jelt2359]

Literally can't wait altho I soooo wish you EQed FX850 with my settings prior to reviewing them

I'm don't generally do EQ because IEMs can end up sounding like anything you wish. Also, the quality of EQ matters- my DAPs don't generally have good implementations.
 
That being said, the FX850 is one exception that clearly needs something done to get the best out of them. I'll first try the mods. If that doesn't do the job, I may consider EQ.

 

[Mooses9]

I'm don't generally do EQ because IEMs can end up sounding like anything you wish. Also, the quality of EQ matters- my DAPs don't generally have good implementations.

That being said, the FX850 is one exception that clearly needs something done to get the best out of them. I'll first try the mods. If that doesn't do the job, I may consider EQ.

Im with you i never eq any iem i have i let them present their natural sound. I have yet to find ive had really expenaive daps and still keeo the eq off. Just dont want a synthetic sound i want to hear the iem aa they are and not as you can make them.

 

[Brooko]

Etymotic er4pt blow away the shure se425 easy out of the box.. i found the shure se425 to be too much of a step down from the se535 to be worth buying if you are thinking of getting the se425 go ahead and save your money and get the se535 if you want shures.

But for what you are looking at in youf liat the etymotic are fantastic some might gripe about the bass however they have more of a neutral sound signature so if you are looking for a bass head or bass heavy iem they might not be for you. But they are hands down a fanstastic in ear monitor.

 
Comes down to preference I guess.  I really liked the SE425.  For the price you can often get them now (sub 250) I've often thought of rebuying them.  The SE535 were good, but never engaged me enough to rethink repurchasing.  To me they don't justify their much higher cost.  YMMV.

 

[jay567]

Literally can't wait altho I soooo wish you EQed FX850 with my settings prior to reviewing them

I'm don't generally do EQ because IEMs can end up sounding like anything you wish. Also, the quality of EQ matters- my DAPs don't generally have good implementations.
 
That being said, the FX850 is one exception that clearly needs something done to get the best out of them. I'll first try the mods. If that doesn't do the job, I may consider EQ.

Yep, the FX850 is that one exception because, 1) They are too colored, 2) have a frequency response which is really easy to EQ and 3) have this capability of natural sound to get best out of a neutral sound sig.

 

[jay628]

i would recommend dunu-1000 within that price range, sound great with all kinds of music.

 

[Mooses9]

Comes down to preference I guess.  I really liked the SE425.  For the price you can often get them now (sub 250) I've often thought of rebuying them.  The SE535 were good, but never engaged me enough to rethink repurchasing.  To me they don't justify their much higher cost.  YMMV.

I think the the se425 were a good mid range but for a true audiophile sound signature the er4 is hands down the standard in my opinion. But like i said its a neutral flat sound signature you can eq it or you can bass boost it but its mainly for true to track listening so what you are meant to hear you will hear...not really what i call a "fun" iem albeit its a exceptional iem just imo a more serious sounding iem some may not prefer the taste.

 

[eke2k6]

I think the the se425 were a good mid range but for a true audiophile sound signature the er4 is hands down the standard in my opinion. But like i said its a neutral flat sound signature you can eq it or you can bass boost it but its mainly for true to track listening so what you are meant to hear you will hear...not really what i call a "fun" iem albeit its a exceptional iem just imo a more serious sounding iem some may not prefer the taste.

 
Honestly, I really don't like when people refer to th ER4 as neutral. That upper-mid spike is every bit as obnoxious to me as any boosted bass. Making it worse is that there's no balance to it in the lower mids.
 
JM2C, anyway.

 

[Mooses9]

Well its going for that neutral sound. I would say more neutral than some?

The clarity the resolving factor the crispness of the overall sound reguardless of spike is amazing not to mention imo its extremely transparent

 

[lee730]

   
Comes down to preference I guess.  I really liked the SE425.  For the price you can often get them now (sub 250) I've often thought of rebuying them.  The SE535 were good, but never engaged me enough to rethink repurchasing.  To me they don't justify their much higher cost.  YMMV.

 
Did you get to try  the FX850s out? I really like them. And being they are around $270 that is a good deal IMO for what you get. How they image in game is pretty uncanny also. Feels like I'm not wearing anything.

 

[Brooko]

   
Did you get to try  the FX850s out? I really like them. And being they are around $270 that is a good deal IMO for what you get. How they image in game is pretty uncanny also. Feels like I'm not wearing anything.

 
Not yet Lee - had a lot of people recommend them to me - so I'm going to have to see if I can get a pair at some stage
 
Unfortunately my budget pretty trashed right now. Got in on the Adel U6 deal prior to Xmas - so won't be buying a lot of the next couple of months.