[Chimo22]

Hey everyone,
 
I am currently searching for a new IEM, since the Sennheisers CX 271s I previously owned finally died (cable, after ~4 years and rather ruff treatment). As you could probably guess from that sentence, I have not yet owned a huge number of headphones, but am seeking to improve over what I had.
Ill try to explain to the best of my knowledge, please bear with me.
 
What I am looking for:
- Impressive, clear Vocals
- High overall Clarity
- Decent soundstage and separation
- Bass should not be overemphasized and bloom out, taking away from the mids
 
I listen to bands like Sabaton, Powerwolf, Within Temptation and Disturbed, just to name a few. Genres include Metal, Hard Rock and many others. While there is a rather wide range of music I listen to, I appreciate orchestral elements and clear (female) Vocals more than most other things. That said the headphones should still be balanced enough to perform decent in most areas, as I also like variation from the stated norm, even if its not as important (Rap, HipHop, Pop...).
 
A few example songs, which should go well with the IEMs:
- Delain, Collars and Suits
- Nightwish, Amaranth
- Powerwolf, Army of the Night
- Sabaton, Ghost Division
(- Deuce, Deuce Dot Com) <- not as important as the aforementioned
 
-----
 
I already bought the NuForce Ne800M since I really liked their design and read a lot of positive reviews on them (even here on Head-Fi) praising the vocals and overall balanced enough tone to satisfy many genres adequately. After giving them ~100 hours of recommended burn in, I do feel that they are probably to bloomy on the bass side and too warm overall with somewhat recessed vocals in many tunes (too quiet). Other than that they seem to satisfy my needs.
Experimenting with an equalizer showed that taking a tad out of the lower end and giving the upper mids a bit more energy fixes the mentioned issues pretty well. However I am unsure whether this is an acceptable long-term solution? Does using the equalizer like that reduce overall audio quality, or am I worried over nothing? Instinct tells me I should avoid digital converters and software-bound solutions as far as possible, since there is usually some kind of loss involved.
 
As of now I could still return them and am thinking about trying a different brand/model to compare them too. What do you think, maybe you have even tried the Ne800M before and can compare to other models in that price range (got them for 100€). As stated my budget goes up to 120€, but I'd be glad to get away with something in the 60€-100€ range.
 
Thanks for reading

 

[PinkyPowers]

Have a look at the MEE audio Pinnacle P1. The Head-Fi reviews make it seem exactly what you seek:
http://www.head-fi.org/products/mee-audio-pinnacle-p1-high-fidelity-audiophile-in-ear-headphones-with-detachable-cables

 

[tz0531]

My recommendations would be the Dunu Titan 1 / Fiio EX1, VSonic GR07 Bass Edition, and Philips Fidelio S2.

 

[Chimo22]

Thank you both for your recommendations, they are highly appreciated!
I noticed I forgot to mention that I wish to have a mic on the headphones, apologies. Since I'm on a budget I don't want to invest again just for a mic / headset when I can get it "for free" with my IEMs.
 
Very interesting choices, most of which I really havent heard of before. Even though I stated my budget as sub 120€ I have to admit that the MEE P1 are incredibly tempting. I especially love the build quality of those. I could see myself investing the 80 extra bucks, since the removeable cables probably will bring that back in one day. Cable breakage is after all the number one risk with IEMs.
Since I have no experience with the MMCX connectors and I have read some rather not-overly-excited stuff in the linked review section on them I fear that I may overestimate the durability increase they bring to the table. Do they only shift the point of failure from the cable to the connectors? I'd wish to basically be able to keep the headphones intakt indefinately (almost) by switching cables when needed, is that a pipe dream?
 
The Dunu Titans seem like a good choice too (just as most of the recommendations), though I'd miss the mic and I probably would rather invest a bit more for the Titan 5 -> detachable cables (if they are indeed a real advantage, see question above).
 
The FiiO EX1 is also missing a mic and compared to the others I don't like them quite as much. Reviews on Head-Fi suggest their mids and vocals are not too good.
 
