[ethan961]

Don't be scared, they are excellent. Some people didn't like them, and for that reason it is their opinion that they are overrated. That's their opinion, it didn't work for them. They're still a great earphone.

 

[stonyboys]

CK10 is a little overrated.

 

[cooperpwc]

Threads like this are fun but you have to accept that one man's poison is another man's wine. Crapping on the Triple-fi's is constant - and so is the legion of fans like me.

Me, I don't understand the love of Shure IEMs. Soggy treble...

 

[SFbayArch]

Quote:

Threads like this are fun but you have to accept that one man's poison is another man's wine.

True...

but every once in a while it's fun to crap in someone else's wine

.

 

[sdaigle240]

prolly dont have much a rite to be posting here, having only owned 3 pairs, BUT

MY GOD WAS THE S4 A LET DOWN pl30's arrived a few days later and those S4s had to go!!!!!! i couldn't believe how much better a 25$ phone sounded.
i think its beyond "they wernt for me" i think they were just bad, waay too much bass, muffled mids, and annoying hi's....its scard me regarding "fun" and sound sigs thats for sure.

 

[Nocturnal310]

Westone 1.

there was a lack of details in the high range...and them still being so popular.

 

[TCD1975]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IpodHappy /img/forum/go_quote.gif My biggest disappointment has been the Sennheiser IE8s. After reading so many glowing reviews, and a few knockers, I was expecting more. To me, the bass is overpowering, and I was expecting them to be much more spacious. Currently, my Weston UM3Xs are exceeding them in this respect. Somewhere in the last 9 months that I've owned them, the UM3Xs have really opened out.

Fully agree. IE8s are far less impressive than the average reviews on this forum would have you believe.

I've lost quite a bit of faith in this forum's ability to point me in the direction of a quality IEM as I bought the IE8s based on the strength of their reputation at Head-Fi and I've been left massively underwhelmed. Before I received the IE8s my greatest worry was that they would be so good I'd never use my UM3x again (thus wasting £270 + £90 for custom sleeves). Now the IE8s just sit on a shelf neglected. I can't use them for more than 1 or 2 songs without getting bored of their bass-heavy, slow, veiled, undetailed sound and have to return to my UM3x.

The best thing I can say about the IE8s is they made me realise just how amazing the UM3x are.

 

[deephile]

And what about the large amount of IE8 fakes? Are those under or overrated?

 

[HONEYBOY]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TCD1975 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Fully agree. IE8s are far less impressive than the average reviews on this forum would have you believe. I've lost quite a bit of faith in this forum's ability to point me in the direction of a quality IEM as I bought the IE8s based on the strength of their reputation at Head-Fi and I've been left massively underwhelmed. Before I received the IE8s my greatest worry was that they would be so good I'd never use my UM3x again (thus wasting £270 + £90 for custom sleeves). Now the IE8s just sit on a shelf neglected. I can't use them for more than 1 or 2 songs without getting bored of their bass-heavy, slow, veiled, undetailed sound and have to return to my UM3x. The best thing I can say about the IE8s is they made me realise just how amazing the UM3x are.

Whilst I agree that reviews here can often lead one to believe that IEMs can make fire come down from heaven ( I'm guilty of this at times). The same can be said about the UM3X. It was touted also as the best universal IEM bar none. I didn't find the ostensible qualities/improvements the UM3X offered over other IEMs like the IE8 to be as apparent as I was lead to believe. I bought both and compared them side by side. Though depth cues and instrument separation were conveyed a bit more convincingly with the UM3X I did not find the IE8 to be any less detailed. I can attest to the more laid back sound of the IE8 and it is indeed a more subtly detailed phone, focusing more on the presentation as a whole rather than the details that make up the presentation. However, I didn't notice anymore details in the UM3X that I didn't hear with the IE8. I get the sense that if an earphone doesn't shove details in your face then its often labeled as un-detailed.

I won't dispute the fact that the IE8 are some bass heavy phones. However, I've often maintained that in my experience they sound better with a light seal. With a perfect seal the bass on the IE8 is too wet and the midbass becomes too intrusive for my liking. The way I wear the IE8 they actually have less bass quantity than the UM3X, believe it or not. Switching between these phones the IE8 doesn't sound veiled to me in comparison at all. Warmer?, yes and sometimes a bit too much.
Overall I preferred the more immersive and coherent sounding IE8. The UM3X had what I found to be an unnaturally forward mid range that after a while I couldn't tolerate. Different strokes for different folks definitely renders true here.

By the way the most overrated IEM I've listened to is honestly the W3. Nevertheless, I don't actually consider the W3 to be a bad sounding IEM, just overrated.

