[caracara08]

Quote:

Joe. Love your reviews! Looking for my first $400-600 iem's.I will be using them mainly for work. It's noisy and dusty. Droid bionic is my current source.I've got my eye on ie80 or AUD-5X. Any input would be helpful!

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I haven't followed the IE80, but a Sennheiser guy I spoke with told me the IE80 was an IE8 with a different finish, and the aud-5X is technically much better.  From isolation along the aud-5X will be far superior, and will be easier to drive and more spacious.  If the IE80 does indeed sound like an IE8, the sound signatures are very different, with the 5X have more mid-forward vocals, less warmth, and a much clearer sound among many other differences.
 

i liked the ie8 eq'd but its really no contest vs the aud5x.   the aud5x is the cheapest CIEM i have tried and im impressed. but thats not to say there arent other cheap CIEMS that are just as impressive as i havent tried any.

 

[average_joe]

From my experience, you will need to double the price to make a move up from the aud-5X, at least technically, and then there is still some give and take.  While I haven't heard every CIEM in the price, I am impressed by the 5X performance at the given price in comparison with what I have heard.

 

[Masterbrk]

5X it is. Thanx for the input! Have you had a chance to try any after market cables with them? Any idea which would be best under shirt,plenty of sweat and very active work day?

 

[TiEx]

If there won't come up other CIEMs in 500$ range in near future that can beat this 5X, then I am seriously considering to buy AUD-5X. Maybe there are a 500$ CIEM better then 5X, but nobody here heard them nor seen them, and compare them. And as far as I see from review, 5X can compete with CIEMs double the price in some aspects of sound and in other aspects to show a relative high performance. Just as Joe stated in name of this thread: pure value. Boy am I eager to buy these. Pity that I must wait till the end of this summer.

 

[caracara08]

no one has heard all of the ones in the 500$ range so... youll get people say their 1964 is better or their heir is better or their  5x is better or their jh5 is better or their.. .whatever else there is.

 

[TiEx]

I just want to believe that based on Joe's review if you like these sound signature of 5X then you won't be disappointed  with its SQ/price. Of course everybody has their own taste in sound signature. But I am talking about SQ, imaging, technical ability, stage, accuracy and detail. By these meanings 5X hits well above its price point. Anyways everybody must chose headphones which sound signature you like most.

 

[average_joe]

 
Quote:

5X it is. Thanx for the input! Have you had a chance to try any after market cables with them? Any idea which would be best under shirt,plenty of sweat and very active work day?

A few cables that you can see in my multi-cable review thread.
 
Quote:

If there won't come up other CIEMs in 500$ range in near future that can beat this 5X, then I am seriously considering to buy AUD-5X. Maybe there are a 500$ CIEM better then 5X, but nobody here heard them nor seen them, and compare them. And as far as I see from review, 5X can compete with CIEMs double the price in some aspects of sound and in other aspects to show a relative high performance. Just as Joe stated in name of this thread: pure value. Boy am I eager to buy these. Pity that I must wait till the end of this summer.

Unless I find something better, these are technically very good for the price, but as I always state, you should not buy based on that, but based on the sound signature you want.  And other than the Aurisonics, I am not sure what else can compete with them in the price range.
 
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no one has heard all of the ones in the 500$ range so... youll get people say their 1964 is better or their heir is better or their  5x is better or their jh5 is better or their.. .whatever else there is.

Exactly.  From my experience, the place where a BA IEM (custom or not) needs more oomph is in the bass region, and having 3 bass drivers in the 5X gives it an advantage of at least capability vs. CIEMs with less drivers.  Of course, the 5X isn't perfect, and you may find something better using 2 drivers of different types, but usually there is some tradeoff.  I am not trying to say that the number of drivers is the be-all-end-all, but it doesn't hurt.  Tuning is the #1 factor.
 
Quote:

I just want to believe that based on Joe's review if you like these sound signature of 5X then you won't be disappointed  with its SQ/price. Of course everybody has their own taste in sound signature. But I am talking about SQ, imaging, technical ability, stage, accuracy and detail. By these meanings 5X hits well above its price point. Anyways everybody must chose headphones which sound signature you like most.

Since you have to wait, you should be able to get several more people to give their thoughts and I should have another review or two of similarly priced CIEMs.

 

[Kejd]

Quote:

I didn't think you would have yours yet caracara, but there is another owner in Japan.

 
It is interesting that he rates AUD-5X to be between Mage and Merlin.
He also says 5X's bass has dynamic driver type tone and  Bass>>Mid=High or specifically Bass=Midbass>High>=Mid=Midhigh so i guess they have pretty similar sound signature to merlin? Does anyone have both 5X and Merlin? Any comparison would be greatly appreciated.
 
 

 

[NewZJ]

I'm really interested in these as a "final" upgrade and am interested in opinions about how much of an improvement they are over my Vsonic GR07s.

i use a Cowon J3 as my player and all FLAC and 320mp3s.

mainly metal, opera metal, power metal, some electronic, dupstep.

i listen in a moderately noisy environment.

the process of getting the impressions and price is no deterrent.
any suggestions about other IEMS in the sub $600 range will be appreciated

 

[average_joe]

While I can't quantify the differences as it really wouldn't mean much, they are on a different level with more dynamics, detail, larger soundstage that has better imaging, improved transparency, etc.  Differences won't be maximized from the J3, but still significant, and the isolation should be a good deal better than the GR07.
 
There are other options, but it depends on what sound signature you are looking for.  If you want the GR07 sound signature, I can't think of much in the price range that is closer to the GR07 other than the Alclair rm3K.

 

[NewZJ]

honestly I'm not familiar with sound signatures, i am interested in upgrading from the gr07s to get away from the harsh treble, i reduced the sibilance but tracks involving lots of "high hats" and other high pitch sounds cause lots of ear fatigue and I'm looking for something i can wear 12+ hours daily.
and the gr07s have a tendency to need constant reseating in my ear.
i work in a 100db environment, isolation is a main focus

I'm not afraid to jump headfirst into a large investment in IEMS, i know they are worth the price regardless of which models, the review for these dream earz leads me to believe great value which i do look for. thank you for the feedback, any other suggestions are welcome

 

[average_joe]

If you want something that is not fatiguing, it is probably best to go with something that doesn't have as much treble energy as the 5X, although it isn't too much IMO.  I can't recall the amount of treble with the GR07 from memory unfortunately.  Just because of your treble comments, you may want to consider some other options listed here.

 

[NewZJ]

that is the thread i found these dream earz, after looking over a few others, it looks like the minerva mi-3 might be a better choice, i can't find a thread for them though.

would you recommend the Minerva Mi-3 over the dream earz?
I'm also looking into 1964 ears, the choices are endless

 

[average_joe]

Here is my full review of the Mi-3.  If you have questions about it, please ask in that thread.

 

[Nulliverse]

Yet another option that I'm very interested in. Thanks for the impressions - I look forward to reading more as they come in.