[ljokerl]

Quote:

hi ljokerl! can you give me a quick comparison between Soundmagic E10 and philips she3580?
which one is more suitable for rock?
which one has less bass quantity and more mid?
 
thanks

 
 
Sure, just took a quick listen to the Doolittle by the Pixies with both and I think it's a very close call depending on what you want. The E10 has less recessed mids and a more spacious presentation but the bass of the Philips is tighter and extends deeper and overall clarity is slightly better. Bass impact is pretty similar, the E10 is just softer-sounding while the SHE3580 is tighter. 
 
 
Quote:

I'm curious to hear what your thoughts are when comparing the JVC-HAFXT90, Yamaha EPH-100, Sony MDR-EX600, Vsonic Gr07 mk2, and for fun I'll toss in the Sony XB90EX and Brainwavz M5.
 
If you have heard any of the above, I'd like your input. They are on my short list of iems to purchase for my upcoming birthday. If you haven't guessed, the kind of sound I am looking for is excellent subbass and bass presence with non-recessed mids. (For bass, subbbass >= midbass is my taste)
 
If any of the above happen to have fantastic treble in addition, then that makes them a more likely purchase. Factors I am also considering include detail and soundstage.
Recommendations are also welcome.
 
Thanks in advance.
 
And if you happen to know a mic'd iem with the sound of the one you recommend out of those, I'd like to know as well.

 
I haven't heard the XB90EX and the M5 isn't really on-par with those other ones. I haven't heard the VSonic GR07 mkII, either. There are extensive comparisons to the GR07 mkI in the FXT90, EPH-100, and EX600 reviews on the front page of this thread. The GR07 is pretty balanced with good bass extension. Not as bass-heavy as the FXT90 or EPH-100 so if you're looking for enhanced bass go for one of those. Neither has recessed mids.
 
Mic'd IEMs - there's not a whole lot of them in the upper tiers and you usually end up paying more for the same level of performance - see the Monster Miles Davis Trumpet, for example. 

 

[scootsit]

Quote:

Sure, just took a quick listen to the Doolittle by the Pixies with both and I think it's a very close call depending on what you want. The E10 has less recessed mids and a more spacious presentation but the bass of the Philips is tighter and extends deeper and overall clarity is slightly better. Bass impact is pretty similar, the E10 is just softer-sounding while the SHE3580 is tighter. 
 

That is one of my favorite records. I saw them last year and they played the entire records, it was amazing. So, I'm going to meander if you don't mind. What set-up that you've heard make the Pixies sound the best (full-size or IEM)?

 

[Techno Kid]

Hey Joker I don't know if someone has asked this but I'm just wondering when the R-50 review might be posted?  I'm really looking forward to what you have to say about them and if they score what I think they will.

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

That is one of my favorite records. I saw them last year and they played the entire records, it was amazing. So, I'm going to meander if you don't mind. What set-up that you've heard make the Pixies sound the best (full-size or IEM)?

 
Yes, used it for this test because it's one of my essential rock albums and I've wanted an excuse to listen to it for a while. 
 
Would it be considered cheating if I said "UM Miracle"? If we discard customs, I would pick something with a transparent, raw type of sound and level bass. A GR07 or Sony EX1000, for example, or something flat and armature-based, such as an Ety or Ficher DBA-02. My signature preferences don't really change much with music genre but especially in this case I think an overly warm, smooth sound would ruin the magic of the record for me. 
 
Quote:

Hey Joker I don't know if someone has asked this but I'm just wondering when the R-50 review might be posted?  I'm really looking forward to what you have to say about them and if they score what I think they will.

 
It's in the queue but pretty far down because I had to get my unit exchanged. They are very good and a great value at $120, I'll say that much. 

 

[scootsit]

Quote:

Quote:

That is one of my favorite records. I saw them last year and they played the entire records, it was amazing. So, I'm going to meander if you don't mind. What set-up that you've heard make the Pixies sound the best (full-size or IEM)?

 
Yes, used it for this test because it's one of my essential rock albums and I've wanted an excuse to listen to it for a while. 
 
Would it be considered cheating if I said "UM Miracle"? If we discard customs, I would pick something with a transparent, raw type of sound and level bass. A GR07 or Sony EX1000, for example, or something flat and armature-based, such as an Ety or Ficher DBA-02. My signature preferences don't really change much with music genre but especially in this case I think an overly warm, smooth sound would ruin the magic of the record for me. 

