[rock&rollfrenchfries]

Hello everybody. First post here. I am new to the high end earbud market. Right now i have sony ex51 fontopias. And i actually don't think they're half bad. But now i'm looking for something thats gonna trounce them.

Now about the music and type of sound i like. My musical taste is pretty broad from metal/rock (fear factory, kmfdm) to trance (juno reactor, future sound of london/amorphous androgynous) to some good old icp/twiztid (i know im terrible).

The type of sound i like is what i think i should call dynamic. i like nice deep and clear bass (of course) and well defined crystal clear treble. What i dont like is an overpowered midrange that gets too voicey. I like a nice balanced sound. But just slightly dynamic over flat or "midstrong". I'm not a bass head. I imagine i would appreciate the tight defined bass described in lots of these iems (especially since i think my sony's kindof sound good).

My source is a sansa e260 with rockbox firmware and 16gig sdhccard (so it plays wav files now). And all my music is on WAV 16bit 41000k.

I am leaning towards se420 or sf5pros. absolutely nothing over $200. And yes i do think all these things are overpriced. But on the other hand life is short. And i love music enough to want it to sound really good.

 

[Moldytape]

I think the Monster Turbines would fit your requirements. Even though I haven't tried them myself and the Turbines are not dual drivers, they have deep and clear bass without overpowering the highs. Plus, they're only $150.

 

[shigzeo]

you currently own a sony ex51 which i did many years ago. if you like that sound, you may be a dynamic driver person as the poster above suggested. there are many good iems to have for under 200$

turbine, denon c700, atrio m5, (dynamic and bassy but good balance)
sa6, pfe, etc (balanced armature)

i am a dynamic fan myself but both options offer real quality for often good prices.

 

[ethan961]

maybe the IE7 if you like balance but want a dynamic.
Also, I believe the SA6 is dynamic, not a BA.
You won't find a dual driver dynamic IEM as it is simply not needed, they only make multi-driver IEMs with balanced armatures as of yet.

 

[shigzeo]

sa6 is ba, not dynamic. some dual drivers have dynamics in them: the superfi eb has one dynamic and one ba inside of it.

but dynamics are generally only one driver (except really old ones from panasonic etc) as they can quite faithfully reproduce full spectrum. they are often a bit harder to drive however as they can lose control in more places. with an amp, they are about as beautiful as they come.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moldytape /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think the Monster Turbines would fit your requirements. Even though I haven't tried them myself and the Turbines are not dual drivers, they have deep and clear bass without overpowering the highs. Plus, they're only $150.

It is with fuming frustration that I strongly recommend you read this thread before posting something like that ever again: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f11/st...arning-270280/

 

[rock&rollfrenchfries]

May i ask what is the difference in design between some of these brands. like first of all. How different are the drivers to my ex51s. And even between some of the high end brands. They really seem to conceal their technoligy and just hype you up on how good their iems sound without really telling you whats special about their brand. Also is there a place where i can look up impedance and sensitivity and range for ALL earbuds at once

 

[ethan961]

right, the SA6 is a BA, but a custom one. I just remembered them touting one ultra-wide frequency driver and assumed they meant dynamic going from memory.

 

[rock&rollfrenchfries]

By the way when i mentioned dynamic i was talking about the type of sound i like in my ear. deep, clear, refined. those three words nail it pretty much. But what is a dynamic armature and a balanced armature. remember im a noob. and i see some of my questions are being answered before i can type them out.

 

[ethan961]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rock&rollfrenchfries /img/forum/go_quote.gif May i ask what is the difference in design between some of these brands. like first of all. How different are the drivers to my ex51s. And even between some of the high end brands. They really seem to conceal their technoligy and just hype you up on how good their iems sound without really telling you whats special about their brand. Also is there a place where i can look up impedance and sensitivity and range for ALL earbuds at once

I believe headroom has that kind of info there for the products they sell, but other than that you'll have to look it up or ask in the thread of the respective product (if it has one).

I believe monster is the company you are referring to with the concealing and the hype, yeah, its one of the things that gave me some doubts about the turbines.

 

[shigzeo]

well the main difference with dynamic and ba in terms of sound is that ba will tend to be (please listen to this first) anemic. dynamic will be more powerful. what i mean is that ba move only a small amount of air, whereas dynamics move much more air, so bass will be tangible and deep. ba can also be very deep and engaging but always with a more sterile approach.

i like both and have loved both very much but find dynamics personally to be more natural sounding - but many do not. for my part, i have enjoyed balanced armatures from audio technica (ck10) very much and my brief flirtation with the sa6.

if you want straight clean sound however, ba will more easily deliver that. out of the box, nearly any ba will be more detailed (or seem more detailed) as they have less air moving, you pick out less bass and more on the treble. since you don't get the tangible bass found in dynamics, you hear mids and highs with more clarity. also, even if not well driven, they remain in control.

dynamics on the other hand when in control render all aspects of sound very well, but without being properly controlled can sound flabby and wishy washy.

currently, my favourite phones for under 200$ are the turbine from monster though I don't like their cable very much. they are sturdy, well detailed but not too much and have a good bass that nearly plays its own song.

however, my opinion is only my opinion. if you can, demo them. demo everything you can. if you have mates who have the phones you want, listen to them. go to headfi meets before wasting time and money on phones that you will have to learn to love rather than love from the first.

 

[rock&rollfrenchfries]

ok so an armature is a driver right? and they are either balanced or dynamic which is not just a technical design reference but also to the particular kind of sound they deliver.

 

[rock&rollfrenchfries]

when is a headfi meet coming to pittsburgh

 

[ethan961]

balanced armatures and dynamics are the two types of drivers, and each has its own kind of sound typically, like what shigzeo said.

 

[rock&rollfrenchfries]

right. sorry.