[Pianist]

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No offense to you painist but I can't help but take that statement with a grain of salt. I have yet to hear a balanced armature IEM of any sort come close to achieving the timbre of a good dynamic. James444 states that thew new moving armature BAs are better in this regard, and maybe they indeed are, but regular armatures? Well, I have yet to hear a good one when it comes to timbre. Taking it a step further, I found the etymotic sound to be the antithesis of good timbre and realism. Everything was too compressed, too cold, and too fast. There is hardly any decay making nearly every instrument sound artificial. And again, just the simple sound of the instruments was...off. Ety does better with electronic music where speed matters, but again, the bass basically falls off a cliff past 60-70Hz so you don't get the lowest notes...*shrug* Too each his own, I suppose.
 

I am pretty sure almost everyone will agree that a JH13 has good timbre. Also, I don't think ER4 rolls off in the bass at all. It reaches deeper than any other IEM I've heard to my ears.
 
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IMO, the most realistic IEM I've heard so far is Etymotic ER4, especially the S. The timbre accuracy in the mids is spot on! Fischer DBA-02 is pretty close too, but not quite as good.

But pianist, neither of those are dynamics sir, so aren't your comments a bit out of place?

 
But why limit the discussion to dynamics? Doing so means automatically assuming that BAs don't do timbre as well as dynamics and that's a wrong thing to do because many people disagree.

 

[Kunlun]

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But why limit the discussion to dynamics? Doing so means automatically assuming that BAs don't do timbre as well as dynamics and that's a wrong thing to do because many people disagree.

Maybe start a new thread on ba's with good timbre?
 
Many people (most!) disagree with you on things sometimes, but that doesn't make you a wrong person.

 

 

[Inks]

BAs don't do timbre as well as dynamics in my experience. Also FX700s are untouched in this aspect imo with natural instruments. 

 

[tuahogary]

hello....?? can anyone answer my question pls??

 

[Pianist]

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BAs don't do timbre as well as dynamics in my experience. Also FX700s are untouched in this aspect imo with natural instruments. 

Tell that a JH13 owner. lol

 

[james444]

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I tried the IE8 but I didn't like it. In fact I preferred the PL30 sound sig. Don't like too much warmth or bass instead I lean more towards fast, cold, balanced, analytical

 
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how does the FX700 soundstage compare to the IE8? i find the IE8's placement of instruments a bit artificial due to the recessed mids

 
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I'm surprised you find the IE8mids to be recessed.  I do not hear them that way at all.  What EQ are you using?  If you EQ down the bass at 100Hz and bump up the treble to your liking,a they really open up and the mids become the focus of the entire presentation.  AND they are wonderful sounding mids. 

hmmm... yeah I was referring to its signature with a flat EQ. I've played around with EQ and it does help suit the IE8 to my preferred signature but I feel that EQing simply knocks up a few dB in the mids to make it sound more "forward". To my ears, the original presentation is far away vocals and near bass but with EQ everything seems "flat", presented with little space between the low, mid and high frequencies. Maybe I need a better source, maybe its the difference between our ears but I dont think the IE8 is for me.

 
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one more question... if I didnt like the IE8 sound, will I be disappointed with the FX700?

 
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hello....?? can anyone answer my question pls??

I'll try, but it's not easy deducting from your posts in this thread. First of all, you said you preferred the PL30 sound sig to the IE8. I like the PL30 too, yet I don't think their sound sig is all too far from the IE8. Granted, they have noticably less upper bass and that makes the mids sound clearer, but overall they have a pretty similarly warm, pleasant and smooth sound signature to the IE8. And they are certainly not fast, cold, balanced, analytical.
 
Moreover, as fallingreason pointed out, if you EQ down the IE8's upper bass hump at 100Hz you'll find that the Sennheisers have very natural and wonderful sounding mids and in fact pretty good timbre.
 
So the answer to your question depends on what you really looking for. If you really want something fast, cold, balanced, analytical you should maybe look into BAs and go for the CK10 or something like that. But to my ears these type of IEMs have the least natural timbre.
 
If you want something with similarly pleasant presentation to the PL30, but a bit faster and more analytical, then look into the e-Q7, e-Q5 or GR10. These IEMs have pretty realistic timbre, but at the same time you won't run the risk of their bass being too much for your taste.
 
Last not least, the FX700 have even more impressive timbre, but they're significantly bassier than all former mentioned IEMs. If you wear them sealed they have a noticable upper bass elevation (though much less than the IE8). I prefer them with only a loose seal which makes them less bassy and more balanced, but even so they still hit harder than the Ortofons. I have no complaints about "far away vocals" on the FX700, but neither are they mid forward like the e-Q7.
 
Bottom line, if it's more about presence of vocals than timbre I'd say Ortofons/Grados, if it's timbre above everything else then FX700.
 
Hope this helps...

