johnnyboulders
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2012
- Posts
- 3
- Likes
- 0
Hey Head-Fi'ers!
I love this forum, it has been my go-to for a while, so glad to see so many audiophiles in one place! I want to contribute my thoughts on my journey on finding a new IEM. I've yet to find one that I'm 100% sold on, but here are my thoughts of what I've tried. I would love your opinions on what I should get!
P Diddy Beats
Fit: Decent enough. They tend to stick out quite a bit from your ears, and they feel awkward. The cable is heavy too so you can feel the tension in your ear canal.
Isolation: Decent enough
Bass: It's there, but lack any sort of presence. It sounds like a car with a subwoofer from 7 meters away.
Mid: Not very 'attentive'. No detail.
High: No sparkle. Lots of sibilance and harsh treble above the 4K mark
Who are these for: Teenyboppers who love Diddy or don't want to "splurge" on Beats.
Genres: If i had to choose, I'd say they'd be best suited for R&B.
Soundstage: Subpar - it sounds like you are far away from the music, and
Summary: I've had a pair of cheaper Sennheisers that sounded at least three times as good. Stay away. Far, far away. The cable is tacky and too think imho.
Dr. Dre Beats Tour
Fit: Same as Diddy Beats. A lot of reviews say "they go very deep in your ear canal", which I didn't find true unless you use the biflanges.
Bass: Pretty damn good actually. Tight, mostly controlled, lots of quantity.
Mid: Very present and in your face, though it may be too exciting. I found the mids quite fatiguing after an hour commute
Treble: over emphasized, which caused sibilance and more fatigue.
Who are these for: People who want the Beats sound in a portable package. However, these are nowhere near the Beats Studio sound.
Genres: Rap, rap, and more rap. Not hip-hop a la ATCQ, but more like 50 Cent type of music.
Soundstage: Very shallow and sharp. Doesn't go far.
Summary: The Beats Tours are like a good looking prostitute - might look good from the outside, but inside they are loud and cheap.
B&W C5
Fit: Great. The wire that goes around the inside of the ear is a bit tiring, but you can relax it if you don't need a tight fit. I have bigger ears, and the large silicone tip was a bit too large. However, it makes up for it in other areas.
Bass: Quantity. Lots of it when needed, but It is very slow and for a lack of a better word - floppy.Not much subbass, and I never wanted more bass or less. The headphones do a good job of balancing the bass with the rest of the song so it isn't too overwhelming.
Mid: Great, definitely the peak of this headphone. Lots of detail, rolls off around 2.5K
Treble: On the warmer side, but you never feel like you're missing detail. Could use more sparkle
Who are these for: Those who like their music, own an iPhone, and are on the go.
Genres: They succeed very well at old school rock, jazz, and do a decent job at hip hop.
Soundstage: incredible wide and precise
Summary: A nice thing about these IEM's is their loudness - you can play the C5 at headphone loudness with no distortion. A very solid go-to IEM under $200. No one will be disappointed.
Klipsch X10
Fit: I have bigger ears and I decided on the biflange's - all the other one's kept falling out.
Bass: Solid like a rock. Quantity and Quality. Speedy (could be a tad faster, but I'm just being picky now_
Mid: Good.
Treble: Lacking.
Who are these for: Want small IEM's, own an iPhone, don't know about Shure or Senny.
Genres: Rap, hip-hop, dance, DnB.
Summary: Very good in ear. The size is very misleading - these things are TINY. Thus my biggest issue: loudness. They do not go loud without distortion. MAX 8/10 volume on an iPhone, and even that is pushing it. Returning them tomorrow
Shure SE535
Tried briefly in store.
Fit: Excellent!
Bass: What bass? Maybe I didn't get a good fit at the store even though there was affirming suction, but I didn't hear anything under 350mhz. Kick drums were barely heard.
Mid: Best of breed. Very warm and delightful. Slightly tube-y (that good vintage tube).
Treble: Again, best-of-breed. Sparly wtihout being fatiguing.
Who are these for: Audio purists who understand the EQ on these bad boys.
Genres: Anything that doesn't need bass. Jazz, classical.
Summary: I own about a dozen expensive over-ears, and these put a few to shame.
Sennheiser IE80
Tried briefly in store.
Fit: Great. A bit heavier.
Bass: Whoa. Lots of bass and especially midbass. Going to the store now to try them again and to tune the bass down.
Mid: Very good. Present.
Treble: lacking in part
Who are these for: People who like bass-heavy, LOUD music. These things can blow your eardrums!
Genres: hip hop, rap, metal, rock, dance, rock. Very good allrounder.
-------------------------
I will be updating this list as I go on, but Head-Fi'ers I would love your input on what I should try! My requirements:
- Sub $200 (flexible... I am an audiophile afterall).
- Comfy
- I like accuracy, with tight, plentiful bass, but without sacrificing quality and sparkle in mids and highs.
- Can go loud!
- iPhone controls and mic (volume +/-, another button)
Genre's: 65% hip hop, the rest is jazz, blues, rock, audiobooks & podcasts. I also watch quite a few video's.
