[ljokerl]

 
Quote:

Joker,
I'm deciding on which to buy, the SoundMagic E30 and PL50, how do they compare to each other?

The PL50 is better if you want a warmer, more mid-centric sound with a thicker/more viscous presentation and great overall refinement. The E30 has better range, more bass quantity, a more neutral tone, and an airier, more open sound
 


Quote:

Jumping in with another recommendation request...
Hi Joker,
I'm looking for a full-size or portable equivalent to the HiFiMAN RE-262. There was a lack of recommendations in all 4 places I asked this and I'm fairly certain the advice I did get was 2nd hand or inferred from reading others' reviews. Could you recommend something? Keep in mind I'll (likely) be able to try before I buy!
Budget: $100-$500 (maybe used?)
Use: office cubicle -- closed preferred but could be open if small (ala Koss PortaPro). I'm mostly concerned with sound leak, not isolation.
From mvw2's 262 review, key attributes for me:
- detailed
- great clarity / transparency
- mid-centric
- non-fatiguing, sweet treble
- highly dynamic
I would like to make this an upgrade more than a side-grade, although I get the impression that the 262 is very unique IEM and in some areas, it is the best at what it does. Being a portable / full-size newbie, I really need your help in narrowing down my search. Even a brand recommendation would help a lot! From the RE-262's sound, I could stand to have a touch more bass quantity, and a tiny bit brighter presentation overall (trade a tiny amount of mids for highs?).
I was recommended the HE-300 (open) and the ESW9 in other threads. I was also going to revisit the HD598 which I liked for the 10 minutes I listened to it... it certainly didn't have a huge impact on me... Sennheisers generally don't.
Help please?

You're probably asking the wrong person - I've owned maybe 10 higher-end full-size headphones in all of my time here. Having tried several hundred portables and IEMs makes it acutely obvious how woefully inadequate that is to make a proper recommendation (I don't recommend anything based on reading, partly because I don't have the time to do any these days). Out of what I've heard the HD580/HD600 reminds me most of the RE262, followed maybe by the K601. I easily prefer the HD600 to the HD598 when driven properly but if you found the HD598 boring, maybe the HD600 isn't the best option out there.

 

[TheElf]

Hi all,
 
I'm looking for advice regarding a new set of IEMs to replace my ageing Sony EX76s, which have recently developed a faulty connection to the right earbud.
 
With a budget of ~£25, I narrowed my choices down to the Soundmagic PL11+ or the MEElectronics MP21 and posted in the "IEM buying advice" thread. Here, it was recommended to me to consider the DUNU-12 Tridents and Soundmagic E10s for higher sound quality, as per joker's reviews.
 
I then found the Brainwavz M2s (seemingly highly recommended by Head-Fiers) at a very reasonable price and was about to pull the trigger when I read a post over in the HardwareZone forums which suggests that the M2s are "terribly bassy".
 
Given that the majority of the time I'm listening to drum and bass, I suspect this might not be such a bad thing… what would your opinion be? Of the headphones I've mentioned, which do you think would be the best choice for me?
 
These IEMs will be used either with my iPod touch (4G) or my 2007 iMac. I also like to listen to the occasional spoken word podcast.
 
Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance for any advice

 

[Kibble Fat]

Joker -- Thanks for the input! Yeah, Sennheisers are usually too dark for my taste, HD600 included. I haven't heard the 601 so that's going on my "to try" list.

I suppose I'll just have to bump my own thread periodically or give up on my search and just try a different sound. Also, thanks for the great IEM reveiws! They lead to my purchase of the RE-Zero two years ago and the RE-262 last August

Cheers!

 

[JustSound]

Hi Joker, this is my first post on head-fi... Though, I have been looking around for quite a while..
I see you do not like the Crossfade LP... But, nowadays it is easily found for $100 dollars. 
How is the value at $100? Does it at least top something like the XB500 or the 700, despite the price range?
 
Thanks, it really surprises me how much work you put into this excellent thread... 

 

[bboytymee]

Hey Joker or anyone who's ever tried the ATH-CKS77. Do you know how it compares to the Atrios MG7? Im a bass monster so I want something with earthquake like bass.

 

[ljokerl]

 
Quote:

Hi all,
 
I'm looking for advice regarding a new set of IEMs to replace my ageing Sony EX76s, which have recently developed a faulty connection to the right earbud.
 
