[Mike415]

Preface: I'm not an audiophile, I just want to hear good sound. I liked my S4's, but recently lost one of the eartips.  I replaced them with some comply t-100s and now the sibilance is disturbing and the highs are pretty harsh.  Rather than buying a set of stock silicones or gamble with another pair of tips, I figure its a good time to look for a new pair of headphones to try out and hopefully be able to stick with without a desire to upgrade or swap.
 
I find the bass from the S4's to be to my liking and I'm afraid the DBA-02's won't provide enough in that range.  Has anyone had experience with these and care to share their opinion?  Im more interested in enjoying the music than anything.
 
DBA-02, DDM's...?  I would also prefer the t100's fit them.
 
Ill be using them with an iPhone 3G without an amp.

 

[slaters70]

I've owned the S4s and currently am a major fan of the DBA-02s. Never heard the DDMs. The bass on the DBAs is not anemic or missing, it's just a balanced headphone, delivering bass when you need it. I frankly needed to move to Ety Tri-Flange tips with the DBAs, but to me, they are an amazing value and sound better than the "top tier" phones I have heard/owned. Now, some may say that's crazy, and maybe it is, but my ears tell me so, and I trust them since they are attached to my head and process sound to my brain.
 
I found the S4s calmed down quite a bit after 150 hours, but I sold them anyway because I was not using them.
 
If enjoying music is your thing, the DBAs are it. Another thing, to me, is while I have not heard DDMs, some say they are really only useful for home listening, since their form factor is not very stable. While they may sound great, that is a limitation. No such problem with the DBA.
 
In the under $200 price range, there is no better,  in my view, than the DBAs. Even higher, I chose the DBAs as my current universal, and I have owned the IE8, SM3, Westones, you name it.
 
Also, some folks are fine with the DBA stock tips, so they may work for you.
 
As for your source, the DBAs sound fantastic with my iPod Touch 3G (8GB), so I expect the same will be true for your iPhone. No amp required. But no mic either, but that may not matter to you.
 
Both of those phones are best in class (under $200 BA and Dynamic), but the DBAs are not bass shy. I sometimes do use the Touch Bass boost EQ with them, and no distortion.
 
Good luck.

 

[Mike415]

Thanks for the reassurance on the DBA's, appreciate the response.  Ill possibly be using them to workout (Would like to know they are okay at least though) (I also do not sweat much anyways), or Ill just have my S4's for gym use if I dont sell them to a friend for cheap.  I dont see myself getting a lot for the S4's considering the stock medium tip is missing and there are tears in the chord end protector on the buds anyways.

 

[slaters70]

I would not use the DBAs to work out, as I recently went swimming and some water got into the tip and a weird sound ensured. I dried off the phones and the tip and back to normal. But I would use the S4s for workouts. Why not replace the lost tip though? Not much to spend, right? Then you have workout phones and listening phones. Also, there are even cheaper decent workout phones if you sell the S4s (I got $35 for mine). Check Joker's IEM review threads for some workout phone ideas in the $30 range.

 

[Mike415]

The S4's have been good for working out in the 7 months Ive owned em and instead of going through the hassle of buying and selling Ill probably just stick with em for workout and DBA's or something otherwise.  
 
The DBA's are fairly durable though, right?  I usually twist up the headphones and toss em in my pocket or in my gym bag so they can't be too fragile.

 

[ZARIM]

Radius DDM are good pick if deep punchy bass is more important with wide soundstage.

 

[Mike415]

Quote:

Radius DDM are good pick if deep punchy bass is more important with wide soundstage.

Thanks,  Im a bit wary of the fit and chord problems that the DDM's seem to have though.  

 

[slaters70]

Well, I'd look elsewhere then. My DBAs are in good shape, no problems. But I would say you need something other than the DBAs if that's your MO regarding HP storage. I understand, but I would get something else because the DBAs seem fine, but I would not want to test them that way. Same with DDMs is my guess.
 
Not sure what you need. I just would not spend $170+ on IEMs and twist them up and toss them in my pocket.
 
Maybe someone else has some ideas on a very durable phone that is an upgrade to the S4s. I would not choose the DBAs under those conditions, since they are new and replacing them is a hassle, being Fischer Audio is in Russia.
 
Quote:

The S4's have been good for working out in the 7 months Ive owned em and instead of going through the hassle of buying and selling Ill probably just stick with em for workout and DBA's or something otherwise.  
 
The DBA's are fairly durable though, right?  I usually twist up the headphones and toss em in my pocket or in my gym bag so they can't be too fragile.

 

[rawrster]

I have no issues with their durability however I do coil them up and put them into a circular hard case that protects well. I put them in my bag afterwards and no issues.
 
However if your plans are to twist the cables and then tossing them into a bag I would suggest you look elsewhere and at a lower budget. The best cable I've ever experienced in an earphone is the CK100 and while they probably would do fine I would not be treating them like that.

 

[stevenswall]

+1 DDM
I would also recommend the KDE/250 as it has a lifetime warranty, which should help in case of durability issues. Fitting the DDM or the KDE correctly is improbable... most can't get it inside the curve of their anti-helix. My experience with the few balanced armature earphones I have tried (Shure SE535, JH16, Etymotic Hf5, Westone 3) are that bass and midrange fullness are definitely not their strong points.

 

[slaters70]

JH16 not strong on bass?

 

[rawrster]

have you really tried them or are you just generalizing?
 
Westone 3 is a bass monster pretty much and Shure is all about mids.

 

[slaters70]

Yes, wonder that too. JH16 is the bassier of the top-end JH customs and the I owned the W3s, and they were major bass IEMs (V-shaped sig and all of that). Why people think BAs can't do bass is strange to me. I have the DBAs in right now, with the J3 and Orleans original track called "If" and the bass is amazing. Using the BBE MP setting, which I have no idea what it means, but I like it.

 

[tcp56]

You should check out the Etymotic Research hf2
It is close to your price at @ $179.00 and it is designed to work with an iphone with an inline microphone.
The new August Stereophile has a review on it.  

 

[slaters70]

The OP mentions bass specifically. If he wants Ety, he's better off the the MC5/MC3, their new dynamic, for deeper bass. They are built like tanks, however, while the hf5 (the non-iPhone hf2) is more prone to breakage.