[lucozade]

@ vashti, most of the time these days i use my amp but i tend to use a neutral combination of opamps so i do not change the house sound of my favorite iem's ,the exception to that is the SM3 which like i said earlier in this thread i found them to flat and a bit unexciting even though all the great technical ability's where there so i liven them up by using a combination of opamps that favor bass and treble .
 
My favorite's unamped are westone 3 , SE530, custom 3 , tf10 ,ortos  ( not necessarily in that order ) 
 
I could not listen to the ie8 unamped as ipods have crap eq settings so i use the opamps in my amp to remove the mid bass hump and vocal colouring .
 
I also could not listen to the coppers without an amp as they sound much better amped ,they need the extra power to reach a desirable volume that i am happy with, they are the most demanding iem i have 
 
 And although the SM3 dose not need an amp ,without my amp i would have to use the eq settings on my ipod to liven them up ,and i really do not like the eq settings ,so there for i tend not to use them unamped.
 
Hope that helps.
Quote:

Wow, what a service this thread is!!

  I just spent all night reading it.  It is incredibly helpful to this noob.  
 
So Luco, do you only listen with your amp now?  I am planning to buy something to pair with my iphone and will not be using an amp.(I mostly listen on the go and want to keep it compact and light)  I'm trying to figure out if I can use your findings - or if everything will sound completely different for me because of not having the amp.
 
If you do listen without an amp sometimes, do you mind sharing what are your favorites unamped?
 
Right now, I'm considering the W3s, the Shure 535 - and after reading this thread, the SM3 the e-Q7s. 
 
Thanks!!

 

 

[lucozade]

Its official ,westone 3 has become my overall favorate iem at the moment knocking the SM3 of the top spot in my collection 

 I never thought i would be saying that but there it is .

 

[fadethreeblack]

I wish the Westone 3's would come down into the $100-$200 area haha.
 
@lucozade if you had to pick between these, would you take the IE8, MTPC, or TF10? (for rock, hip-hop, and classical music)
 
Thanks!

 

[lucozade]

@ fadethreeblack , I'm not really the person to awnser that question as i out of those three music types i only listen to rock , but for rock and hip-hop i would go with the TF10 ,the ie8 soundstage would be good for the classical music but i think they are too coloured by the bass for classical really ,so if i was listening too all those three music types i would most likely go with the coppers.
 
Quote:

I wish the Westone 3's would come down into the $100-$200 area haha.
 
@lucozade if you had to pick between these, would you take the IE8, MTPC, or TF10? (for rock, hip-hop, and classical music)
 
Thanks!

 

[ericp10]

Wow @  luco!! How did this happen?
 
Quote:

Its official ,westone 3 has become my overall favorate iem at the moment knocking the SM3 of the top spot in my collection 

 I never thought i would be saying that but there it is .

 

[lucozade]

 
Quote:

Wow @  luco!! How did this happen?
 

 

Its one of those great unexplained phenomenons @ericp buddy lol 
 
i put it down to two monster hybrid tips i am using on each ear piece which eliminate all sibilance and do not distort the sound quality 
 
It all started when somebody asked me to compair the w3 with sm3 , i am not saying the w3 is technically better than the sm3 ,i think they are more or less on the same level . The sm3 dose have the larger soundstage when the song calls for it and i think the sm3 bass is more dymanic driver sounding and it can take a single bass note lower but the w3 delivers a strong solid punchy bass too and i find them overall more musical and fun sounding .
 
The sm3 is still my close second favorite and i like them best with my duel orto tips which gives them the best treble but maybe not the best bass i could get from them , where as the w3 with the monster tips give me the best of both worlds 

 

[lucozade]

After a couple of months listening to the SM3 and westone 3  Tonight i stuck the ie8s back in my ears for the first time in months and played half a dozen tracks on them , It was truly frighting

,they sounded absolutely dreadful ,just terrible ,absolutely awful ,like something out of a Christmas cracker compaired to the w3 and sm3 .
 
The ie8 sounded slow and cumbersome , with a total lack of clarity and covered in a thick smog of bass colour the  ,treble and midrange was lurking in there somewhere but it hidden under the cover of darkness 
 
And too think i once used to enjoy these and sing along to them and used to think to myself ,boy these are good ,what was i thinking ? i now ask myself .

 
Now have the coppers in my ears , while not on the same level as the w3 or sm3 ,they sound way way better than the ie8 thats for sure.

 

[Rip N' Burn]

The IE8 and the W3 sound similar with their presentation. The major difference being the treble presentation. You sure you didn't end up getting fake IE8's? I like them better than the copper.

 

[mark2410]

noooooooooo
 
its just that the 8's have so much rich warmth to them, its utterly different to a BA that if really does feel so thick and muddy  in comparison.  really its all there but its just not so forward in its presentation of micro detail.  the coppers are scratchy beasts in comparison.
 
still its a big shock to the ears if you havent been near it in a while
 
 
of course i prefer the 7 to them both
 
 

 

[Rip N' Burn]

 
Quote:

of course i prefer the 7 to them both
 
 

Now I understand why you like the SE530 the most. I just got them remolded with a dual bore config and man oh man, they sound so much better to my ears. The biggest surprise was the treble and soundstage.

 

[mark2410]

Quote:

 

Now I understand why you like the SE530 the most. I just got them remolded with a dual bore config and man oh man, they sound so much better to my ears. The biggest surprise was the treble and soundstage.

oh yeah, im a 530 fan, not that id argue its actually better than the TF10, IE8 UM3x etc but its certainly the best suited to my tastes of the top end stuff.  really must hear the sm3 soonish.

 

[drumrdoc]

I apologize up front if someone has already posted this, but universal fit earbuds are no comparison to custom fitted iem's. Take some of the $$$ you obviously have and purchase a pair of customs to add to your list. I have a pair of westone duals & and a pair of drm earz singles. Not much difference in the fidelity, but a big difference in price. Once you hear the difference that the 26db isolation makes you will be a custom user guaranteed........ Murdock the Drummer

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

oh yeah, im a 530 fan, not that id argue its actually better than the TF10, IE8 UM3x etc but its certainly the best suited to my tastes of the top end stuff.  really must hear the sm3 soonish.

Better have some larger bore tips ready for the SM3.  The stock grey tips are pathetic.

 

[mark2410]

Quote:

Better have some larger bore tips ready for the SM3.  The stock grey tips are pathetic.

oh i have millions of tips,  really really tons of them

 

[lucozade]

Quote:

The IE8 and the W3 sound similar with their presentation. The major difference being the treble presentation. You sure you didn't end up getting fake IE8's? I like them better than the copper.

he ,he , no my ie8s are real , like i said i used to like them a lot and i expect they would sound ok if i listened to them for a day or too , just in comparision to the triple driver phones i have been using lately they sound just  yucky @ mark is most likely right ,i just need to get used to there sound again after so long with the 3 driver phones in my ears,but i always liked the coppers better than the ie8 though.