[LRY32]

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LRY32 if you take an apple, and then take another apple, and then reshell them, you won't have a sparkly shiny fresh apple, you'll just have more apples.

- haha nice analogy! what i was hoping to achieve was to sorta genetically mod them into something better...
 
no more j-phonic k2 for me, was thinking if i were to get something better, i would have to turn to customs

 

[Maxvla]

You can't really compare customs with full size pricewise until around $400 or higher. It costs a decent bit just to get your foot in the door with customs. At this price point and beyond, customs seem to compare very well if not favorably against full size headphones. For every person who says the LCD-2 beats or equals high end customs in the same or slightly higher price range, there's another person trying to compare with their $1800 PS1000s, $1400 HD800, $2800 ED10 and so on and finding the IEMs holding their ground quite well at a relative bargain.

 

[kiteki]

 
Quote:

- haha nice analogy! what i was hoping to achieve was to sorta genetically mod them into something better...
 
no more j-phonic k2 for me, was thinking if i were to get something better, i would have to turn to customs

Good choice, from my listening experience the much cheaper MDR-EX600 sounds better anyway.
 
I suggest you sell your SM3's and start custom hunting, I know I am! getting my impressions done on Thursday.
 
 

 

[dogears]

Customs hunting - woot!

 

[piotrus-g]

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Do you mean sparking treble of UM products is the best part of their frequency spectrum, or are you saying UM does treble sparkle best?
 

Both
UM has specyfic way of tuning highs in all of their produts, something I called "UM house sound". Highs are really extened and detailed but never fatiguinig
 
 

 

[kiteki]

I just spent an hour drawing a picture of how I want my custom IEM to look and then sent it off to a chinese e-mail address asking if they can do it.
 
Getting exciting now!  

 

[LRY32]

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Good choice, from my listening experience the much cheaper MDR-EX600 sounds better anyway.
 
I suggest you sell your SM3's and start custom hunting, I know I am! getting my impressions done on Thursday.
 
 

 


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Customs hunting - woot!

- haha don't get me too excited guys, i can get a pair of miracles, but it will leave be really broke, and my other half ain't going be too happy with my decision...

 

[dogears]

Have you thought of the design/artwork already?

 

[average_joe]

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Most people believe that Full size cans are better bang for buck, so you usually going to have $200 Universals Vs $200 Cans. In your opinions, at what ratio can customs compete with fullsize headphones?

 
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You can't really compare customs with full size pricewise until around $400 or higher. It costs a decent bit just to get your foot in the door with customs. At this price point and beyond, customs seem to compare very well if not favorably against full size headphones. For every person who says the LCD-2 beats or equals high end customs in the same or slightly higher price range, there's another person trying to compare with their $1800 PS1000s, $1400 HD800, $2800 ED10 and so on and finding the IEMs holding their ground quite well at a relative bargain.

The more expensive things become the closer they seem to become to each other technically.  I think the SA-5000 and K701 are close in overall technical performance to IEMs such as the SM3 and FX700 but the presentation is very very different and the strengths and weaknesses are also different.  The EX1000 is one IEM that has a very "headphone" presentation.  Moving up the scale the same is true but it depends on what your preferences are and some can approach each other.  IEMs typically have a better coherence from right to left, seeming more like a uniform presentation to my ears while headphones typically are more spacious and open.  
 
Comparing my LCD-2 with the SE 5-way the LCD-2 has a much more open sound but the 5-way presents quite a bit more micro-detail along with having, surprisingly, the capability to output more bass.  While the SA-43 is fairly close in soundstage size with an open feel (as is the EP-10 Plus), the LCD-2 is still more open with close to but not quite the level of detail as the SA-43.  Bu then the SA-43 sounds more coherent across my head, less like two point sources even though the LCD-2 is very good at imaging.  And it does take me some time to mentally adjust when going from headphones to my custom IEMs or vice versa due to the different presentation.
 
