IEM's < $500 Monster Pro Gold, Monster Miles Davis, SM3, Westone 4, Sennheiser IE80
Nov 8, 2012 at 10:49 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 28

The Known

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This is my first post on this forum. I've read a lot already and it's a great place here but didn't really find a good answer/recommendation to the situation I have. So here you go!
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I'm looking for a good IEM set at the moment. I have a home studio so I know how music should sound like (you probably know what I'm talking about). I want IEM's that let you hear the separation of instruments, clarity.
 
I'm going to use the IEM's primarily for my iphone (not amped), but also a bit for in-studio (amped).
 
Now, I here's a list of IEM's that I found that interested me:
- Westone 4
- Earsonics Sm3
- Monster Pro Gold
- Monster Miles Davis
- Sennheiser IE80
 
 
I'm a big fan of bass. I read some of these IEM's have a sub-bass, which makes them sound very nice. But I also want clarity in the sound, so the mids and highs are separated so you can hear all different instruments etc (just like studio monitors), and want these mids + highs to be nice and sharp.
 
Things/Rumours I heard/read about the IEM's above:
- Westone 4:  ???
- Earsonics SM3: Lack of bass compared to the others in the list. But almost no difference between un-amped and amped.
- Monster Pro Gold: Good bass, but a lack of 'warmth' in the sound. What about clarity of mids and highs, separation?
- Monster Miles Davis: Good bass. What about clarity of mids and highs, separation?
- Sennheiser IE80: Has the most bass of all of them, but the mids and highs are not very great and sound a bit muddy.
 
So basically I want some great bass, but also great clarity in the mids and highs. Also I want them to sound good un-amped (on iphone for example). What do you recommend?
I primarily listen/mix to pop/top40 music etc. but I like a lot of bass, but also clarity.
 
 
Summary:
Need to:
- Have good and heavy (sub)bass but also perform very well in sound clarity (mids and highs), instrument separation and should definitely NOT sound muddy.
- Sound good both un-amped and amped.
- Money is not an issue as long as it's $500 or less
 
 
If you guys have or have tried any of the IEM's above, or if you have similar recommendations, I'd appreciate it if you share your thoughts on the products above as details as possible. Let me know what you think about bass, clarity and amped/un-amped.
 
Thanks!
 
Nov 8, 2012 at 11:04 AM Post #2 of 28
Westone 4 would be the best choice here for u...  + IE80 is not muddy at all..  its one of the best iems if u do the ISO-Tape mode 
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  IE8's are muddy and  lacks the clarity considering all the above.. Turbine Golds are more fun - sounding  ( tad more muddy in bass ) ... sm3 /MMDT never tried them... :)
 
 
Westone 4s certainly wont disappoint u... :)
 
Nov 8, 2012 at 11:07 AM Post #3 of 28
SM3 has plenty bass for me. Imaging and presentation is excellent.
It's a great all-rounder with forward mids and a warm sound.
 
I have not heard the others, well I own IE8 and it should sound like IE80.
Bass can be tuned but it already more than enough on low. Presentation is very large. There aren't as many details and fit/isolation is more of an issue (IE8 that is) compared to SM3 (v1 and in my case).
 
Nov 8, 2012 at 11:16 AM Post #4 of 28
Quote:
SM3 has plenty bass for me. Imaging and presentation is excellent.
It's a great all-rounder with forward mids and a warm sound.
 
I have not heard the others, well I own IE8 and it should sound like IE80.
Bass can be tuned but it already more than enough on low. Presentation is very large. There aren't as many details and fit/isolation is more of an issue (IE8 that is) compared to SM3 (v1 and in my case).

I have   both IE8 and IE80's hands down ie80 are very much different and Better ...  ie8 has a annoyingly big mid bass hump as well as a very much veiled mid-range response..  iE80 still have a mid-bass hump but its not so big as the original ( all though i feel IE80's are focused more on the Low bass side ) .... + the biggest of all improvement is the Mid-range..   but my only issue with the ie80 is the smaller sound-stage ( nt much of a drop though)
 
Nov 8, 2012 at 11:17 AM Post #5 of 28
Quote:
Westone 4 would be the best choice here for u...  + IE80 is not muddy at all..  its one of the best iems if u do the ISO-Tape mode 
gs1000.gif
  IE8's are muddy and  lacks the clarity considering all the above.. Turbine Golds are more fun - sounding  ( tad more muddy in bass ) ... sm3 /MMDT never tried them... :)
 
 
Westone 4s certainly wont disappoint u... :)

How's the bass of the Westone 4's then? And how do they sound un-amped? Also, what do you mean by 'fun sounding' for the Turbine Golds? Can you also give me some more info about the Golds (how they sound unamped, and how they sound in bass/mids/highs in comparison to the Westones
 
Nov 8, 2012 at 11:28 AM Post #6 of 28
If bass is your priority, I would go with the IE80's. The iem's you listed are all fairly good and most likely won't disappoint. I have the turbine golds and i don't find them muddy sounding in the bass, infact the bass is quite tight and impactful. That being said, I'm pretty sure the IE80's have even larger bass and most likely have better detail (I've compared the turbine golds to the IE8 and that's how I felt about the comparison) so IE80's are probably the one you're looking for.
 
