[redwookie]

[size=medium]Currently I have kipsch s4 that sound a bit strained now at high volumes or at the edges of their ranges (although this is probably me pushing them a bit hard so they sound more cracked rather than fully bust).  I have a cowon c2 as player. my budget is up to £100 although I would prefer to be about the £50 mark unless its really worth the extra cash.  One reason being is that i’m very clumsy/careless with earphones and despite trying to get better i know that i will need to replace every 6-12 months and I accept that as a fact of my clusy life [/size]
 
[size=medium]Generally like a bit of weight behind the music through low end, but actual music I listen to can have orchesteral elements to it.  Good example is plan B’s stuff which will have bass but also has a lot of strings, trumpet etc.  Also that’s a good example of the music I listen to being quite busy with a lot going on (including a lot of break beats, drum and bass and dj shadow/yoda type music), so anything that is good at helping presenting each element would be cool.  One other specific tune out at the moment that i notice my klipsch really struggle with is public enemy "harder than you think" (on the UK paraolympics ad) – again i think its because its quite a busy tune.[/size]
 
[size=medium]I generally need them for the commuting type journeys so there needs to be a low leakage of sound if possible .  It would be useful to have iem for a bit of discretion at work but i could probably live with my current klipsch for that so open to over ear.[/size]
 
[size=medium]My current thinking is get the Panasonic RP-HTX7AE  for the commute and then maybe just get some seinheiser cx300 II for being at work or for the rare times I do some exercise.  The other ones I’d though off is Brainwavz M2 and also just sticking with kilpsch but i think should try a change.  I’ve been plugging away trying to do my research but its so hard to judge reviews as I can't see anyone with similar music taste to mine.  I’m hoping that someone reading will have a similar music taste or understand what I’m after and be able to lead me towards the light![/size]

 

[H20Fidelity]

In my time on Head-fi I have trailed a few IEM's in your price range. But none have paired better with my Cowon C2 than GR07 MK2. I have tried pairing several players with earphones however matching / synergy C2 gives with GR07 is the best sound I have found in my seven months on Head-fi, with all IEMs seen on my profile. My Cowon S9 and Triple-fi 10 sit in a draw because of this combination.

C2 is a very capable player which also works well with Yamaha EPH-100, both IEM's offer good separation so you won't be losing busy tracks like the S4, however GR07 is by far worth the extra cash for a C2 pairing. I also know of Plan B, what you want is something natural to bring out the acoustics. GR07 will do just that in spades.

 

[ZARIM]

The GR07, UETf10Pro, FXD80, Sony XBA3, Klipsch Image X10 are very good sounding IEMs with punchy bass.

 

[redwookie]

Thanks for the responses.  I think the GR07 will be on order tomorrow based on the price point, your recommendations and the reviews I have seen (all positive).  
 
I was going to buy from amazon, but i see certain comments about there being problems with fakes (not specific to these earphones, but just when looking around the forums).  Am I over worrying or would you suggest an alternative?
 
Do you have any opinion on whether a portable amp would be a good call?  I had previously thought that they would be out of budget (over 200 etc) but I see that the Filo E11 gets good write ups, within my budget.  I see that H20 has it and I wondered if you used it with your C2?  My experience of the C2 so far is it does not lack in volume (well with my klipsch s4 anyway) so it would all be about improving that definition of sound that i describe in my first post.
 
Finally H2O I would be interested in hearing about what you find works from Jeteffect with the GR07 once I have received them. I hope its ok to perhaps PM you on this in due course?
 
Thanks again for your help so far and thanks in advance (I hope!) for some more of your comments.
 
EDIT:  I should add that seeing as my budget is creeping up now to £150, whether you think I should scrap the idea of the amp and would suggest slightly more expensive phones?

 

[H20Fidelity]

Thanks for the responses.  I think the GR07 will be on order tomorrow based on the price point, your recommendations and the reviews I have seen (all positive).  

I was going to buy from amazon, but i see certain comments about there being problems with fakes (not specific to these earphones, but just when looking around the forums).  Am I over worrying or would you suggest an alternative?

Do you have any opinion on whether a portable amp would be a good call?  I had previously thought that they would be out of budget (over 200 etc) but I see that the Filo E11 gets good write ups, within my budget.  I see that H20 has it and I wondered if you used it with your C2?  My experience of the C2 so far is it does not lack in volume (well with my klipsch s4 anyway) so it would all be about improving that definition of sound that i describe in my first post.

Finally H2O I would be interested in hearing about what you find works from Jeteffect with the GR07 once I have received them. I hope its ok to perhaps PM you on this in due course?

Thanks again for your help so far and thanks in advance (I hope!) for some more of your comments.

EDIT:  I should add that seeing as my budget is creeping up now to £150, whether you think I should scrap the idea of the amp and would suggest slightly more expensive phones?

As far as I'm aware there aren't any fake GR07. I'm confident considering GR07 MK2 is recently new on the market they will be fine purchasing. You can check to see if lendmeurears on ebay has some back in stock as they're a trusted Vsonic reseller however, I'm 99% sure you'll be fine where ever you purchase this particular IEM, as I've never heard of any fake GR07 to date. Be sure not to confuse the now cheaper GR07 MK1 (original), check the listing and ask the seller if it's MK2 to be sure if needed.

Regarding an amp. Yes, I own E11 and although it's great for supplying extra power you really don't need one with the C2 for this pairing, part of my search for a DAP was one that could run GR07 MK2 efficiently without need of an amp, I did a lot extensive research and considered several options before choosing the Cowon. Luckily it was a excellent matching. You won't be having any volume problems if that's a concern, I hardly push past 18/40 and 28/40 for louder listening.

What I find happens with E11 is although it boosts bass with EQ offering overall more power the entire amp veils / colours the signal slightly making it warmer. The result of this veil reduces treble response and clarity in the mid range, you lose edge and bite of the IEM / Headphone in question. Pure example is like throwing a light blanket over a speaker, although the amp provides more power. it's not worth that loss in sound quality to me. Many people cannot hear a difference though there are a small party of us who all agree, and with something as revealing as GR07 it's quite noticeable. So, in my opinion it's not needed nore wanted for this application. I don't use my E11 anymore, it was fine for mucking around but not serious listening..... Plus, you want to keep the signal as clean as possible. DAP.........IEM imo.

I think for the extra money you're looking at spending you'll still be hard up finding something better, personally myself.

Here's the Jet Effects setting I use with GR07 MK2 full time for all genres. I actually use this setting as a stock, though you might want to tinker with it.

80Hz - 0 - Wide
220Hz - 0 - Normal
1.4kHz - 0 - Normal
4.1kHz + 1 - Normal
9.0kHz + 2 - Normal

BBE + 8
Mach3Bass + 4
3D Surround - Off
MP enhance - On

Stereo enhance - Off
Reverb - Off

 

[FieldingMellish]

Etymotics HF3. Deeper than you think. As nicely detailed as you have heard. Pop some olives on there to melt external intrusive sound away.