[Freefallr4545]

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Nice impressions and agree with much of them.  The new earsonics biflanges are really nice with the larger sound bore.  Treble doesn't sound so recessed and bass response is good.  Plus they are really comfortable, as I normally don't like bi or tri flanges and best of all, no modification.  They work best for me on the SM3's.  Personally I like the W4 better.  It places me in the front row audience rather than on stage like the SM3; and I think it offers more detail and clarity throughout.  Anyway the SM3 is a nice addition.  Congrats.

Shotgunshane, Are you the one that likes the "Sleaze Rock" Clutch I think? Clutch does produce their stuff with a ton of Mid bass making it necessary to EQ on my W3's. Do the W4's have enough energy to make this stuff sound good...Ala Alice in Chains, and so on. Do you prefer the 4's over the Sm3's with Tool etc? See, while I love the Mids on the 535's (Guitars smoke) they just seem to be missing something (maybe energy) or Musicality? Anyways thank you all for your help, with your time spent reviews and comments etc. This thread is really helping me!!

 

[Heret1c]

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ls 
Bingo!!! Thanks for your time and sharing. This to me is perfectly written, and of course you like the same music as I do. Now i get to ask you some specific Questions. Speed doesn't mean much to me. I own the W3 and the 535. What I like what the"PROD off LD 50, Are the Cymbals apparent (especially towards the end) I ask because while I love the Mids on the 535's, they tend to drown out the Cymbals on this particular recordings. (W3's are perfect). Man that Drummer really really kicks! And.... Tool's Guitars sound Pretty good with the Sm3's?? Is there a good balance between the Bass and Guitars, (Jambi) Thanks for your help!!
 

Hey Freefalr4545,
 
Good to know I aint the only Mudvayne fan these days! HAHA. But i'll have to listen to LD50 again and get back to you on that question tho. I'll tell you what tho...the TF10 plays those cymbals really nicely, albeit it being a bit too 'hot' for my liking and almost sibilant.
 
Yes that drummer indeed kicks ass but Danny Carey from TOOL still takes the cake for me. Yes, Tool's guitars sound really nice on the SM3, better than the TF10 ever played them. Even the CK10 does it better than the TF10 tbh. However, I wouldnt use 10,000 Days as a reference record tho. Too me, it doesnt sound very well produced and is an obvious victim of the loudness war. It distorts all over the place. WHile Aenima is my fave album of theirs, it isnt all that well produced / mastered either...a bit muddy but still better than 10k Days to my ears. Lateralus tho, is an exquisitely produced record and the SM3s really bring the out the intensity in the beginning of Ticks and Leeches. The drums, guitars and Maynard's scream sound oh so great!
 

 

[Freefallr4545]

Quote:

Hey Freefalr4545,
 
Good to know I aint the only Mudvayne fan these days! HAHA. But i'll have to listen to LD50 again and get back to you on that question tho. I'll tell you what tho...the TF10 plays those cymbals really nicely, albeit it being a bit too 'hot' for my liking and almost sibilant.
 
Yes that drummer indeed kicks ass but Danny Carey from TOOL still takes the cake for me. Yes, Tool's guitars sound really nice on the SM3, better than the TF10 ever played them. Even the CK10 does it better than the TF10 tbh. However, I wouldnt use 10,000 Days as a reference record tho. Too me, it doesnt sound very well produced and is an obvious victim of the loudness war. It distorts all over the place. WHile Aenima is my fave album of theirs, it isnt all that well produced / mastered either...a bit muddy but still better than 10k Days to my ears. Lateralus tho, is an exquisitely produced record and the SM3s really bring the out the intensity in the beginning of Ticks and Leeches. The drums, guitars and Maynard's scream sound oh so great!
 

I must agree with you (the Loudness wars) Laterlus is well done. That was going to be my next question, Maynards voice must be great on the Sm3's. Many Many hear rave about the voice quality with these. I was especially glad to see your post as some opinions were stated that the Sm3's were not spectacular with Rock which I didn't understand. Looking forward to giving the Sm3 a shot
 

 

[shotgunshane]

Quote:

Shotgunshane, Are you the one that likes the "Sleaze Rock" Clutch I think? Clutch does produce their stuff with a ton of Mid bass making it necessary to EQ on my W3's. Do the W4's have enough energy to make this stuff sound good...Ala Alice in Chains, and so on. Do you prefer the 4's over the Sm3's with Tool etc? See, while I love the Mids on the 535's (Guitars smoke) they just seem to be missing something (maybe energy) or Musicality? Anyways thank you all for your help, with your time spent reviews and comments etc. This thread is really helping me!!

