[KGW]

I'm thinking about upgrading my Denon C710 earphones in a couple of months, but wanted to allow plenty of time for research & my indecisiveness.

What would be a good next step up? Bearing in mind I listen to a lot of dance & electronic music, and really rather like the Denon sound signature, aside from the sibilance. (Although saying that I have no real context, as the only two "proper" sets of earphones I have owned have been made by Denon.) Bass is very imporant to me due to my music preferences, but so is clarity. The majority of the music I listen to has few to no vocals, with only a few artists that I am into being singers. With this in mind, perhaps mids are not as important.

After much thread reading, it seems like the IE8s are a good choice, due to their superior bass. Although for some reason, I am also drawn to the Image X10. I think I just like the look of them.

Another I've also considered is the Westone 3, but at nearly £300 they might be out of my price range. But if it seems like they are worth the extra funds, then I can probably extend my budget.

A further thing to bear in mind is that I use my earphones almost exclusively when travelling, so ease of use and portability is another major factor. Only occasionally do I sit at home using my earphones.

Can anyone make comments on any of the above, in light of my preferences, or perhaps suggest another set?

I understand there are a million and one threads asking for advice and I have tried to contribute a little (with my very limited knowledge) over the past week or so, in order that I'm not just constantly asking for advice without giving anything back.

Thanks very much.

 

[imackler]

I would encourage you to read some of the threads comparing the IE8s and Westone 3. Today, I did search for Westone and in the first couple pages, you'll see several long threads. I think that, from others comments, the Westone 3 may be too sibilant for you. I had the IE7 and wouldn't count them out for your taste. They are built like a tank and great for travel (although not really noise-isolating, if you need that). That being said, I can't imagine you'll be disappointed with the IE8.

 

[KGW]

Thanks, I'll take a look.

Looking at the prices though, it would require a significant quality difference for me to drop an extra £100 or so on the W3s over the IE8s.

Are there any others worth considering? From what I can tell the aforementioned three, along with perhaps the UE Triple.Fi 10 Pro are the biggies around the £200-£300 range without going the next step up to custom-fitted, which I don't want to bother with.

 

[mark2410]

ahh your in Blighty, you want the IE8 then

 

[KGW]

Thanks for the feedback here.

Sorry it's taken me a while to get back to you.

I do like the look of the IE8, however there are a couple of things putting me off; first of all - the price, whilst cheaper than elsewhere in the world still seems quite a lot to me; the second thing is the size and lack of isolation.

I've been having a look at the Ultimate Ears 700 and I really want to buy them to test them out only I'm worried that the bass will be lacking in comparison to the Denons. Has anyone heard both and can make a short comparison?

If not I may just have to bite and go for the IE8s come pay-day...

On the positive I have just sold my old iPod classic through Amazon so at least the majority of the cost will be off-set by that.

 

[Photofan1986]

I do not know UE700 personally, but from what I've read, I don't think their bass can be compared to C710, quantity-wise. Their sound signature is farther from the Denons than the Sennheiser.
And yes, IE8 is quite bad at isolation. It was a problem for me at first, but I really like them, so I cannot part with them only for that reason.
Maybe the X10 could do the trick for you: It should be a well worth upgrade from your denons, has similar sound signature and offers good isolation.

 

[HONEYBOY]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KGW /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the feedback here. Sorry it's taken me a while to get back to you. I do like the look of the IE8, however there are a couple of things putting me off; first of all - the price, whilst cheaper than elsewhere in the world still seems quite a lot to me; the second thing is the size and lack of isolation. I've been having a look at the Ultimate Ears 700 and I really want to buy them to test them out only I'm worried that the bass will be lacking in comparison to the Denons. Has anyone heard both and can make a short comparison? If not I may just have to bite and go for the IE8s come pay-day... On the positive I have just sold my old iPod classic through Amazon so at least the majority of the cost will be off-set by that.

It has been a while since I last heard the UE700 but am very sure that the
bass on the UE700 will be so much more anemic compared to the denons. The UE700 has a very clean sound and I find it to be rather analytical and dry sounding. The denons offer a more bass centric sound with a much warmer midrange and to me are more musical. UE700 has the better clarity and transparency but the denons are a lot more coherent sounding. Hope this helps a bit. Oh and I prefer the IE8 quite handily to both

However, you might be surprised at how well the denons fair with some of the touted top tier phones.

 

[KGW]

I see, thanks for the replies. I thought that might be the case with the UE700s. They do look nice though!

I think I quite like the Image X5s, X10s and the UE700s due to their size.

