[iDesire]

Hi,
 
I have read through approximately 30 pages of comments on this earphone and everyone seems to think that these rocked their world. I am considering purchasing the A83's but am worried about their forgiving-ness if I were to listen to Spotify recordings from my iPhone as I would mostly use these for commuting, travel, trains, and buses (city life). Most reviewers drive these from an amp with very high-quality recordings. Would I be able to grasp all of the quality that these earphones have to offer or is my niche elsewhere?

 

[HiFlight]

Hi,

I have read through approximately 30 pages of comments on this earphone and everyone seems to think that these rocked their world. I am considering purchasing the A83's but am worried about their forgiving-ness if I were to listen to Spotify recordings from my iPhone as I would mostly use these for commuting, travel, trains, and buses (city life). Most reviewers drive these from an amp with very high-quality recordings. Would I be able to grasp all of the quality that these earphones have to offer or is my niche elsewhere?

I found the highs to be overly bright for my tastes. Gave them a fair chance but finally returned them.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Hi,

I have read through approximately 30 pages of comments on this earphone and everyone seems to think that these rocked their world. I am considering purchasing the A83's but am worried about their forgiving-ness if I were to listen to Spotify recordings from my iPhone as I would mostly use these for commuting, travel, trains, and buses (city life). Most reviewers drive these from an amp with very high-quality recordings. Would I be able to grasp all of the quality that these earphones have to offer or is my niche elsewhere?

Use mine with Spotify offline on a galaxy s3 all the time. You would think the pairing would be bad since the output impedance of the s3 is 4ohms and the a83 is 11ohms but to me the matching adds a bit more decay in the bass wwhich gives a bit of boost north of just above neutral (so above neutral but a bit more) and the mids/highs isn't drowned out.

The unbearable highs mentioned here doesn't exist to me using foam tips and since youre using this around town i think that'd be your choice as well.

I think there's definitely hype (maybe even over enthusiastic hype) on the this thread but I'll agree that the a83 is great value for under $300.

 

[Yobster69]

Save up a little longer and get the EarSonics velvet, geneerallly worth the distance. You get the choise of 3 different signatures, fits most tastes to a tee. IMO of course. YMVV, but well worth the investment.

 

[olddude]

I don't Spotify, but as to brightness I don't find them even close to overly bright.  Of course it depends on source and music file quality, but I find them to be very smooth across all frequencies.  Nothing jumps out and slaps you.  They are an excellent buy for the price, unless you want to make the big jump up to the next price level of iems.  

 

[SyntheticShotz]

  Hi,
 
I have read through approximately 30 pages of comments on this earphone and everyone seems to think that these rocked their world. I am considering purchasing the A83's but am worried about their forgiving-ness if I were to listen to Spotify recordings from my iPhone as I would mostly use these for commuting, travel, trains, and buses (city life). Most reviewers drive these from an amp with very high-quality recordings. Would I be able to grasp all of the quality that these earphones have to offer or is my niche elsewhere?

The A83's seem to have the brightest signature out of my current collection, but this usually doesn't bother me. As for recordings, my collection consists of streaming quality as well as a downloaded collection, with not many songs above 320 kbps, and I don't find the A83 being harsh on them, and my phone (LG G2) doesn't do anything negative to the sound quality (I still prefer my Fiio X1, however).
 
Some people have different opinions on the highs for various reasons, but the highs can be tamed using Comply's or other foam tips, and maybe with EQ (I personally don't use it). For commuting, there's a lot of outside noise and I would have to concentrate on the streets for vehicles when I'm walking, so the quality expectations are lower compared to my home rig.
 
 
For those interested, I received my Sony Hybrid Isolation tips today, and decided to make a DIY light box to take some pictures.

Spoiler: Photos

Here's the light box setup I made within an hour using cardboard, paper, and tape. I still need a lamp for the other side. And here are the pictures of the Sony Hybrid tips with foam cores.

 

[HiFlight]

[quote name="SyntheticShotz"


For those interested, I received my Sony Hybrid Isolation tips today, and decided to make a DIY light box to take some pictures.

Spoiler: Photos

Here's the light box setup I made within an hour using cardboard, paper, and tape. I still need a lamp for the other side.[COLOR=FF4400]

[/quote]


Great work with the light box!!

