[Real Maximus]

Hi folks. I just picked up my iPhone 3Gs an hour ago, and am looking forward to hearing how it sounds with my turbines. I will compare the 3Gs to my iPod 5th gen and provide feedback.

Also, I am looking to upgrade from the turbines. Please provide your suggestions for a great IEM that will outperform the turbines while being a great match to the iphone. I cannot afford external amps or dacs, so I am looking for IEM and iphone stand alone.

 

[shigzeo]

The turbine Pro is an excellent choice actually. It isn't quite as 'in the club' sounding; it is smoother and better resolved. If you like dynamic earphones, it is very good. If you want to try out balanced armatures, you will get a thick sound which shouldn't be such a kick in the pants if you choose d-Jays and the Westone2 is great too. Even Ortofon is quite good and so too is Microsonics.

 

[Real Maximus]

Great shigzeo. Well, I have'nt performed any comparisons with my 5g yet, but my immediate impressions are a good. I am definitely noticing more detail in the upper frequencies and there is definitely more bass presence. The bass is not boomy or overbearing, it is deeper, tighter and better balanced than my ipod 5g and 6g. More details to come. Also, my turbines sound quite good, I am pleased with the match so far. I am looking at probably going with the turbine pros, W3, UM3x or the IE8. I doubt I can go wrong with any of those, but I definitely want the best suited marriage between the two.

 

[shigzeo]

Well in terms of hardware compatibility, the W3 is harder to drive than either the IE8 or Turbine. The iPhone and iPod touch do not do nearly as well when driving balanced armatures. There are a couple of exceptions to the rule, but by and large, balanced armatures lose or gain frequencies that they wouldn't with dynamics or when driven from an amp.

The W3 will still sound good though, but it really needs an amp to pull off its literal sound.

 

[Real Maximus]

Shigzeo, great input, that is very helpful! I am seriously considering going with the turbine pros, since I feel the turbines are already a great match.

 

[Real Maximus]

Ok, so I spent about an hour or so A/B testing about 3 different songs back and forth between the ipod 5g and my new iphone 3gs. I used the same monster turbines, I did switch out the tips, but with equal time on each song and each source. I definitely intend on spending several more hours A/B testing several more genres and ranges of music, however there is a very distinct difference in sq. Overall, my early impressions are clear.

The iphone clearly beats out the 5g, especially in the lower hz ranges. The iphone is capable of delivering lower frequencies and with more authority. Not only does it deliver deeper and more bass, but it is substantially more defined and accurate. I would call this tight bass. Sometimes less is more, but most certainly not in this case. I feel the bass mix is very well matched to the rest of the frequency range also. I find myself being engaged in the music for sure. The 5g hits emotions where the 6g (120gig) does not. Thus far, the iphone seems to strike the same emotions as my 5th gen on some of my favorite songs. Perhaps a lot of what I am hearing is because the turbines are capable of substantial bass as well. Either way, they seem to be a great match.

More to come!

 

[Real Maximus]

I guess this is becoming more a blog, haha. Well, I still need to do some more A/B testing, but I am REALLY happy with the performance of the iPhone 3Gs. Please remember ALL of my testing between the 3Gs and the iPod 5th gen, is through the head phone jack alone. I don't have any mods or external amps, so please keep this in mind.

The iPhone seems to be breaking in, because the bass bump seems to be gone now (or maybe I have just adjusted to it?), and the midrange does seem smoother. However, it is not as smooth as my 5th gen. Where the 3Gs has extended frequencies in both direction, and the performance is tighter, the 5g has a more full and lush midrange to upper midrange. Can't we just get a perfect marriage of the two, lol, that would be perfect.

Again, I'll perform another thorough A/B and report back... for anyone out there that possibly cares... ??? haha

 

[lc483]

I care

Not really about the iPhone / iPod comparisons, but with your IEM impressions on the iPhone. I have an iPhone 3GS also, and just got a Klipsch S4i about 10 days ago, it's very nice, but I'm not sure if I want to settle on them... So I'm definitely curious with what you end up with.