[HungryPanda]

Ok, so a good amount of similar music tastes. Character wise is it more musical n warm, neutral or analytical?

Mainly considering Veedix NC50, PMV A-01 MK2, Flare Audio R2A.

Musical & Warm most definately

 

[Selenium]

Well I was a bit spoiled today. I received my package from Vsonic with both the New VSD3S and the GR07 Classic (removable cable version).

Though the GR07 doesn't quite make the sub $100 price tag, both of them offer sound quality that is nothing short of impressive.

It's still to early to do A/B testing since I'm still in the honeymoon period but even this early on I feel confident in saying the GR07 is as good as many others claim it to be and the VSD3S was very surprising both in terms of comfort and sound quality which exceeded my expectations and I'd dare even say might be better than even my Fiio F9 despite costing me close to a quarter of the price.

I will post further impression later on, and most likely a review, but until then I will enjoying these immensely.

Yeah, let us know. I'm thinking about getting the F9, would have it already of they hadn't sold out on Amazon. But now I have the DM5 anyway and its hard to imagine the F9 would be much better.

 

[snip3r77]

Yeah, let us know. I'm thinking about getting the F9, would have it already of they hadn't sold out on Amazon. But now I have the DM5 anyway and its hard to imagine the F9 would be much better.

I’m thinking of Massdrop plus at $299 atm

 

[Slater]

Well I was a bit spoiled today. I received my package from Vsonic with both the New VSD3S and the GR07 Classic (removable cable version).

Though the GR07 doesn't quite make the sub $100 price tag, both of them offer sound quality that is nothing short of impressive.

It's still to early to do A/B testing since I'm still in the honeymoon period but even this early on I feel confident in saying the GR07 is as good as many others claim it to be and the VSD3S was very surprising both in terms of comfort and sound quality which exceeded my expectations and I'd dare even say might be better than even my Fiio F9 despite costing me close to a quarter of the price.

I will post further impression later on, and most likely a review, but until then I will enjoying these immensely.

I love my VSD5S. I wish it got more love around here - it deserves it.

I think the other models seem to get overshadowed by the GR07 (and rightfully so from what I've read). I'm hoping I can try them someday soon and maybe turn into a GR07 convert myself

 

[fengrr]

I just ordered the e-mi ci880 from amazon. I noticed the aliexpress ones double in price!! What is up with that?

I have some monks on the way and am thinking of also getting some of the DZAT wood in-ear. Starting my collection

 

[Slater]

I just ordered the e-mi ci880 from amazon. I noticed the aliexpress ones double in price!! What is up with that?

I have some monks on the way and am thinking of also getting some of the DZAT wood in-ear. Starting my collection

From what I've seen, Aliexpress sellers increase prices before the big sales (ie brand sale week, 11.11, some time in March I think, etc).

Basically a widget normally sells for about $20. A few weeks before, the sellers ratchet the price up to $32. Then they can have a "big sale", and make the widget "50% off" (for the 11.11 sale for example), or $16. Sure, the $16 is a better deal than the normal $20 price, but the suckers who paid $32 during those pre-sale weeks got gent over a barrel.

That tactic doesn't discourage me to avoid Aliexpress though; rather just a reason to definitely buy something during the big sales they have sprinkled throughout the year (especially 11/11).

 

[Griffith]

Yeah, let us know. I'm thinking about getting the F9, would have it already of they hadn't sold out on Amazon. But now I have the DM5 anyway and its hard to imagine the F9 would be much better.

The F9 has a much warmer sound and is more forgiving in terms of details. The GR07 has the best percussion I've ever heard on any earphone, it sounds colder and has much less subbass than the F9 with that said, it's hard to not have the impression that the GR07 is on higher quality level than the F9 in terms of sound quality. There is detail, there is crispness across the frequency range, there is very little, if any, bleeding and the result is that no sounds play second fiddle to the bass or treble. Vocals are front and center. Strings have great resolution and detail and like I said before, the way percussive instruments sound is second to no other earphone or headphone I have ever tried. On a Discord chat someone recommended that I try out Tool's "Right in two" track and the way percussion sounds on that track with the GR07 is eye opening because I simply had never heard it with as much detail and with the right timbre as I do on the GR07.

