[thehipeey]

Hello, first time poster hoping get others imput on some IEM choices.

Setting the stage, I can only wear bullet style/cable down IEMs due to the amount of piercings I have in my ears, which greatly limits my choice in the ever changing world of IEMS. I've tried a couple of cable down ones so far, the CA Atlas and the ER2SE to name a few, but for one reason or another, they didn't work out.

I have around £500 to spend, so I've been looking at the Sony XBA-N3, Final E5000 and Tanchjim Darling. But there are so few cable down iems that it feels impossible to find find, say, the "THIEAUDIO Oracle" of cable downs.

If anyone can help be decide between the 3, or know of a bullet style that I might have missed, please help me out.

They're be powered off of the FIIO BTR7, which I presume will be adequate enough to power anything we throw at it.

(also got a pair of CA Atlas for sale if anyone in the UK is interested, I have no seller rep on here, but have multiple recent positive transactions on Ebay if that's any assurance)

Kind regards,

 

[Cheradenine]

I have both the xba-n3 and e5000, both are excellent earphones though they're quite different, the e5000 has a somewhat unique big, warm, lush and bassy sound with very tame treble. The n3 has a very good version of a v shaped sound with more treble and punchy bass. Both are very comfortable to wear for long periods. The E5000 has unusually low sensitivity for an IEM, people often claim that an IEM needs an amp when it really doesn't but, the E5000 is of a handful of IEMs that really needs more power than a phone headphone socket puts out, it needs at least a decent dongle. The n3 has no special power requirements, it'll sound good from any clean source.

Also consider the JVC ha-fw01, if you're in the US this is very affordable and will have a domestic warranty. Its one of their Wood series IEMs made of lacquered wood with a wood by-product used in the driver, maybe something like bio cellulose. I have the older and huge ha-fx1100, it sounds fantastic, bassy, warm neutral with smooth treble. The fw01 is an updated, more compact and supposedly much improved replacement for that model.

Is it the integral ear hooks of many IEMs that make them difficult for you to use? I often remove the ear hooks from the cables, its usually just some heat shrink or other type of pre-formed sheath over the cable, it can be cut off and the cable will be more slim and move more freely. I don't have piercings, I just don't like the ear hooks. The E5000 can be worn over ear without the hooks, they don't support any weight, they just guide the cable over the ears.

 

[InvisibleInk]

Hello, first time poster hoping get others imput on some IEM choices.

Setting the stage, I can only wear bullet style/cable down IEMs due to the amount of piercings I have in my ears, which greatly limits my choice in the ever changing world of IEMS. I've tried a couple of cable down ones so far, the CA Atlas and the ER2SE to name a few, but for one reason or another, they didn't work out.

I have around £500 to spend, so I've been looking at the Sony XBA-N3, Final E5000 and Tanchjim Darling. But there are so few cable down iems that it feels impossible to find find, say, the "THIEAUDIO Oracle" of cable downs.

If anyone can help be decide between the 3, or know of a bullet style that I might have missed, please help me out.

They're be powered off of the FIIO BTR7, which I presume will be adequate enough to power anything we throw at it.

(also got a pair of CA Atlas for sale if anyone in the UK is interested, I have no seller rep on here, but have multiple recent positive transactions on Ebay if that's any assurance)

Kind regards,

In addition to considering the E5000 (which I love dearly) the Akoustyx S-6 is a nice-fitting planar-magnetic system.

https://akoustyx.com/products/s6

 

[thehipeey]

You've both given me a lot of think about, thank you.

I'll look over some more reviews in the next few days and then update this post with the choice I've made. But judging from what the reviews are saying, and even thse new Akoustyx and JVC iems, any one of them will be a sound purchase.

And regarding ear hooks; it's just becase the wire snags on my piercings, both hooking and unhooking is a pain, and I hate to imagine what would happen if they were to get yanked.

Thank you again

 

[InvisibleInk]

You've both given me a lot of think about, thank you.

I'll look over some more reviews in the next few days and then update this post with the choice I've made. But judging from what the reviews are saying, and even thse new Akoustyx and JVC iems, any one of them will be a sound purchase.

And regarding ear hooks; it's just becase the wire snags on my piercings, both hooking and unhooking is a pain, and I hate to imagine what would happen if they were to get yanked.

Thank you again

This graphic of the Akoustyx system is kind of how I imagine you want to wear cable-down. Hopefully the cable can be straightened without the stiff over-ears format, or simply replaced with a nice ****.

 

[AnalogEuphoria]

E5000 is very very good and really doesn’t need an amp imo. Have you thought about the E3000? I actually prefer that over the 5000, it’s not as dark but still rich and silky.

 

[monsieurfromag3]

E5000 is very very good and really doesn’t need an amp imo. Have you thought about the E3000? I actually prefer that over the 5000, it’s not as dark but still rich and silky.

Incidentally I picked up the penultimate E3000 at £25 from Hifiheadphones UK. Wanted to let the thread know about this deal but I turned around and poof! The last one was gone. Excited to hear it with such a recommendation.

@thehipeey very interesting issue. I myself have until now refrained from getting my ears pierced because of morbid audiophilia
Would you mind sharing which ear areas are the most problematic with over-ear cables? Also, can you use headphones? (feel free to DM me if it seems too personal). I am looking into other people’s suggestions with interest, that Akoustyx set is really intriguing.

Earbuds would also work. I use Fiio’s FF3, they could be both good and bad in that situation in that they are worn lightly, poised at the entrance to the ear canal rather than shoved deep, so they interact less with the ear than regular iems, but at the same time if the fit is not secure you may want to fiddle with them a lot (I know I do) which obviously is not optimal for healing, hygiene etc.