Been considering the Shure SE215's, SE315's, TF10.
Thanks!
I love this forum, it has been my go-to for a while, so glad to see so many audiophiles in one place! I want to contribute my thoughts on my journey on finding a new IEM. I've yet to find one that I'm 100% sold on, but here are my thoughts of what I've tried. I would love your opinions on what I should get!
P Diddy Beats
Fit: Decent enough. They tend to stick out quite a bit from your ears, and they feel awkward. The cable is heavy too so you can feel the tension in your ear canal.
Isolation: Decent enough
Bass: It's there, but lack any sort of presence. It sounds like a car with a subwoofer from 7 meters away.
Mid: Not very 'attentive'. No detail.
High: No sparkle. Lots of sibilance and harsh treble above the 4K mark
Who are these for: Teenyboppers who love Diddy or don't want to "splurge" on Beats.
Genres: If i had to choose, I'd say they'd be best suited for R&B.
Soundstage: Subpar - it sounds like you are far away from the music, and
Summary: I've had a pair of cheaper Sennheisers that sounded at least three times as good. Stay away. Far, far away. The cable is tacky and too think imho.
Dr. Dre Beats Tour
Fit: Same as Diddy Beats. A lot of reviews say "they go very deep in your ear canal", which I didn't find true unless you use the biflanges.
Bass: Pretty damn good actually. Tight, mostly controlled, lots of quantity.
Mid: Very present and in your face, though it may be too exciting. I found the mids quite fatiguing after an hour commute
Treble: over emphasized, which caused sibilance and more fatigue.
Who are these for: People who want the Beats sound in a portable package. However, these are nowhere near the Beats Studio sound.
Genres: Rap, rap, and more rap. Not hip-hop a la ATCQ, but more like 50 Cent type of music.
Soundstage: Very shallow and sharp. Doesn't go far.
Summary: The Beats Tours are like a good looking prostitute - might look good from the outside, but inside they are loud and cheap.
B&W C5
Fit: Great. The wire that goes around the inside of the ear is a bit tiring, but you can relax it if you don't need a tight fit. I have bigger ears, and the large silicone tip was a bit too large. However, it makes up for it in other areas.
Bass: Quantity. Lots of it when needed, but It is very slow and for a lack of a better word - floppy.Not much subbass, and I never wanted more bass or less. The headphones do a good job of balancing the bass with the rest of the song so it isn't too overwhelming.
Mid: Great, definitely the peak of this headphone. Lots of detail, rolls off around 2.5K
Treble: On the warmer side, but you never feel like you're missing detail. Could use more sparkle
Who are these for: Those who like their music, own an iPhone, and are on the go.
Genres: They succeed very well at old school rock, jazz, and do a decent job at hip hop.
Soundstage: incredible wide and precise
Summary: A nice thing about these IEM's is their loudness - you can play the C5 at headphone loudness with no distortion. A very solid go-to IEM under $200. No one will be disappointed.
Klipsch X10
Fit: I have bigger ears and I decided on the biflange's - all the other one's kept falling out.
Bass: Solid like a rock. Quantity and Quality. Speedy (could be a tad faster, but I'm just being picky now_
Mid: Good.
Treble: Lacking.
Who are these for: Want small IEM's, own an iPhone, don't know about Shure or Senny.
Genres: Rap, hip-hop, dance, DnB.
Summary: Very good in ear. The size is very misleading - these things are TINY. Thus my biggest issue: loudness. They do not go loud without distortion. MAX 8/10 volume on an iPhone, and even that is pushing it. Returning them tomorrow
Shure SE535
Tried briefly in store.
Fit: Excellent!
Bass: What bass? Maybe I didn't get a good fit at the store even though there was affirming suction, but I didn't hear anything under 350mhz. Kick drums were barely heard.
Mid: Best of breed. Very warm and delightful. Slightly tube-y (that good vintage tube).
Treble: Again, best-of-breed. Sparly wtihout being fatiguing.
Who are these for: Audio purists who understand the EQ on these bad boys.
Genres: Anything that doesn't need bass. Jazz, classical.
Summary: I own about a dozen expensive over-ears, and these put a few to shame.
Sennheiser IE80
Tried briefly in store.
Fit: Great. A bit heavier.
Bass: Whoa. Lots of bass and especially midbass. Going to the store now to try them again and to tune the bass down.
Mid: Very good. Present.
Treble: lacking in part
Who are these for: People who like bass-heavy, LOUD music. These things can blow your eardrums!
Genres: hip hop, rap, metal, rock, dance, rock. Very good allrounder.
-------------------------
I will be updating this list as I go on, but Head-Fi'ers I would love your input on what I should try! My requirements:
- Sub $200 (flexible... I am an audiophile afterall).
- Comfy
- I like accuracy, with tight, plentiful bass, but without sacrificing quality and sparkle in mids and highs.
- Can go loud!
- iPhone controls and mic (volume +/-, another button)
Genre's: 65% hip hop, the rest is jazz, blues, rock, audiobooks & podcasts. I also watch quite a few video's.
Been considering the Shure SE215's, SE315's, TF10.
Thanks!