With a budget of ~£25, I narrowed my choices down to the Soundmagic PL11+ or the MEElectronics MP21 and posted in the "IEM buying advice" thread. Here, it was recommended to me to consider the DUNU-12 Tridents and Soundmagic E10s for higher sound quality, as per joker's reviews.
 
I then found the Brainwavz M2s (seemingly highly recommended by Head-Fiers) at a very reasonable price and was about to pull the trigger when I read a post over in the HardwareZone forums which suggests that the M2s are "terribly bassy".
 
Given that the majority of the time I'm listening to drum and bass, I suspect this might not be such a bad thing… what would your opinion be? Of the headphones I've mentioned, which do you think would be the best choice for me?
 
These IEMs will be used either with my iPod touch (4G) or my 2007 iMac. I also like to listen to the occasional spoken word podcast.
 
Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance for any advice

The M2 is definitely bassy but far from 'terribly bassy'. That would be something like a MEElec M31 or Sony XB40EX. I think the M2s are a safe choice and a great value at that price.


Quote:

Joker -- Thanks for the input! Yeah, Sennheisers are usually too dark for my taste, HD600 included. I haven't heard the 601 so that's going on my "to try" list.

I suppose I'll just have to bump my own thread periodically or give up on my search and just try a different sound. Also, thanks for the great IEM reveiws! They lead to my purchase of the RE-Zero two years ago and the RE-262 last August
Cheers!

I normally like a brighter sound as well but the HD580/HD600, when properly amped, simply work. I will probably end up letting go of my K701 and keeping just my HD580 and K601 in the long run in addition to all of my closed cans.
 
Glad the IEM reviews have helped!


Quote:

Hi Joker, this is my first post on head-fi... Though, I have been looking around for quite a while..
I see you do not like the Crossfade LP... But, nowadays it is easily found for $100 dollars. 
How is the value at $100? Does it at least top something like the XB500 or the 700, despite the price range?
 
Thanks, it really surprises me how much work you put into this excellent thread... 

The XB500 should be closer to $50, otherwise sure - the Crossfade can compete with it. The XB700 is an interesting one as technically I think it is better than both the Crossfade and the XB500 but it's a bit less warm and not as mid-bassy so it may not appeal to bass lovers as much as the Crossfade/XB500. There was a $100 deal on the D1100 posted in the deal thread recently if you're looking for a great circumaural basshead set in that price range.
 

 

[Niyologist]

Quote:

Hey Joker or anyone who's ever tried the ATH-CKS77. Do you know how it compares to the Atrios MG7? Im a bass monster so I want something with earthquake like bass.

     What's your budget?
     Also, J&R sells the Monster Turbine Gold for $179.99
     Or the JVC FX-500 is something you want instead of the CKS77.
     If you care about better detail retrieval than the MG7, the the FX500 or JVC HA-FXT90 are the best choices.

 

[TheElf]

Thank you so much joker,
 
Just placed my order All I really needed was someone to nudge me in the right direction!

 

[jarrett]

I got the E30 for fun. It definitely has a low-fi sound signature to me. Mids and bass oriented, neutral, not superbly clean or clear, detail is not bad. For me I wish I could EQ the bass down further. There are some prominent bass/mid bass frequencies which tend to always be prominent and exaggerate that frequency range a bit much for my liking (bleed?) [Nick Drake tracks for example and acoustic World Music...should sound articulate and clear throughout a spectrum]. Treble is laid back in the presentation as mentioned before. I'm making these comments with basically no burn-in. I burned them in overnight now and should have up to 20 hours of time on them. Do the E30 change? Maybe it's just the headphones I am coming from, but the reviews have been a little too positive.

 

[Turfie]

Thank you so much for this extended review, amazing!
 
I got the Sennheiser IE80's
i was looking into the westone line primarily but by lack of distribution in my country i decided on the senns.
I sure hope the isolation isn't that mediocre as you stated, we'll see

 

[Niyologist]

First Impressions: In the first 2 hours, the FXT90 sounds very thick, but it seriously started to thin out a bit, making the details more transparent. The bass is rumbling, yet detail and doesn't mess with the midrange at all. No Bass Bleed to speak of and the sound is going through a serious change. I'm just totally impressed of the dynamics and the instrument separation. The timbre is just starting to get good and it'll only get better from here on out. The treble is impressive with the detail, sparkle and extension. Treble heads should not be disappointed of at least 12 hours of burn-in. What's really awesome about this IEM is how very engaging it is. Despite the slightly above average width and well above average depth, it's still engaging and even very revealing. I heard so many things with the FXT90 I never heard before. I'm keeping these. I'll have more info after 12 hours of burn-in.

