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Rank the IEM's you've heard
Dec 21, 2019 at 6:37 PM Post #2,236 of 5,095
@BananaOoyoo nice list. 2 questions...

Why is the Noble M3 so bad?
Xelento compared to maybe the LX, does the Xelento do anything better?
 
Dec 22, 2019 at 3:17 AM Post #2,238 of 5,095
A few changes to my list and more to come as I have the Moondrop A8 and the Sony IER M9 on the way.

1. EE Legend X - handily the best I've heard. I had a rocky start with this but with the WM1A and Eros II 8 wire there is a much more controlled bass the LX is a fantastic iem. I don't get any sense of a bass bleed any more.. This is a touchy iem I think to pair with other gear. With the Fiio M11 it was a mess.
2. QDC Anole VX - Only got a short listen but it was impressive
3. EE Phantom - I seem to have rocky starts with all EE iems but once I found the Eros II 8wire cable this snapped into place. Wish I had had the WM1A at the time as I think the Phantom would pair extremely well with that.
4. Noble K10 - This is my daily iem with the Fiio BTR5 and it's just so enjoyable. Such an easy listen and very well tuned and coherent.
5. Noble Encore - bigger soundstage but I like the mids on the K10 more
6. Noble Katana
7. Campfire Andromeda
8. EE Bravado
8. Noble Audio Savant - I prefer the soundstage to S8F
10. Fearless Audio S8F
11. Empire Ears ESR

lots of other stuff...
 
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Dec 22, 2019 at 4:55 AM Post #2,239 of 5,095
ngd3 said:
@BananaOoyoo nice list. 2 questions...

Why is the Noble M3 so bad?
Xelento compared to maybe the LX, does the Xelento do anything better?
Click to expand...

With the Noble M3, the first thing that really pops out at you is how offensive the mids sound - it’s like trying to listen to voices through a giant wall or something. It’s an IEM that I was looking forward to trying but was hugely disappointed by when I finally did. Muffled, distant, no thank you. That said, it did come out on top when I went back to compare it with the IO and Cupid, so I suppose it could always be worse.

Xelento and Legend X aren’t IEMs I get to compare side by side because they’re offered at different stores. To me, the former seems like a well-executed V shaped IEM and the latter a bit more extreme... so I’d maybe say that the Xelento sounds a bit cleaner? Again, no direct comparisons here so just going off memory.
 
Dec 22, 2019 at 5:05 AM Post #2,240 of 5,095
On the topic of the Noble M3, @BananaOoyoo i think you’re lucky to have heard a midrange at all

It is by far the biggest singular failure I have heard, and I’d rather listen to music from the earphones that came with my phone for the rest of my life than have to listen to that abomination

Terrible terrible IEM and also the reason why high end audiophilia gets a bad name

Should put it in its own separate tier in my ranking lmao

Add: actually added a separate note for the M3 specifically, because of how terrible it is
 
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Dec 22, 2019 at 5:18 AM Post #2,242 of 5,095
Dec 22, 2019 at 9:28 AM Post #2,244 of 5,095
mvvRAZ said:
On the topic of the Noble M3, @BananaOoyoo i think you’re lucky to have heard a midrange at all

It is by far the biggest singular failure I have heard, and I’d rather listen to music from the earphones that came with my phone for the rest of my life than have to listen to that abomination

Terrible terrible IEM and also the reason why high end audiophilia gets a bad name

Should put it in its own separate tier in my ranking lmao

Add: actually added a separate note for the M3 specifically, because of how terrible it is
Click to expand...

The M3 is really bad, but I think it’s still a marginally better IEM than some of the other atrocities that have been (or are currently) available for purchase.

That said, “it’s better than Obravo Cupid” is probably not what you want to be getting for $600.
 
Dec 22, 2019 at 9:48 AM Post #2,245 of 5,095
BananaOoyoo said:
The M3 is really bad, but I think it’s still a marginally better IEM than some of the other atrocities that have been (or are currently) available for purchase.

That said, “it’s better than Obravo Cupid” is probably not what you want to be getting for $600.
Click to expand...
Hmmmm. I tried the Cupid, and yeah, it was pretty terrible at just about everything but I’d honestly still take the Cupid over the M3 I think

If you’re looking for something that’s also downright terrible the Noble Django would be a great choice
 
Dec 23, 2019 at 2:25 AM Post #2,246 of 5,095
Been a while since I posted the ranking... Moved around some stuff after receiving some new stuff, added some notes too

Thinking of splitting Tier 3 in two separate tiers as there are some pretty significant differences between IEMs that are supposed to be in the same tier

Screenshot 2019-12-23 at 09.23.48.png
 
Dec 23, 2019 at 3:16 AM Post #2,248 of 5,095
1- Periodic audio beryllium-- Great highs, slightly recressed mids, great bass, transparent, clear,istrument separation,Good to great all rounder "magical sound"

2- Andromeda--nice Clear treble, Soundstage
3- Atlas -- Ok treble , good bass, good soundstage "overpriced"
4- Rhapsodio Solar -All good but nothing special "overpriced"
5- RHA CL2- Picky low treble, hard to listen to some kind of music, otherwise quite good "overpriced"
6- Akg k 3003- Good all rounder but sometimes treble is strange, "highly overpriced"
7- Sony XBA-Z5- Good all rounder but bit muted highs
8- Beyerdynamic Soul byrd - Nothing terrible but nothing great either
9- Sony Xba 4 - Everything ok ,nothing special, "overpriced"

:beerchug::ksc75smile:
 
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Dec 23, 2019 at 4:31 AM Post #2,250 of 5,095
8481 said:
It sounded really clean to me, everything sounded 'just right', awesome slam, airy-ness and separation. A bit like Andro Golds in HD.

Now if the VE8 had Elysium's mids I'd stop chasing the unicorn.
Click to expand...

I've heard its great for Rock and Metal so its on my radar... I see the Elysium and Solaris are tied on your list?
 
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