I would take a look at the Image X10s, but they are around £250+ and that is out of my price range.

 

[HONEYBOY]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KGW /img/forum/go_quote.gif I see, thanks for the replies. I thought that might be the case with the UE700s. They do look nice though! I think I quite like the Image X5s, X10s and the UE700s due to their size. I would take a look at the Image X10s, but they are around £250+ and that is out of my price range.

Yeah they are very tiny and offers pretty decent external noise isolation

 

[steven_1026]

I went from a c710 to an x5. The x5 has a lot less bass compared to the c710 but overall a much cleaner and more pleasant sound. However, I do miss the bass on the c710 from time to time.
If you don't mind buying used, you could probably find a pretty good deal on the x10 though with some patience.

 

[bixby]

I went through 5-6 pairs of IEMs going from Denon AH-C751 which were really quite dreadful with wooly bass, sibilant highs, and a heavy, won't stay in place fit that did not isolate too well for me. I could have saved myself lots of time and aggravation if I just would have upped my budget and went for the Westones, right off the bat.

I was all set on the Westone 3s which I heard at a meet and loved. I listen to lots of electronic music as well, Orb, FSOL, etc. but I also listen to lots of female vocals. The Westone 3 would have been my purchase but before I could pull the trigger I was at another meet and heard the UM3X. More accurate all around and bang, finally an IEM for active and travel use that made me stop looking for an IEM that satisfied.

Both the 3 and UM3X are very good iems and much better to my ears than the offerings from UE and Shure, not to mention Ety.

I use them for biking, hiking, plane trips, etc and they isolate very well, have virtually no cord microphonics and sound great.

Yes they are expensive, but if you don't want to be upgrading every few months (and losing money in the process)or years they just might be the right ones. See if you can give them a listen.

Good luck.

 

[tstarn06]

And speaking of Westone, I owned both the UM3X and the W3s, and in the end, found that the less expensive Westone 2, which can be had for $229 with a discount on Soundearphones.com, is my favorite of the three. Not saying it's better, just my favorite. It's relatively new, and smaller (driver housing) than either of its big brothers. Also, I enventually found the UM3X, even with custom sleeves, sort of boring. I did like the W3, but it was too hard for me to get the sibilance factor down without using a tri-flange, which was sort of uncomfy (and I didn't have the custom sleeves yet).

I ended up trading the W3 for the UM3X, and recently, after some reviews from owners who also had all three, decided to take my last Westone stand with the W2. With the custom sleeves (they do add an additional $100 to the price), these are my favorite IEMs.

Another suggestion is you pick up a pair of Triple-Fi 10 Pros from ebay for the cheap price right now, between $150-$200. Also excellent for that price. I had mine customized (reshelled) and they rank with the W2s. Keeping both, in fact.

Oh, and I owned the C710s too, but decided I could do better, even at the relatively low price point. I did with the AT CKS70, which I favored over the two comparable phones. The CKS70 is another option, you should read up on it. About $80.

 

[theKraken11]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tstarn06 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Oh, and I owned the C710s too, but decided I could do better, even at the relatively low price point. I did with the AT CKS70, which I favored over the two comparable phones. The CKS70 is another option, you should read up on it. About $80.

You seem to be a mids guy, so I'm curious what you thought about the C710's mids? How do their mids compare to the CKS70's (unmodded)?

 

[tstarn06]

Well, I didn't keep the C710s for long, to be honest. I had tried the 551s and 700s, and I did burn the 710s in over 100 hours, but I just decided they were not worth the price for my needs. As for the mids, from memory I think they were very strong, not recessed. But I also had some issues, as do others, with the highs being a little too much. Again, maybe they need 200 hours, not sure.

The CKS70s, which I got used for $50, are bass-heavy, but laid back and resemble full-size phones. Eventally, as others also, I found the mids and highs to be somewhat veiled, so I saw someone modded them by removing the original mesh filter (cloth) and replacing it with a RE252 filter. That was good, as I felt it brought the mids and highs out nicely. But I ripped one of the filters and didn't have a replacement. So I took off the other filter and used foam from an old pair of Ksc75 phones in the sound tube (small bit of foam). That seems to balance them out nicely. Only problem is I have to make sure the same amount of foam is in each tube, which I don't think is the case right now.

Also, I use the Sony hybrid tips with the CKS70s, and they are amazingly comfortable.

 

[ZARIM]

The upgrade from Denon C710 can be Klipsch Custom 3, upcoming JVC FX700 and Turbine Pro.