New IEMs after S4i Breakage

[originell]

Hey guys,
first of all: thanks for reading and this forum is awesome. Learned a lot about different types/companies by just browsing along for an hour or two. Well, back to topic.
 
Last week my Klipsch S4i broke (after 1 1/2 years :<). First the right one stopped working and some days after that they died altogether. So, it is time for some new shiny stuff! 
 
I started using inears back in 2006, with a pair of Sennheiser. Shame that I can't remember which ones, but I liked them and they lasted for 3 years before the cable broke. Since then I'm heavily in love with inears. So today I went into one of the Bose shops and listened to some music on the IE2, but I left the shop a bit disappointed. They created a really fantastic room to fill the music into, but the music itself lacked clarity around the vocal spectrum. Suddenly the famous "Nothing else matters" from Metallica's S&M Album sounded, well, dull. Not as crispy as I was used to hear it from my Klipsch/Sennheiser. I read that some people here think the S4i have a tad too much bass to them, but I actually thought they have a good upper spectrum too. (You might now understand that I'm not quite the audiophile type )
 
I'm mostly listening to Metal and Rock (Behemoth, Lamb of God, In Flames, Avenged Sevenfold, Metallica, Slipknot… also Shinedown, Stone Sour, Hinder, Halestorm, Black Stone Cherry -- you get it). Now, I don't really need *absolute* isolation. It's ok to hear a bit of whats going on around me (dont wanna run into a car haha). As you might have by now understood, I really like nice vocals. Bass and treble are equally important to me. I prefer even sound… For the price range I'm looking somewhere around the 90-120€ spectrum. One requirement is that the iems have to be available in europe, or at least have unproblematic international shipping.
 
I'm looking forward to your suggestions.
 
Thanks!

 

[tzjin]

One of the best IEM's for rock\metal are the Triple.Fi 10's. They aren't the most ergonomic though, and may be a bit out of your price range.
 
Another one is the CKM500. They are dynamic and lively, and should suit your genre's well. They fall well within your pricerange, but you will have to find them online, as they are only sold in Japan. There are a few sellers on the bay though.
 
 
The GR07 is a good allrounder. It probably is not as great as the other two for rock, but is solid throughout. You can get them from Frogbeats.

 

[AstroTurf]

Etymotic HF5
 
What more can be said?
 
Good Luck, Jim

 

[originell]

Thanks for your suggestions so far I will have a look into them. Sadly the Triple.Fi are really out of my price range this time, but I guess I'll add them to my amazon wishlist so I won't forget about 'em
 
@tzjin: thanks for the frogbeats tip!
 
@AstroTurf: I've seen you recommending the HF5 pretty often, you love those I guess ;-D?
 
I'd love to see some more people recommending me the HF5, seems to me they are kind of controversial - which might be a good thing.

 

[H20Fidelity]

Basically what tzjin said. TF10 would be preferred for your genre's though GRO7 will still perform greatly in such area's. Great IEM, a lot of sound for your money. I do like me some Pantera with my GRO7 MK2. Yamaha EPH-100 would probably be a nicer choice if you want decent bass levels.

 

[originell]

I just saw that there you can buy replacement cables for the TF10, does that mean what I think it does? You can simply replace the cable instead of the whole set?… That would be a huge plus, since most of the time I seem to be breaking cables haha.

 

[ItsMeHere]

Quote:

I just saw that there you can buy replacement cables for the TF10, does that mean what I think it does? You can simply replace the cable instead of the whole set?… That would be a huge plus, since most of the time I seem to be breaking cables haha.

Yes, that's whatg it means. You can also change cables in order to make the sound-quality better, as the stock cables do not bring out the whole potential out of these IEMs.

 

[H20Fidelity]

I just saw that there you can buy replacement cables for the TF10, does that mean what I think it does? You can simply replace the cable instead of the whole set?… That would be a huge plus, since most of the time I seem to be breaking cables haha.

Yes, that is correct. One can simply replace the cable or purchase upgrade cables for the earpieces. They simply detach from the socket.

I'll add a pretty picture for you. :etysmile:

 

[originell]

Gosh that's really nice. Makes the TF10 definitely a viable option then.
 