It doesn't even feel like a fair comparison because the F9 is V-shaped and it's a nice V-shaped earphone with a comfortable frequency response, excellent build quality, excellent cable and excellent ergonomics. I still like my F9 very much and I feel that I will use and appreciate them for many years but they are not on the same grade of sheer sound quality as the GR07. The GR07 is simply better in that regard.

Now that isn't to say the GR07 is perfect. The cable is pretty crappy, the cable relief is crappy or non-existent, the connectors (on the removable cable version) are ridiculously tight. A lot of modern songs are tuned to be listened to on V-shaped earphones and what you'll often find is that subbass will sound too recessed or barely audible, or treble will feel like its recessed on certain tracks but this says more about poor editing/mastering than it does about the GR07. If you listen to a lot of electronic music I think the F9 provides a more fun and fulfilling sound but if you want to get a nice reference sound and as much crisp detail as you can get at around $100 then the GR07 is easily the best option I'm aware of.

 

[Griffith]

From what I've seen, Aliexpress sellers increase prices before the big sales (ie brand sale week, 11.11, some time in March I think, etc).

Basically a widget normally sells for about $20. A few weeks before, the sellers ratchet the price up to $32. Then they can have a "big sale", and make the widget "50% off" (for the 11.11 sale for example), or $16. Sure, the $16 is a better deal than the normal $20 price, but the suckers who paid $32 during those pre-sale weeks got gent over a barrel.

That tactic doesn't discourage me to avoid Aliexpress though; rather just a reason to definitely buy something during the big sales they have sprinkled throughout the year (especially 11/11).

Well... last time Ali had one such sale I picked up the Vsonic VSD3S for half the price and got the removable cable GR07 for under 100 euros which was a nice discount to both units. I wouldn't outright avoid Aliexpress sales, but it is a good idea to have an idea of the base prices before making a purchase because sometimes there are, legitimate, good deals.

 

[Selenium]

I actually used to have the GR07. You probably have the most negative impression of the F9 I've seen so far, everyone else seems to think a little more highly of it. I doubt I'd get the 07 again unless I found a deal too good to pass up. The only IEM from yesteryear I'm considering getting again is the EX1000.

By the way, your sig says you have the XE800...isn't that just supposed to be a GR07 with a different paint job? Basically?

 

[Griffith]

I actually used to have the GR07. You probably have the most negative impression of the F9 I've seen so far, everyone else seems to think a little more highly of it. I doubt I'd get the 07 again unless I found a deal too good to pass up. The only IEM from yesteryear I'm considering getting again is the EX1000.

It's fairly well known that the F9 has a treble spike that lends it a bit of unevenness but I've found that even with EQ'ing I can't reach the same timbre as the GR07 has. The GR07 can simply resolve more detail in the higher frequencies and the sound is tighter with less bleeding of bass and, to my ears, no siblance at all, at least so far as I've been able to identify. When you consider that alongside the fact that the mids are balanced instead of recessed, the clarity is better across the range it's hard not consider it the better sounding product on a technical level.

But like I said, I didn't say the GR07 was ideal for all types of music and if you listen to particular genres of music like electronic music, I think a warmer V-shaped earphone like the F9 will give you a more enjoyable experience. I didn't say the GR07 takes the F9's place. In my mind that's like comparing leather shoes with sneakers. And yeah a nice leather shoe might have great construction, a very nice aesthetic and look classier, but sometimes you just need something that is a bit more fun and both of them can exist and you can own both and appreciate both for what they are.