Agree entirely, I pretty much came to love the Grado sound on the Pixies and Sonic Youth (among many others, but those are up there).

 

[Doc-holliday]

Subscribed

 

[Bola 7]

Quote:

 
 
It would be pretty close between the DBA/CK10, EX1000, and PFE 232 - they are all very crisp-sounding. Tempted to say DBA-02 mkII but you'd have to A:B between them listening specifically for that. The SM3 would have the most smoothed-over response for sure.

 
 
Excuse me, Joker. Forsooth, I wanted to tell resolution, not definition. Thus, which IEM have best resolution: SM3, EX1000, W4, PFE 232, CK10 or DBA-02 MKII?
 
Thanks again!

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

 
 
Excuse me, Joker. Forsooth, I wanted to tell resolution, not definition. Thus, which IEM have best resolution: SM3, EX1000, W4, PFE 232, CK10 or DBA-02 MKII?
 
Thanks again!

 
You'd have a harder time figuring that out between a bunch of top-tier IEMs and picking one based on that criterion. FWIR all of these are very, very resolving - they just differ in how they present the musical nuances.

 

[heart banger-97]

Quote:

 
 
Sure, just took a quick listen to the Doolittle by the Pixies with both and I think it's a very close call depending on what you want. The E10 has less recessed mids and a more spacious presentation but the bass of the Philips is tighter and extends deeper and overall clarity is slightly better. Bass impact is pretty similar, the E10 is just softer-sounding while the SHE3580 is tighter. 

 
thanks allot , recently I see E30 in my country too. so what's about that? can you give me a comparison between E30 and E10 or SHE3580.
 
here is my first post:
 
Quote:

hi ljokerl! can you give me a quick comparison between Soundmagic E10 and philips she3580?
which one is more suitable for rock?
which one has less bass quantity and more mid?
 
thanks

 

[suman134]

Quote:

 
thanks allot , recently I see E30 in my country too. so what's about that? can you give me a comparison between E30 and E10 or SHE3580.
 
here is my first post:
 

 
       if you are not bothered about treble spark , go for e30 , has lesser bass and more mids . but will go over ear . she3580 has excessive microphonics and gets annoying . if you wanna go cheap she3580 will do good .

 

[sphinxvc]

Got a UM3X.  My ears are still in line with Joker's, as I find the review on them similar to what I hear.
 
One weird thing I have noticed is: how terrible the UM3X is off the Zodiac.  Off my iPhone 4S, they're great.  On the Zodiac, I can't take more than a few minutes.  It's impressive that they're wideband enough to actually change between the two, but it's also annoying.  The Zodiac shows the midrange to be especially overwhelming.  My theory is that the Zodiac does a better job resolving spatial cues and places the vocalist front and center depth-wise.  Most recordings are this way, and it comes off correct on speakers or headphones that can do depth, ie. HD800, HE-6, etc.  But on the UM3X, the presentation area is relatively small, and so all this depth and spatial information is truncated to nothing but a massive midrange bump.
 
Anyway, as far as comfort goes, sound, etc, this is one purchase that I don't regret.  It took a LOT of tip rolling to find tips that didn't make things too warm, liquidey, gooey, and treble recessed, but it was well worth it in the end.

 

[jarrett]

R-50 will be next? Can't wait to read about them 

 

[Tirus]

I don't know any audio terminology so bare with me. I've been using Bose IE2 headphones for about a year now but I'm not really satisfied with them. Vocals and instruments seem to get drowned out during band jams and choruses. What sort of headphones under $300 should I be looking at to fix this? I'm leaning toward GR07 headphones since those have a lot of good reviews.
 
Also, years ago I used to have some cheap Sony MDR-A35G headphones that made vocals sound like they were being sung live directly into my ear compared to sort of a distant tinny sound most other headphones have. I don't know if that was due to isolation or what but it was amazing and I'd like to have that back.