 

[thehipeey]

Just out of curiosity, has anyone here compaired the Final ZE3000 to the E4000 or E5000? A colleague of mine let me A/B them to the atlas, and the ZE sounds amazing, so if the tuning was simmilar of that to the E5000, I'm likely to pull the trigger on them and shelf the rest. (don't get me wrong, the Atlas won on bass, but nothing else (Fiio k7 as source))

@monsieurfromag3 It depends on what kind of piercings you got really; I never had an issue with any audio head gear while I only had lobe piercings, but once I started getting more, and specifically going through cartaliage, that's when it started to become an issue. You could comfortable get as many in your lobe as you preferred, and you'd be golden, I believe.

Though if you end up getting as many as I, you're pretty much relagated to Hifimans yoke shaped headphones, and the HD800. though I do have a large head, and by extention, ears, every other headphone I tried either came into contact with the percings, or were just painfully uncomfortable after less than an 20 mins, and on-ears? Forget about it. The hifimans and HD800s don't touch my ears at all, or at least to such a small degree that there's no discomfort. (Ended up with a fair of Edition XS and Fiio k7)

With the cable going around the back of the ears, they always end up getting snagged on the helix's (top ones), and if the cable is too bulky/thick, its pressence alone is a discomfort, so my options are now bullet/cable down or earbuds, but most IEM's are the ear-hook shape. Or, is there an adapter for IEMS that right angles the pins to face down? That would be interesting, though they'd likely fall out if you started moving, aha.

 

[Edric Li]

Not sure if this is helpful to anyone, but I've actually tried the Akoustyx earhook on the E-series. It unfortunately doesn't work, at least at the depth I fit my E-series IEM--deeper than usual. On E4000/E5000, the optimal position of the earhook would be directly on the connector. On E1000/E500, the optimal position of the earhook would be directly on the exit point of the cable. The Akoustyx bullet-shaped models are longer than the E-series, hence they work better on the Akoustyx.

If you wear your E-series more shallowly, there's a chance the Akoustyx earhooks would work. But from my experience, shallow-fitting the E-series is already quite secure; there is not much added by an earhook, just more work when putting it on.

 

[Edric Li]

As to the sound of the Akoustyx:

210 is the only normal-sounding IEM. 220 is extremely bright. R6 is extremely V-shaped. It was a head-scratching listening experience for me, as I've never heard any IEM line-up that sounded this all-over-the-place.

As to how good the 210 was, I really can't say, other than it sounded normal. Being on a table full of odd-sounding IEMs, it sounded pretty good, but that's not saying much.

 

[jump_man95]

The black mesh filters inside the nozzle of my A3000s have lost their adhesive and fallen off.

I see a lot of different meshes I could use as a replacement, but I don't know the diameter of the originals. Does anyone know what I should go for, 3.7mm, 4mm 4.8mm?

 

[thehipeey]

The E5000 has arrived and I've listened to them over the last 24 hours. Everything already been said about the E5000 so I wont wax too long. The sound is great, but other posters are 100% correct that a sufficiently powered E5000 sounds wildly different (and better) than an underpowered one. Incase anyone was wondering how the BTR7 matches with the E5000, with single ended I was reaching high gain and max volume and still wanting more, but with a Bal 4.4 you can comfortably power them with decent enough headroom (still on high gain). Though rather a critique of the BTR7, if you listen to it for any extended amount of time, you'll be reaching for the charging cable more often than not, the Bal output power draw is noticeable. (without bal power boost on)

Back to the E5000, the fit was rather strange, but at this point I am sure I have none-standard ear canals, as "poor fit" has been my issue with so many iems, the fault must lay with myself, but overall comply foams cause me the least issues.

The only IEM I have on me to compare them with are the CA Atlas, and honestly I'm undecided. It's either my brain playing tricks on me, but the E5000, in all aspects but base quality, performs better than the Atlas. It makes me wish there was a way to send the Atlas back to Campfire and have them sonically test it to see if it's come to be damaged in some way. But as it stands, If anyone was curious as to which you should choose if given the choice, my vote goes for the E5000.

The hedonic treadmill is real however, no sooner have I grown to love this portable setup, I began looking at increasingly expensive DAPS... Audio is truely a test of restraint.

While I would have loved to try all the suggestions posted, I am currently unable to do so, apologies.

Thank you everyone for your time, as well.

 

[o0genesis0o]

I beban looking at increasingly expensive DAPS... Audio is truely a test of restraint.

I would grab Topping G5 instead, unless you really want an all-in-one portable unit (I do, so I have a Shanling unit coming). Getting the sound and power of G5 with a DAP is going to cost you dearly. In my audition, I needed to reach for A&K SP2000 to out perform G5 with E5000.

 

[thehipeey]

I would grab Topping G5 instead, unless you really want an all-in-one portable unit (I do, so I have a Shanling unit coming). Getting the sound and power of G5 with a DAP is going to cost you dearly. In my audition, I needed to reach for A&K SP2000 to out perform G5 with E5000.

Looking over the product page, it seems I would be able to use it just as the BTR7, a BT device I stick in my pocket, connected to my phone. If so, then that might the up-grade I'm looking for.

Though, I don't know if I am reading it correctly, but is there a difference in usage when used over BT rather than connected directly to a device? Would there even be a difference between QCC 5125 vs XMOS under the System Framework portion of the product page.

Though the profile is completly different between the BTR7, did you take the G5 outside a lot, how was the experience?

 

[Edric Li]

https://final-inc.myshopify.com/blogs/top/news-48

... with a new cable!! Goodbye to the crappy C106.