[jant71]

Hope he does have an AX7 as I'm am interested in the AX9 so the AX7 is a good starting point to gauge/guesstimate the adding of the dynamic in to the mix.
 
Not less bright than the R-50, hmmm. But there are the two nozzles and they have different filters in them right? So, I'm thinking one should be brighter and one attenuating the treble a bit.

 

[ljokerl]

Finally had a chance to work on the table. Isolation scores have been fixed with 5/5 as the maximum instead of 5.5/5. Additionally, the accessory score now has half the weight of the other categories. Have been meaning to do that for a while. The "i" column also now has the number of buttons on the remote for those earphones that have remotes. 3-button remotes have the Apple iDevice volume controls on them. 
 
 
Quote:

(000) Short Take: Comparison by numbers

To summarize, I've taken all of the data and calculated numerical averages of all of the scores for each earphone. 
 
The accessory score now has half the weight of the others. The 'i' column denotes earphones with an available (optional or otherwise) in-line microphone for use with smartphones and other devices. Single-button remotes for Apple, Anrdroid, Windows, and other smart devices are denoted with a "1". Three-button remotes with Apple volume controls are denoted with a "3".
 
A fully sortable version of this table can be found here (work in progress).
 

* Denotes custom-fit monitors
** Price in USD at time of review

This table is meant to only be used as a quick reference guide in the context of the review. The numbers are meaningless unless you know the reasoning behind them. I am sure most other reviewers will agree - no matter how high of a rating, in sound or value, we give to a particular product, always place your own personal preferences first. I cannot stress this enough - sound is a subjective thing and we all have our preferences. I try to be as objective as possible, but complete objectivity is completely impossible, so take the numbers with a grain of salt and read the text!
 
 
[size=small](001) Downloadable table[/size]
 
For anyone curious to play around with the data, a fully sortable version of this table can be found here (work in progress).
 
A spreadsheet with variable weighting (last updated 09/19/2012) can be downloaded here, courtesy of carfentanil. The document now contains data from my portable headphone thread as well as this thread. 
 

 
Quote:

joker, you got the AX7?

 
Yes, though my pair has a channel imbalance so it's a little annoying to listen to. Need to get it exchanged. 
 
Quote:

Hope he does have an AX7 as I'm am interested in the AX9 so the AX7 is a good starting point to gauge/guesstimate the adding of the dynamic in to the mix.
 
Not less bright than the R-50, hmmm. But there are the two nozzles and they have different filters in them right? So, I'm thinking one should be brighter and one attenuating the treble a bit.

One of the nozzle pairs has no filters (way bright) and the other pair (came on the earphones and sounds better) has what looks to be standard Knowles acoustic dampeners (the gray ones, not the green ones that my Ety ER4 uses). 

 

[Impulse]

Thanks for keeping that chart up to date and taking care of the score weights etc joker! I hadn't even that i column, very very useful for quick reference.

 

[papijoe08]

Quote:

The one I could recommend (GR01 from VSonic) is not as durable as it could be if it used the VC02 housing/cable setup. Hopefully it will get updated. The AX7 is built better but it's not less bright than the R-50.

 
Maybe the new Vsonic VC1000 is the upgrade / sidegrade or gr01? It could have the same housing/cable setup with vc02 (They look the same except the color) It looks interesting too and its cheaper than gr01.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/380597556592

 

[ffh2303]

Hi joker,I've got a question. How does the RE-400 fare against the ATH-M50 [just sound quality,please ignore everything else] ? I've had a Brainwavz M4 [too V sounding] and a Sony MH1C [too much bass,exaggerated cymbals] which didn't satisfy me when compared to my M50 [which i find to be just nice]. Any input is much appreciated.

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

Thanks for keeping that chart up to date and taking care of the score weights etc joker! I hadn't even that i column, very very useful for quick reference.

Thanks

. I try to keep it as up-to-date as possible... when I have the time. 
 
Quote:

 
Maybe the new Vsonic VC1000 is the upgrade / sidegrade or gr01? It could have the same housing/cable setup with vc02 (They look the same except the color) It looks interesting too and its cheaper than gr01.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/380597556592

 
Sure does look promising at that price. 
 
Quote:

Hi joker,I've got a question. How does the RE-400 fare against the ATH-M50 [just sound quality,please ignore everything else] ? I've had a Brainwavz M4 [too V sounding] and a Sony MH1C [too much bass,exaggerated cymbals] which didn't satisfy me when compared to my M50 [which i find to be just nice]. Any input is much appreciated.

