Earsonics SM64: The Impressions Thread
Mar 9, 2013 at 1:38 PM Post #138 of 1,656
Glad to see others are trying the SM64.  I wonder if the problems of the SM3 is preventing many from wanting to try the SM64?  I know I avoided the SM3, and only got the SM64 after a brief session w/ a friend's pair.  I just have to think the SM64 is one of the best all-around universals around, and relative to the rest cost-wise, it seems to come at a bit of a bargain as well, or in the very least, right in the same alley (depending upon your view of how it fares against the upper tier universals, that is).
 
Mar 9, 2013 at 4:18 PM Post #139 of 1,656
Quote:
Glad to see others are trying the SM64.  I wonder if the problems of the SM3 is preventing many from wanting to try the SM64?  I know I avoided the SM3, and only got the SM64 after a brief session w/ a friend's pair.  I just have to think the SM64 is one of the best all-around universals around, and relative to the rest cost-wise, it seems to come at a bit of a bargain as well, or in the very least, right in the same alley (depending upon your view of how it fares against the upper tier universals, that is).

 
The only problem with the SM3 that I know about is its sub-par build quality. Are there more "bad" things to say about them?
Anyway, this might scare off a lot of people :/ Too bad, because they miss out on A LOT! :)

In a german hifi forum, somebody compared the SM64 with the 4.ai and UE900.
He prefers the SM64 because for him its more relaxed than the UE900 and a little less "direct" than the 4.ai.
That's just a short summary.

Oh, and he wrote that the SM3 sounds like an old telephone compared to the SM64 :D
 
Mar 10, 2013 at 1:24 AM Post #142 of 1,656
Me too.. I wasn't expect this as well.. I went to Jaben in Singapore wanting to try something else but walk away with SM64 in my hands.. Jaben guys told me u gotta try this and let us know.. I did and they win... Hahaha

This is my every day IEM, it is so comfortable and its sound grew in me. Good enough straight out of galaxy s3 international version. I chuck the akg3003i aside..hehehe

I especially like how good the details are, so good I don't miss my akg3003i.. Of course, I am not expecting the mid to to be as good as giant killer TG344, no it cannot be, but Sm64  do has some special quality in it. It's a balance between akg 3003i and Tg334.. and it extend really good on both ends, good sub bass, large sound stage, surprisingly good imaging and boy I love the sparkle top end.. If there is a u shape I would say its very subtle, it lack a little mid bass hunch compared to both these iem..yes there is a little gap there..but is subtle.

compared to Ie800, of course the bass is no where as powerful..the ie800 has even more bass than tg334.. By the way IE800 is really a good iem. I absolutely love it's sound signature.. Very powerful sub bass, mid bass Way more than the above 3 iem, superb mid (so good   It stun me ) and treble goes a little high.. But after an hour of silent comparison, with many tracks, I find the Ie800 bass bleeds a little to the mid, it's very little though but I can hear it. Bass is obvious on most tracks that I am familiar with, in short I can't escape its bass..it has moar bass power (good stuff here) in the end, I decided I would buy it, as it has this nice typical home theratre hifi sound that resemble 2 super powerful sub woofer but Stereo singapore ran out of stock after I have been testing for 2 days, I burst into laughter.. .. I knew I would be back for it later..  It's a super duper fun IEM.


so I return with Sm64 to home after an 18hr flight.. The sm64 isolation with comply foam is better than tg334 and akg3003i. It's the same as shure 535 with comply foam.. With it I cannot hear the engine with soft music playing.. It's the most comfortable among all iem mention.. Worst is Ie800.. Keep slipping off..

now after about 3 weeks of listening, I like it even more.. 

Care to share some thoughts?


Is your review based on the v1 or v2?
Afaik, Jaben only carries v1.
 
Mar 10, 2013 at 1:58 AM Post #144 of 1,656
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I saw the picture on your post. Beautiful stuff u got there brother
wink.gif


Thanks man :)
 
Mar 10, 2013 at 3:41 AM Post #145 of 1,656
Quote:
Is your review based on the v1 or v2?
Afaik, Jaben only carries v1.

To be honest, I dunno.. I heard the v2 is not as bright. I will describe the treble quality here so anyone who has experience both can offer his/her advise.
 
the treble is smooth yet the very top sparkle so it seems like the higher treble in the region 16k is slightly boosted thus making the the 4k and 8k region seems slightly depress.. Guitar string becomes more obvious and voice airy.. In direct comparison to akg3003, the 16k is reduce and 4and 8k higher.
 
when compared to th900 (my treble reference phone)  the 4,8 and 16k is much more than sm64 and akg3003i. I don't find the sm 64 bright at all, It has this warmish signature yet sparkle at the very top making it less prone to harsh treble.. I would say its smooth and relax yet crystal clear at the very top... 
 
Here is the brightness ranking from highest to lowest 
 
1) Th900 (walk a very fine line to sibilance)
2) akg3003i and sm64 about the same brightness but different. Sm64 sparkle at the 16k making subtle details more obvious.. Akg3003i has more 4k and 8k more pronounce covering subtle details (but still audible)
 
All 3 above is not as bright and harsh as my D2000. I kept the d2000 to remind my self this is the harshest treble with the least amount of detail i can take. 
 