Thanks for the picture btw

 

[H20Fidelity]

Gosh that's really nice. Makes the TF10 definitely a viable option then.

Thanks for the picture btw

I'm mainly worried they might not have enough bass for you. It can vary source to source and EQ. Also BA drivers lack the ability to push air so you don't exactly "feel the bass" It still thumps though and has excellent imaging within the signature, it's just a little different to a dynamic driver in how it performs. What makes me say this is you coming from the S4, I think you may possibly be more suited to Yamaha EPH-100 which holds similar separation and clarity though has "more bass" compared.

Make sure you check them out. They're well within your original budget too. ( I own all three GRO7, EPH-100, TF10)

 

[originell]

Well I'm mostly listening via my iphone. I see what you mean, but I'm pretty concerned about having too much bass. However, since you put that under quotes, I guess it's not something I'd have to be concerned about on the EPH-100. Mh so I guess I'll just have to decide between the GRO7 and the EPH100 and put the TF10 on my wishlist.
 
@H20Fidelity: I know that sound is a very subjective matter… However could you do me a favor and compare Metallica's "Nothing else Matters" from the S&M Album between the GRO7 and the EPH100? But really really only if you have the time!  What I'd like to know is, if you close your eyes and tilt your head back.. which one of these two sets a bigger stage in your mind. The problem I had when hearing this on the Bose IE2 was that they set a big stage, the lows came out pretty clearly, but the second Mr. Hetfield started singing... It didn't feel like his voice cut through all the instruments. Kind of like mashing with the Guitar frequencies.

 

[H20Fidelity]

Well I'm mostly listening via my iphone. I see what you mean, but I'm pretty concerned about having too much bass. However, since you put that under quotes, I guess it's not something I'd have to be concerned about on the EPH-100. Mh so I guess I'll just have to decide between the GRO7 and the EPH100 and put the TF10 on my wishlist.

@H20Fidelity: I know that sound is a very subjective matter… However could you do me a favor and compare Metallica's "Nothing else Matters" from the S&M Album between the GRO7 and the EPH100? But really really only if you have the time!  What I'd like to know is, if you close your eyes and tilt your head back.. which one of these two sets a bigger stage in your mind. The problem I had when hearing this on the Bose IE2 was that they set a big stage, the lows came out pretty clearly, but the second Mr. Hetfield started singing... It didn't feel like his voice cut through all the instruments. Kind of like mashing with the Guitar frequencies.

No problem, I did it.

GRO7: Has the wider soundstage, giving a real left and right sensation, guitars have better timbre (realism) , Mr Hetfields voice was loud and clear centre channel without becoming lost within the guitars, drums had better impact with 'excellent' detail. It was a more natural sound compared and expressed better impact all round.

EPH-100: Although the soundstage was close in width but not quite EPH expresses decent depth falling towards the rear of your head, which gives the impression of more space / air in the virtual stage (some feel it's 3D). Separation and placement of instruments definitely has the advantage but timbre lacks that natural sound. Vocals were mildly lost in some passages coming across congested at times.

Overall I found GRO7 to suit the song better, if I had to go back, I would pick them up first. Of the two GRO7 are just better suited for your genres full stop IMO.

 

[originell]

Thank you very much !
 
So I guess I'll settle with the GR07 then Now I'll just have to find a place to order them with shipment to Europe. Seems like Frogbeats doesn't have them anymore. at least I can only find the GR06.

 

[ItsMeHere]

Quote:

Thank you very much !
 
So I guess I'll settle with the GR07 then Now I'll just have to find a place to order them with shipment to Europe. Seems like Frogbeats doesn't have them anymore. at least I can only find the GR06.

You can purchase them from LendMeUREars, they ship free worldwide.

 

[H20Fidelity]

Thank you very much !

So I guess I'll settle with the GR07 then Now I'll just have to find a place to order them with shipment to Europe. Seems like Frogbeats doesn't have them anymore. at least I can only find the GR06.

Order them through lendmeurears on ebay. They're an authorised Vsonic reseller. (everyone here usually gets them there)

I think you'll be really happy you went with this choice.