 

[iDesire]

  I don't Spotify, but as to brightness I don't find them even close to overly bright.  Of course it depends on source and music file quality, but I find them to be very smooth across all frequencies.  Nothing jumps out and slaps you.  They are an excellent buy for the price, unless you want to make the big jump up to the next price level of iems.  

 
Thanks for the input! I feel like this would be the cap to my spending on IEM's, and I'd hope to make a lasting purchase if I were to spend this much. My source would be an iPhone 6+ and my MBA pretty much. From research, the 6 and 6+ seem to be a fairly reliable source for all kinds of earphones that I can tell, with these not being an exception! Most likely would begin to upgrade from standard to hq quality on the audio I listen to just to gain advantage from these phones if I get em. 

  The A83's seem to have the brightest signature out of my current collection, but this usually doesn't bother me. As for recordings, my collection consists of streaming quality as well as a downloaded collection, with not many songs above 320 kbps, and I don't find the A83 being harsh on them, and my phone (LG G2) doesn't do anything negative to the sound quality (I still prefer my Fiio X1, however).
 
Some people have different opinions on the highs for various reasons, but the highs can be tamed using Comply's or other foam tips, and maybe with EQ (I personally don't use it). For commuting, there's a lot of outside noise and I would have to concentrate on the streets for vehicles when I'm walking, so the quality expectations are lower compared to my home rig.
 
 
For those interested, I received my Sony Hybrid Isolation tips today, and decided to make a DIY light box to take some pictures.

Spoiler: Photos

Here's the light box setup I made within an hour using cardboard, paper, and tape. I still need a lamp for the other side. And here are the pictures of the Sony Hybrid tips with foam cores.

 
I actually believe that I would prefer a brighter signature because almost all of my earphones have had a dark signature for the most part I find myself desiring more bright, and less bass-y earphones. Most of the times I EQ, I pump up the higher end of the spectrum and recede the lower end . I too would most likely do this and end up streaming/converting songs to 320 kbp just to take advantage of them! It's great to hear that listening at streaming quality doesn't significantly squander the overall experience. I've read somewhere that these only have ~15 db of isolation so they're just average, but to be honest I'd rather not have that much more anyway and have the option to increase it with different ear-tips. 

Use mine with Spotify offline on a galaxy s3 all the time. You would think the pairing would be bad since the output impedance of the s3 is 4ohms and the a83 is 11ohms but to me the matching adds a bit more decay in the bass wwhich gives a bit of boost north of just above neutral (so above neutral but a bit more) and the mids/highs isn't drowned out.

The unbearable highs mentioned here doesn't exist to me using foam tips and since youre using this around town i think that'd be your choice as well.

I think there's definitely hype (maybe even over enthusiastic hype) on the this thread but I'll agree that the a83 is great value for under $300.

Thanks! This would be what I would be doing almost 90% of the times with these earphones. I have an iPhone 6+ and the output impedance is rated at approximately 3 ohms, and through reading on here that the iPhone and iOS 8 contribute to a slightly warmer listening experience should make for an interesting dynamic. I listen to music where I'd appreciate bass, but I'm trying to go for a more receded bass and a more enhanced mids-highs approach. Based on all the comments, I'm guessing that regardless of where I use these, whether abroad or at home I won't have any issues. Thank you!!

 

[Daniel4IEM]

Anyone aware of any MMCX cables with NOISE CANCELING inline Mic?

Trying to use the A83 for work conference calls in home office. Thinking the seal should block out most of screaming kids for me and the ANC will help for those on other end of call

 

[LoryWiv]

SyntheticShotz: Beautiful photos...great work. Where did you locate those foam-cored beauties?...The only Sony hybrids I've found that ship to USA lack the foam insert. Also, can you comment on the sonic signature they produce with the A83?
 
Thanks for the great photos.

 

[Midgetguy]

  Hi,
 
I have read through approximately 30 pages of comments on this earphone and everyone seems to think that these rocked their world. I am considering purchasing the A83's but am worried about their forgiving-ness if I were to listen to Spotify recordings from my iPhone as I would mostly use these for commuting, travel, trains, and buses (city life). Most reviewers drive these from an amp with very high-quality recordings. Would I be able to grasp all of the quality that these earphones have to offer or is my niche elsewhere?