In short the sm64 is a very relax take it easy audiophile phone, akg3003i and th900 are more aggressive in direct comparison. 
 
For extreme vocalist fans, the tg334 is their dream iem and LCD-3 is their dream phone. The above 3 does not have the warm romantic vocal tubby sound signature or creamy.
 
Also can anyone tell me how to tell if its v2 or not as I can't find it written anywhere. 
 
Mar 10, 2013 at 4:29 AM Post #146 of 1,656
To be honest, I dunno.. I heard the v2 is not as bright. I will describe the treble quality here so anyone who has experience both can offer his/her advise.

the treble is smooth yet the very top sparkle so it seems like the higher treble in the region 16k is slightly boosted thus making the the 4k and 8k region seems slightly depress.. Guitar string becomes more obvious and voice airy.. In direct comparison to akg3003, the 16k is reduce and 4and 8k higher.

when compared to th900 (my treble reference phone)  the 4,8 and 16k is much more than sm64 and akg3003i. I don't find the sm 64 bright at all, It has this warmish signature yet sparkle at the very top making it less prone to harsh treble.. I would say its smooth and relax yet crystal clear at the very top... 

Here is the brightness ranking from highest to lowest 

1) Th900 (walk a very fine line to sibilance)
2) akg3003i and sm64 about the same brightness but different. Sm64 sparkle at the 16k making subtle details more obvious.. Akg3003i has more 4k and 8k more pronounce covering subtle details (but still audible)

All 3 above is not as bright and harsh as my D2000. I kept the d2000 to remind my self this is the harshest treble with the least amount of detail i can take. 

In short the sm64 is a very relax take it easy audiophile phone, akg3003i and th900 are more aggressive in direct comparison. 

For extreme vocalist fans, the tg334 is their dream iem and LCD-3 is their dream phone. The above 3 does not have the warm romantic vocal tubby sound signature or creamy.

Also can anyone tell me how to tell if its v2 or not as I can't find it written anywhere. 


It is not possible to tell because there are no markings stated on the packaging or the phones the selves.
The ONLY way to tell the difference between a v1 and v2 is to A/B both on the spot.
That said, the treble was one of the improvements compare to the SM3 (v1 being brighter)
So anyone who has listened to the SM3 will find either version of the SM64 having improved treble.
It is possible you may be listening to the v1 (or v2) at the shop cuz from my conversation with the staff at Jaben, the customers who bought the 64 choose not to mod it hence they kept v1 stock in the store for sale.
 
Mar 10, 2013 at 4:56 AM Post #147 of 1,656
I really hope the sm64v2 the highs would be similar to sm3v2...but everything else i expect remain the same. The difference between sm3v2 and sm64 i think is quite noticeable. Especially with music separation...imaging..and the bass (so much deeper)

Can't wait jaben indonesia restock them !
 
Mar 10, 2013 at 5:36 AM Post #148 of 1,656
Quote:
It is not possible to tell because there are no markings stated on the packaging or the phones the selves.
The ONLY way to tell the difference between a v1 and v2 is to A/B both on the spot.
That said, the treble was one of the improvements compare to the SM3 (v1 being brighter)
So anyone who has listened to the SM3 will find either version of the SM64 having improved treble.
It is possible you may be listening to the v1 (or v2) at the shop cuz from my conversation with the staff at Jaben, the customers who bought the 64 choose not to mod it hence they kept v1 stock in the store for sale.

I see ...  In that case, I probably have the V1. The treble is just right for me, not sure if I want to mod it to reduce brightness, its already warm enough. I actually wish there is more  treble similar to ie800 or the TH900 just a slight lift in the mid treble. Is there anymore difference between the 2 versions beside treble diff.. What about the bass, soundstage PRAT etc.. 
 
Also anyone know if there is a V2 version currently selling. I actually like to AB and report back here. 
 
I saw one in amazon, do u guys think its the v2?
 
Mar 10, 2013 at 7:01 AM Post #149 of 1,656
I have the SM64 about 2 months so far. it is fully burned and well taken care of.
I mostly listen to my SM64 thru my ak100+International combo, connecting via solid silver diy m2m with oyaide gold jack.
mostly listen to flac and wav files. I do love the overall sounds from these combos.
I really love the highs from SM64, it sounds wonderfull with full musical high range.
I enjoyed the mids reproduction too. it's not too laid back, it just perfect for my taste; i listen to almost all genres, vocal, jazz, country, pop, electronic, you named it.
the only complaint that i have is a little over on sub bass quantity. I don't really like the lower bass on SM64 since its a little too much / boomy for my taste.
I prefer the sub bass to be a bit punchier. Not too much on the quantity.
other than that, this is a great IEM for this price range. Good staging though not that wide, great separation and great built.
i will post the pics once i have the privilages to do so. 
regards,
jaytee189
 
Mar 10, 2013 at 7:39 AM Post #150 of 1,656
Do you guys really think that the highs changed in quantity or quality when you compare v1 with the v2? For me, the upgrade only got rid of the sibilance that occurred from time to time.
 

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