 
Quote:

Both
UM has specyfic way of tuning highs in all of their produts, something I called "UM house sound". Highs are really extened and detailed but never fatiguinig

 
The SE 5-way has treble sparkle and air that extends up to at least 20KHz (Grzegorz says 23KHz) with great resolution and lack of fatigue.  The Rooth LS8 has silky smooth treble that also extends up to 20KHz and is ruler flat in my ears (even though the chart shows different).  The JH16 has a sparkle and air, but it doesn't extend like the 5 way and the sparkle, air, and smoothness aren't on par with the two aforementioned customs.  I will  have demo units of the Merlin and Miracle to compare the treble, which should be similar to the real thing, at least in some respects.  Oh, and the Mi-3 treble is amazing, especially for the price!
 
What I am saying is until you hear them all I am not sure UM is "the best."
 
Quote:

Customs hunting - woot!

 
Quote:

I just spent an hour drawing a picture of how I want my custom IEM to look and then sent it off to a chinese e-mail address asking if they can do it.
 
Getting exciting now!  

Congrats!

 

[Hero Kid]

Not to ambush you or anything Joe but I am wondering if you could perhaps expand (with more recent experience) on this post.
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/556301/customs-that-best-matches-the-lcd2#post_7508188
 
I would very much so appreciate it.

 

[average_joe]

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Not to ambush you or anything Joe but I am wondering if you could perhaps expand (with more recent experience) on this post.
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/556301/customs-that-best-matches-the-lcd2#post_7508188
 
I would very much so appreciate it.

Here is my reply.
 

 

[lee730]

Thanks for you help average Joe. I am really leaning towards those Starkey 43. The Se-5 sounds nice as well but the smaller sound staging and extended highs may be too much for me. The Sony EX1000 already have to much treble for my taste so we'll see .

 

[Anaxilus]

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Thanks for you help average Joe. I am really leaning towards those Starkey 43. The Se-5 sounds nice as well but the smaller sound staging and extended highs may be too much for me. The Sony EX1000 already have to much treble for my taste so we'll see .

The problem w/ the Sony's treble isn't the extension it's the peak in the lower treble.  So that would have nothing to do w/ how you might hear the SE5 and how far they extend.  Extension and peaks are two different things.
 

 

[dogears]

hi ave joe, hope you can expound on Mi-3 vs EM3Pro comparo. I like mid-forward sound ü TIA!

 

[average_joe]

Quote:

Thanks for you help average Joe. I am really leaning towards those Starkey 43. The Se-5 sounds nice as well but the smaller sound staging and extended highs may be too much for me. The Sony EX1000 already have to much treble for my taste so we'll see .

 
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The problem w/ the Sony's treble isn't the extension it's the peak in the lower treble.  So that would have nothing to do w/ how you might hear the SE5 and how far they extend.  Extension and peaks are two different things.

Anaxilus nailed it, the Sony peaks in the lower treble and has roll off after that to my ears.  The SE 5-way has extended treble that is airy, but it doesn't sound bright like the EX1000, which also has a thinner note that leading to a different presentation.  Expanding on that, the LS8 has a huge peak in the upper mids (lower treble to some) but isn't harsh seemingly because of the note thickness, which is well sustained.  And the SE 5-way soundstage isn't really small, but just not the biggest, but the SA-43 is amazingly spacious to me (although still not on par with the LCD-2).  There are many great performers depending on what you value most in your sound.
 
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hi ave joe, hope you can expound on Mi-3 vs EM3Pro comparo. I like mid-forward sound ü TIA!

Both are mid forward, but the EM3 Pro puts you on stage and the Mi-3 puts you in the audience.  Both are extremely smooth and rich, although the EM3 Pro is richer.  The treble quality of the two is about the same but the Mi-3 treble has a better balance with the mids than the EM3 Pro.  The bass is vastly different between the two with the EM3 Pro being very warm and capable of outputting a lot of bass while the Mi-3 is a little on the lighter side on the bass as the bass driver is hard to push.  Technically the EM3 Pro does slightly edge the Mi-3 in most categories, however the Mi-3 has a little better clarity.  If you are OK with not having a bass monster and like a liquid, laid back sound the Mi-3 is a great option.