The M50 is more v-shaped than the RE-400. If you're expecting similar bass quantity you'll be disappointed but otherwise I think the HiFiMan is generally better than the M50. 

 

[ffh2303]

I think a little less bass compared to the M50 wouldn't bother me,I don't listen to bass heavy tracks anyway. Thanks for the input.

 

[Godinhovsky]

I would like to see reviews over the 3A tier but seems posts #3 is gone.
 

 

[JosephKim]

Helpful reviews but I'm curious how the ratings work. For the numbers to have any value the IEMs have to be rated against each other.. if so you are going by superhuman audio memory and you are assuming your taste/hearing hasn't changed since you've started reviewing IEMs. Am I missing something? It seems like the numbers are completely arbitrary. Oh well. Still helpful nonetheless!

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

I think a little less bass compared to the M50 wouldn't bother me,I don't listen to bass heavy tracks anyway. Thanks for the input.

 
You should be okay, then. For me personally I still wish the RE-400 emphasized deep bass a little more a-la VSonic GR07 but it has a little more impact to make up for that compared to previous HiFiMan sets. 
 
Quote:

I would like to see reviews over the 3A tier but seems posts #3 is gone.
 

According to Head-Fi admins that post has reached some sort of character limit and as a result takes a while (something like 24 hours) to show up after each edit now

. 
 
 
 
Quote:

Helpful reviews but I'm curious how the ratings work. For the numbers to have any value the IEMs have to be rated against each other.. if so you are going by superhuman audio memory and you are assuming your taste/hearing hasn't changed since you've started reviewing IEMs. Am I missing something? It seems like the numbers are completely arbitrary. Oh well. Still helpful nonetheless!

Who said anything about audio memory? I have a lot of IEMs here that have been used as benchmarks since I started the thread or since they were originally reviewed. 

 

[waynes world]

Hey Joker! If you feel like playing along.... you gave the GR07's a sound score of 9.1 and an average of 8.75. If the GR07 Bass Editions rated a higher score such as 9.2, and if you could get them for $139 (which you can do periodically from Lendmeurears), what kind of average score would that give them?

 

[markychas]

Hi Joker-
I wonder if you could give me some advice. I just bought the Etymotic HF-5. I absolutely love their level of clarity and the ability to pick up every detail. I still feel I'm craving a little better soundstage and the ability to do the deepest most accurate  bass. I only listen to classical and the Ety level of clarity is paramount with this upgrade. I am very sensitive to the microphonics you get with iems even the amount you get with the HF-5 is ultimately a deal killer. Is this too big of a request to fill with a universal iem?

 

[Impulse]

Have you tried wearing them with the cable around your ear? I haven't had much issues with mine and microphonics, sound stage isn't the greatest but I think no IEM's gonna approach full size headphones in that regard.

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

Hey Joker! If you feel like playing along.... you gave the GR07's a sound score of 9.1 and an average of 8.75. If the GR07 Bass Editions rated a higher score such as 9.2, and if you could get them for $139 (which you can do periodically from Lendmeurears), what kind of average score would that give them?

 
Sure, it's as easy as changing a value in a spreadsheet. The "average" score is just a weighted numerical average. With 9.2 for sound the average for the GR07 goes up to 8.85 and falls right below the Rock-It R-50 on the table. The price does not factor into the average score - it only affects the tier the unit falls in and the value score. 
 
Quote:

Hi Joker-
I wonder if you could give me some advice. I just bought the Etymotic HF-5. I absolutely love their level of clarity and the ability to pick up every detail. I still feel I'm craving a little better soundstage and the ability to do the deepest most accurate  bass. I only listen to classical and the Ety level of clarity is paramount with this upgrade. I am very sensitive to the microphonics you get with iems even the amount you get with the HF-5 is ultimately a deal killer. Is this too big of a request to fill with a universal iem?

You would probably like the VSonic GR07 - more deep bass than the Etys and a slightly wider sonic space at the expense of a bit of treble smoothness. 
 
I agree with Impulse - the cable noise really isn't bad if you wear them cord-up. 

 

[markychas]

thanks for the advice. I will consider looking into the Vsonics. I'm weird but the only time I listen to iems is in a reclining position (bed) and the over ear probably won't work.