[shuriken]

Quote:

hi, Joker.
Thank you for all your reviews.
your charts is my "hearing aid" for earphones.
(bought 5 already with your help)
Now I'm using the gr99 on a daily basis and I'm really enjoy them.
last earphones I bought was the Astrotec-90.
at the begining -great, I liked them, the clarity is amazing.
but when I compared them to the gr99 I was missing the more deep fun bass.
I didn't thought I would miss it, but I did.
so I returned back to gr99.
 
my question is:
50$ budget (can stretch it a bit),
I look for a combination of the clarity sound
of the astrotec with more deep bass like the gr99. 
any suggestion? (VC02 maybe

 
Quote:

 
The VC02 won't do it - it's got punchy mid-bass but the deep bass is not on-level with the GR99. I would go for the Sony MH1C or maybe Philips SHE3850. The SHE3580 isn't really better than the GR99 overall but it has a small clarity advantage.

 
thank you for your reply,
I want a sound improvement overall so I think 
the Philips SHE3850 wouldn't do it for me.
as for the sony MH1C, it comes I notice,
only with controllers for smartphones, something I don't need.
so I found it a bit silly hanging around with it.
If I'll extend my budget, do you think the Vsonic GR06
will do the trick?

 

[justblue]

|joker| could you please compare the Astrotec AM-800 to the Brainwavz M2/ProAlpha? I would go for the AM-800 if it's not too cold/neutral, otherwise I think the MH1 + recabling is an option.

 

[quartertone]

If I can just chime in, I personally think the AM800 is quite a bit better than Joker's rating suggests (I'd give it more like 8.7 rather than 7.8). It has a great mixture of richness and clarity (rather like MH1 meets GR07 to my ears) that works with most genres but is still 'fun'. It really is a great deal for $50, easily worth twice that imo.

 

[justblue]

Quote:

If I can just chime in, I personally think the AM800 is quite a bit better than Joker's rating suggests (I'd give it more like 8.7 rather than 7.8). It has a great mixture of richness and clarity (rather like MH1 meets GR07 to my ears) that works with most genres but is still 'fun'. It really is a great deal for $50, easily worth twice that imo.

 
Thanks for your comment. Does it mean the AM800 is on the bright side? I can't stand any sibiliance or too bright sound lacking in warm bass.

 

[quartertone]

It has warm bass, hence my MH1 comparison. I wouldn't exactly call it a bright phone overall, but it certainly has the necessary treble to give a good reproduction of the whole range. I don't know how sensitive you are, perhaps you can give some examples?

 

[justblue]

I don't like the Audeo and Rock it Sounds R50 - too bright and analytic. Because of outdoor use it should be quite fun with a competent bass to avoid sound leaking. How does it apply to the AM800 in your opinion?
Oh and BTW I also think that 6.7 for the ProAlpha is underrated, I would give it 7.8

 

[quartertone]

It's definitely not as bright as a TWFK phone (don't have the R50, but have two others) and has plenty of bass. One caveat for outside use though: it has a shallow fit and weak isolation, unless you can work around that with a tip solution (I find that pushing Meelec double flanges right up over the housing improves that).

 

[AFireInAsa]

About Lendmeurears and the GR07 BE - I ordered a pair 10 days ago and when I messaged them about how long it would take, I was told that they have none in stock at their U.S. distributor so they had to send me it from Singapore (did not say this on their eBay page). They also said I would be getting a tracking number which I haven't received yet. It's possible they haven't been shipped yet which is disappointing. Might be possible that I will only get that when it reaches the U.S. though, not sure how it works. Very excited, though.

 

[sandsha2]

Hi ljoker,

I have ATH-CKM500.
Its mid bass annoys me, can you please suggest an IEM with lesser mid bass, better mids, treble and depth. I can spend $130.
 
Thanks
 

 

[AFireInAsa]

Quote:

Hi ljoker,

I have ATH-CKM500.
Its mid bass annoys me, can you please suggest an IEM with lesser mid bass, better mids, treble and depth. I can spend $130.
 
Thanks

Check out his review for the (2B21) Rock-It Sounds R-50

 

[a11Earz]

Hi,
I am willing to buy a new iem (<180$) to replace my brainwavz m2, and I am looking for your advice.
I mainly listen to trance (vocal trance - armin van buuren, etc) and metal (iron maiden, rammstein).
The sound I am looking for is: detailed, deep, good quality and quatity bass (I am not a basshead

), forward and detailed mids, not very bright, emphasized or distracting highs and the overall presentation to be fun, full sounding and not dry, thin or too analytical.
I got my eyes on the vsonic gr07 BE and the yamaha eph-100 as good iems characterized by deep, good quality and quatity bass. However, I have read that the gr07BE may be good with metal but not with trance, and that the eph-100 are excellent with trance but not that aggressive to handle metal.
So which iem may suit my needs better? the vsonic gr07 BE? the yamaha eph-100? or another iem like the carbo basso, the fxt90...?
Thanks.