 

[Hentai11]

Quote:

Whoever says that RE0 is overrated are probably either not getting a good fit with it or do not understand what accurate sound is.

Only bad fit and ignorance can cause one to call the RE0s overrated? Seriously?

Let me note here that I own--and like--the RE0s. But if you haven't heard the steady fanboy wailing surrounding them, you're not paying attention.

"Overrated" implies disproportionate praise, and the RE0s have had more than their share.

I don't think the IE8s are overrated. Anyone who discusses them seriously mentions the ginormous midbass, then people take them or leave them from there. (I take them.)

 

[Bina]

Also for me is re0 slightly overrated, they are nice middle class of iems, same as phonak audeo, etymotic er4, q- jays and sennheiser ie7. I simply don't understand reviews, where somebody put them on top tier level.

 

[ShootingStars]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HONEYBOY /img/forum/go_quote.gif Whilst I agree that reviews here can often lead one to believe that IEMs can make fire come down from heaven ( I'm guilty of this at times). The same can be said about the UM3X. It was touted also as the best universal IEM bar none. I didn't find the ostensible qualities/improvements the UM3X offered over other IEMs like the IE8 to be as apparent as I was lead to believe. I bought both and compared them side by side. Though depth cues and instrument separation were conveyed a bit more convincingly with the UM3X I did not find the IE8 to be any less detailed. I can attest to the more laid back sound of the IE8 and it is indeed a more subtly detailed phone, focusing more on the presentation as a whole rather than the details that make up the presentation. However, I didn't notice anymore details in the UM3X that I didn't hear with the IE8. I get the sense that if an earphone doesn't shove details in your face then its often labeled as un-detailed. I won't dispute the fact that the IE8 are some bass heavy phones. However, I've often maintained that in my experience they sound better with a light seal. With a perfect seal the bass on the IE8 is too wet and the midbass becomes too intrusive for my liking. The way I wear the IE8 they actually have less bass quantity than the UM3X, believe it or not. Switching between these phones the IE8 doesn't sound veiled to me in comparison at all. Warmer?, yes. Overall I preferred the more immersive and coherent sounding IE8. The UM3X had what I found to be an unnaturally forward mid range that after a while I couldn't tolerate. Different strokes for different folks definitely renders true here. By the way the most overrated IEM I've listened to is honestly the W3. Nevertheless, I don't actually consider the W3 to be a bad sounding IEM, just overrated.

+2

 

[Pianist]

While RE0 is not perfect in all aspects, what it does well, it does extremely well. It has treble quality and extension unsurpassed by any other IEM I've heard so far and its tonal balance is near perfect. It sounds more natural than BA IEMs (IMO) and has comparable detail resolution and clarity. What it lacks is some depth and some sub-bass perhaps and also misses some micro-details compared to BAs and IE8, but nothing is perfect. In overall sound quality it beats every mid-level IEM I've heard so far, including q-jays, PFE, IE7, UM2 and Super.fi 5 Pro and also beats the high end universals in many ways too IMO. I also preferred it to ES3X.

I think the most overrated IEM is the PFE. To my ears it sounded overly bright and simplistic, severely lacking micro-detail. It made serious music sound childish.

 

[dj nellie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pianist /img/forum/go_quote.gif While RE0 is not perfect in all aspects, what it does well, it does extremely well.[...]In overall sound quality it beats every mid-level IEM I've heard so far, including q-jays, PFE, IE7, UM2 and Super.fi 5 Pro and also beats the high end universals in many ways too IMO. I also preferred it to ES3X.

Say whaaaa??!! If an $80 IEM is truly superior to an $850 custom, you just saved the world a ton of money. But I'm skeptical.

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dj nellie /img/forum/go_quote.gif Say whaaaa??!! If an $80 IEM is truly superior to an $850 custom, you just saved the world a ton of money. But I'm skeptical.

Like I said, I prefer RE0 to ES3X - that doesn't mean RE0 is actually technically superior. Technically, ES3X is more detailed, has better speed and clarity, better extension in the bass, larger soundstage and more precise imaging. But at the same time it sounded dry and analytical to my ears and not all that well balanced with a prominent forward midrange and bass and a recessed treble. By contrast RE0 is more balanced, more relaxed sounding, has a wetter, warmer midrange and a more prominent upper treble. I just find the RE0 presentation more musical, more natural than that of ES3X and that's why I prefer RE0. ES3X is great as a musician's monitor, but for casual music listening it just sounds a bit too technical IMO.

Oh and BTW, I thought ES3X had problems with dynamic range. It was surprisingly narrow for an $850 IEM. Maybe I got a defective pair who knows.