Yes, my main music preference is what I call sleaze rock.  The W4's sound excellent with any rock music I put on them.  I must tell you though I'm using custom UM56 sleeves with the W4 and I highly recommend the investment in them.  The custom sleeves improve clarity, since they have a larger sound hole and have a little more bass response with improved isolation.  Guitars and cymbals sound crisper to me.  Also I like using the digiZoid ZO with my set up.  Due to the dual bass drivers, I think the W4 responds to the added bass better, providing more texture and dynamics.  The W4 and the ZO are great fun together.
 
The SM3's respond well to EQ but don't necessarily improve that much with amping, at least with the short experience I have with them.  They just sound really good from the HO by themselves.  Actually they mate really well with my latest gen Apple Shuffle, making for a nice tiny setup.  Right now I'm comparing their new bi-flange tips with Shure olives.  Unbelievably the olives may offer as good treble response due to the large sound opening (normally foams kill treble for me) but I need more time to know for sure.  I think the bi-flange might offer tighter bass response than the olives.  I really hate small sound hole tips on any of my phones and I'm not sure why they even make them!  Anyway the new bi-flange are great all round tips for the SM3's.
 

 

[Freefallr4545]

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Yes, my main music preference is what I call sleaze rock.  The W4's sound excellent with any rock music I put on them.  I must tell you though I'm using custom UM56 sleeves with the W4 and I highly recommend the investment in them.  The custom sleeves improve clarity, since they have a larger sound hole and have a little more bass response with improved isolation.  Guitars and cymbals sound crisper to me.  Also I like using the digiZoid ZO with my set up.  Due to the dual bass drivers, I think the W4 responds to the added bass better, providing more texture and dynamics.  The W4 and the ZO are great fun together.
 
The SM3's respond well to EQ but don't necessarily improve that much with amping, at least with the short experience I have with them.  They just sound really good from the HO by themselves.  Actually they mate really well with my latest gen Apple Shuffle, making for a nice tiny setup.  Right now I'm comparing their new bi-flange tips with Shure olives.  Unbelievably the olives may offer as good treble response due to the large sound opening (normally foams kill treble for me) but I need more time to know for sure.  I think the bi-flange might offer tighter bass response than the olives.  I really hate small sound hole tips on any of my phones and I'm not sure why they even make them!  Anyway the new bi-flange are great all round tips for the SM3's.
 

Ahh I see, I was just looking at that ZO. And makes Perfect sense what you are getting with a very well balanced W4, between the 56 Sleeves and the ZO taking it over the top...Nice....
 

 

[Freefallr4545]

Also, I do Like the Olives alot, (Large) but... I must say for clarity and exposing the Highs, The Westone Flex sleeves (the light grey ones) albeit a smaller exit OD are phenomenal for highs, and clarity. I might suggest for sm3 owners to try them, bet it would work great exposing the highs. Shure Flex Sleeves are very similar, a little denser in substance

 

[shotgunshane]

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Also, I do Like the Olives alot, (Large) but... I must say for clarity and exposing the Highs, The Westone Flex sleeves (the light grey ones) albeit a smaller exit OD are phenomenal for highs, and clarity. I might suggest for sm3 owners to try them, bet it would work great exposing the highs. Shure Flex Sleeves are very similar, a little denser in substance

I tried those on the SM3 and just didn't like them.  They boosted the mid bass a lot and reduced the upper mid/lower treble range.  It's too bad b/c they are really comfortable.  I wish they made them with larger bores.
 
The olives are obviously very comfortable.  I noticed after more use today, they tend to back out of your ear with the SM3 if you doing some moderate activity.  Unbelievably their treble and clarity was very good.  After some direct a/b with the new bi-flange they offer looser, slightly boomier bass and the new bi-flanges do offer tighter bass and do not back out of your ears.  These two tips are my by far my favorites for the SM3.

 

[Bigbuddha]

Seems like your enjoying the SM3 generally, gratz 

 

[Freefallr4545]

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I tried those on the SM3 and just didn't like them.  They boosted the mid bass a lot and reduced the upper mid/lower treble range.  It's too bad b/c they are really comfortable.  I wish they made them with larger bores.
 
