[DrSheep]

I think you should give the M-100 another go when the XL pads comes out later this year.  Sennheiser is a very popular brand, and there are no shortage of aftermarket replacement cable for the IE80 from about $50 to over $250 and beyond.  Just search for silver cable and you will get a ton of results.  Here are some samples:
 
http://www.whiplashaudio.com/elite-sennheiser-ie8-replacemnt-cable.html
http://toxic-cables.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=106
http://www.etsy.com/listing/97325732/custom-cable-for-sennheiser-ie8-ie80-exo
 
p.s. IE8 and IE80 uses the same connection, so you can search for IE8 cables instead they don't list for IE80.

 

[AuburnEagle23]

Really $250 for a cable, how could 2 stereo cables honestly really do that much, I know a decent amount about video cables, and the amount for pay for various brands of cables does about zero for picture quality.  So what do the $250 cables do for yah?
 
Edit:  Just read the first link, haha, it can quote, "transmit signals faster since it is made from 99.99998 pure silver". Lol, really, that sounds like a bunch of smoke being blown in the wrong direction, besides the fact that I guarantee those cables have about maybe $30-40 of production cost, maybe.
 
Have you actually use these Whiplash $250 cables against say, default cables, or another third party cable that is $30 or $40 and could tell a un-paralleled difference?
 

 

[Eddie C]

There is pinhole mod for the ue900, you cover the small pin sized hole and it will tame bass, mids and highs remain unchanged and they become neutral sounding. Clarity is really good and so far have no problems with paint chip, connection etc. I like the shure type connection because i can adjust the earpiece more easily and not worry about putting stress on the pins of a 2 pin connection (i have pins stuck on tf10s). Have not tried westone 4's or 535's yet but se425 disappointed me with recessed bass and treble moreso treble because it becomes metallic and cannot hear pronunciation of lyrics properly when they go that high. I have been told standard 535 difference to 425 is bit more bass and soundstage so i moved on to different brand afterwards!

 

[DrSheep]

Quote:

Really $250 for a cable, how could 2 stereo cables honestly really do that much, I know a decent amount about video cables, and the amount for pay for various brands of cables does about zero for picture quality.  So what do the $250 cables do for yah?
 

Who knows, but knowing you can get some reasonablely priced aftermarket replacement is comforting.
 
http://www.amazon.com/EFFECT-CRYSTAL-Upgrade-Sennheiser-Silver/dp/B00CDFYI9Y/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1374083116&sr=8-6&keywords=sennheiser+ie80+cable
http://www.amazon.com/Color-Custom-Upgrade-Cable-Sennheiser/dp/B00DJ5FI00/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1374083116&sr=8-7&keywords=sennheiser+ie80+cable

 

[AuburnEagle23]

Oh ok, so you do not own one of these, shall I say, nifty pair of cables?  Also have you do this bass reduction fix or modification on your UE900s DrSheep that EddieC is referring to?

 

[AuburnEagle23]

On another note, just to be clear.  As far as comfort, is everyone in pretty good agreement that the IE 80s are a more comfortable iem then the Westone 4R or the UE 900?  Just from lookin at the 3 iems I would think that the UE 900s would be the most comfortable, but then from seeing a handful of reviews people say once they get the IE 80s in their ears, the odd diamond shape fits perfectly.  Thoughts?

 

[DrSheep]

Quote:

Oh ok, so you do not own one of these, shall I say, nifty pair of cables?  Also have you do this bass reduction fix or modification on your UE900s DrSheep that EddieC is referring to?

 
Quote:

On another note, just to be clear.  As far as comfort, is everyone in pretty good agreement that the IE 80s are a more comfortable iem then the Westone 4R or the UE 900?  Just from lookin at the 3 iems I would think that the UE 900s would be the most comfortable, but then from seeing a handful of reviews people say once they get the IE 80s in their ears, the odd diamond shape fits perfectly.  Thoughts?

No I didn't do the mod.  In fact, I think the pinhole mod will increase the bass instead.  Comfort wise the UE900 will be very similar to the IE80... except that the UE900's cable has memory wire going over the top of your ear.  You can wear it straight down of course but that will just add weight.  Also, the UE900 comes with the comfort (TS-500) version of the Comply Foam Tips, which is shorter than the standard T-500.  I have no problem with it, but some people found that it makes the pods go in a little too deep into your ear so the casing started to grind a bit.  With the T-500, both the pods of the UE900 and IE80 should clear your ridge and will not grind.

 

[AuburnEagle23]

Gotcha, yeah, gah, I just keep going back and fourth, I will look through 10-15 reviews of the UE 900 or the Westone 4R or the Sennheiser and come across reviews saying all 3 of either the hands down best iem they have owned.  But primarily what I have read is this so far.
 
UE 900 - funnest, clearest, overall best, non-natural reproduction iem, but different sound, but can have that connectivity issue
 
Westone 4R - absolute perfect sound reproduction, to the point of like you at the event, and it almost get boring listening because there is no variation.
 
Sennheiser IE 80 - very pleaseant to listen to, absolute best they have listened to, coming from people that have owned Westone 4R and Shure 535s, but, I see a lot of people complain of the sound isolation.
 