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

I got the E30 for fun. It definitely has a low-fi sound signature to me. Mids and bass oriented, neutral, not superbly clean or clear, detail is not bad. For me I wish I could EQ the bass down further. There are some prominent bass/mid bass frequencies which tend to always be prominent and exaggerate that frequency range a bit too much for my liking (bleed?) [Nick Drake tracks for example and acoustic World Music...should sound articulate and clear throughout a spectrum]. Treble is laid back in the presentation as mentioned before. I'm making these comments with basically no burn-in. I burned them in overnight now and should have up to 15 hours of time on them. Do the E30 change? Maybe it's just the headphones I am coming from, but the reviews have been a little too positive.

Not sure, I don't have time to listen to anything pre burn-in these days.
 


Quote:

Thank you so much for this extended review, amazing!
 
I got the Sennheiser IE80's
i was looking into the westone line primarily but by lack of distribution in my country i decided on the senns.
I sure hope the isolation isn't that mediocre as you stated, we'll see

It's not bad with longer tips but I thought they sounded best with a shallow fit so it's a bit of an either-or type deal.

 

[tseliottt]

Recommendation for IEMs that are basically ER4Ps with more bass?
 
I have ER4Ps and I love their presentation.
I love how you can pick apart instruments and easily separate the snare from the kick from the high hat.
I love how "holographic" everything is, and how you can hear that the strings are in the far right corner of the room and the vocalist is right in front of you.
I love how you can hear every detail like the coarseness of a singers voice.
I love how a track that's sibilant on my D2000s aren't sibilant on the Etys, yet they certainly have sparkle.
I love how real everything sounds.
I just don't like that they're bass light.
 
I also have Atrio's which I thought would replace my Ety's. They have the bass I love, but the presentation is more smashed together. It's harder to separate sounds, and everything seems sort of smeared together. So I've been reverting to my Ety's lately.
 
Can you suggest a couple of IEMs that have the same presentation and sound signature as the ER4s, but with more bass?
 
 

 

[WaLaoEh]

Hey joker, how does the Creative Aurvana 3 compare to the GR07? I have my GR07s, and am hoping to upgrade. Does it have better clarity,separation, and lesser / no sibilance? 

 

[ljokerl]

 
Quote:

Recommendation for IEMs that are basically ER4Ps with more bass?
 
I have ER4Ps and I love their presentation.
I love how you can pick apart instruments and easily separate the snare from the kick from the high hat.
I love how "holographic" everything is, and how you can hear that the strings are in the far right corner of the room and the vocalist is right in front of you.
I love how you can hear every detail like the coarseness of a singers voice.
I love how a track that's sibilant on my D2000s aren't sibilant on the Etys, yet they certainly have sparkle.
I love how real everything sounds.
I just don't like that they're bass light.
 
I also have Atrio's which I thought would replace my Ety's. They have the bass I love, but the presentation is more smashed together. It's harder to separate sounds, and everything seems sort of smeared together. So I've been reverting to my Ety's lately.
 
Can you suggest a couple of IEMs that have the same presentation and sound signature as the ER4s, but with more bass?
 
 

 
K2 SP is probably closest except in presentation where it is more forward/aggressive than the ER4S (I've never heard the ER4P). It's got plenty of bass compared to Etys and top shelf clarity/detail/separation. It also images better in 3D but again coming from Etys might sound too forward, at least at first. 
 
The ACS T15 is another option. It is quite close in performance to my ER4S but has a signature tilted a bit more towards the bottom and away from the top. The difference might not be as great as you would want coming from a D2000, though.
 
Aside from that there are a number of sets that differ in key ways from Etys but are still worth checking out IMO - the Westone 2, Ortofon e-Q5, MDR-EX1000, or - if you want even more bass (which it seems like you might) - the Westone UM3X. The UM3X is quite a lot warmer than the Etys and like the K2 SP has a more intimate presentation but the separation is stellar and it images rather well. No sibilance and excellent center image ability for that 'vocalist front and center' feel.


Quote:

Hey joker, how does the Creative Aurvana 3 compare to the GR07? I have my GR07s, and am hoping to upgrade. Does it have better clarity,separation, and lesser / no sibilance? 

 
Worse clarity, worse separation, but definitely lesser/no sibilance. I don't think the Aurvana 3 is a top-tier IEM or an upgrade to the GR07 but if sibilance is an issue with the VSonics, it might work better for you.