Fit for a Bat! – Flagship IEMs Shootout (8:CT6E, 7:H8P, 6:JH13, 5:K10, 4:BD4.2, 3:A12, 2:W500, 1:SE5U)

[Tony1110]

I think I know what the top 3 will be but H8P coming in at #7 came as a bit of a surprise.

 

[h1f1add1cted]

No that's not really a surprise, its all about personal taste. (I'm a H8P owner)
 
A other guy would rank these IEMs completely different.
 
I like his writing and description, really great read.

 

[Ike1985]

  No that's not really a surprise, its all about personal taste. (I'm a H8P owner)
 
A other guy would rank these IEMs completely different.
 
I like his writing and description, really great read.

Actually he says in the article: "The scores below reflect the results of this exercise, and do not indicate my personal preference for one IEM over another." but I agree, some degree of personal bias must be taken into account.

 

[Ike1985]

1. A12
2. SE5
3. K10
 
bet the house

 

[Tony1110]

No that's not really a surprise, its all about personal taste. (I'm a H8P owner)

A other guy would rank these IEMs completely different.

I like his writing and description, really great read.

I think he's trying to rank them in terms of technical competence and keep it as objective as possible. The detailed breakdown and comparison to the competition across various aspects of the sound makes me think he's doing a pretty good job. But yeah, unless measurements are being used then there is a degree of interpretation on his part.

 

[goodvibes]

Great reviews. I had thought the JH13fp quite better than this.

Same here. Was surprised by the midbass bump comment. His are an updated pair. Perhaps they aren't exactly like a fresh set. I'm supposing that they now have 3 bores. Regardless, keep up the good work. Gotta write what you hear. I've also found the 13s to be cable sensitive or informative if you prefer. I'm assuming it was stock from the OP.
 
I think sticking to the hugo is the way to go but I'd be interested in what the feed configuration is. Jelt, fill us in if possible.

 

 

[Mimouille]

I offered him money to rank SE5 number one so I am not too tempted to buy another custom.

 

[robm321]

^ That's the way to go. There needs to be a fake head-fi that always puts whatever you own as the best. That would keep you happy and leave money in your pocket.

 

[jelt2359]

  Same here. His are an updated pair. Perhaps they aren't exactly like a fresh set. I'm supposing that they now have 3 bores. Regardless, keep up the good work. I've also found the 13s to be cable sensitive or informative if you prefer. I'm assuming it was stock from the OP.
 
I think sticking to the hugo is the way to go but I'd be interested in what the feed configuration is. Jelt, fill us in if possible.

 
Laptop -> Cheap USB Cable (Amazon Basics, lol) -> Chord Hugo -> 2 inch TRRS to TRS adapter, OCC -> Stock.
 
I had to add that adapter because the stock cable on mine has a termination that can't fit the Hugo's recessed sockets. I have a few of these adapters lying around so I just use them.
 
PS, I went to check, yes my JH13 FP have 3 bores.

 

[goodvibes]

I offered him money to rank SE5 number one so I am not too tempted to buy another custom.

Send him a free pair. That often works around here.

 Just joking here as I trust jelt.

 

[jelt2359]

I offered him money to rank SE5 number one so I am not too tempted to buy another custom.

Hey just wanted to follow up on that gift; much appreciated, thank you very much, and I've done my part to shift the SE5 Ult to the first CIEM...
 
...in my signature

 

[Mimouille]

 
Hey just wanted to follow up on that gift; much appreciated, thank you very much, and I've done my part to shift the SE5 Ult to the first CIEM...
 
...in my signature

Please provide me with your paypal so I can settle this 

 

[h1f1add1cted]

I think he's trying to rank them in terms of technical competence and keep it as objective as possible. The detailed breakdown and comparison to the competition across various aspects of the sound makes me think he's doing a pretty good job. But yeah, unless measurements are being used then there is a degree of interpretation on his part.

Don't get me wrong but this is not possible. If you would go subjective, go for measurements and you need to for really extactly similar sound signatures IEMs.
 
If you compare a flat reference sounding IEM with a strong V shaped IEM who will win in terms of overall? Yes depends on the people personal taste.
 
I like really prefer natural sounding, so I have a Etymotic Research ER-4S which is one of the most flat reference sounding IEM, addtional a UERM is still one of the most natural sounding with multiple drivers inside. So the H8P is really flat reference sound on bass and mids with sparkling treble, a little bit like Sennheiser HD800 which has more bass and  more mids, but still pretty simlar.

 

[jelt2359]

Don't get me wrong but this is not possible. If you would go subjective, go for measurements and you need to for really extactly similar sound signatures IEMs.
 
If you compare a flat reference sounding IEM with a strong V shaped IEM who will win in terms of overall? Yes depends on the people personal taste.
 
I like really prefer natural sounding, so I have a Etymotic Research ER-4S which is one of the most flat reference sounding IEM, addtional a UERM is still one of the most natural sounding with multiple drivers inside. So the H8P is really flat reference sound on bass and mids with sparkling treble, a little bit like Sennheiser HD800 which has more bass and  more mids, but still pretty simlar.

All reviews are subjective, of course (Personally, I think that they wouldn't be fun to read otherwise!)
 
Nonetheless I tried to limit this:
 
First, I awarded only component scores, not overall scores. The overall scores (including category scores) are just a mathematical average of the individual scores. I found that personally, biases were greatly lessened when I was grading IEMs in minute categories, like 'Mids Detail', since even with one's favourite signature one can sometimes find specific things to dislike. So I graded IEMs again and again across different criteria, and had no idea what the final scores would be until I'd gone through every single criteria. A good indication of what kind of effect this had- when I was asked by friends initially to rate them in order of general preference, I found myself ranking them in an order that ended up being very different from the final results I'm posting in Fit for a Bat.
 
Second, I scored them relatively. Obviously this was only possible because I had a wide range of great IEMs to set up comparative benchmarks with, and for that I must say I'm really lucky. Often times differences only revealed themselves when I did direct AB comparisons between IEMs. So I would listen to one and go, 'hmm, IEM x has pretty detailed mids'. Then I'd listen to IEM y, and go, 'well, this is just slightly better ain't it?'. This is important because it means that I couldn't just listen to one IEM, decide I like it a lot, and then proceed to give it really good scores for every component. Nosir. Each score was awarded, one component at a time, only after comparing against every other IEM in the shootout.
 
Hope this clarifies! I always wondered if my first post glossed over this a bit too much, but well, I ultimately decided nobody wants to read too much into the fine print

 

[Tony1110]

Don't get me wrong but this is not possible. If you would go subjective, go for measurements and you need to for really extactly similar sound signatures IEMs.

If you compare a flat reference sounding IEM with a strong V shaped IEM who will win in terms of overall? Yes depends on the people personal taste.

I like really prefer natural sounding, so I have a Etymotic Research ER-4S which is one of the most flat reference sounding IEM, addtional a UERM is still one of the most natural sounding with multiple drivers inside. So the H8P is really flat reference sound on bass and mids with sparkling treble, a little bit like Sennheiser HD800 which has more bass and  more mids, but still pretty simlar.

When I said objective, I meant it in the sense that he was trying so far as possible to be unbiased. Apologies. I didn't word it well.