D marc0's Journal: My Head-fi Journey

[Don Lehrer]

  ^ Nicely done meng, simple, easy to read, right to the point and with great insights as always........ like i be saying i wish i had a set-up as nice as you, so jelly!!!

 
 
edit: oh man oh man a comparo of these AX-60s with the new Sony XBA H3 would be SUPER sweet!!!

+1 indeed, it would be great
 

   
Thanks mate!
 
I tried to get in touch with Sony Australia but unfortunately they won't be available here as per their original plan...
 
Sony Rep: "I have been advised by our online store that at this stage the XBA-H3 will unfortunately not be released in Australia; however this could potentially change later in the year depending on sales of the XBA-H1 and XBA-H2 respectively and consumer demand for the XBA-H3."

 
That´s a shame, I don´t know why such companies do thinks like that. It shouldn´t be to difficult to promote their entire line and get their product avaible.
 

  I really hope they'd change their mind... as for now, aussie head-fiers will just have to wait if they want to acquire the H3 with full warranty cover.

An now we have to wait for a great review. Anyway thanks d marc0 for your effort

 

[MDH12AX7]

Glad to be helpful mate! Thanks for the feedback. I got a reply from Kef warranty and they are offering to service my pair for repair. Still waiting for the other rep to reply on the possibility of just getting me a replacement. KEF customer service is impressive!

I also have a filter mod on my dn1000. Just a simple foam damper over the nozzles. Not as effective as your Hifiman filters but it helps a bit.

d marc0, I was still noticing some minor sibilance at times so I tried putting a layer of tea bag material on the nozzle and pressed the tip on top of it. They sound much smoother now! It's not the prettiest mod, but I love the sound. I'm working on a combination of the tea bag and RE272 stick on filter that will be more elegant. I'll post pics if I manage to make it work.

 

[d marc0]

Maybe the track

d marc0, I was still noticing some minor sibilance at times so I tried putting a layer of tea bag material on the nozzle and pressed the tip on top of it. They sound much smoother now! It's not the prettiest mod, but I love the sound. I'm working on a combination of the tea bag and RE272 stick on filter that will be more elegant. I'll post pics if I manage to make it work.

What is your test track? Maybe it is just sibilant in the mix. You don't wanna over do it because it'll take away the airiness. And what tips are you using? I use the large grey stock tips with shallow insertion. My kef m200 which is already very polite can still produce hints of sibilance on some tracks.

 

[d marc0]

In my experience, the major culprit causing sibilant highs on the dn1000 is the tips. You have to find the right tips for you as we all have different ear canal shape and sizes. Good luck.

 

[MDH12AX7]

d marc0, It's definitely in the tracks, as it shows up on my 272's as well, just not as prominently. I have a couple of favorite bands, especially, The Reign of Kindo, that frequently have some hot treble on the vocals in the mix. I would leave them alone, but many of my favorite tracks are affected. I found out that the RE272 filter is acoustically transparent and only protects against wax. I like the tea bag filter, it is subtle enough, but I might try to hold it in place with the sticky back 272 filter. These really sound amazing. I guess, after being used to darker sounding dynamic IEM's for so long, I am hyper-sensitive to harshness in vocal recordings. I suspect that many people wouldn't even be bothered by this. It's pretty subtle.
 
I agree with you, I don't want to make them too dark or close up the sound stage. Thanks for the input, I value your opinion!

 

[daveyostrow]

great job

 

[MDH12AX7]

d marc0, Yeah, the DN1000's aren't causing the sibilance. They are beautiful and airy. They just don't gloss over recorded sibilance in tracks the way my RE272's do. Nor should they.  My DUNU's are far better sounding in my opinion, they just are more revealing of poorly recorded tracks. I love the detail in these. On well recorded tracks they are amazing and I can live with the faults showing up on lesser quality recordings. The tea bag filter I added is subtle.... about the same effect as putting Comply tips on. I just can't get a good fit with foamies.

 

[d marc0]

great job

Thanks mate.

d marc0, Yeah, the DN1000's aren't causing the sibilance. They are beautiful and airy. They just don't gloss over recorded sibilance in tracks the way my RE272's do. Nor should they.  My DUNU's are far better sounding in my opinion, they just are more revealing of poorly recorded tracks. I love the detail in these. On well recorded tracks they are amazing and I can live with the faults showing up on lesser quality recordings. The tea bag filter I added is subtle.... about the same effect as putting Comply tips on. I just can't get a good fit with foamies.

