[califmike33]

Okay guys I need some help I posted another thread last week I had the fiio M11 dap player ended up not liking it it was too bright for me.

I now have the IFI hip DAC which has a burr Brown chip in is a tad on the warm side but that's what I like.

I'm looking for something in the US $200 range it's going to fit my style I'm thinking since the DAC is warm I need something probably neutral.

I'm not a basehead but I want something with good bass not overdone I'm more of a focal person something that's got crisp good sounding vocals I like travel but I don't like it overdone where I can't listen to it for over an hour.

There are hundreds of choices so I don't want to go through trying dozens of them to find the right one so I'm looking for someone with obviously more experience than me that can recommend me maybe I'll take the top three and give them a try $200 and under.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated thank you.

 

[pbui44]

Check out the Etymotic ER2XR here:

https://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-Extended-Respone-Earphones/dp/B07NSL5XS5

 

[califmike33]

Yeah those look interesting I read the reviews on them thank you.

 

[IEMusic]

I agree with the Etymotic ER2 (XR or SE) recommendation. The ER2SE is truly neutral, but with little bass.

These are not necessarily “neutral”, but they are at least well balanced.
- NF Audio, probably NA2 or NM2 - https://www.head-fi.org/threads/nf-audio-impression-thread.923589/
- Tin Audio T2 Plus or T4
- Moondrop Starfield or KXXS/KXXX
- FiiO FD1
- Moondrop SSR (true diffuse-field neutral tuning)

 

[califmike33]

Thank you for your reply I had the tin T2 didn't like them. The other ones you mentioned I will look into that thank you.

 

[IEMusic]

Thank you for your reply I had the tin T2 didn't like them. The other ones you mentioned I will look into that thank you.

I understand, but I’m actually recommending the Tin 2 Plus. It’s brand new, and is very different from the original T2. They really should’ve named it something different. Just got them yesterday, but so far I’m REALLY liking them.

 

[califmike33]

Didn't know there was a plus version. I didn't like to travel it seemed a little bright to me. But I guess on the hip DAC which is a warm DAC it would knock that down I have to look into the plus version I never even heard of the plus. See if I can find some reviews on it.

 

[Jenerics]

Etymotic er2xr is now $102 on Amazon right now for a limited time. I couldn’t pass it up.

Good luck with your search!

 

[califmike33]

I'm hearing a lot of good things about those there's a number 3 version of the number 4 I know Steve guttenberg the audiophiliac I think he gave version three or four earbud of the year ear phone of the year Delta going to check them out they're kind of weird looking.

 

[IEMusic]

I'm hearing a lot of good things about those there's a number 3 version of the number 4 I know Steve guttenberg the audiophiliac I think he gave version three or four earbud of the year ear phone of the year Delta going to check them out they're kind of weird looking.

If you’re talking about the Etymotics, I have both the ER2 and ER3. The ER2 is newer and has a dynamic driver, so if the heading of this thread still holds true, that’s the one to get. The ER3XR is warmer, but the ER2XR has more sub bass, and sounds more natural.

 

[califmike33]

I bought the fiio fh5 just because I've heard so many things about it and a lot of people recommended it to me I had to try that as my first choice.

I will say it is not a dark warm and your monitor I don't find it that way I find the treble portion upper mid treble area a bit harsh actually.

I don't think it has enough Bass my starfields have more seem like they have more Bass I actually don't care for the fh5 I think the vocal like female vocals are excellent but I don't like the rest of the sound signature I don't like the bass and I don't like the upper mids and treble area they are on their way back to Amazon.

I'll be going down the list of recommendations in this thread one by one until I find the sound I'm looking for.

 

[IEMusic]

I bought the fiio fh5 just because I've heard so many things about it and a lot of people recommended it to me I had to try that as my first choice.

I will say it is not a dark warm and your monitor I don't find it that way I find the treble portion upper mid treble area a bit harsh actually.

I don't think it has enough Bass my starfields have more seem like they have more Bass I actually don't care for the fh5 I think the vocal like female vocals are excellent but I don't like the rest of the sound signature I don't like the bass and I don't like the upper mids and treble area they are on their way back to Amazon.

I'll be going down the list of recommendations in this thread one by one until I find the sound I'm looking for.

How much time did you give them? Sometimes that DD needs a good amount of time to break in. If the amount of bass on the FH5 was not sufficient, you may be a bit of a bass head, so I would recommend making another list.

 

[califmike33]

I'm not a big firm believer on headphones need to be broken in personally I don't believe that I think they sound the same as when you bought them as I do six weeks later I think it's placebo effect.

no I'm not a bass head at all I mean I like bass but I don't like overwhelming bass maybe there was enough bass I just didn't like the way the bass sounded to me the best thing about the fh5 is the vocals by far the vocals really shine on the fh5.

Its'time for me to move on I know when I put something on whether it's my sound or not. I listen to them all day today is just not getting it done for me.

I'll just move down the list little by little and try some of the rec recommendations out.

I have the i-Fi hip DAC it's supposed to be warm some people say it's very warm I thought it would warm up those fh5 and knocked that treble down and it did not do that . I'm thinking the warmth of the ifi DAC maybe overstated by some people. To my ears if it's that warm it would have warmed those fh5 right up and it did not do that.

People are telling me the fh5 it dark sounding I did find it dark sounding at all I guess everybody hears things differently.

 

[IEMusic]

I'm not a big firm believer on headphones need to be broken in personally I don't believe that I think they sound the same as when you bought them as I do six weeks later I think it's placebo effect.

no I'm not a bass head at all I mean I like bass but I don't like overwhelming bass maybe there was enough bass I just didn't like the way the bass sounded to me the best thing about the fh5 is the vocals by far the vocals really shine on the fh5.

Its'time for me to move on I know when I put something on whether it's my sound or not. I listen to them all day today is just not getting it done for me.

Fair enough. If you listened to them all day and still don’t like them, then yes, it makes sense to move on. It is true that the if the upper mids and treble were harsh to you, it can make the bass seem relatively subdued.

Given your response regarding the FH5, I would cross the following off of your list:
- Etymotic IEMs
- Tin Audio IEMs
- All other FiiO IEMs, including the FD1
- Moondrop SSR

Ones to strongly consider:
- NF Audio NA2
- ThieAudio Legacy 3
- ISN H40
- iBasso IT00 (not yet available in the US it seems)

BTW, if you already have the Starfield, what exactly are you looking for in your next IEM?

 

[califmike33]

Hey thank you for the list I appreciate the updated list based on my crazy hearing abilities.

I'm going to tell you what I think of the starfields I think the starfields for $109 are a steal they only have one driver in them so you don't get a lot of separation from instruments. You know when you have other in ear monitors that got four drivers in them obviously they're going to sound better so I guess I have sort of graduated from the starfield but I think the starfield is a fantastic bargain at $110.

When I put the fh5 on I heard things in my favorite songs that the starfield could not pick up. On the fh5 way better instrument separation bigger soundstage. I could hear the person breathing in air to get the next no doubt the settle little details as they're singing that you don't get on the starfield. I guess I'm looking for the next level kick it up a notch.

But I will keep my starfields I think I actually preferred the bass on the starfields over the fh5 not that there was more it felt tighter and more defined than the fh5 to me.