[Longtime Lurker]

I can't find any comparisons with these units. All I find is long, drawn-out pretentious reviews with no points of comparison. I was wondering which of these has the best combination of a wide soundstage, heavy sub-bass, and clarity.
 
I think I might rule the ie8's out, because I've read that they're heavy on mid-bass. I've only read that from one user, though, so....
 
It seems like audiophiles rave about the gr07s, and the bass edition sounds like a dream come true. However, I'm a little skeptical, because people around here have stated that Klipsch S4, Nuforce 700, and Brainwavz R1 were "bass monsters," and I was unimpressed. Hopefully, someone who listens to a bass-driven genre chimes in. Thanks

 

[deadguy99]

I've had all three and my 2c is that the atrio is definitely a top mid tier headphone for bass enthusiasts that don't want to spend much but they are definitely mid tier they lack the finer detail retrieval that the gr07 and ie80 bring. The ie8/80 while having much better soundstage and stronger bass presence does definitely bleed heavily into the mids and can spoil some softer listening styles of music but other than that have a very easy on the ears approach and can be listened to all day without fatigue. Now the gr07s bring much more mid detail and a cleaner sound overall with no muddiness by it do indeed have a bit sharper treble and can be fatigueing at louder volumes but they can definitely support basslines from modern electronic much better than most iems without being overpowering, definitely a more refined bass head earphone and with a hardware bass boost they can drive very loud.
 
So all in all there is a significant price deference between all 3 and they alll bring a very different sound signature and the only thing I might else point out is that the gr07 series and atrio are a bit harder to drive than the ie8/80  and benefit quite a bit from an amp especially if you want high volume while the ie8/80s cab go very loud from near any source.
 
And yes the brainwavs are god awful  earphones I would never use the word bass monsters with.

 

[deadguy99]

I've been a huge fan of dubstep and drum n bass for many years and I've been on a mission to find the ultimate headphone lol and I've pretty much tried all the notable bass headphones and so far as much as I love the ie80's based quality and quantity I've recently picked up the sony xba4 and with the proper source they are astonishing, I've tried many balanced armatures and until recently all failed miserably at loud volumes in the bass department but curiosity killed the cat(and my wallet) so I purchased them...but they sound awful on my iPhone and sansa fuze , but as soon as I paired then with my new galaxy note 2 I was blown away with the detail bass and soundstage and with a small 4db low end bass boost they can seriously move some air which previously I thought was impossible for ba's and they have a soundstage with depth and layering to rival the ie80 with only a hair less width which just makes everything sound proper which the super quality of the gr07 but with better impact and presence than the ie80s. So for my money and tastes I think I've finally found the "one" lol now I'm thinking of getting them reshelled into what would be my first customs. This website is bad for my wallet.

 

[Longtime Lurker]

Quote:

I've had all three and my 2c is that the atrio is definitely a top mid tier headphone for bass enthusiasts that don't want to spend much but they are definitely mid tier they lack the finer detail retrieval that the gr07 and ie80 bring. The ie8/80 while having much better soundstage and stronger bass presence does definitely bleed heavily into the mids and can spoil some softer listening styles of music but other than that have a very easy on the ears approach and can be listened to all day without fatigue. Now the gr07s bring much more mid detail and a cleaner sound overall with no muddiness by it do indeed have a bit sharper treble and can be fatigueing at louder volumes but they can definitely support basslines from modern electronic much better than most iems without being overpowering, definitely a more refined bass head earphone and with a hardware bass boost they can drive very loud.
 
So all in all there is a significant price deference between all 3 and they alll bring a very different sound signature and the only thing I might else point out is that the gr07 series and atrio are a bit harder to drive than the ie8/80  and benefit quite a bit from an amp especially if you want high volume while the ie8/80s cab go very loud from near any source.
 
And yes the brainwavs are god awful  earphones I would never use the word bass monsters with.

On amazon, the Gr07 bass is $180, same thing with the MG7s... but, yeah the ie8 is around $215 from an independent seller (http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-IE-Premium-Earphones-Version/dp/B0012XFDWE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1367627678&sr=8-2&keywords=ie8).
 
What do you mean by "harder to drive?"
 
I know this may be asking for a bit much, but if you could: what would you rate the subbass, soundstage, and clarity on non-EQd gr07s and MG7s? I say non-EQd, because the EQ settings on the iPod touch are terrible IMO. The only thing that brings out bass is the "bass enhanced," "jazz," and "hiphop" settings. But, they cause the music to sound "muddy" to me.
 
Would you say the gr07 bass editions are overall better, while the mg7s have slightly more bass?
 