Good to know. Happy listening!

 

[peter123]

Great thread D marc0 

 
Subscribed!

 

[d marc0]

  Great thread D marc0 

 
Subscribed!

 
Thanks mate! 'appreciate it. 

 

[d marc0]

T-PEOS H-100j vs H-200 Comparison

 

 

 
 
I'm a huge fan of the T-Peos H-200 despite its flaws that I have spent quite a bit of my money (upgrade cable) and time (filter mods and tip rolling) just to improve its overall sound. I truly feel that the H-200 is the best IEM (that I have heard) for heavy metal. As a metal head, I value fast bass response with short decay and forward mids to highlight guitar crunches and shreds - and that's what the H-200 does best! Then came the H-100j... so I thought: how awesome it could be if T-PEOS fixed all the glaring flaws in the H-200 and offered it at a fraction of the cost! Well, let's find out!

 

SETUP:  Colorfly C3 (no amp)

               

T-PEOS H-100j + foam filter mod + Sony MH1 Tips (shallow insertion) NOTE: You can choose hifiman filters, earbud foam covers, or even tea bags as filters.

               T-PEOS H-200 + SPC cable + foam filter mod + Sony MH1 Tips (shallow insertion)

               Test tracks are all in 16bit/44Khz FLAC format:

1.  Daft Punk - Lose Yourself to Dance
2.  Gloria Estefan - Conga
3.  Guns N' Roses - Knockin' On Heavens Door
4.  Phil Collins - Easy Lover
5.  Kenny Loggins - Forever
6.  Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
7.  Janet Jackson - Call On Me
8.  Pantera - Domination
9.  Metallica - Battery

 

NOTE: 

The H-100j can be very edgy and harsh in the upper mids so proper tip selection and the addition of some sort of dampening is required.

 

 

BASS

The very first track I tried the H-100j with is Daft Punk's Lose Yourself to Dance and immediately I was impressed! Bass is layered, punchy, powerful, and extends really well to the point where I got  to a conclusion that the H-100j bass is technically better than my beloved H-200. My previous reviews/comparisons with the H-200 in them provide details on how much I really like its bass response. So for me to say that the H-100j is better is such a great feat; at least in my books. I couldn't believe my ears... so I quickly queued in my heavy metal test tracks from Pantera and Metallica and the H-100j presented the bass end with such ease and finesse!

 

VERDICT:
As much as I hesitate to write it here... I have no choice but to acknowledge the fact that the H-100j outperforms the H-200 in the bass department.

 

 

 

 

MIDS

Listening to Daft Punk and Gloria Estefan with the H-100j sounded so promising. Instruments/Synthesiser sounds really great because the mids are VERY forward. Everything sounds so rich and full; very detailed, and clarity is probably even better than the H-200. Unfortunately, it all went down hill when I started playing other test tracks that exhibit more electric guitar crunches and edgy vocals like Axl Rose's. The H-100j is just a few notches too forward in the upper mids that edgy instruments or vocals were just too much; even for my not too sensitive ears! I couldn't even enjoy the second half of Guns N' Roses - Knockin' on Heavens Door because I started feeling fatigue. Please note that I already added extra dampening/filter yet it was still too edgy for my ears! Fortunately for the H-100j, it is not always the case as long as there aren't any edgy sounding instruments/vocals involved in the recording. That's why the mids still sounded really good when listening to Gloria Estefan, Tina Turner, Daft Punk, and other well mastered recordings. If you have average quality music in your library, the H-100j will make you regret having them in your music player.

 

VERDICT:
No contest here because the H-200 is heaps more forgiving and a much better all-rounder despite the slightly recessed lower mids and slightly forward upper mids...

