Techno Kid
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2012
- Posts
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- 70
Easy, the Ortofon e-Q5, perfect for a former audiophile. Also the Rockit Sounds R-50 which is just a little behind the e-Q5 in total sound quality.
Fischer audio DBA-02 MKII better than the R50.
Re phrase, better bass response, less thin sounding, more natural timbre.
It's interesting that joker didn't find them that different, as to me the difference is quite big, and worth the extra money, also I prefer the fit of the DBA-02 MKII, but all of this is down to taste. I don't argue taste, each to his own.
Hmm. Is it the mid bass hump that destroyed the IE8s for you? I didn't find the TF10s to even be in their league. The TF10s treble is brittle and artificial sounding. Bass is bloated and the mids are hidden. The crossover was done horribly on them IMO. Although I didn't like the IE8s due to having to EQ them to get good sound. That was solved with the IE80s for me. .
Was it the old TF10's or the newer version? They have changed a few things in them... Anyways, I only said it destroys the 215s, the IE8s are in the same league in my opinion. I actually like the artificial sound the TF10 produces sometimes in all areas, almost like it's to clear next to a dynamic driver. Anyways with my ears, I find that the mid bass hump really started to ruin vocals for me, some people say the TF10s are bad for male vocals but honestly the vocals come through more without the bloat of the mid bass on the IE8s. I find the TF10's to sound more "crystally" if you will as well. I never find myself missing my IE8's and I find that the TF10's benefit from an amp more than the IE8's do because their independence is higher. I just picked up a broken iPod video today for $15 which I put together with an old one that was missing the hard drive, would have been nice to hear the IE8's from that as my source which quite noticeable immediately sounded better than my iPad 3... I missed my iPhone 4 and I wanted something portable and for $15 with a Wolfson chip, who wouldn't jump? The S3 doesn't come close to cutting it for me after extended listening. Blah blah blah off topic. I would trial the IE8's again but unfortunately my dad had them stolen when he traveled to Montreal with my mom along with a laptop and his iPad 2. I sold them too him after bouncing between them and my TF10's. He misses them though as he is asking me for a desktop amp and over ear setup for his office at work. One thing I miss a bit about the IE8's is the amount of bass but honestly the TF10 is close and I honestly find really deep bass to be more clean. My current set came in full retail packaging after I had an imbalance issue with an Amazon deal I had bought marked up on ebay. The seller was happy to replace them though (well not really, but he did anyways) I've never heard an old pair of TF10's so I don't really know what to tell you but from all the reading I've done most people prefer the new signature. Took elements of the old and improved it while keeping the general sound sig. I haven't had the chance to demo the IE80's although I will next time I go to Toronto, I'll have to pay a visit to Bay Bloor Radio. I have NOTHING around here. My purchases are usually solely based on the reviews of others.
For a Good First Stone... The Corner Stone... For a Beginner/Building Audiophile, it oughta be Etymotic.
Have a look at their website.
Cheers, Jim