[AngelOfMercy]

hey angel, would it e a waste to own both then? i've been looking at the a73 as another option instead of getting gr07be, but my girlfriend has an e10 and I was thinking about the e80 as an upgrade "for her"  

i guess what i'm asking are these two competing for the same sound or are they different enough to have both? also like to have some to wear down and up so this set fits the bill

The E80 is amazing. Enough of a difference to own along side the EPH100 and the A73. I'd go for having all three. There's a nice distinction between each one.

 

[kar13]

Great style of writing.
I hear the A73 same as you and have design issue with nozzle as well.

"Qualities I look for in an IEM: Clean detailed treble, good sub bass, forward mids, isolation.
Overall tonality leaning towards warmth, but balanced and musical.
I am neither a bass head nor do I like analytical and cold signature."

*SNAP

I will keep an eye on your future reviews

Thanks archy121!What kind of genres do you listen to the most?

The E80 has a great soundstage, which is slightly deeper than the A73, and maybe equal in width? It's slightly more 3D imaging is what hits the sweet spot for me. Instruments play better in that stereo back and forth with the SoundMagic E80, but I think it's because SoundMagic hot a home run with the tuning of these dynamics. A previous review from a headfi'er about another pair of IEMs sent me to try the same experiment. In Toto's classic song Africa, at around the 3-4 second mark, there's a very faint laugh by a band member, just barely audible. I then took every single IEM I have that I mentioned, and ran it through the laugh test, to see which one made that laugh the most audible and clear, and basically it was E80=FX850=ZA Doppio>Titan 1=ZE-100>A73 ect ect. The A73 as you can see, was a bit down the line, and detail wise was much fainter audibly than the E80. This really drove home for me the value of the E80, but still doesn't really ruin my A73 listening experience, because I still prefer the A73 to even the boomy FX850 or the sibilant Titan 1 and GR07BE.

Got to run this test now!

 

[kar13]

Horses for courses ?

I think the detail retrieval of the A73 is masked a little by the presence of the bass. Im guessing it's a design decision and a compromise that I'm glad about.
 

And going by archy121, this means with eq ing and wide bore tips, may be you can get a73's to sound cleaner and better than  E80, in detail retrieval?
I don't want to sound defensive or anything, just would like to get clarity on this issue..
Angel could you please weigh in on this aspect, by comparing eq'ed a73 with e80...or maybe if you have done this already, could you post your opinion?
 
Also, went through this thread and have to say Hisoundfi's description and review is terrific in relation to my music taste.
@DJScope review was spot on!
 
"There is just a little bit of track induce sibilance is the “S” notes because of the peak on the 10kHz region, but most of the time this is non-existent."
 
I too noticed this on just one track and thought to leave it out of the review!With the FR graph, this makes sense.

 

[Puretfp]

Anyone using the ear guides with these? i find that while comfortable enough, the wire seems to jump off of my ears more than i'd like, i guess that's what ear guides are for then and guess i am gonna have to try em out to see which i prefer, the medium stock tips that were on them seem to fit the best/seal.
 
So far all the genres i have thrown at them sound great so i am impressed, i did manage to snap the cable clips little wire guide but that thing wasn't built to last if my finger nail could snap it that fast

 

[kar13]

  Anyone using the ear guides with these? i find that while comfortable enough, the wire seems to jump off of my ears more than i'd like, i guess that's what ear guides are for then and guess i am gonna have to try em out to see which i prefer, the medium stock tips that were on them seem to fit the best/seal.
 
So far all the genres i have thrown at them sound great so i am impressed, i did manage to snap the cable clips little wire guide but that thing wasn't built to last if my finger nail could snap it that fast

you can use the shirt clip to take care of the cable popping out without using the ear guides..as i did

 

[AngelOfMercy]

Yes you can EQ the bass and especially the mid bass down on the A73, and bring the highs up, and they will be as detailed as the E80, but the problem I've found with this, and it's the reason I just EQ the bass down and let the rest go naturally, is because with the BA, bringing the highs up also means getting sibilance, and the A73 is really nicely tuned to not really be peaky or sibilant, so sure you can fiddle with it to be similar to the E80, but I wouldn't do it. Just buy the E80, and listen to them both!!

 

[myemaildw]

I usually eq bass up, i like bass

 

[Puretfp]

So, after some time listening to all sorts of genres i switched the M stock tips to the L stock tips because i was getting a bit too much Sibilance/treble outside on the go, i put on Dark Side Of The Moon to listen to cymbals as this LP seems to have some of the best reference to my ears as far as what is too bright (imo) then went back and listened to Jeff Buckley's Grace (after noticing the initial treble/Sibilance with the initial Medium stock tips) The Large seemed to rectify the problem, My question here is what would be the equivalent size in Other tips to try out now that i found what works with the stock tips on these? any suggestions? (sorry but this is new territory to me) Thanks

 
Def enjoying the sound of the A73

 

[ian209]

Maybe I'm a treble head, but I don't find the A73's harsh at all. If anything, I think it could use a touch more sparkle.

 

[myemaildw]

Maybe I'm a treble head, but I don't find the A73's harsh at all. If anything, I think it could use a touch more sparkle.

may be you have a defective unit
mine are plenty sparkly and a touch sibilant (I think) but I don't care.

 

[Puretfp]

I find mine to be fine , just had to adjust the tips to sort it out...

 

[Hisoundfi]

The tough thing about the a73 is that it's hard to get a general consensus because they are so tip and source dependent.

I think I've switched my stance on tips and source three or four times since finishing the review.

 

[Hisoundfi]

may be you have a defective unit
mine are plenty sparkly and a touch sibilant (I think) but I don't care.

I have done extensive tip rolling and found that these can go from somewhat linear with a slightly harsh and sibilant sound (stock silicone tips), to having an almost shelved treble response and bass head response (spiral dots).

YMMV but make sure to experiment with tip rolling to achieve your preferred sound

 

[Puretfp]

I have done extensive tip rolling and found that these can go from somewhat linear with a slightly harsh and sibilant sound (stock silicone tips), to having an almost shelved treble response and bass head response (spiral dots).

YMMV but make sure to experiment with tip rolling to achieve your preferred sound

I have only stock tips at the moment, I have to get my hands on some other tips to try and see where it brings me, One thing i noticed is finding tips in stores isn't happening...any suggestions for tips? i was looking at the Comply txs500 and Spiral dots, i'll have to order some online as i can't be bothered running all over NYC trying to find tips.

 

[Balkan]

i was looking at the Comply txs500

Hi, are you sure that Txs500 would have the right inner core size? I have tried T100 (too small) and T400 (too big). I was thinking that maybe T200 might have the right fit...