Just giving my two cents to your concerns. Basically, here's my breakdown on how this might play out for you based on what I know about the IEMs and what you've told us about your plans on usage.
Regarding Spotify, I think they're music is in the range of anywhere from 128 kbps to 320 kbps. I don't use Spotify myself, but my music ranges anywhere from 128 kbps to lossless files that are up to nearly 1200 kbps and it all sounds perfectly fine. I play music directly from my iPod Touch 5th gen and there's no lack of quality or power (though to some ears stuff will sound better through a dedicated device). My main concern would be that isolation is very average if you don't use the foam tips due to the shallow fit. Because of this, you might find yourself turning the volume a little higher, but for me, that introduces a little sibilance. Not that bad though and they're still stellar-sounding IEMs.

 

[Whaleshark12]

Hey guys, there are several question i would like to ask you guys.
1. Does this IEM source dependent? Like the ATH CK100PRO
2. How does it stack against the CK100PRO?
3. Does it suit genre like J pop ,ASG and OST ?

 

[Midgetguy]

  Hey guys, there are several question i would like to ask you guys.
1. Does this IEM source dependent? Like the ATH CK100PRO
2. How does it stack against the CK100PRO?
3. Does it suit genre like J pop ,ASG and OST ?

1. I run my pair straight from my iPod Touch 5th gen loaded with music from anywhere between 128 kbps to lossless stuff and it plays it all like a champ.
2. I don't have a pair so I can't tell. Hope someone else can tell you about this.
3. Uhhhh....I'm not familiar with ASG (Google tells me it's a rock band) and I'm only assuming OST refers to my definition of it which stands for Original Soundtrack, but here's what I have experience with: rock (like AC/DC, Led Zeppelin), hip-hop/rap (Lupe Fiasco, Jay-Z, Eminem), pop (Maroon 5, their older stuff is better), jazz, soundtracks (The Dark Knight, all Halo game OSTs), and EDM (Au5, Mitis, Vicetone). They sound good with all of my music, at least to me.

 

[Whaleshark12]

 
1. I run my pair straight from my iPod Touch 5th gen loaded with music from anywhere between 128 kbps to lossless stuff and it plays it all like a champ.
2. I don't have a pair so I can't tell. Hope someone else can tell you about this.
3. Uhhhh....I'm not familiar with ASG (Google tells me it's a rock band) and I'm only assuming OST refers to my definition of it which stands for Original Soundtrack, but here's what I have experience with: rock (like AC/DC, Led Zeppelin), hip-hop/rap (Lupe Fiasco, Jay-Z, Eminem), pop (Maroon 5, their older stuff is better), jazz, soundtracks (The Dark Knight, all Halo game OSTs), and EDM (Au5, Mitis, Vicetone). They sound good with all of my music, at least to me.

1. Then it doest seem like the ck100pro, as when you have a 128 or 320kbps mp3 file it shows every flaw.
3. Pardon me, i type it wrongly. I meant ACG . 
Thanks for your input in it. I was torn betweek choosing the fidue or CK100pro somehow as there is a pretty good bargain out there. 

 

[iDesire]

 
Just giving my two cents to your concerns. Basically, here's my breakdown on how this might play out for you based on what I know about the IEMs and what you've told us about your plans on usage.
Regarding Spotify, I think they're music is in the range of anywhere from 128 kbps to 320 kbps. I don't use Spotify myself, but my music ranges anywhere from 128 kbps to lossless files that are up to nearly 1200 kbps and it all sounds perfectly fine. I play music directly from my iPod Touch 5th gen and there's no lack of quality or power (though to some ears stuff will sound better through a dedicated device). My main concern would be that isolation is very average if you don't use the foam tips due to the shallow fit. Because of this, you might find yourself turning the volume a little higher, but for me, that introduces a little sibilance. Not that bad though and they're still stellar-sounding IEMs.

Thanks for the input! You are correct and their range is just that. The convenience of Spotify is just unmatched for someone who doesn't have a dedicated library of music downloaded. That's awesome to hear that the quality isn't punishing your ears if the recording isn't bad. I feel like if I were to be convinced strongly enough and get even more dedicated to music-appreciation, I would consider getting a DAC of some sort, though for now, according to everything I've read, my iPhone should be a good enough choice for the upcoming couple of years. I've read the issue about isolation too, and most people seem to be telling me that the isolation wouldn't be up to par with my situation; however, I feel like if this is the only issue about isolation, I should just purchase them and judge the isolation myself, and if it's that much of an issue, I'd either improvise with different earpieces or just return them back through Amazon if it's that bad (something I hope I won't have to do).