[ljokerl]

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I'm curious why accessories are given the same relative weight in the scoring as comfort, build quality, isolation, etc.  I mean, let's be realistic - I have half a dozen of the little earwax tools & clam-shell cases.  I also have lots of tips that I never plan on using because they don't fit or are uncomfortable.  I get that having multiple sizes of tips can be important - but I think that could simply be a small part of the "comfort" and "sound" categories - I wouldn't have it be a stand-alone metric.
 
Sorry - I know I'm being critical of what was clearly a HUGE amount of work.  I do appreciate your dedication to our hobby!

 
Legacy, mostly. When I started out every category had the same weight including sound. Over time the scale of the 'sound' score got more specific and I increased the weight of the category. I never bothered to change anything else. I've been meaning to halve the weight of the accessory score in the average but it hasn't been high on my priority list. Aside from 'boosting' things like the Phonak Perfect Bass the change really only modifies the order slightly.
 
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I think in case of the PFE232 that's easily justifiable, I've never seen a more complete accessory package with any IEM, tuning filters, replaceable inline mic/remote cable and all.
 
@Joker: thanks for another great review!

 
I don't think it's the 5/5 score that bob has an issue with but the weighting of the category in general. Agreed on the cable - AFAIK the 232 is the first IEM to include both a mic cable and a standard one, something portable headphone manufacturers have been doing for a while.
 
And thanks, much appreciated 

 
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dear ljokerl. i am going to purchase the Gr06. and have a question about its detail and clarity : is it very good or just good in its price range. and this GR06 is a bit sibilant or much sibilant ?
thank you very much for all of this

 
In its price range. The GR06 is not as clear and detailed as an RE0 or Sunrise Xcape but still above average for its price. The treble is a bit uneven, not as bad as a Klipsch S3/S4 or anything.
 
 
 
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Thanks again. I really get a good sense of character from your reviews.

 
Thanks 

 
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I don't think |Joker| uses the score for anything.  It's just a score, none of it is weighted.  If he did weight it equally, he would have some sort of overall score that averaged all of them.  I'm sure if he did this, he would not weight accessories as much.  I don't even score accessories.  I just state what it comes with

 
 
The only place where anything is calculated is the 'average' column of the table, and that's really only used for sorting.

 

[scootsit]

MY EARS CANNOT TAKE THE 8320 ANY LONGER!
I just returned from a trip to Mexico for work, during which, I spent over 12hrs on a bus. I figured this would be the perfect setting for my 8320. Indeed, it was for the right ear. But, oh the left ear! In order to get the nozzle a the correct angle to extend deep into my ear, I had to twist them far backwards, to the point that it was extremely painful. Also, upon getting a seal, the driver flex was so great that they would not play for an extended time. They are great IEMs, but not worth the price unless your ears are exactly the correct size and shape. I have, on occasion gotten a good fit, but it can take me about an hour to find it. I think it's time to trade in and trade up. Next up, probably the GR99. Unless anyone can suggest anything else.

 

[scootsit]

I actually am looking at the GR02. Has anyone compared the GR02 to the GR02 Bass Edition? They are different products.

 

[HBash]

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The EPH-100 is quicker and cleaner than the old Turbines - I think it'll be fine for what you're after. Would definitely recommend it for you over the Golds/Coppers. 

Thanks man, The EPH-100s are on the way now.

 

[planx]

WHEW! For some reason, I was hoping you would enjoy the PFE232 as much as I do! Been sold ever since I got it; still sold. Brilliant IEM!

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

MY EARS CANNOT TAKE THE 8320 ANY LONGER!
I just returned from a trip to Mexico for work, during which, I spent over 12hrs on a bus. I figured this would be the perfect setting for my 8320. Indeed, it was for the right ear. But, oh the left ear! In order to get the nozzle a the correct angle to extend deep into my ear, I had to twist them far backwards, to the point that it was extremely painful. Also, upon getting a seal, the driver flex was so great that they would not play for an extended time. They are great IEMs, but not worth the price unless your ears are exactly the correct size and shape. I have, on occasion gotten a good fit, but it can take me about an hour to find it. I think it's time to trade in and trade up. Next up, probably the GR99. Unless anyone can suggest anything else.

 
I've had a different problem in addition to fit issues... after a while the sheath on my 8320 cable has started splitting in places. 
 
I think you'll be happy with the GR02 Bass Edition as long as you don't mind heavily enhanced bass and a more v-shaped sound overall compared to the Monoprice. 
 
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Thanks man, The EPH-100s are on the way now.

 
Enjoy!
 
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WHEW! For some reason, I was hoping you would enjoy the PFE232 as much as I do! Been sold ever since I got it; still sold. Brilliant IEM!

 

. Not my preferred signature but certainly a solid IEM either way.

 

[scootsit]

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I've had a different problem in addition to fit issues... after a while the sheath on my 8320 cable has started splitting in places. 
 
I think you'll be happy with the GR02 Bass Edition as long as you don't mind heavily enhanced bass and a more v-shaped sound overall compared to the Monoprice. 

