[alphaman]

Quote:

I'm just using the stock bi-flanges right now. They penetrate deeper somehow on the v2s. That's what she said, right? I've played around with a few other tips (olives, complys) but the bi-flanges really do the trick. I'd be interested in trying some TRI-flanges for even more penetration, as my ear canals are rather whoreish. On a side note, I listen to all genres of music on the sm3s, even kidzbop, and they perform magnificently across the musical spectrum, but where they really, REALLY shine is electronica. You wanna give your sm3s (and your eardrums) a workout? Listen to Vessel by Jon Hopkins. Holy mother of god that sounds good.

Don't care for stock bi-flanges -- they are too stiff. And the stock (gray Complys) are too long (tho better sealing and very comfortable). Best universal tip are older yellow foam for Shure.
 
Partly disagree about your comment that SM3s "perform magnificently across the musical spectrum, but where they really, REALLY shine is electronica." [You may have not heard other some IEMs that perform better]  Not sure which type of 'electronica' you mean but the SM3v2 (for me anyway) fall apart (becomes congested) with complex, fast-beat electronica. (If you like the slower, drug-trance 'electronica', the SM3s work better). 
 
SM3 is for you ... If the type of music you listen to is not ... fast-beat, pace-rhythm dependent (big-band Buddy Rich-style; disco), and/or complex-large-scale dynamic (Mahler, Beethoven symphony )... but you instead like slower jazz, chamber, slow trance, minimalist (space music, Philip Glass, Steve Roach).
 
Since most music passages -- regardless of styles/genres noted above except disco/dance -- are non-complex, SM3s overtly have a false sense of appeal due to their euphonic midrange. The SM3s get congested when the music signal becomes dynamic and/or complex, requiring fast transient response. E.g. orchestral crashes and 'shocks'. I noted that SM3s are ok when pace and rhythm are not important. But, as I noted elsewhen, pace and rhythm are always with us (even slow tracks have to move right along). These, IMO, are very important music attributes that our gear has to reproduce; unfortunately, pace/rhythm often neglected in reviews and product literature. The lack of very successfully addressing these attributes is why I find SM3s uninteresting.
 
One thing I've noticed (and this may have been pointed out by others) ... the SM3s perform better at higher volume. But listening at these levels are uncomfortable after a few minutes (headaches, earaches, etc.). So not a very useful "quality" especially since their isolation is pretty good IAC.
 

 
 

 

[Freefallr4545]

 I'd be interested in trying some TRI-flanges for even more penetration, 
 
She said that Too!

 

[shotgunshane]

​

@alphaman, I have to respectfully disagree with you. I do not hear any issues with them becoming congested. They handle fast and complex passages in the hard rock/metal that I listen to just fine. I also do not experience a euphonic type midrange that some mention. It is slightly forward and sweet to me and carries a thicker sounding note but I do not associate this thicker sound with being slow. Everything sounds very clear with the new bi-flanges. Now if I put a tip on with a small sound hole/bore, then all bets are off. I have issues with those types of tips making any phone sound congested to me b/c it over accentuates the lower midrange.

Edit: I think something with a dryer midrange can give the perception of being clearer over a sweet midrange, due to a crisper sound. Not sure if a dryer midrange would be what you are looking for?

 

[illquid]

@alphaman I also disagree with your view on SM3s being somehow suited to mellow electronica. They are not some sort of lethargic earphone. I listen to them extensively with electronic music, both slow like  lo-fi and fast stuff like IDM and stuff that does both like dubstep. They perform very well, and everything hits where it should.