Nov 8, 2012 at 11:31 AM Post #7 of 28
Quote:
If bass is your priority, I would go with the IE80's. The iem's you listed are all fairly good and most likely won't disappoint. I have the turbine golds and i don't find them muddy sounding in the bass, infact the bass is quite tight and impactful. That being said, I'm pretty sure the IE80's have even larger bass and most likely have better detail (I've compared the turbine golds to the IE8 and that's how I felt about the comparison) so IE80's are probably the one you're looking for.

I know that the IE8's or IE80's  win in bass, but I also want sound clarity and instrument separation in the mids and highs.. I heard that the IE80's  are not very good in that... How are the Monster Pro Gold's with that?
 
Nov 8, 2012 at 11:36 AM Post #8 of 28
Westone 4's like the Nerdy guy at the IEM college..  It does everything right . a great mid - range as well as a non - fatiguing treble response. Bass isn't walloping or Booming. its very much controlled and give u a great transparency..  a good natural iem ( not as natural as some cans ) + almost flat kind of a signature...   Its really great without amping , but if u have an idea... defiantly it wont disappoint u... my friend has a head-stage arrow 4G and it gives the W4s a great power and it becomes almost a JH13..
 
Fun sounding??  its defiantly not flatter sounding , has a warmness specially a greater emphasis on the bass ( mid bass ) as well as a smooth presentation all over mids and treble.. haven't amped the golds but i dnt think it would make a huge difference.. it defiantly gives u a sub-woofer bassy feeling ( very BOO-MY ) but it wont over power but kinda shadows the mids to me.. Instrumental separation is nt even close to Westone 4  + has a very linear sound-stage .. id rather describe its sound-stage as a plate presentation..  
 
If u want big bass enjoyment of Ur music  - Go with the turbine golds  or Turbine copper ( coppers a bit better than golds)
 
If Ur looking to discover Ur music and appreciate Ur music with a greater accuracy ? go with the westone 4's     :)
 
Nov 10, 2012 at 10:44 AM Post #10 of 28
okay,
 
Left are the:
- Monster Pro Copper
- JVC FX700
- Westone 4
 
 
The only thing that I should do now is listen to all 3 to experience the differences. Problem is that they only sell the Monsters in my country, not the others...
I don't  think it's possible to buy all three on Amazon, test them, and return 2 of them, right? xD
 
Hmm, how are the mids/highs from the JVC's compared to the Pro Coppers and Westone's? In terms of - crispy and clarity?  And is the separation/depth is good on the JVC's?
 
Which of those 3 would you recommend me? Keep in mind, I like a lot of bass, but also want good instrument separation and clarity and crispness in the mids and highs.
 
Nov 10, 2012 at 11:41 AM Post #11 of 28
If you want nice tight punchy then JVC FX700 are great buy and it sound so natural with all different instruments because wood soundsignarue and it bass goes so deep and reverb with fairly wide soundstage and good instruments separation. Denon AH_C300 are also very bass heavy but tight and punchy with very good detailed mids, highs and wide soundstage( I prefer these over IE80 Clarity and bass both). BTW for superb clarity, imaging and balance W4, Heir 4Ai, Sony EX1000 and UM3X are highly recommended.
 
Nov 10, 2012 at 1:46 PM Post #12 of 28
Left are the:
- Monster Pro Copper
- JVC FX700
- Westone 4
 
 
Hmm, how are the mids/highs from the JVC's compared to the Pro Coppers and Westone's? In terms of - crispy and clarity?  And is the separation/depth is good on the JVC's?
 
Which of those 3 would you recommend me? Keep in mind, I like a lot of bass, but also want good instrument separation and clarity and crispness in the mids and highs.
 
Please don't add any other options, I just want 1 out of these 3.
 
Nov 10, 2012 at 2:18 PM Post #13 of 28
It may be a bit late to recommend other models, but do take a look at the Heir Audio 4.Ai (from what I've read they are pretty good for the price, I haven't personally heard them though), Logitech Ultimate Ears UE 900 (comes with a remote+mic cable and standard audio only cable; the remote and mic cable will come in use with your iPhone).  I was going to say the Coppers, but those have been recommended already. 
 
EDIT: didn't see your last post, sorry.  Disregard this post then :p
 

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