asamiruria
New Head-Fier
My current earphones are the Sony MDR-XB50APs, and I'm almost perfectly satisfied with the sound signature except for the fact that the treble/high mids are a little too muddy. I'm only thinking of investing in a new pair because these are not as sleek-looking as I'd like, and they don't really fit the shape of my ear well.
I bought the Final Audio E3000s, as reviews said they delivered very good quality for their price, but was disappointed by the lack of sub-bass, the forwardness of the mids, how cramped the soundstage was (due to lack of broad, deep bass), and the coldness of the sound signature. I'm now looking at the 1More Triple Drivers, which have also received glowing reviews, but am worried that the same issue might happen. Most reviewers seem favour a flat sound signature, whereas I literally just Want That Sub-Bass (and warm sound).
So, here's a list of all the qualities I like in IEMs in order of priority. I only just started looking at audiophile reviews of headphones recently, so apologies if I use any terminology wrong.
1. Bass emphasis, especially sub-bass. It needs to be deep, lush, and very broad, like it's engulfing you. Clarity/speed/impact are less important, though - I'm not a basshead in that I don't quite want to feel my ear canal shaking with the bass. It should be more of a round, warm, smooth almost to the point of being slow bass that makes for a more comfortable but very immersive listening experience. Note: preferably achievable without EQ because EQing on an iPhone is annoying.
2. Wide soundstage. Sort of goes hand in hand with the broad bass thing. Bass should preferably be wider than mids and treble.
3. A warm sound signature with thick notes. Shouldn't be V-shaped with thin, cold mids, but I don't like it when mids are too forward either. In fact, the entire soundstage should preferably be not too forward, because having everything pressing against the front of my skull is super uncomfortable.
4. Sound isolation - self-explanatory.
5. Drive - my Sony XB50APs only take 4 bars of volume on an iPhone to get to a comfortable loudness, so I'd like something at least as good as that.
6. Clear mids and treble - not very important but preferred. Most of the music I listen to has female vocals, so IEMs that don't make female vocals sound too thin would be nice.
It's a very nitpicky list and that no IEM can satisfy all these conditions, so the first four have the most priority.
Here is the frequency response of the Sony MDR-XB50APs for reference: https://www.rtings.com/headphones/1-2/graph#470/2031 .
My budget is around 100 AUD (70 USD) so it would be very nice if someone could recommend an IEM that matches most of this list, and is around that price! (Or tell me whether the 1More Triple Drivers are what I'm looking for). Thanks in advance!
I bought the Final Audio E3000s, as reviews said they delivered very good quality for their price, but was disappointed by the lack of sub-bass, the forwardness of the mids, how cramped the soundstage was (due to lack of broad, deep bass), and the coldness of the sound signature. I'm now looking at the 1More Triple Drivers, which have also received glowing reviews, but am worried that the same issue might happen. Most reviewers seem favour a flat sound signature, whereas I literally just Want That Sub-Bass (and warm sound).
So, here's a list of all the qualities I like in IEMs in order of priority. I only just started looking at audiophile reviews of headphones recently, so apologies if I use any terminology wrong.
1. Bass emphasis, especially sub-bass. It needs to be deep, lush, and very broad, like it's engulfing you. Clarity/speed/impact are less important, though - I'm not a basshead in that I don't quite want to feel my ear canal shaking with the bass. It should be more of a round, warm, smooth almost to the point of being slow bass that makes for a more comfortable but very immersive listening experience. Note: preferably achievable without EQ because EQing on an iPhone is annoying.
2. Wide soundstage. Sort of goes hand in hand with the broad bass thing. Bass should preferably be wider than mids and treble.
3. A warm sound signature with thick notes. Shouldn't be V-shaped with thin, cold mids, but I don't like it when mids are too forward either. In fact, the entire soundstage should preferably be not too forward, because having everything pressing against the front of my skull is super uncomfortable.
4. Sound isolation - self-explanatory.
5. Drive - my Sony XB50APs only take 4 bars of volume on an iPhone to get to a comfortable loudness, so I'd like something at least as good as that.
6. Clear mids and treble - not very important but preferred. Most of the music I listen to has female vocals, so IEMs that don't make female vocals sound too thin would be nice.
It's a very nitpicky list and that no IEM can satisfy all these conditions, so the first four have the most priority.
Here is the frequency response of the Sony MDR-XB50APs for reference: https://www.rtings.com/headphones/1-2/graph#470/2031 .
My budget is around 100 AUD (70 USD) so it would be very nice if someone could recommend an IEM that matches most of this list, and is around that price! (Or tell me whether the 1More Triple Drivers are what I'm looking for). Thanks in advance!
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