[music_4321]

Quote:

 
You know, I looked into those awhile ago for workout purposes but never got around to buying a pair. Are they really that great?

 
My ears tell me they are very, very good and perhaps I shouldn't say this in this thread, but I'd take the Earpods' sonics over the Earsonics SM3 any day (and several much more expensive IEMs I've owned over the years).

 

[mastershake2393]

Quote:

 
My ears tell me they are very, very good and perhaps I shouldn't say this in this thread, but I'd take the Earpods' sonics over the Earsonics SM3 any day (and several much more expensive IEMs I've owned over the years).

 
Hah, sounds like me when I bought my (ex) girlfriend a pair of Meelec M9's and found them substantially better than the IE8's that I had at the time. Needless to say I sold them off immediately and bought a pair of my own.

 

[warrenpchi]

Quote:

^   Tread carefully, Mr warrenpchi, you don't want to upset the Ety crowd.

 
Lol, got an ER-4PT and an ER-4S here... I'd only be upsetting myself. 

 
Quote:

I wholeheartedly agree with your optimistic sentiment, but I would love to change the culture a bit so that people recognise that multi armature setups aren't a holy grail.

 
People actually think that? 

 
Quote:

Whatever happened to advancements in MA drivers? Was that not actually a thing, or am I just re-imagining when MA IEM's came out?

 
I like them.  I like them a lot.  I like them almost enough to get a GR10 on top of the GR8, but only almost.

 

[a_recording]

Quote:

People actually think that? 

 

 
I dunno. People seem to be voting with their wallets...

 

[DigitalFreak]

Quote:

 
I dunno. People seem to be voting with their wallets...

Unfortunately that's what I think too. I also think it bodes badly for people like us in the long run.

 

[JohnSantana]

Cool, thanks for the benchmark review here.

Any chance to add Shure SE-535 Ltd edition or Heir Audio 4Ai in here as well ?

 

[a_recording]

Quote:

Cool, thanks for the benchmark review here.

Any chance to add Shure SE-535 Ltd edition or Heir Audio 4Ai in here as well ?

 
Well, I could add the 4.Ai since it's a quad, but a) I'm not super interested in actually spending money on one and b) If I get one I will no longer have the UE 900 to compare to since it will be sold....
 
The SE535 is no quad and I don't really want to expand this thread into a big multi-way BA review thread when the whole point of the review implies that they aren't great designs...

 

[Inks]

For W4 add impedance then use a tapered tip like Phonaks or Shureolives. Otherwise stock just sucks

UE900 block pinhole with tape and then make a tiny needle hole and add 33ohms, otherwise even worse than W4 stock, but you're selling yours :/. Modded like this its probably my favorite BA, but the build sucks.

4AI isn't worth the trouble...

 

[Carlsan]

a_recording, thanks for the comparisons and your good insight.
 
Makes me want to put aside my newer toys and dig out my quads and compare them to my dynamic and micro-driver earphones.
 
Then again, Hybrids are quite a good mix of tech.

 

[JohnSantana]

Well, I could add the 4.Ai since it's a quad, but a) I'm not super interested in actually spending money on one and b) If I get one I will no longer have the UE 900 to compare to since it will be sold....

The SE535 is no quad and I don't really want to expand this thread into a big multi-way BA review thread when the whole point of the review implies that they aren't great designs...

A ok that does make sense, so far I've been using my Westone 4R and very happy about them.

 

[paloalto00]

I might have had a defective pair of UE 6000s, but I would not recommend them.

 

[a_recording]

Quote:

I might have had a defective pair of UE 6000s, but I would not recommend them.

 
Actually I quite liked the UE6000 except for the weight. If they made a version without all the NC faffery I would be real keen on it.

 

[paloalto00]

 
Actually I quite liked the UE6000 except for the weight. If they made a version without all the NC faffery I would be real keen on it.

 
Mine were definitely defective, the right side was noticeably louder than the left and the darn hissing with noice cancelling on

 

[a_recording]

Quote:

Mine were definitely defective, the right side was noticeably louder than the left and the darn hissing with noice cancelling on

 
Gah

 

[TwinQY]

Quote:

Whatever happened to advancements in MA drivers? Was that not actually a thing, or am I just re-imagining when MA IEM's came out?
 
It seems I haven't since I have my e-Q5's in my ears right now...
 
They SEEMED to be a good middle-ground between a BA and DD IEM, without sacrificing much. I don't hear anything inherently wrong with the e-Q5's sound for instance.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but besides the e-Q5, there have only been the GR-8/10, e-Q7, and FI-BA-SB. I'm a bit rusty where newer IEMs are concerned since I haven't been 'round these parts in awhile.

I don't think the FI-BA-SB is a single-pole armature (moving armatures), they've just been vented. 
 
 
On one of the explaination blurbs/analysis on Rin's site (you know, those things that nobody cares to learn to read about as they're vastly more interested in arguing about numbers)

Of course, I do not believe in any type of commercially-biased claims by the manufacturer, unless the technologies are proven to be real. As shown on the above, the balanced armature transducer has a rear-vent, which is used for bass boost and pressure control. That vent must be connected to the rear volume of the housing and to the outside through slits. This is a simple venting technique promoted by many transducer manufacturers, and it seems FAD followed application notes quite well. Yes, BAM is real.

And also from Rin's site (wow, I've quoted two things from him, I must be his lackey!)
 

According to Yashima Electronics Inc., the manufacturer of GR10's transducer units, compared to conventional bi-pole balanced armature drivers, which are manufactured mainly by Knowles and Sonion, their single-pole balanced armature drivers are more efficient in converting electric signal into sound due to its piston-like simplistic design similar to that of a dynamic transducer, while still maintaining  linearity under the ear canal impedance due to its high acoustic output impedance(low compliance). Most of all, single-pole drivers are cheaper to mass-produce!

Everyone wins! 
After reading that, did some digging into Yashima - i.e. two minutes on google, and they seem to be the only people who've tried out anything like this on an IEM front. Which is quite a shame as I liked my eQ-5s too. But who knows. I can't claim to be an expert on anything other than cats, it seems.