dweaver
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2008
- Posts
- 9,672
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- 3,937
I have been using the SM3 for the past 6 months and have a pair of MTPC as well. I have also tried Senn IE8, and many mid level ($100 range IEMs) as well as $30-70 ones.
I also have been experimenting with fullsize headphones over the past year. I thought I was done with fullsize though until I went to a head-fi meet a couple months ago. It was there I heard all of the top fullsize headphones available at the time (HD800, BD T1, Denon D7000). I loved them all and realized I was missing out on what that type of headphone had to offer. The challenge was the price, so I tried several entry level cans that I found on the cheap or bought after researching head-fi. The entry level cans were nice but I was haunted by the top cans I had heard.
Fortunately for me I stayed in touch with several of the guys at the meet and in the end bought a pair of D7000 from one of them as I found that headphone to be the nicest pair of the high end HP's I had listened to. So I have been listing to these ever since and have to say they have brought me headphone nirvana. They just do what I like more than anything I have ever heard. They don't have the sound stage of the HD800 but are better than most of the headphones I have heard aside from the HD800 and a couple others, but don't have the issues I had with headphones that have that large of sound stage either. They are not as detailed or bright as the T1 or the HD800 but they have enough detail I am hearing more emotion and edge to my music than ever before but without exposing my music's faults to the point where I am distracted by the flaws of my music. They have a wonderfull bass that is deep and detailed but not overdone, especially in the midbass. The midrange is just about perfectly placed in my opinion and the treble is detailed and forward enough that I hear everything I want in that arena without being fatigued or put off by to much energy (on my most treble centric tracks they actually are slightly too bright but these songs are in the minority).
So why am I posting this?
I guess I have to admit I am not happy with my current IEM's as they just are missing the boat in comparison to the D7000. So now I am in the hunt for a D7000 equivelant in an IEM or possibly even a portable headphone. In the portable front I have been told to look at the M50 which I will do. But I am curious if any IEM guru's have heard the D7000 and can give me some suggestions on what would be close to the D7000.
Here is a list of what I have owned or currently own.
I have currently done a test trade of my MTPC for a pair of Radius DDM (which are still in transit) so will see how they fill my boots. My current challenge with the SM3 is they just are missing to much in the treble range and their bass while good is a bit week in comparison to the D7000 and some of the other IEM's I have owned, but I love the midrange of the SM3. What I love about the SM3 aside from the midrange is the fact it doesn't do anything really wrong, a feature I find also with the D7000. What the D7000 does though is extend the treble and bass while still not doing anything really wrong. So I want and IEM that has that quality.
Some of the IEM's I am thinking about or have heard that might fill my needs are:
OK, there it is, any suggestions are welcome. A couple things I should mention are, that I will be using these from my iPhone and prefer to not have to use a portable amp (althought I do own a Rocoon amp that is very nice if needed, I just find I have to shut off the phone in the iPhone due to shielding issues). I am not in a position where I can spend gobs of money on this IEM, so prefer to stay on the south side of $500 and the further south the better.
I also have been experimenting with fullsize headphones over the past year. I thought I was done with fullsize though until I went to a head-fi meet a couple months ago. It was there I heard all of the top fullsize headphones available at the time (HD800, BD T1, Denon D7000). I loved them all and realized I was missing out on what that type of headphone had to offer. The challenge was the price, so I tried several entry level cans that I found on the cheap or bought after researching head-fi. The entry level cans were nice but I was haunted by the top cans I had heard.
Fortunately for me I stayed in touch with several of the guys at the meet and in the end bought a pair of D7000 from one of them as I found that headphone to be the nicest pair of the high end HP's I had listened to. So I have been listing to these ever since and have to say they have brought me headphone nirvana. They just do what I like more than anything I have ever heard. They don't have the sound stage of the HD800 but are better than most of the headphones I have heard aside from the HD800 and a couple others, but don't have the issues I had with headphones that have that large of sound stage either. They are not as detailed or bright as the T1 or the HD800 but they have enough detail I am hearing more emotion and edge to my music than ever before but without exposing my music's faults to the point where I am distracted by the flaws of my music. They have a wonderfull bass that is deep and detailed but not overdone, especially in the midbass. The midrange is just about perfectly placed in my opinion and the treble is detailed and forward enough that I hear everything I want in that arena without being fatigued or put off by to much energy (on my most treble centric tracks they actually are slightly too bright but these songs are in the minority).
So why am I posting this?
I guess I have to admit I am not happy with my current IEM's as they just are missing the boat in comparison to the D7000. So now I am in the hunt for a D7000 equivelant in an IEM or possibly even a portable headphone. In the portable front I have been told to look at the M50 which I will do. But I am curious if any IEM guru's have heard the D7000 and can give me some suggestions on what would be close to the D7000.
Here is a list of what I have owned or currently own.
- Senn IE8
- MTPC
- MTPG
- MT
- SM3
- Klipsch S4
- UE TF10
- MP4Nation M1
- MP4Nation M2
I have currently done a test trade of my MTPC for a pair of Radius DDM (which are still in transit) so will see how they fill my boots. My current challenge with the SM3 is they just are missing to much in the treble range and their bass while good is a bit week in comparison to the D7000 and some of the other IEM's I have owned, but I love the midrange of the SM3. What I love about the SM3 aside from the midrange is the fact it doesn't do anything really wrong, a feature I find also with the D7000. What the D7000 does though is extend the treble and bass while still not doing anything really wrong. So I want and IEM that has that quality.
Some of the IEM's I am thinking about or have heard that might fill my needs are:
- Fischer DBA 02 ( I know at least one head-fi member who owns the D7000 who has recommended this IEM)
- Sunrise SW-Xcape (will this one have enough bass?)
- Possibly a Denon IEM??? (Not too familiar with these)
OK, there it is, any suggestions are welcome. A couple things I should mention are, that I will be using these from my iPhone and prefer to not have to use a portable amp (althought I do own a Rocoon amp that is very nice if needed, I just find I have to shut off the phone in the iPhone due to shielding issues). I am not in a position where I can spend gobs of money on this IEM, so prefer to stay on the south side of $500 and the further south the better.