ProtegeManiac
Headphoneus Supremus
Anyone know any IEM with sound close to Westone2 or Aurisonics ASG-1.3 but somewhere around $100?
I can take a hit on sensitivity since I'll be using this on an AP80 and not my smartphone, so I've got 70mW at 32ohms (probably a bit less at 16ohms?) on tap. So probably 110dB/1mW is fine (W2's are 117dB/1mW, ASG-1.3 at 120dB/1mW).
Got screwed by a warranty claim on my Westone2* and Fender never brought back the ASG-series while they're also getting rid of the consumer series by Aurisonics designed (not to mention the only place I've seen selling them here is my local mobile carrier's stores...it's like buying a Logitech wireless speaker from T-Mobile) so I'm trying to not risk destroying that. Figured reshelling the Westone2 for ~$150 here and then getting a universal with a similar enough sound to use as a good beater (since I can't risk the CIEMs as much, like when running around the city) would still be better than getting a W20 or UM20 only to run into some BS about Westone's warranty policies.
Was trying to look around on my own and measurements and impressions tend to report "Harman Curve" but a bad implementation** at that price range.
As for fit, I want the cable to go up over my ears and loop around the earlobes. Smaller bore also helps - as much as it's easier to find large bore third party tips due to Chi-Fi popularity, most of them are larger than my Aurisonics, and KZ for example have a tendency for the stock tips to not only not fit, but if they even fill up my ear canals well at least one ear will compress the tips far enough and I can feel the stiff bore/tube against my ear. Basically, it helps if the bore will be 3mm to 2mm, but I'm not totally excluding up to 4mm bores. As for shell design: something more akin to Shure/Westone shells would be safer as I'm ordering online so no test fits in-store (pandemic and all), CIEM-universal IEM hybrid shell designs like Aurisonics can be risky but worth a shot. However weird designs like the IE7 having a sharp edge or one of those IEMs that look like a square/diamond and have edges on one side are gonna be way down the priority list as the risk of a bad fit (that ear tip rolling can't help) are fairly high.
-----------
Westone2 sound, summarized : I can hear everything well enough. Treble isn't grating on my ears but is still very clear with sufficient sparkle; midrange is clear and doesn't get buried, forward enough (I don't expect this to sound like the Focal Polyglass in my car); bass is definitely there, even in a crowded train without isolation from track and wind noise as long as I have the right tips for a good seal
Aurisonics sound, summarized : Original LCD-2. Or HD650 on some OTL amps. It helps that it kinda gets near the same ballpark as an HD650 on a DV336se not because of distortion, but as far as IEMs on a mobile phone go, barring outright electronic interference you don't get noise from stressing the audio chip given its 120dB/1mW sensitivity (even higher than the Westones; just that it rolls off past 1000hz so if you're not aware of this response curve it sounds like it's not as loud).
------------
*Shell cracked open, drivers still sound the same, might get them reshelled. Purchased 2019 May and registered withing days of purchase. I was trying to contact Westone since earlier this year when the shell separated, they claim the dealer was not official when they asked for the receipt (good thing that wasn't tossed out after registering these). AFAIK this outfit been official for years, only ever saw Westone sold at their stores, asked them to check maybe they just weren't now and that's why they put a discount on all their Westones back in 2019, Westone wasn't any help. Asked Westone to tell me who was the dealer up until the date on the receipt, they never got back to me, so I can't even check with the SEC on maybe there was a corporate name change or they use a different name at certain levels nor even file a complaint with consumer protection regulators down here in case they misrepresented us being able to get manufacturer warranty on them that they said the local dealer will no longer process (ie apart from how they're the only ones with Westone here, their claim to still having unassisted processing for manufacturer warranty without immediate local replacement is why AFAIK they're the official Westone distributor in the country or work with a regional distributor).
**Scratchy treble. Harman curve is more like UM3X or thereabouts. Speaking of which, anything that sounds like the UM3X would be fine, so long as the deviation isn't due to treble attacking my ears (and more like "a bit less oomph at the upper bass/lower midrange).