The olives are obviously very comfortable.  I noticed after more use today, they tend to back out of your ear with the SM3 if you doing some moderate activity.  Unbelievably their treble and clarity was very good.  After some direct a/b with the new bi-flange they offer looser, slightly boomier bass and the new bi-flanges do offer tighter bass and do not back out of your ears.  These two tips are my by far my favorites for the SM3.

Yeah every now and then I feel the Large Olives back out on the W3, but when I push em back in nothing changes (sound) Psychological for me, but once in a while I flip em around. Tightens up the bass a bit, Not sure if you can do this on the Sm3 but probably. Interesting of the Flex, it's almost the exact opposite effect on both the W3 and the 535's (my ears anyways). Shane I'm envious (in a good way) of your rig. Reading up more on the ZO it seems to enhance the whole spectrum
 

 

[shotgunshane]

 
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Yeah every now and then I feel the Large Olives back out on the W3, but when I push em back in nothing changes (sound) Psychological for me, but once in a while I flip em around. Tightens up the bass a bit, Not sure if you can do this on the Sm3 but probably. Interesting of the Flex, it's almost the exact opposite effect on both the W3 and the 535's (my ears anyways). Shane I'm envious (in a good way) of your rig. Reading up more on the ZO it seems to enhance the whole spectrum
 

The ZO is the best money on head-fi equipment I've spent.  Yes it enhances the whole spectrum, so nothing gets lost behind the increased bass.  I cannot recommend it enough. I've got a 6th gen Apple Nano on the way to pair with it for the ultimate portable rig.
 


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Seems like your enjoying the SM3 generally, gratz 

Absolutely! 

 

 

[i2ehan]

For some reason, I've grown really fond of the black Monster triple flanges. They're a shrunken down version of the white Westone triple flanges (though the images don't do that justice). To my ears, the Monster flanges seem to present the signature in it's most raw and natural form, not just pertaining to the SM3, but with any IEM I've tried them with. And the bass impact sounded at its fullest with any IEM I heard (W4, SE535, Miles Davis, SM3, etc.), so they're now my preferred choice. Speaking of which, I've always used my large Comply's beforehand, and they seemed to have puffed up overtime; no longer as elastic as they once were. As a matter of fact, they no longer insert as deep as they once did, and even when removed, they seem to have taken on a different configuration. Any other Comply owners experience this over time?

 

[Inks]

Monster tripleflanges sure are great on the SM3s. I personally used the M6 tripleflanges which are wider, softer and with a bigger bore. I had to use a spacer (shure olive bore) to get them snug in them though. I got the fullest and deepest bass those tips and are using them on my EX600s now. 

 

[shotgunshane]

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Monster tripleflanges sure are great on the SM3s. I personally used the M6 tripleflanges which are wider, softer and with a bigger bore. I had to use a spacer (shure olive bore) to get them snug in them though. I got the fullest and deepest bass those tips and are using them on my EX600s now. 

Have you used the new Earsonics bi-flanges?  I'd be interested in your take on those vs the M6's if you've heard them.  Since I'm a little wary of tri-flanges for me, how are the bi-flanges from MEE?

 

[Freefallr4545]

Quote:

For some reason, I've grown really fond of the black Monster triple flanges. They're a shrunken down version of the white Westone triple flanges (though the images don't do that justice). To my ears, the Monster flanges seem to present the signature in it's most raw and natural form, not just pertaining to the SM3, but with any IEM I've tried them with. And the bass impact sounded at its fullest with any IEM I heard (W4, SE535, Miles Davis, SM3, etc.), so they're now my preferred choice. Speaking of which, I've always used my large Comply's beforehand, and they seemed to have puffed up overtime; no longer as elastic as they once were. As a matter of fact, they no longer insert as deep as they once did, and even when removed, they seem to have taken on a different configuration. Any other Comply owners experience this over time?

Yup my friend, Comply's take a life of their own. I clean em up with warm water about once a week, but overall they tend to shrink a bit over a short period of time 2 -3 weeks? I get the large P's to compensate, but the sound sig does change with these dwarfs (on my W3's anyways) (Nope your ear canals didn't grow )
 
 

 

[alphaman]

May have said this before, but IMO all the stock SM3v2 flanged tips -- silicone? -- stink. They're cheaply made: "hard" enough to be uncomfortable and poor-fitting (molding in canal). Go back and seem my notes on Teclast R8 flanged tips. Dunno about Olives.