AstralStorm
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2011
- Posts
- 731
- Likes
- 46
Hello,
I'm trying to pick a very good IEM blind (without auditioning them) with some budget.
What I'm looking for specifically is good extension in low end, not a lot of sibilance or similar phenomenon,
preferably balanced sound. The IEM has to be reasonably durable.
As an example of what I don't want, Sleek's SA6 was underwhelming on sound front (slightly), durability (!!!) and fit (far too deep insertion required for best sound).
My main problem is that I can't decide what to buy - there are too many great picks and no way for me to snatch a listen of most of them.
The ones I've found myself that seem pretty close to the mark with my found price listed, converted to USD then rounded up.
Possible other issues are listed too, these make the IEM less desirable to me, however I don't know the severity of the issues.
Tag "local" means I don't have to order from out of the country - preferable. I don't like long preorders too.
Skipped list:
Westone 1, Phonak Audeo PFE 122, MEElec A151, Xcape - I have a comparable BA IEM already
Atrio M8, Hippo VB, ECCI - can't find
Shure lineup - insane pricing - and the cheaper ones aren't good enough to consider
Basic lineup:
I could easily afford 2 of those at the same time.
NuForce NE-700X ($80 local) - fit?
NuForce NE-700M ($100 local) - fit?
Fischer Audio Eterna v. unknown ($100 local) - colored?
Fischer Audio Silver Bullet ($100 local) - durability?
MEElectronics CC51 ($130 incl. tax) - undetailed?
Medium lineup:
Jays q-Jays ($170 local) - durability?
Radius HP-TWF11 "DDM" ($180) - fit? durability?
Panasonic RP-HJE900 ($200 local) - warm?
Sennheiser IE7 ($200 local) - warm? had one, liked, but new things are more interesting
Fischer Audio DBA-02 ($230 local, $170 ordered)
Expensive lineup:
Number of stars indicates how much this IEM scares my wallet. Be kind to the wallet if possible.
Please describe the day and night differences (if there are such) from one of the above.
Ortofon e-Q5 * ($300) - fit?
Sennheiser IE8 * ($300 local) - warm? not much better than IE7?
Westone 2 * ($300 local) - bass rolloff? timbre? probably meh
Klipsch Image x10 * ($300) - probably even more meh than W2
Monster Turbine Pro Gold ** ($350 local)
Earsonics SM2 *** ($380)
and beyond:
Getting good impressions for customs is hard around here...
I'm trying to pick a very good IEM blind (without auditioning them) with some budget.
What I'm looking for specifically is good extension in low end, not a lot of sibilance or similar phenomenon,
preferably balanced sound. The IEM has to be reasonably durable.
As an example of what I don't want, Sleek's SA6 was underwhelming on sound front (slightly), durability (!!!) and fit (far too deep insertion required for best sound).
My main problem is that I can't decide what to buy - there are too many great picks and no way for me to snatch a listen of most of them.
The ones I've found myself that seem pretty close to the mark with my found price listed, converted to USD then rounded up.
Possible other issues are listed too, these make the IEM less desirable to me, however I don't know the severity of the issues.
Tag "local" means I don't have to order from out of the country - preferable. I don't like long preorders too.
Skipped list:
Westone 1, Phonak Audeo PFE 122, MEElec A151, Xcape - I have a comparable BA IEM already
Atrio M8, Hippo VB, ECCI - can't find
Shure lineup - insane pricing - and the cheaper ones aren't good enough to consider
Basic lineup:
I could easily afford 2 of those at the same time.
NuForce NE-700X ($80 local) - fit?
NuForce NE-700M ($100 local) - fit?
Fischer Audio Eterna v. unknown ($100 local) - colored?
Fischer Audio Silver Bullet ($100 local) - durability?
MEElectronics CC51 ($130 incl. tax) - undetailed?
Medium lineup:
Jays q-Jays ($170 local) - durability?
Radius HP-TWF11 "DDM" ($180) - fit? durability?
Panasonic RP-HJE900 ($200 local) - warm?
Sennheiser IE7 ($200 local) - warm? had one, liked, but new things are more interesting
Fischer Audio DBA-02 ($230 local, $170 ordered)
Expensive lineup:
Number of stars indicates how much this IEM scares my wallet. Be kind to the wallet if possible.
Please describe the day and night differences (if there are such) from one of the above.
Ortofon e-Q5 * ($300) - fit?
Sennheiser IE8 * ($300 local) - warm? not much better than IE7?
Westone 2 * ($300 local) - bass rolloff? timbre? probably meh
Klipsch Image x10 * ($300) - probably even more meh than W2
Monster Turbine Pro Gold ** ($350 local)
Earsonics SM2 *** ($380)
and beyond:
Getting good impressions for customs is hard around here...