 

 

[walkman_heart]

joker thanks for your advice, i've already auditioned akg3003 coming from tf10(with white angel cables) and fx500 it really blown me away

 
my impressions of akg3003 using walkman z1000 with stock player are:
 

1. price is too steep for price and performance ratio
   
2. everything is clear and clean it's like a mixture of fx500 and tf10(with white angel cables)
3. very good highs and well extended, clear mids, very good bass in quality and quantity, good timbre and almost same soundstage as fx500
   

 
still might go to miracle ciem which i think have better price and performance ratio (but not yet auditioned) while still saving up for it,
 
i'm planning to buy orthofon eq-5, do you think is it step-up coming from tf10(with white angel cables) and fx500?
 
just can't tolerate metallic tinge of tf10 and recessed mids of fx500

your recommendation is highly appreciated

 
thank you sooo much,

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

 
thanks allot , recently I see E30 in my country too. so what's about that? can you give me a comparison between E30 and E10 or SHE3580.
 
here is my first post:
 

 
The E30 is quite similar to the E10, just less v-shaped with more balanced between midrange and bass, and less treble sparkle. I don't know if I would pick it over the SHE3580 either.
 
Regarding microphonics, the SHE3580 is pretty bad unless worn over-the-ear. You could even get some of those silicone cable guides to help keep the cable in place. 
 
Quote:

Got a UM3X.  My ears are still in line with Joker's, as I find the review on them similar to what I hear.
 
One weird thing I have noticed is: how terrible the UM3X is off the Zodiac.  Off my iPhone 4S, they're great.  On the Zodiac, I can't take more than a few minutes.  It's impressive that they're wideband enough to actually change between the two, but it's also annoying.  The Zodiac shows the midrange to be especially overwhelming.  My theory is that the Zodiac does a better job resolving spatial cues and places the vocalist front and center depth-wise.  Most recordings are this way, and it comes off correct on speakers or headphones that can do depth, ie. HD800, HE-6, etc.  But on the UM3X, the presentation area is relatively small, and so all this depth and spatial information is truncated to nothing but a massive midrange bump.
 
Anyway, as far as comfort goes, sound, etc, this is one purchase that I don't regret.  It took a LOT of tip rolling to find tips that didn't make things too warm, liquidey, gooey, and treble recessed, but it was well worth it in the end.

 
What's the output impedance of the Zodiac? You really don't want a high output impedance for a BA monitor such as the UM3X. 
 
Quote:

R-50 will be next? Can't wait to read about them 

 
Definitely not next, there's a number of things ahead of them in queue including some heavy hitters.
 
Quote:

I don't know any audio terminology so bare with me. I've been using Bose IE2 headphones for about a year now but I'm not really satisfied with them. Vocals and instruments seem to get drowned out during band jams and choruses. What sort of headphones under $300 should I be looking at to fix this? I'm leaning toward GR07 headphones since those have a lot of good reviews.
 
Also, years ago I used to have some cheap Sony MDR-A35G headphones that made vocals sound like they were being sung live directly into my ear compared to sort of a distant tinny sound most other headphones have. I don't know if that was due to isolation or what but it was amazing and I'd like to have that back.

 
The GR07 is nicely balanced and resolving but it's not a forward-sounding earphone. An old Sony and a Bose in-ear may not be good enough data points for determining the type of sound you like - an earphone doesn't have to be forward-sounding in order to give you great vocal clarity and intelligibility but chances are neither the Bose nor the Sony can showcase that. If you do want your vocals forward and intimate you may want to go for a JVC FXT90 over the GR07, or one of the higher-end BA monitors such as the Final Audio FI-BA-SA.
 
Quote:

joker thanks for your advice, i've already auditioned akg3003 coming from tf10(with white angel cables) and fx500 it really blown me away

 
my impressions of akg3003 using walkman z1000 with stock player are:
 

1. price is too steep for price and performance ratio
   
2. everything is clear and clean it's like a mixture of fx500 and tf10(with white angel cables)
3. very good highs and well extended, clear mids, very good bass in quality and quantity, good timbre and almost same soundstage as fx500
   

 
still might go to miracle ciem which i think have better price and performance ratio (but not yet auditioned) while still saving up for it,
 
i'm planning to buy orthofon eq-5, do you think is it step-up coming from tf10(with white angel cables) and fx500?
 
just can't tolerate metallic tinge of tf10 and recessed mids of fx500

your recommendation is highly appreciated

 
thank you sooo much,

 
I only have a stock TF10. The e-Q5 is a more balanced than that and than the FX500 as well. Definitely no recessed mids there. It's actually still one of the most 'pleasant' earphones I've heard, maybe not the best at anything but so refined and relaxed that wanted to listen to it instead of reviewing it.