[ulfhednir]

edit

 

[sly in the sky]

Hello,
 
For those interested, you can now buy the SM 64 on Amazon.com
 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M75QH6M/ref=s9_simh_gw_p23_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=027M902TYN00R8HHEXRN&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846
 
 
Bye.

 

[midnightwalker]

Or from me, I have one for sale 

 

[tmorterlaing]

Just PMd you mightnightwalker
 
But for everyone else- so is it the consensus these are 'better' than Westone 4Rs/ 40s then? Bringing them up (debatably I'm sure) to the 'best' IEMs in this price bracket? Am still trying to work out, was about to click 'buy' on some W40s until this morning when I read this thread... 

 

[ericr]

Comparing side by side they were noticeable improvement over the W4R for me. Haven't heard much else in that same price range.

 

[tmorterlaing]

 

Lasting Impressions from This Thread

 
If I were an IEM noob having read all posts in this thread, I believe I would be rather hesitant to buy the SM64. If I were a noob I believe my lasting impressions of this thread would be …
 

1. that the SM64 is flawed by a serious suck out at 5 kHz,
2. that some filters (“what’s that and where do they sit!?”) need to be removed using some tool that I don’t have or know how to use,
3. that I must spend extra money and time on third party ear tips to get it to sound right,
4. that the probability is rather large that it will fall apart if I actually use it or that it will be faulty already from the start, and
5. that I might need to invest in a more powerful digital audio player or an amplifier to make it sound loud enough.

 
I would probably, no, I would most likely think – “Nah, there must be better options!”
 

 
I can't help but agree. I feel it's a shame people are probably going to read threads like this for what I assume are pretty brilliant(?*) IEMs. Don't get me wrong I haven't bought mine yet (money issues!), so this is more a useless bit of rhetoric about the nature of thread's than anything else- The first 28 pages of this thread outlined these IEMs as brilliant, by people who owned far more reputably branded IEMs from the likes of Westone and Shure, both of which are currently more expensive. 
 
I pretty much have pulled the trigger on these IEMs based on the strength of the reviews at the beginning of this thread- I was going to get Westone W40s. But then a few members decided to drag out some graphs, and oh how the opinions plummeted. But not just that, they plummeted without any realistic comparison, which is, as someone who only just grasps some of the concepts here, is very very very frustrating. Given this is a forum of people who amplify (no pun intended) opinions because differences are so small between some IEMs, NO one managed to contextualise the 5khz 'issue' and other elements of these IEMs which are apparently terrible.
 
For example, no one has said 'is the 5khz thing audible? Yes, technically, but only in the way that a mouse fart is technically audible- however these IEMs still better than W4s (for example) because the 5khz range directly affects very few bits of music in all but 'overall feel'. It's also frustrating because I'll now have to own these IEMs and always have the niggle that they might not be as good as x because there's an issue with them, simply because no one has reported if other IEMs have equivalent issues of any sort. Do Westone W4s have a reason people keep calling them 'boring' for example? Is the Shure lack of bass considered an 'issue?' I don't know- I don't know enough about graphs, nor do I care. What I DO care about is that a bunch of people have said that these headphones have an issue based on a graph, and because it's in a thread I have no idea how seriously to take them, or even whether most people would call it an 'issue'. 
 
As for build quality issues- people seem to be basing their entire opinions on anecdotes from various members on Head-fi. Whilst thats fine, people here don't seem to make an obvious yet important point, which is that people have an almost superstitious outlook on things like this. If one person claims it fell apart, then it happens to another few people, everyone else will assume its build quality. No one will say 'yes it's happened a lot, but coincidences ARE a thing, maybe we're only hearing all the bad things rather than focusing on the majority of cases being good'. Similarly, people question Earsonic's customer facing- without questioning whether the way they were asked was polite. As someone who's done a lot of customer facing, I know just how many people will say 'these are crap build quality, give me a refund now' with no hint of politeness. 
 
Anyway, rant over, I look forward to mine arriving, and look forward to dropping in another opinion about my experiences with the sound overall without worrying about 5khz drops. 
Alternatively, if they arrive and fall apart on day 1 and I can't even hear a cymbal because of frequency dropouts, then I'll happily eat my hat, film me eating it, and post the video here for all to see.  
*seriously, can someone please say whether these are actually good or not, despite the huge amounts of random moaning in the thread? The thread over here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/478568/multi-iem-review-320-iems-compared-xiaomi-piston-2-added-08-21-14-p-958 puts them sound quality wise at least up there with the best for the price range - and considering that's probably one of the only comprehensive comparisons between IEMs on the ENTRIE internet, I don't think people realise how important that is.)

 

[zach915m]

Added Aero Dynamik's post to the front page just because I think it's such a great summary and all around look at the EarSonics SM64.  Thanks for that!

 

[tmorterlaing]

I'm very happy with this combo and don't plan on buying a new IEM anytime soon.

 Even despite the 5khz abomination? How on EARTH do yyou cope with it? XD

 

[Tom Yum Goong]

   Even despite the 5khz abomination? How on EARTH do yyou cope with it? XD

I only listen to music that doesn't feature 5khz sounds.
It's as easy as that.

 

[tmorterlaing]

  I only listen to music that doesn't feature 5khz sounds.
It's as easy as that.

I think you should make a list of all music that doesn't have 5khz sounds, for us unworthy SM64 owners (or hopefuls). 
Everyone who owns all BETTER IEMs can simp,y ignore this list.

 

[tmorterlaing]

Question to y'all- would you consider these IEMs worthy of upgrading a music library to an absolute minimum of 320kbps? Are these IEMs the ones that will pull a phenomenal sound out of a great source?

 

[midnightwalker]

  Question to y'all- would you consider these IEMs worthy of upgrading a music library to an absolute minimum of 320kbps? Are these IEMs the ones that will pull a phenomenal sound out of a great source?

 
The sound quality changes dramatically from 128kbps to 320kbps with $500 range earphones. And it is free or not cost too much to upgrade your library, so what are you waiting for?

 

[qsk78]

Hello,
can anybody advise where and how to purchase filters for the SM64?
I wrote an email to EarSonics - no reply!

 

[ericr]

Hello,
can anybody advise where and how to purchase filters for the SM64?
I wrote an email to EarSonics - no reply!

Per an email from Max at Earsonics, the need to be returned for filter replacement. Kind of a bummer, but they only charge 15€ for the service, plus shipping (I don't remember how much but it was also reasonable for return to the USA).

 

[qsk78]

Per an email from Max at Earsonics, the need to be returned for filter replacement. Kind of a bummer, but they only charge 15€ for the service, plus shipping (I don't remember how much but it was also reasonable for return to the USA).

Thanks. Yes, it is really strange to send them back to ES for such an easy operation.