Fidelio S2BK seems like a good choice when staying within the originally statet budget and comes with a mic, too. I found their price on amazon varies greatly depending on color, are they different on the technical side aswell? The price ranges from blue @ 55€ to white @ 133€, which is confusing.
 
-----
 
Bottom line: I could afford the MEE Pinnacle P1, which seem like they bring a lot to the table, but I will only go for them if they really last longer than non-detachable-cable IEMs. Can someone confirm this and explain whats the deal with MMCX connectors?
 
Otherwise I could see myself trying the Fidelio S2BK, which seem like a solid choice considering the price range. Even though I do like the Dunu Titans more and feel they could fit me better, but the missing mic...

 

[tz0531]

  Thank you both for your recommendations, they are highly appreciated!
I noticed I forgot to mention that I wish to have a mic on the headphones, apologies. Since I'm on a budget I don't want to invest again just for a mic / headset when I can get it "for free" with my IEMs.
 
Very interesting choices, most of which I really havent heard of before. Even though I stated my budget as sub 120€ I have to admit that the MEE P1 are incredibly tempting. I especially love the build quality of those. I could see myself investing the 80 extra bucks, since the removeable cables probably will bring that back in one day. Cable breakage is after all the number one risk with IEMs.
Since I have no experience with the MMCX connectors and I have read some rather not-overly-excited stuff in the linked review section on them I fear that I may overestimate the durability increase they bring to the table. Do they only shift the point of failure from the cable to the connectors? I'd wish to basically be able to keep the headphones intakt indefinately (almost) by switching cables when needed, is that a pipe dream?
 
The Dunu Titans seem like a good choice too (just as most of the recommendations), though I'd miss the mic and I probably would rather invest a bit more for the Titan 5 -> detachable cables (if they are indeed a real advantage, see question above).
 
The FiiO EX1 is also missing a mic and compared to the others I don't like them quite as much. Reviews on Head-Fi suggest their mids and vocals are not too good.
 
Fidelio S2BK seems like a good choice when staying within the originally statet budget and comes with a mic, too. I found their price on amazon varies greatly depending on color, are they different on the technical side aswell? The price ranges from blue @ 55€ to white @ 133€, which is confusing.
 
-----
 
Bottom line: I could afford the MEE Pinnacle P1, which seem like they bring a lot to the table, but I will only go for them if they really last longer than non-detachable-cable IEMs. Can someone confirm this and explain whats the deal with MMCX connectors?
 
Otherwise I could see myself trying the Fidelio S2BK, which seem like a solid choice considering the price range. Even though I do like the Dunu Titans more and feel they could fit me better, but the missing mic...

 
The Fiio EX1 is just a rebranded Dunu Titan 1, so I don't know why some of their reviews say they don't have good mids and vocals; they should have the exact same sound as the Dunu Titan 1. Just be aware that the Fiio EX1, Dunu Titan 1, and Philips Fidelio S2 are all semi-open back IEMs, which makes their soundstages bigger and instrument separation better, but sacrifices some isolation in the process. As far as color of the Philips Fidelio S2 goes, the different color variants should all have the same tuning, pricing is probably due to stock on hand and availability.
 
Another suggestion I will throw out there is the RHA MA750i.

 

[Chimo22]

Based on what I read I took the FiiO EX1 for a completely unrelated IEM, now thats interesting yet again.
I took a look at the RHA MA750i already and like them aswell. Definately a candidate to look out for.
 
Open back IEMs are completely okay with me, I value the soundstage improvement over the isolation.
 
As of now I have to admit to lean to the MEE Pinnacle P1, it seems to offer the best expierience out of these and has everything I'd wish for. However the price is out of my initial range, which is not a strict disqualifier, but has to show in longevity. Can someone please shed some light on the longevity the MMCX connectors offer? Lets say I'd change cables once a month, can I realistically expect the connectors to last 5+ years?
 
Based on the answer to this question I'd probably either go for these or stop looking at them.