 

 

 

HIGHS

The H-200 has really good treble; bright and airy (brighter than the DN-1000). There is just a very little hint of the grainy texture or metallic tinge at a high listening volume; BUT this is only apparent in crappy recordings and some singers' voice characteristic. On a positive note, the H-200 sounds really natural in the treble region that the cymbals, high-hats, and percussion instruments are such a pleasure to hear. There's an occasional peak in the upper treble that may affect one's listening experience but I personally, am not affected by this in most of the songs I listen to. Please NOTE that this will vary depending on your source, song quality, tips, and depth of insertion. I personally use the large Sony hybrid tips, SPC upgrade cable, plus shallow insertion which to my experience have greatly reduced the peak problem. A foam filter mod will completely nullify the peak but at the expense of the airiness which is a unique characteristic of the H-200 that I truly love.

 

The H-100j is a bit smoother because it doesn't sound as peaky in the upper treble. There is a trade-off tho... it doesn't sound airy because to my ears there's a sudden roll-off in the highs. Timbre is greatly affected that the cymbals and other percussion instruments don't accentuate as they're suppose to; leaving a feeling of dryness... very flat sounding to my ears. There's really nothing more to say about the H-100j's highs because it doesn't provide more resolution to make the music lively and real. The only upside: it is not prone to treble harshness even for a sibilant track such as Phil Collins' - Easy Lover.

 

VERDICT:
The H-100j falls short of resolution in the highs thus, not able to provide a more airy and lively sound. My guess is it lacks one more BA driver to produce that extra extension to present the detail and resolution that we all look for in a hybrid IEM.

 

 

 
 
 

DETAIL/SEPARATION

The H-100j is quite a detailed hybrid with amazing clarity and sparkle but falls short in high resolution because of the treble roll-off. What it also lacks compared to the H-200 is the ability to separate various instruments and place them in different positions in the presentation. Most of the time, the H-100 sounds quite congested and everything just sounds too busy for your brain to process. The H-200 on the other hand performs a lot better in these aspects.
 

 

SOUNDSTAGE

The H-100j doesn't sound wide to my ears. As a matter of fact, the lack of soundstage width and depth causes a VERY intimate listening session. Too intimate that you feel that your listening to music in a small telephone booth or office cubicle. It may benefit some genres and artists but most of the time it just leads to a congested feeling.

 

CONCLUSION:

As much as I wanted the H-100j to correct the flaws of my beloved H-200, I couldn't really blame it for failing. It is a budget hybrid and we shouldn't expect it to outperform the much pricier and technically advanced T-PEOS H-200.

 

 

Special thanks to a fellow headfier who's kind enough to loan me his H-100j for review.

 

[thatBeatsguy]

Wow, great read, dmarc0!
It feels more like an article, to say the least. I could see this on the front page right now...too bad most of the Budget-Fi competitors aren't given much love up there.
 
So jealous right now...I need funds and more reviewing practice...and probably a new 'studio.'
 
Oh yeah, I almost forgot to sub to your thread...

 

[H20Fidelity]

What a wonderful piece of information stored away in here. Unfortunately I didn't care much for H-100J, it was a little to edgy for my tastes. 

Keep up the good work d marco, your last two efforts  (this one) and the impression in the AX60 thread have been nothing short of wonderful reading and easy reading.

I need someone to fill in my Brainwavs R3 review due to fitting problems, if you're interested just let me know. 

 

[kahaluu]

Nice review of the two phones.

 

[d marc0]

  Nice review of the two phones.

 
Cheers mate!
 
 

  Wow, great read, dmarc0!
It feels more like an article, to say the least. I could see this on the front page right now...too bad most of the Budget-Fi competitors aren't given much love up there.
 
So jealous right now...I need funds and more reviewing practice...and probably a new 'studio.'
 
Oh yeah, I almost forgot to sub to your thread...

 
Thank you for subscribing. 

 
 
Quote:

  What a wonderful piece of information stored away in here. Unfortunately I didn't care much for H-100J, it was a little to edgy for my tastes. 

Keep up the good work d marco, your last two efforts  (this one) and the impression in the AX60 thread have been nothing short of wonderful reading and easy reading.

I need someone to fill in my Brainwavs R3 review due to fitting problems, if you're interested just let me know. 

 
Thank you for your kind words mate! Don't forget that I learned most of my stuff from your works 

.
 
I'd be happy to fill in for you. I'm also considering on getting the Havi B3 and if I do so, it'll be a great opportunity to do a Dual Dynamic Trilogy: R3, B3, vs M200!
I'll let you know once i'm decided. If the B3 ends up as good as what's written about it, then I'm pretty sure you'd like to hear it too.