Quote:

I've been a huge fan of dubstep and drum n bass for many years and I've been on a mission to find the ultimate headphone lol and I've pretty much tried all the notable bass headphones and so far as much as I love the ie80's based quality and quantity I've recently picked up the sony xba4 and with the proper source they are astonishing, I've tried many balanced armatures and until recently all failed miserably at loud volumes in the bass department but curiosity killed the cat(and my wallet) so I purchased them...but they sound awful on my iPhone and sansa fuze , but as soon as I paired then with my new galaxy note 2 I was blown away with the detail bass and soundstage and with a small 4db low end bass boost they can seriously move some air which previously I thought was impossible for ba's and they have a soundstage with depth and layering to rival the ie80 with only a hair less width which just makes everything sound proper which the super quality of the gr07 but with better impact and presence than the ie80s. So for my money and tastes I think I've finally found the "one" lol now I'm thinking of getting them reshelled into what would be my first customs. This website is bad for my wallet.

Are you talking about XBA 4IP or XBA 4 - 4? Amazon has two listed.
 
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Delectronics&field-keywords=sony+xba4
 
How long have you had them, by the way? I could never get Sony IEMs to last more than around 2 months. They would always have one ear go out, if the plug is touched.
 
Thanks for answering.

 

[sethsez]

Quote:

Are you talking about XBA 4IP or XBA 4 - 4? Amazon has two listed.

The XBA-4 and the XBA-4iP are the same, the only difference is that the iP model has a mic/remote and the cords to the earphones are the same length, while the standard model has no mic/remote and the cord is longer for the right earphone than the left (the idea being that you put that part of the cord behind your head).

 

[Longtime Lurker]

Quote:

The XBA-4 and the XBA-4iP are the same, the only difference is that the iP model has a mic/remote and the cords to the earphones are the same length, while the standard model has no mic/remote and the cord is longer for the right earphone than the left (the idea being that you put that part of the cord behind your head).

Oh...there must be a pricing error, then. One of them is around twice as much as the other.

 

[sethsez]

Quote:

Oh...there must be a pricing error, then. One of them is around twice as much as the other.

Nah, for some reason the iP models have been cheaper than the regular ones recently.  I picked up the XBA-3iP refurbished from Best Buy last week for $75.

 

[deadguy99]

Ok as for the atrio they are 99 from atrio.me website with coupon code costprog50% and have been for I think overas year. And by harder to drive I mean without an amp they will be a bit quieter than ie8 at the same volume setting and lack a bit of quality although only a bit much unless you know what to listen for.I've had the xba4 for two weeks and the right earpiece acted strange today so I'm having Amazon replace it immediately.
 
Atrio soundstage if fairly 3d but not very wide or deep in comparison to the other two earphones but they have great subbass impact and both quality and quantity. The gr07 would have the cleanest most detailed bass by far but a bit shy on quantity compared to the other two but also has an extremely wide soundstage but lacks a little depth but not much. And the ie8s have the most subbass quantity naturally unamped but lack the fine resolution of the gr07 in the lower endbut had the best soundstage with both massive width and depth/layering.
 
Don't buy from a third party seller unless you search sennheisers website for their authorized dealer list add there are alot of fakes. About the cheapest you will find the em brand new is 280ish, best bet would be to use amazon.de 
 
So there you have 2 choices between high end universals and have to decide if you want more impact and quantity in the ie8 or higher quality but less quantity gr07 and I think the atrio is only good for someone new only interested in bass and on a budget because the other two are a significant step up overall

 

[Longtime Lurker]

Quote:

Ok as for the atrio they are 99 from atrio.me website with coupon code costprog50% and have been for I think overas year. And by harder to drive I mean without an amp they will be a bit quieter than ie8 at the same volume setting and lack a bit of quality although only a bit much unless you know what to listen for.I've had the xba4 for two weeks and the right earpiece acted strange today so I'm having Amazon replace it immediately.
 
Atrio soundstage if fairly 3d but not very wide or deep in comparison to the other two earphones but they have great subbass impact and both quality and quantity. The gr07 would have the cleanest most detailed bass by far but a bit shy on quantity compared to the other two but also has an extremely wide soundstage but lacks a little depth but not much. And the ie8s have the most subbass quantity naturally unamped but lack the fine resolution of the gr07 in the lower endbut had the best soundstage with both massive width and depth/layering.
 
Don't buy from a third party seller unless you search sennheisers website for their authorized dealer list add there are alot of fakes. About the cheapest you will find the em brand new is 280ish, best bet would be to use amazon.de 
 
So there you have 2 choices between high end universals and have to decide if you want more impact and quantity in the ie8 or higher quality but less quantity gr07 and I think the atrio is only good for someone new only interested in bass and on a budget because the other two are a significant step up overall
 

Ah, ok. Yeah, I'm usually skeptical about buying anything from 3rd party, but amazon usually sides with the customer in returns, so it was tempting. I'll just avoid them. Good review. I think I see lendmeurears and the gr07s in my future. I just hate dealing with ebay. And good luck with getting Sony IEMs to last. You're gonna need it.

 

[deadguy99]

Thanks I hope I get lucky on the next pair I don't want to go through what I did with monster headphones having 4 different ones fail. If the sonys fail again I will just get my money back go another step up and buy the heir audio 5.0