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

Huh? I got my RE-400 last week from Head Direct, and there was no case. No cable winder either, though that doesn't bother me in the slightest.

 
Quote:

 
I didn't think that I got the cable winder either until I turned that foam packing material upside down.   It was underneath.
 
No case though, and I too bought mine from Head Direct fulfilled by Amazon.

 
Quote:

Yeah, I got mine directly from Head Direct and I didn't get a case. I did get a cable winder but it's kind of unwieldy.

 
Update on the above - cases should be included with RE-400s purchased directly or via Amazon from Head-Direct in the past couple of weeks. You guys should be getting PMs from HiFiMan to verify your orders and get cases shipped out.
 
 
Quote:

Well i was able to scrounge up the extra cash and managed to pick up the k3003. Ive had the past few days to spend with them. So far i am very impressed. Blown away, not so much, but very impressed. I think the law of diminishing returns takes effect here. I have had the privilege of hearing the W4 recently. While not my cup of tea, I have had a few moments here and there since then where I have had to ask myself if the k3003 is really worth the price tag or if would have been just as pleased with something a bit cheaper like the IE800s. I do have a couple of weeks left to decide before I am outside of the return policy, so I'll see how much I grow to like them.

Since Ive primarily been using the GR07 for such a long time and still own them I was able to A/B them. There is certainly a difference in overall clarity and quality, especially with the mids it seems. I will likely hold onto them to use when I jog since they still impress when I use them. I did, however, sell my EPH-100 to a co-worker.

 
Yeah, diminishing returns are a bitch. Top-tier has always offered fairly marginal improvements over "near top-tier" but with the priciest universals now costing $900 or more this is becoming especially apparent. I think this is good news for everyone - those who are willing to pay the premium have the option of doing so and those who are just looking for value can pick up something like the GR07. 
 
 
Quote:

Okay i have ordered the quadbeat based on your recommendation... lets see hows that one... How much is mh1c different from the quadbeat? Is it technically better? or would it be better for EDM, trance etc? I havent heard something like RE0 or Re-400, how different would that be from these mainstream? I am just curious why would something be superior if it is not say 'enjoyable'? I know its a noobish cliche, just was wondering....

 
Comparison of the MH1C and Quadbeat pulled from the MH1C review:
 
Quote:

 
Not unlike the MH1C, the Quadbeat is a stock headset included with many LG smartphones. The sound signature of the Quadbeat is on the v-shaped side compared to the MH1C and its bass, especially subbass, is lower in quantity. The low end of the Quadbeat is a little tighter but the difference isn’t drastic. The LGs also sacrifice some of the warmth and fullness of the Sonys, giving up the excellent note thickness of the MH1C for a bit of added clarity, aided also by the extra treble energy of the Quadbeat. Next to the warm and smooth MH1C, the treble of the Quadbeat sounds brighter and harsher overall.

I ended up preferring the sound of the MH1C, which overall sounded more natural and convincing despite the extra bass. On a user-friendliness note, while I found the cable of the Quadbeat to be a lot more tolerable than that of the MH1C, its extra-soft stock eartips did not work for me and had to be replaced with a set of standard bi-flanges of the MEElectronics variety. The Quadbeat was also more sensitive, reaching loud volumes very easily.

 
I do think the MH1C is slightly better overall but it's not as airy-sounding so I'm think you'll like the Quadbeat better. In any case the Quadbeat is very different from what you currently have 

 
 
Quote:

@joker Cheers for the input on UE500 vs VSD1.

Think that's put the final nail in my decision.

Btw you gonna be trying the VSD1S when LMUE get the stock?

 
Probably after I finish both of the VSonic reviews I'm currently working on. There's been too many VSonic releases in the past 6 months or so

.
 
 
Quote:

Hi Joker
 
Would you recommend the 1964 v3 model for someone in to rock and metal out of the usual ipod/sansa clip sources?  Still on the fence about a westone 4 (though the westones are easier to get hold off)and wondered if the v3 would be a better bet for longer term listening than a westone 3.  Not interested in the custom version but the universal model that's available.  Had a look at the 1964 ears quads but feel they may have too much bass for my taste. 
 
Cheers

 
Probably not - I thought the W4 had a fairly inoffensive sound signature. The V3 has more in-your-face bass and no less treble energy. I didn't realize there was a universal V3 available. Wonder how that compares to a customized unit...
 
Quote:

 
 
thank you for your reply,
I want a sound improvement overall so I think 
the Philips SHE3850 wouldn't do it for me.
as for the sony MH1C, it comes I notice,
only with controllers for smartphones, something I don't need.
so I found it a bit silly hanging around with it.
If I'll extend my budget, do you think the Vsonic GR06
will do the trick?