 

[tuahogary]

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I tried the IE8 but I didn't like it. In fact I preferred the PL30 sound sig. Don't like too much warmth or bass instead I lean more towards fast, cold, balanced, analytical

 
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how does the FX700 soundstage compare to the IE8? i find the IE8's placement of instruments a bit artificial due to the recessed mids

 
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I'm surprised you find the IE8mids to be recessed.  I do not hear them that way at all.  What EQ are you using?  If you EQ down the bass at 100Hz and bump up the treble to your liking,a they really open up and the mids become the focus of the entire presentation.  AND they are wonderful sounding mids. 

hmmm... yeah I was referring to its signature with a flat EQ. I've played around with EQ and it does help suit the IE8 to my preferred signature but I feel that EQing simply knocks up a few dB in the mids to make it sound more "forward". To my ears, the original presentation is far away vocals and near bass but with EQ everything seems "flat", presented with little space between the low, mid and high frequencies. Maybe I need a better source, maybe its the difference between our ears but I dont think the IE8 is for me.

 
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one more question... if I didnt like the IE8 sound, will I be disappointed with the FX700?

 
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hello....?? can anyone answer my question pls??

I'll try, but it's not easy deducting from your posts in this thread. First of all, you said you preferred the PL30 sound sig to the IE8. I like the PL30 too, yet I don't think their sound sig is all too far from the IE8. Granted, they have noticably less upper bass and that makes the mids sound clearer, but overall they have a pretty similarly warm, pleasant and smooth sound signature to the IE8. And they are certainly not fast, cold, balanced, analytical.
 
Moreover, as fallingreason pointed out, if you EQ down the IE8's upper bass hump at 100Hz you'll find that the Sennheisers have very natural and wonderful sounding mids and in fact pretty good timbre.
 
So the answer to your question depends on what you really looking for. If you really want something fast, cold, balanced, analytical you should maybe look into BAs and go for the CK10 or something like that. But to my ears these type of IEMs have the least natural timbre.
 
If you want something with similarly pleasant presentation to the PL30, but a bit faster and more analytical, then look into the e-Q7, e-Q5 or GR10. These IEMs have pretty realistic timbre, but at the same time you won't run the risk of their bass being too much for your taste.
 
Last not least, the FX700 have even more impressive timbre, but they're significantly bassier than all former mentioned IEMs. If you wear them sealed they have a noticable upper bass elevation (though much less than the IE8). I prefer them with only a loose seal which makes them less bassy and more balanced, but even so they still hit harder than the Ortofons. I have no complaints about "far away vocals" on the FX700, but neither are they mid forward like the e-Q7.
 
Bottom line, if it's more about presence of vocals than timbre I'd say Ortofons/Grados, if it's timbre above everything else then FX700.
 
Hope this helps...

Thanks james, it's been quite helpful. I guess you're right that I'm probably not sure what I'm looking for. To be fair I've only listened to the PL30, IE8, W2 and W3 enough to know how they sound like; W2 being the closest to my desired signature. They're not cold or analytical but I guess I just don't like the IE8 and W3's mid bass hump (or high bass?) that seem to bleed into the vocals/mids. They're only noticeable in some classical recording but not that obvious in modern songs. W2 and PL30 also seem to be more airy which in turn portray distance a bit better as |joker| put it. 
 
I think my perfect IEM will be one with the slight warmth and airiness of the W2 but much deeper extension in the low end. Hence my purchase of the IE8 and W3 but they do not sound as clean as the W2. The W3 has also much more aggressive detail which I like apart from the slightly muddy low end.
 
This thread is really for me to help filter out options as timbre is also something I'm looking to upgrade on. Does the upper bass elevation in the FX700 covers some of the mids or is it as clean as I want it to be?
 
Sorry if it's confusing for you guys, perhaps the best thing for me to do is go ahead and buy it and listen to it myself! 

 

[Inks]

It sounds like you could like the SM3

 

[Confispect]

Panasonic HJE900, Radius DDM, Monster Gold, Earsonics SM3, Future Sonic Atrio M8 -plastic......- FX700 -Wonderful just heard it the other day-

 

[Pianist]

HJE900 did seem to have good timbre in the mids when I auditioned them. But bass and treble sounded a bit off - bass was too heavy and treble a little on the harsh side. Not sibilant, just a little grainy.

 

[Confispect]

Lol the bass was the best part. Not overdone, not to less.
 
Treble wise depends on tips and insertion depth as do all phones. Maybe they didn't like you. 

 

[Pianist]

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Lol the bass was the best part. Not overdone, not to less.
 
Treble wise depends on tips and insertion depth as do all phones. Maybe they didn't like you. 

Well, it's overdone compared to ER4 or DBA-02. Compared to IE8 or CX300, it's not very strong. I actually liked the HJE900 quite a bit - they were fun sounding and mids were nice. I just prefer a more neutral response.

 

[Confispect]

Overdone compared to DBA-02 - to each is own.
 
I understand the preference too and yes the mids are nice.

 

[Sil3nce]

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Lol the bass was the best part. Not overdone, not to less.
 
Treble wise depends on tips and insertion depth as do all phones. Maybe they didn't like you. 

Well, it's overdone compared to ER4 or DBA-02. Compared to IE8 or CX300, it's not very strong. I actually liked the HJE900 quite a bit - they were fun sounding and mids were nice. I just prefer a more neutral response.

Curious, do you play the piano?
Best dynamic iem by far- APPLE EARBUDS

 

[ericp10]

Pianist no offense was meant. My statement only came in from the standpoint that the post asked about dynamics only, that's why I felt we shouldn't be talking about BAs. But since the OP allowed the BAs into the discussion, all is well. I think my 1964 quad has excellent timbre, but it doesn't beat the FX700 (close though, and it beats the JVC in every other aspect).