 

[alphaman]

Quote:

@alphaman I also disagree with your view on SM3s being somehow suited to mellow electronica. They are not some sort of lethargic earphone. I listen to them extensively with electronic music, both slow like  lo-fi and fast stuff like IDM and stuff that does both like dubstep. They perform very well, and everything hits where it should.

illiguid: what other 'phones (not just IEMs for that matter) have you compared them to?
 
shotgunshane: if you possess/have possessed the cans in your sig. -- and, addit., have deliberately and extensively  conducted comparison tests amongst them all and the new SM3v2s -- I don't know how to explain your opinions other than some kind of difference in semantics. In fact, the more I read some of y'all's responses to my criticisms, the more I think many head-fi posters use some unofficial "internal" vocabulary (and perhaps exhibit a hint of the psychometric known as confirmation bias); I feel this dedicated thread -- i.e. exclusively for SM3 v2, like the myriad 'appreciation'/worship-the-ground-the-manuf-walks-on threads found elsewhere in this forum) -- may contain such opinions.
 
IAC ... communication using a common language is vital -- not just for "getting along" but for evolving/improving our beloved gear (e.g., communicating our evaluations to the R&D depts of manufs who are reading our posts). I will post a dedicated message on this matter shortly. Meanwhile, it behooves us all to learn some of the 'official' subjective audio vocabulary (much of this is not Stereophile's in origin but adapted from RCA's Radiotron Design Guide from the early 1950s).

 

[shotgunshane]

I fail to see where you extrapolate fanboyism or buyers confirmation from my comments. I've not expressed undying love or exaggerated descriptions of the sound. Conversely you seem to be expressing your impressions as a black and white fact that the rest of us are too blinded to see or somehow understand, at least that is how this last post has come across to me. Possibly there are BA based phones that have problems with fast/complex tracks but I've yet to hear one. That's not to say they can't have mid bass bleed into the midrange that can obscure details, giving a feeling of congestion or some kind of multiple driver crossover issue, however I do not hear this in the sm3. Being someone who has never like bi or tri flange tips, the new sm3 bi-flange tips, for me, are not only comfortable but open up the sm3's to a clear and pretty decent dynamic range. Is it as good as my JVC's? No but that doesnt mean they aren't enjoyable.

Mine are the v1 but the owners of Earsonics have stated the sound is the same.

 

[illquid]

I compared them extensively with my TF10s, which are known for the fun engaging and lively sound. Certainly not a slow earphone. I've not compared them to full size cans as I rarely use headphones other than at the office when I cannot have complete isolation due to the need to interact with people, thus it's not really a listening environment, more to drown out background noise. The drivers in IEMs are miniaturised and far easier to drive than full size cans, if the SM3s seem adequately lively with respect to IEMs, I see no real reason to include headphones. We should be trying to compare apples with apples here. In the same way, you wouldn't compare a mini portable amp, with a desktop one.

 

[Inks]

hey illquid, does the TF10 cable fit the SM3 v2 well?

 

[go0gle]

Quote:

Listen to Vessel by Jon Hopkins. Holy mother of god that sounds good.

This just explodes at the end, and the Sm3 does a great job at keeping everything under control.. wonderful, thanks for the recommendation! I also like light trough the veins. I pm'ed you with another one that I think your Sm3v2 would like
 
@alphaman I've been listening to electronic music since pretty much I can actually remember listening to music. I've been to at least 10 Digweed gigs, and I know how house music makes me feel and how it should sound, the Sm3 does a fine job.. EDM makes up about 70% of my music, and I have no problem with the sound. I would actually recommend it to anyone that listens to electronica. I just finished Michael Mayer's 1st Immer for the second time in 3 days.. I've never enjoyed that album so much. 
 
 
 
 
 

 

[oclafcire]

Quote:

This just explodes at the end, and the Sm3 does a great job at keeping everything under control.. wonderful, thanks for the recommendation! I also like light trough the veins. I pm'ed you with another one that I think your Sm3v2 would like
 
"Light Through the Veins" should remind you of a radio hit by a popular brit-pop group... Jon Hopkins is their producer. 

can you name the group and the song?
 
 
 

 

 

[Heret1c]

LOL, i meant "Aenima is". Haven't given Animals (by PF) a listen in a while. Probably should go dig it up and do so now
 
Quote:

Oh yes, Animals by Pink Floyd is a great album, in fact, my favourite PF album and pretty much the only one I still listen to now and again.  
 