It's not really my preference, but it seems to be about the best bet in the under $40 price range. I've also heard that the non-bass-edition has just as much bass, but sounds worse. I'm thinking bass edition it is, unless you have another suggestion, which I think I asked some time ago and the answer was pretty much a resounding not really.

 

[ljokerl]

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It's not really my preference, but it seems to be about the best bet in the under $40 price range. I've also heard that the non-bass-edition has just as much bass, but sounds worse. I'm thinking bass edition it is, unless you have another suggestion, which I think I asked some time ago and the answer was pretty much a resounding not really.

 
Not going to matter how great it is if you dislike the sound signature - if that's the case it would probably be worth it to get something worse but with a more balanced signature that you'll like, like a MEElec CW31, Soundmagic E30, Maximo iM-590, or Xears XR120. Or you could hunt for a used RE0 or Ety MC5 (or even check out the EtyKids).

 

[scootsit]

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Not going to matter how great it is if you dislike the sound signature - if that's the case it would probably be worth it to get something worse but with a more balanced signature that you'll like, like a MEElec CW31, Soundmagic E30, Maximo iM-590, or Xears XR120. Or you could hunt for a used RE0 or Ety MC5 (or even check out the EtyKids).

I'll take a look, thanks!

 

[Trollra]

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Bad unit, bad fit, bad something else. Shouldn't be a fake, though. I thought they were discontinued anyway...

the M4 are not discontinued, they just ran out after the initial batch, just like with the ProAlpha's and others when they first came out.

was kinda surprised you havent reviewed the M4's.

One tip for anybody who gets the Brainwavz M4, the stock wide nozel tips SUCK HORRIBLY, use Hybrid style tips or the Comply tips that come with them.

They also work well with multi flange tips from meelec(m6 tips work well in my testing) 

saw somebody asking about monster, if your going to buy referbs, ALWAYS put a square trade on them, ALWAYS , buy via their ebay store, toss a 3 year on them at checkout and your covered,  never trust that they will have properly tested referbs either, it took me 2 returns to get a proper set of orignal turbines......if your looking at orignal turbines, take a pass and buy either brainwavz proalpha's or m2's, their built quality and support are better then monsters(monster support SUCKS....rma turn around was slower then shipping to HK and waiting for a replacement from mp4nation....and monster is on the same coast as i am....shouldnt have taken that long....

well thanks for the reviews joker, Honestly, yours is the first place I send people looking for IEM reviews and comparisons.  I got radiopaq rock and jazz on the way at the moment, a buddy in the UK got me a set of each since they are on sale for under 10pounds each at the moment on amazon.co.uk

 

[Joe Bloggs]

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Not going to matter how great it is if you dislike the sound signature - if that's the case it would probably be worth it to get something worse but with a more balanced signature that you'll like, like a MEElec CW31, Soundmagic E30, Maximo iM-590, or Xears XR120. Or you could hunt for a used RE0 or Ety MC5 (or even check out the EtyKids).

 
This.  I've tuned the SHE3580 to my liking with parametric EQ to such finesse that when I went to audition high-end IEMs yesterday, and listened to such heavyweights as the UM3X, XBA-3, IE80 and JVC FXD80, none of them impressed me much at all.  The XBA-3 came closest but even there I felt its timbre on vocals was off compared to my EQed SHE3580.
 
I try to compare what I hear through phones with my memory of how sounds I hear in the natural environment sound like, and I still think the SHE3580 with EQ comes closest to reality.
 
ljokerl, I get that you try to rate headphones in sound without letting your bias for sound signature get in the way.  How do you do it??? For example you said the UM3X has not enough treble sparkle for cymbals to sound realistic.  I hear that in the UM3X, and it just sounded low-fi, muffled with bloated midbass to me!  Yet you ranked it 9.2! (somewhere above 9 anyway)  What did you hear in it that made you think "yes, it's worth 9.2 even though I don't quite like what I hear"?  Even if you go by technical measurements there's not much in it between mid-fi and hi-fi phones in terms of stuff like THD...

 

[suman134]

bro , just wait and keep your earphones on , in 4-5 years you will be craving for the treble spark , those for ward mids as you will be faded up with the bass , will search for those symbols , and believe me , and xba-3 , wait for my review of those mid range fighters .
 

 

[Joe Bloggs]

I do crave the treble spark that's why i say the um3x sounds muffled. I also eq the bass of the SHE3580 way down (among many, many other tweaks) and then the midrange really comes alive. Actually I feel that the XBA-3 is still missing a bit in the 1-2kHz midrange, when I bumped it up a bit in EQ vocals sounded more realistic in timbre.

 

[suman134]

thats nice man , if you dont mind would you share your eq , i would like to try . i use cowon j3 and some times color fly dec , j3 goes like 3, 4 , 6 , 7 , 7 at freqs 80 , 220 , 1.4 , 4.1 and 13k . do you use rockbox ? i used to use with my sansa clip with that custom rom .
 

 

[psygeist]

@joe bloggs
Westone 4, listen to these or ATH CK100. FAD FI-BA-SB too.