[proedros]

ask benny71 how he wears them without problems , once he is done putting them on their pedestal

 
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I just got a pair of RE252s in a temporary trade with a local head-fi'er. Impressions: the driver used in these things is absolutely incredible. In his review of them, kostalex notes that they are only slightly behind the $1000 Beyerdynamic T1 and have a similar overall sound. I would probably agree with him. However, all that great sound is ruined for me by the horrible fit - I just can't for the life of me get these things to stay in my ears and the bass, soundstage and isolation suffer a lot.

 

[Pianist]

Some more impressions on the RE252s: These sound really... weird. : \ The bass is super well defined and extremely detailed, but rather weak and lacking substance. The mids are probably the most accurate and revealing of any IEM I've heard. The treble is really soft sounding - there is a small peak in the lower treble region, but there is not even a hint of sibilance. For me the jury is still out on how accurate the treble is - on one hand all the detail is there, but on the other, it does not really reveal sibilance even if it is present on the recording. Sibilance is not a good thing of course, but an accurate headphone should still show it. Overall, I somehow get a feeling that the drivers in these IEMs of of insanely high quality, but something is seriously preventing them from sounding their best. It may be the fit, my crappy sources, the acoustic properties of the weird rubber housing... Whatever it is, I feel that it ruins what could've been an amazing sound. I got the same feeling with Shure SE530 BTW - insanely good drivers, but the fit was so horrible for me that I almost never really heard anything close to the sound that these IEMs are actually capable of producing.
 
So anyway, I am switching back to my q-jays for now - out of all IEMs I've heard so far, they are probably strike the best balance between sound and ergonomics.

 

[Icy56]

Thanks for the suggestions. Once i have the money i will be getting the Sunrise Xcape or the HJE900. One last question, since isolation is also a very big factor for me would getting the HJE900/Xcape and putting on triple flanged tips or foamies isolate almost/the same as the ety mc5?
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was going to go for the hje900 because of their praise and build quality but i just read this: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/521977/hifiman-re0-vs-panasonic-hje900-vs-nuforce-ne-7m-review and now i dont know what to choose. 

Not to imply anything I can't back up but that review is way too complimentary of the NE-7M based on what I heard out of them. They are good phones, no doubt, but quite a few of the details in that review don't work for me. If you want my opinion I'd say ignore that one and go with the HJE900 over the RE0. They won't be too similar to the M50s but should be way closer than the IE6 (which doesn't impress me much).  The Sunrise Xcape is another one you could  take a look at though it's quite bit dryer than the M50 tends to be and doesn't have the bass weight or sparkle of the M50.

 

[JoetheArachnid]

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Thanks for the suggestions. Once i have the money i will be getting the Sunrise Xcape or the HJE900. One last question, since isolation is also a very big factor for me would getting the HJE900/Xcape and putting on triple flanged tips or foamies isolate almost/the same as the ety mc5?

 
In short, no. The isolation of Etymotic IEMs is to do with the design of the monitors themsleves than the tips used, though obviously the tri-flanges help a bit. Otherwise Joker's isolation stat would have to be entirely based on stock tips and wouldn't have anything to do with the monitor at hand. I actually get less isolation from biflanges than from singles, but maybe I'm just weird.

 

[ljokerl]

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However, all that great sound is ruined for me by the horrible fit - I just can't for the life of me get these things to stay in my ears and the bass, soundstage and isolation suffer a lot.

Welcome to the club. I'm happy for those who can use the RE252 comfortably, I really am, but I can't and have never explicitly recommended them to anyone who wasn't already considering them because the fit is such a toss-up.
 

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Thanks for the suggestions. Once i have the money i will be getting the Sunrise Xcape or the HJE900. One last question, since isolation is also a very big factor for me would getting the HJE900/Xcape and putting on triple flanged tips or foamies isolate almost/the same as the ety mc5?

No, they still won't match the MC5. And you'll need really long ear canals to use tri-flanges with the HJE900 or Xcape. Honestly an isolation above 3/5 on my scale should be good enough for the daily commute unless maybe you take the subway or need to have total silence. 

 

[Icy56]

Oh, ok thanks for the reply. Wow I cant believe I completely forgot about the isolation part of his chart. I am really a noob at this.
 
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Thanks for the suggestions. Once i have the money i will be getting the Sunrise Xcape or the HJE900. One last question, since isolation is also a very big factor for me would getting the HJE900/Xcape and putting on triple flanged tips or foamies isolate almost/the same as the ety mc5?

 
In short, no. The isolation of Etymotic IEMs is to do with the design of the monitors themsleves than the tips used, though obviously the tri-flanges help a bit. Otherwise Joker's isolation stat would have to be entirely based on stock tips and wouldn't have anything to do with the monitor at hand. I actually get less isolation from biflanges than from singles, but maybe I'm just weird.

 

[Icy56]

 
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No, they still won't match the MC5. And you'll need really long ear canals to use tri-flanges with the HJE900 or Xcape. Honestly an isolation above 3/5 on my scale should be good enough for the daily commute unless maybe you take the subway or need to have total silence. 

Ok thanks for the reply, I just need total silence for when I am at home or in the library and it starts to get noisy i.e. people talking or tv blaring and I need to do my homework. I find it very hard to concentrate if I hear things around me and right now my ie6, earplugs, and m50s are not doing the job good enough. The isolation would really help for my daily commute too.
 
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Thanks for the suggestions. Once i have the money i will be getting the Sunrise Xcape or the HJE900. One last question, since isolation is also a very big factor for me would getting the HJE900/Xcape and putting on triple flanged tips or foamies isolate almost/the same as the ety mc5?

 
In short, no. The isolation of Etymotic IEMs is to do with the design of the monitors themsleves than the tips used, though obviously the tri-flanges help a bit. Otherwise Joker's isolation stat would have to be entirely based on stock tips and wouldn't have anything to do with the monitor at hand. I actually get less isolation from biflanges than from singles, but maybe I'm just weird.

Thanks for the reply, I cant believe I completely forgot about that portion of the chart. I am a complete noob at this.

 

[ljokerl]

Added Westone 1, 2, and 3. 

 

[izaku]

Wow, 3 IEM reviews in the row.
Now you mentioned more about SM3 and TF10.
Hopefully you are able to write the comparison in near future
 
headfiers must thank for your effort as usual. Many decisions are made from this review.

 

[Hero Kid]

Now that's a trifecta people have been waiting for. Well done!

 

[airwax]

Thanks for the reviews of the Westones Joker. I can safely say that I chose the right earphone for me with the W2. As an overall package, the W2 is pretty damn excellent.

 

[s0lar]

This thread really gets better every day!
I looked for the Sennheiser IE7, but the price is a bit higher then I hoped and not easy to get my hand on, so I ordered a RE0 from ampcity. Now I also ordered the mini3 diy kit and I am really curious about all of this. I have read about the foam-removal of the RE0, so I am interested about that as well.
Are there any other European forum members here that find it hard to find most of the good IEM's in the shops.
Of course you can always buy from the internet, but, there doesn't seem to be a choice. From what I have read the RE0 is a top IEM, I guess I won't need another after that.

 

[Kpalsm]

Thanks very much joker, for this huge comparison! Excuse my ignorance (I "searched" the thread, haven't read it) but have you listened to the UM2 yet, and if so, where would that fit? It's what I'm planning to buy. From what I've read, it seems it's hard to go wrong with those 

 

[Inks]

Nice reviews, also the IE8 should get updated on the chart with having phone capabilities now. 

 

[dfrost]

Joker,
 
The more I learn about IEMs, the more impressed I am with your ability to describe and compare them.