IEM Comparison, Opinions appreciated
Mar 9, 2006 at 3:55 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 8

btaki

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I'm trying to do a comparison/review between different IEMs, if you have any sugesstions please post them in this thread.
Here's what I have so far:
1-Philips she9500
2-Sony MDR-EX81
3-Sennheiser CX300
4-UE Superfi.3
5-UE SuperFi.5
6-Ety ER-6
7-altec Lansing im716
8-UM2
I have all sorts of tips, triflange, foam , rubber, you name it I bought it.
The sources are
1-2gb nano
2-40gb photo
3-60gb video
I'm not really sure how I should go about this, please post your thoughts and ideas.
 
Mar 9, 2006 at 4:20 AM Post #2 of 8
i've heard/listened/owned these iems:
(in order)

1-E4G
2-E2C
3-Sony EX51Lp's
4-Apple In-Ear iBuds (highs even harsher then the sonys)
 
Mar 9, 2006 at 4:44 AM Post #3 of 8
Do you have all these, or are you researching all these? Is this part of your decision-making process?

Re the Sony's: Fit with the 81's could be more hit or miss for you than with the 71's or 51's, what with the ear clips (I wonder how they'd be for people who wear eyeglasses) ... fewer possible ways to manipulate the 'phones in your ears to get a good fit, and maybe not as easy to wear (I've found gently pressing the 51's and 71's in and rotating them slightly helps you find the best possible sound for them) -- not audiophile, but fun, to me ... but if they have different/better sound than the other Sony's, and the fit works for you, they're something to consider. Pricier than the other Sony's, though, and not "serious 'phones" ...

The Sennheisers and Etymotics (ER-6 or ER-6i?) would probably represent a very good value for the cost. The Sennheisers would fit "conventionally," not burrowing into the ear (and thus probably not giving the degree of isolation) like the Etys do. I would consider moving up from the Sony's to the Sennheisers, in that particular category/configuration.

Now that I know I like "real" IEMs, and that I know I also like the less audiophile canal phones that aren't true isolaters, I hope one day to establish more of a differentiation in my collection and move up to some more serious IEMs such as the Westone UM2's. I'm happy with my Etymotics ER-6's and Shure E3C's (I use foamies), but in a Head-Fi sense, that's never enough, is it?
 
Mar 9, 2006 at 4:51 AM Post #4 of 8
Quote:

Originally Posted by LaBreaHead
Do you have all these, or are you researching all these?


I own all of the IEMs(still Waiting for the Um2 in the mail) and I'M trying to compare them .
 
Mar 9, 2006 at 4:58 AM Post #5 of 8
Hey, Btaki! Are you leaving high end IEMs off the list because you are only using lower end sources for the purposes of this comparison?
 
Mar 9, 2006 at 4:59 AM Post #6 of 8
Let us know how you think the Westones compare.

Is it safe to assume that the Sennheisers fit like the Sony 51's and 71's (and the Sharp/Creative ones) would, but sound better?

And do you find that the UE's fit differently? More/less comfortable or isolating?
 
Mar 9, 2006 at 5:04 AM Post #7 of 8
i've owned and/or listened at great detail to the following:

westone um1
westone um2
shure e1
shure e2
shure e3
shure e4
shure e5
futuresonics em3
etymotic er6i
etymotic er4
ultimate ears superfi.5 pro
precision labs challenger 1
precision labs C1000 hard shell
sensaphonics 2xs

they all have their faults and strengths, but the sensaphonics in-ears completely demoralize everything else in that list.
 
Mar 9, 2006 at 12:58 PM Post #8 of 8
Quote:

Originally Posted by joeshambro
they all have their faults and strengths, but the sensaphonics in-ears completely demoralize everything else in that list.


Do they have custom ear inserts? If so, I wonder how much that attributes to their sound quality. I see that they make custom molds for Ety and Shure also.
 

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