Now, with the IE 80, how is sound isolation, and sound stage different, I thought that sound stage, was being able to pin point the differnet instruments mentally around your head pretty much.  So wouldn't sound isolation be isolating each sound, or is it meaning isolating out outside noise?  Also, when it comes to the UE 900s and being a "fun" iem, is that like fun, for things like new age pop, hip hop, 70s rock like EWF, or is just more alive with more treble, where as the IE 80 is more mellow and warm feeling and the Westone 4R is a all around natural sound real sound?

 

[DrSheep]

Quote:

Gotcha, yeah, gah, I just keep going back and fourth, I will look through 10-15 reviews of the UE 900 or the Westone 4R or the Sennheiser and come across reviews saying all 3 of either the hands down best iem they have owned.  But primarily what I have read is this so far.
 
UE 900 - funnest, clearest, overall best, non-natural reproduction iem, but different sound, but can have that connectivity issue
 
Westone 4R - absolute perfect sound reproduction, to the point of like you at the event, and it almost get boring listening because there is no variation.
 
Sennheiser IE 80 - very pleaseant to listen to, absolute best they have listened to, coming from people that have owned Westone 4R and Shure 535s, but, I see a lot of people complain of the sound isolation.
 
Now, with the IE 80, how is sound isolation, and sound stage different, I thought that sound stage, was being able to pin point the differnet instruments mentally around your head pretty much.  So wouldn't sound isolation be isolating each sound, or is it meaning isolating out outside noise?  Also, when it comes to the UE 900s and being a "fun" iem, is that like fun, for things like new age pop, hip hop, 70s rock like EWF, or is just more alive with more treble, where as the IE 80 is more mellow and warm feeling and the Westone 4R is a all around natural sound real sound?

1. Only for the early production batch, which has been fixed since.
2. Not quite perfect but close.  The W4R aims for a more flat signature so it will sound less fun compare to the UE900 but not necessary boring.
3. Sound isolation is an easy fix with the T-500 Comply Foam Tips, and that's why I recommended them in the first place.  Better seal plus increase bore distance and comfort.
4. Staging means virtual separation of instruments in space of the sound, and just think of it as sound of different instruments coming from different part of the space and not close to each other; sound isolation means blocking of outside noise.
5. Your last sentence nailed it pretty much, but the description of IE80 and W4R can be swapped depends on who are you talking too.

 

[Eddie C]

The westone 4r is identical sounding to the non removable cable model so you can read reviews on those instead of specifically searching 4r. Sound isolation is isolation of outside noises, because the ie80 is dynamic there is a hole on each earpiece to feed air to the driver. Both the w4 and ue900 are quad balanced armature drivers and they are fully sealed so they isolate better. While youre at it you can read up about dynamic vs ba drivers. Theres actually a glossery which defines sound terms which I would link but I am currently on my phone. Also I think it will be better to seach for comparisons such as w4 vs ue900, w4 vs ie80 etc because each review would say "blah blah blah flagship model definate upgrade from lower models" or even better audition each one in person. Also I think my closed pinhole ue900's are very neutral, non fatiguing and wouldnt call them fun as my ba200 have more midbass and more forgiving nature. Going through appreciation threads of each will contain more info than reviews because they contain opinions from long term users, comparisons, pros and cons

 

[AuburnEagle23]

Yeah I hear yah.  Well from looking at everything so far, and honestly just because I like blue, and that Comply has blue eartips as well to match.   Additionally, with amazons return policy, I am going to give the Logitech UE 900s a go, and see how I like them, if not then I can always try the Westone 4Rs or the Sennheiser IE 80s.  As for the pricing, I know the retail is $399, but have you guys noticed they have come down in price much, or is that pretty standard.  On amazon that seems to be pretty norm, or they are even higher by far on there haha, funny to see the folks posting stuff on there for 100%-200% above retail.

 

[DrSheep]

There were some discount during July 4th, but generally speaking pricing has been stable at $400.

 

[AuburnEagle23]

Are they your daily use iems, and if so, anything else to suggest to pick up with them, besides the comply T-500 tips?

 

[DrSheep]

Quote:

Are they your daily use iems, and if so, anything else to suggest to pick up with them, besides the comply T-500 tips?

Get one of these too:
 
http://www.amazon.com/Cosmos-Light-bluetooth-handsfree-headset/dp/B005ZN9IMI/ref=pd_sim_cps_3
 
And yes, you can use them daily.

 

[Mooses9]

imo removeable cables are not smoke and mirrors they do make a difference in sound. ive owned everything from stock to 6n pure silver cables, the 5n ''dream'' pure silver cable,neotech pure silver,btg_audio ''sunrise'',tralucent audio 6n pure silver.whiplash
 
ive also owned a bunch of interconnects and lod's
 
personally i dont real descriptions of cables and totally believe the who faster transfer ect. but upgrade cables do make a difference in clarity,resolution,bass,mids,highs,vocals,soundstage ect.
 
when you buy a 500.00 iem, 250-300 for a cable isnt bad imo. in this hobby you get what you pay for. cables and interconnects along with iems are no exception.