There is a mentality that is not uncommon to many hobby communities that you should get the best and everything else sucks. I can just as easily use the GR07 during work and appreciate their quality, as I can lie down with the F9 and listen to music while I fall asleep and appreciate them as I can grab my KZ ZST with the Bluetooth module and appreciate its lively sound as I work out. Every earphone has its place and I'm not saying the GR07 takes every $100ish earphone's place. The only thing I stated is that they are, on a technical level, the best performing ones in my opinion. If to you that means I'm being negative towards the F9 then I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree. I love my F9 and I've recommended them to people more than once, and will probably continue to do so, but to each their own.

By the way, your sig says you have the XE800...isn't that just supposed to be a GR07 with a different paint job? Basically?

The XE800 uses the same driver as the GR07 and they do sound and measure very similarly but the GR07, to my ears, seems like it is better tuned in terms of timbre and the treble has more detail, whereas the XE800 is slightly warmer sounding and has more recessed mids. Were the XE800 still in production and available from many retailers and weren't there many fake units going around in the market I would recommend them more often. The only reason I don't is because the store I bought them from no longer has them in stock and buying a unit today is a slightly risky proposition because of all the fakes.

But are they the same quality as the GR07? No.

Are they close to the sound quality of the GR07 and do they offer great value if you can find a legitimate version of them on sale? Yes.

 

[Slater]

Well... last time Ali had one such sale I picked up the Vsonic VSD3S for half the price and got the removable cable GR07 for under 100 euros which was a nice discount to both units. I wouldn't outright avoid Aliexpress sales, but it is a good idea to have an idea of the base prices before making a purchase because sometimes there are, legitimate, good deals.

No, don't get me wrong. I love Ali sales - it's the best time to buy stuff cheap.

I was simply explaining to the OP why the prices he was seeing had jumped HIGHER all of the sudden. It's because the sellers raise the prices just before the big sales, so they can lower the prices during the sales (thus making the discounts SEEM larger than they really are).

It happens in the fine jewelry business all of the time. Jewelers (especially mall chains) would mark up an item's "retail price" 10-fold so they could advertise "huge 80% off" sales, and still double their money.

 

[Griffith]

No, don't get me wrong. I love Ali sales - it's the best time to buy stuff cheap.

I was simply explaining to the OP why the prices he was seeing had jumped HIGHER all of the sudden. It's because the sellers raise the prices just before the big sales, so they can lower the prices during the sales (thus making the discounts SEEM larger than they really are).

It happens in the fine jewelry business all of the time. Jewelers (especially mall chains) would mark up an item's "retail price" 10-fold so they could advertise "huge 80% off" sales, and still double their money.

It doesn't happen only with Aliexpress. Plenty of retailers do that as well for Black Friday on electronics and other goods.

 

[Rilke]

What do you think guys of xiaomi voice of china ? Is it good for today standards ? I only found some old reviews from 2015

 

[vector84]

What do you think guys of xiaomi voice of china ? Is it good for today standards ? I only found some old reviews from 2015

Try searching for it by model number perhaps - 1M301.

There's a review of it on Vidal's site and a few other more recent ones.

 

[Wiljen]

I've made some research and came across those options, but don't know which one would be better for my kind of use.
- Xiaomi Hybrid Pro HD
- Blitzwolf Vox1
- Superlux HD381F
- KZ ES3/ ZS5
- Boarseman CX98
- Urbanfun Dual drivers earphones (DD+BA
- Rock Zircon Nano

Of those listed, I have first hand experience with
- Xiaomi Hybrid Pro HD
- Superlux HD381F
- KZ ES3/ ZS5
- Urbanfun Dual drivers earphones (DD+BA)
- Rock Zircon (note not nano)

Of the ones I can speak directly to, I prefer the Urbanfun as the most balanced best sound signature. 2nd place would be the Es3 with the Xiaomi HP HD in a close 3rd.
Again, just my 2 cents and others will no doubt rank these in a different order.