 
I don't think so - the GR06 doesn't really have the subbass of the MH1C or GR99, or even GR02BE. Hmm... there's not much else that fits the bill in that price range - to get that deep bass with great clarity you'd then have to go for something like the Shure SE215, which is a lot more expensive.
 
Quote:

|joker| could you please compare the Astrotec AM-800 to the Brainwavz M2/ProAlpha? I would go for the AM-800 if it's not too cold/neutral, otherwise I think the MH1 + recabling is an option.

 
The AM-800 is not cold/neutral. It's got plenty of bass. it won't be as smooth up top as an M2/ProAlpha, though.
 
Quote:

If I can just chime in, I personally think the AM800 is quite a bit better than Joker's rating suggests (I'd give it more like 8.7 rather than 7.8). It has a great mixture of richness and clarity (rather like MH1 meets GR07 to my ears) that works with most genres but is still 'fun'. It really is a great deal for $50, easily worth twice that imo.

 
I actually like the AM800 myself - I even included it in my shortened buyer's guide, which only holds the earphones I personally liked best for every sound signature and price range. At $65 I maintain that it's a very good value. It just has a bit of mid-bass bloat and not entirely smooth treble. Compared to the Sony MH1C, for example, the subbass doesn't come through as well because of the mid-bass and the treble is not as extended or refined. 
 
 
Quote:

About Lendmeurears and the GR07 BE - I ordered a pair 10 days ago and when I messaged them about how long it would take, I was told that they have none in stock at their U.S. distributor so they had to send me it from Singapore (did not say this on their eBay page). They also said I would be getting a tracking number which I haven't received yet. It's possible they haven't been shipped yet which is disappointing. Might be possible that I will only get that when it reaches the U.S. though, not sure how it works. Very excited, though.

 
That's unfortunate, hopefully it will arrive soon. Int'l post tracking numbers aren't super reliable in my experience so not having tracking may not be a big loss.
 
 
Quote:

Hi ljoker,

I have ATH-CKM500.
Its mid bass annoys me, can you please suggest an IEM with lesser mid bass, better mids, treble and depth. I can spend $130.
 
Thanks
 

 
Do you still want similarly powerful bass, just with less bloat? Or are you looking for something less bassy? If the former, I would try and stretch for the Yamaha EPH-100 as it emphazes sub-bass and not so much mid-bass and has great mids and depth. If you are okay with a similarly mid-bassy sound but less bloat, the JVC FXT90 would be an option. If you're looking for significantly more balanced sound, I would go for the Philips Fidelio S1 (not so much an improvement on the depth front, but everything else) or maybe even the HiFiMan RE-400.
 
 
Quote:

Hi,
I am willing to buy a new iem (<180$) to replace my brainwavz m2, and I am looking for your advice.
I mainly listen to trance (vocal trance - armin van buuren, etc) and metal (iron maiden, rammstein).
The sound I am looking for is: detailed, deep, good quality and quatity bass (I am not a basshead

), forward and detailed mids, not very bright, emphasized or distracting highs and the overall presentation to be fun, full sounding and not dry, thin or too analytical.
I got my eyes on the vsonic gr07 BE and the yamaha eph-100 as good iems characterized by deep, good quality and quatity bass. However, I have read that the gr07BE may be good with metal but not with trance, and that the eph-100 are excellent with trance but not that aggressive to handle metal.
So which iem may suit my needs better? the vsonic gr07 BE? the yamaha eph-100? or another iem like the carbo basso, the fxt90...?
Thanks.

 
The EPH-100 would be my pick simply because you're worried about bright highs. That can definitely be an issue with VSonic IEMs but the Yamahas seem to avoid the harsh upper midrange/lower treble regions. I do think the GR07BE is quicker and perhaps better-suited for metal due to that and its more balanced sound but the EPH-100 is far from poor. I'm not familiar with the Carbo Basso. 

 

[lwien]

Quote:

Update on the above - cases should be included with RE-400s purchased directly or via Amazon from Head-Direct in the past couple of weeks. You guys should be getting PMs from HiFiMan to verify your orders and get cases shipped out.
 

 
Thanks so much.   Will await PM.

 

[ktan3142]

Quote:

Update on the above - cases should be included with RE-400s purchased directly or via Amazon from Head-Direct in the past couple of weeks. You guys should be getting PMs from HiFiMan to verify your orders and get cases shipped out.
 

 
I can confirm, I received my RE-400 three days ago and it came with the case. The sound was quite different from the RE-ZERO but it's a welcome change. 

 

[lukEM22]

Did I recieve a super defected MH1C or is the cable supposed to be so wierd?
Although in terms of sound, these might be my new favorite. Might have to sell my Turbines now.