 
 
I'd be very careful about trying/getting TF10 aftermarket cables as the prongs on the TF10 cables are shorter than the Westone ES Series cables (used on the UM3X), which I'm pretty sure Earsonics is using for the Sm3 v2, or at least they look like an exact replica of said cables.
 
 

Oh its 'cause they're shorter? I thought it was because they were just a smidge thinner and the ES prongs wouldnt fit into the TF10s as such.
 
 

 

[Heret1c]

Quote:

I'm just using the stock bi-flanges right now. They penetrate deeper somehow on the v2s. That's what she said, right? I've played around with a few other tips (olives, complys) but the bi-flanges really do the trick. I'd be interested in trying some TRI-flanges for even more penetration, as my ear canals are rather whoreish. On a side note, I listen to all genres of music on the sm3s, even kidzbop, and they perform magnificently across the musical spectrum, but where they really, REALLY shine is electronica. You wanna give your sm3s (and your eardrums) a workout? Listen to Vessel by Jon Hopkins. Holy mother of god that sounds good.

i LOL-ed for quite a while after reading this!

 

 

[Heret1c]

@alphaman,
 
I think its only fair to say you have your opinions about the Sm3 and the rest of us have our own. But common vocab or not, sound and music is still a pretty subjective thing and each of us experiences it differently.
 
As for me, i've not found the SM3 to be congested and i've listened to many complex passages from Opeth and it, so far, has not sounded bogged down.Granted i've not listened to the genres you've stipulated but i dont think it would be that much more different. It could be down to simply a choice of tips or signature preference, or maybe even both? Yes, for me I find the Sm3 to be the best thing I've ever listened to but i'm not saying its the best, period. Perhaps what you are seeing as fanboy-ism and buyer's confirmation in the posts on this thread, is simply the exuberance of the posters in having found something they just really, really like. Sure, I can be cynical, but why bother? Would it really matter if I  won someone else over to the Sm3 side? Probably not.
 
Quote:

Don't care for stock bi-flanges -- they are too stiff. And the stock (gray Complys) are too long (tho better sealing and very comfortable). Best universal tip are older yellow foam for Shure.
 
Partly disagree about your comment that SM3s "perform magnificently across the musical spectrum, but where they really, REALLY shine is electronica." [You may have not heard other some IEMs that perform better]  Not sure which type of 'electronica' you mean but the SM3v2 (for me anyway) fall apart (becomes congested) with complex, fast-beat electronica. (If you like the slower, drug-trance 'electronica', the SM3s work better). 
 
SM3 is for you ... If the type of music you listen to is not ... fast-beat, pace-rhythm dependent (big-band Buddy Rich-style; disco), and/or complex-large-scale dynamic (Mahler, Beethoven symphony )... but you instead like slower jazz, chamber, slow trance, minimalist (space music, Philip Glass, Steve Roach).
 
Since most music passages -- regardless of styles/genres noted above except disco/dance -- are non-complex, SM3s overtly have a false sense of appeal due to their euphonic midrange. The SM3s get congested when the music signal becomes dynamic and/or complex, requiring fast transient response. E.g. orchestral crashes and 'shocks'. I noted that SM3s are ok when pace and rhythm are not important. But, as I noted elsewhen, pace and rhythm are always with us (even slow tracks have to move right along). These, IMO, are very important music attributes that our gear has to reproduce; unfortunately, pace/rhythm often neglected in reviews and product literature. The lack of very successfully addressing these attributes is why I find SM3s uninteresting.
 
One thing I've noticed (and this may have been pointed out by others) ... the SM3s perform better at higher volume. But listening at these levels are uncomfortable after a few minutes (headaches, earaches, etc.). So not a very useful "quality" especially since their isolation is pretty good IAC.
 

 
 

 

 

[illquid]

Quote:

hey illquid, does the TF10 cable fit the SM3 v2 well?

I'm still on V1, so can't say unfortunately.

 

[Confispect]

Different ears.