[T.R.A.N.C.E.]

QB3 AKG just about sounds perfect, It's making me feel rather skeptical of my trinity hunter pre-order, can it manage to sound anywhere near $500 better than these? I'm guessing no, but we'll see. I seriously find no fault with the sound of QB3 AKG, and I've previously owned several 1k costing iem's that I did find faults with...

 

[Duncan]

As a major backer of the QB3 AKG, there is absolutely no way to fault them at their price, but they do have their limits, and unfortunately, I do hear them...

T.R.A.N.C.E., having the Trinity Sabre, and having heard a pre-production Hunter last weekend, what would you want to better over the QB3? I'll see if I can compare / recall for you.

 

[T.R.A.N.C.E.]

The QB3A might not have quite the resolution/timbre of certain much pricier iem's, but imo it certainly competes, and factoring in the price it's just amazing, it doesn't have any glaring flaws, where with most iems I always have that one thing I can't stand about them, I'd honestly take these QB3A over expensive iems like W60, H8P, Z5, RE600, even though they do certain things outstandingly they all have unforgivable flaws also, the QB3A simply output's a better balanced frequency response than most iem's, the treble extends nicely to 20khz without annoying peaks, and has the correct amount of decay, not many iems do these things for some odd reason, no matter their price. You hear the treble sparkle in all it's glory but it is never even close to overbearing. The bass hit's a sweet spot in frequency balance and impact, again something that not many iem's get right, but it does lack some texture. The sound stage is nicely airy, although sometimes to it's detriment as occasionally the stereo image can seem stretched left/right rather than centered. QB3A can certainly be improved on, but the dozens of iem's I've tried indicate that it's not such a simple task. Early reports on hunter sound promising, I'm hoping for the best.

 

[smy1]

So the qb3 akg is a upgrade over the original qb3?

 

[Duncan]

No, I would say it is a different take...

QB3 is V shaped, fun sounding
QB3 AKG is more neutral in its eq, sounding quite balanced.

 

[HeadHigh]

I have Qb3 for more than 3 weeks , it's light in bass as I said before ,slightly V shaped with bright treble....
short story it didn't sound better than Piston 3 .
different flavours Piston 3 sound more fun and bassy , both share good headstage but not big it's rather small with enough room  to breath , not airy , Qb3 sould flat while P3 more 3dness.
I discovered a better iem than both  ... Skullcandy Smokin' Bud 2 .

 

[Francisk]

If you haven't tried the Quadbeat 3 tuned by AKG then you owe yourself a listen. I have the Piston 3 and it simply pales by comparison....where's the high frequency resolution on the Piston 3??? Nah...I already gave my Piston 3 away....to me it's another hyped up IEM over nothing.

 

[ca12bon]

Hi all,
I am on the lookout for a second iem that I can take when exercising etc, dont want to abise my logitech ue900's.

Im torn between the QB3 and QB3 AKG edition. I consoder sound stage very important which is why I actually prefer the Triple Fi 10 pros over my current UE900's.

Having said that, I also like sub bass and high trebles although I dislike tinny sounds. Long story short what is the closest in terms of sound I can get to a TF10 pro?

 

[T.R.A.N.C.E.]

Hi all,
I am on the lookout for a second iem that I can take when exercising etc, dont want to abise my logitech ue900's.
Im torn between the QB3 and QB3 AKG edition. I consoder sound stage very important which is why I actually prefer the Triple Fi 10 pros over my current UE900's.
Having said that, I also like sub bass and high trebles although I dislike tinny sounds. Long story short what is the closest in terms of sound I can get to a TF10 pro?

 
For exercise the regular QB3 might be better due to it's more energetic tuning, which can also give the impression of larger sound stage, but really it totally depends on your taste, I would still personally get the AKG edition.
 
If your not averse to light portable headphone's you should try Koss Portapro, they have been my workout headphones for years, they stay glued to your head, they are comfy and light, and they (imo) sound better than iem's for excersise, the bigger drivers (40mm) always win for working out vibes Oh and they have a sound stage that will put any iem to shame, it's one of the reasons I love them so much. The Koss Portapro is the QB3 of the headphone world, aka the best value headphone around imo.

 

[VeggiePopper]

Boy do the QB3 arw good for exercise. Those are the best IEMs I've ever uswd when excercising. They are comfy to wear and they never fall off, which is one of the main issues I have when looking for something to work out with.

 

[spitfire088]

Anyone have experience with both QB3 AKG and Sony EX1000 can do a comparison between the two? I know it wouldn't really be fair to compare the two, since EX1000 is almost 30x more expensive than QB3 AKG, but if anyone here have tried both, I would love to hear your thoughts!
 
I am fairly new to the world of IEMs; I have went from JVC FXT-90 to Fostex TE-05 before finally settling for Sony EX1000 for awhile now. One thing I love about the EX1000 is that the mids, especially vocals, are extremely forward; and also the amazing detail and clarity. I stumbled upon this thread by chance, and I'm thinking of giving the QB3 AKG a try, but I expect them to be inferior to my EX1000 in most aspects in terms of sound (given the price); will I be pleasantly surprised?
 
P.S., I actually owned an LG V10 before and sold it without even trying the included earphones once, that was before I came across this thread. Kind of regret that I haven't tried it...

 

[Duncan]

I have both, but don't get along with the EX1000, find it harsh, and maybe even brittle, so I wouldn't be a good candidate I guess

 

[spitfire088]

Hi Duncan, how do the QB3 AKG stack up to EX1000 in terms of detail and clarity?
I have already ordered a pair of QB3 AKG and Sony MH1

 

[Ira Delphic]

  Anyone have experience with both QB3 AKG and Sony EX1000 can do a comparison between the two? I know it wouldn't really be fair to compare the two, since EX1000 is almost 30x more expensive than QB3 AKG, but if anyone here have tried both, I would love to hear your thoughts!
 
I am fairly new to the world of IEMs; I have went from JVC FXT-90 to Fostex TE-05 before finally settling for Sony EX1000 for awhile now. One thing I love about the EX1000 is that the mids, especially vocals, are extremely forward; and also the amazing detail and clarity. I stumbled upon this thread by chance, and I'm thinking of giving the QB3 AKG a try, but I expect them to be inferior to my EX1000 in most aspects in terms of sound (given the price); will I be pleasantly surprised?
 
P.S., I actually owned an LG V10 before and sold it without even trying the included earphones once, that was before I came across this thread. Kind of regret that I haven't tried it...

 
Your V10 came with earphones? My V10 (US Carrier version) - which I use as my primary audio source, didn't come with any.

 

[spitfire088]

Yep, my V10 (bought in Hong Kong) came bundled the Quadbeat 3 tuned by AKG (LE631 - small box variant). I bought the V10 with the intention of using it as my on-the-go audio source, but for some reason my Sony EX1000 sounded terrible on the V10, it sounded really harsh. So I ended up selling the phone and switched back to a Galaxy S6 (which uses the Wolfson DAC), I didn't experience the harshness issue at all with the EX1000 on my S6. Maybe I should have tested the QB3 AKG with my V10 as well, oh well...
 
I bought another pair of QB3 AKG brand new for HKD100 (Equivalent to USD12.89) and will be getting it in the mail this week. Also have a pair of MH1 coming as well, will test if the MH1 ear tips makes a difference! Altogether I spent less than USD20 on both the QB3 AKG & MH1; can't really go wrong at that price I guess, but I already have high expectations for them due to the raving reviews