I can take a hit on sensitivity since I'll be using this on an AP80 and not my smartphone, so I've got 70mW at 32ohms (probably a bit less at 16ohms?) on tap. So probably 110dB/1mW is fine (W2's are 117dB/1mW, ASG-1.3 at 120dB/1mW).
Got screwed by a warranty claim on my Westone2* and Fender never brought back the ASG-series while they're also getting rid of the consumer series by Aurisonics designed (not to mention the only place I've seen selling them here is my local mobile carrier's stores...it's like buying a Logitech wireless speaker from T-Mobile) so I'm trying to not risk destroying that. Figured reshelling the Westone2 for ~$150 here and then getting a universal with a similar enough sound to use as a good beater (since I can't risk the CIEMs as much, like when running around the city) would still be better than getting a W20 or UM20 only to run into some BS about Westone's warranty policies.
Was trying to look around on my own and measurements and impressions tend to report "Harman Curve" but a bad implementation** at that price range.
As for fit, I want the cable to go up over my ears and loop around the earlobes. Smaller bore also helps - as much as it's easier to find large bore third party tips due to Chi-Fi popularity, most of them are larger than my Aurisonics, and KZ for example have a tendency for the stock tips to not only not fit, but if they even fill up my ear canals well at least one ear will compress the tips far enough and I can feel the stiff bore/tube against my ear. Basically, it helps if the bore will be 3mm to 2mm, but I'm not totally excluding up to 4mm bores. As for shell design: something more akin to Shure/Westone shells would be safer as I'm ordering online so no test fits in-store (pandemic and all), CIEM-universal IEM hybrid shell designs like Aurisonics can be risky but worth a shot. However weird designs like the IE7 having a sharp edge or one of those IEMs that look like a square/diamond and have edges on one side are gonna be way down the priority list as the risk of a bad fit (that ear tip rolling can't help) are fairly high.
-----------
Westone2 sound, summarized : I can hear everything well enough. Treble isn't grating on my ears but is still very clear with sufficient sparkle; midrange is clear and doesn't get buried, forward enough (I don't expect this to sound like the Focal Polyglass in my car); bass is definitely there, even in a crowded train without isolation from track and wind noise as long as I have the right tips for a good seal
Aurisonics sound, summarized : Original LCD-2. Or HD650 on some OTL amps. It helps that it kinda gets near the same ballpark as an HD650 on a DV336se not because of distortion, but as far as IEMs on a mobile phone go, barring outright electronic interference you don't get noise from stressing the audio chip given its 120dB/1mW sensitivity (even higher than the Westones; just that it rolls off past 1000hz so if you're not aware of this response curve it sounds like it's not as loud).
------------
*Shell cracked open, drivers still sound the same, might get them reshelled. Purchased 2019 May and registered withing days of purchase. I was trying to contact Westone since earlier this year when the shell separated, they claim the dealer was not official when they asked for the receipt (good thing that wasn't tossed out after registering these). AFAIK this outfit been official for years, only ever saw Westone sold at their stores, asked them to check maybe they just weren't now and that's why they put a discount on all their Westones back in 2019, Westone wasn't any help. Asked Westone to tell me who was the dealer up until the date on the receipt, they never got back to me, so I can't even check with the SEC on maybe there was a corporate name change or they use a different name at certain levels nor even file a complaint with consumer protection regulators down here in case they misrepresented us being able to get manufacturer warranty on them that they said the local dealer will no longer process (ie apart from how they're the only ones with Westone here, their claim to still having unassisted processing for manufacturer warranty without immediate local replacement is why AFAIK they're the official Westone distributor in the country or work with a regional distributor).
**Scratchy treble. Harman curve is more like UM3X or thereabouts. Speaking of which, anything that sounds like the UM3X would be fine, so long as the deviation isn't due to treble attacking my ears (and more like "a bit less oomph at the upper bass/lower midrange).
