[cn11]

tuahogary--
 
Are you going to the UK meet? If so, you should take the EX1000 for demo. Others need to hear them!!  Especially soozieq if she goes (and you better!)....

 

[tuahogary]

Been getting some comments / questions about my description of the EX1000's sound so I thought I edited my impressions for a clearer point of view. Hope it helps 

 

[james444]

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You're of course single-handedly going to be responsible for my very soon and inevitable caving to order a set of these. Thanks so much!!  

 
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Others need to hear them!!

 
Sounds like you're no longer mad at me.

 

[tuahogary]

 
Quote:

tuahogary--
 
Are you going to the UK meet? If so, you should take the EX1000 for demo. Others need to hear them!!  Especially soozieq if she goes (and you better!)....

Indeed I am! You can see my name and the EX1000 in the headphone list in the London Meet thread 

 
Who is this soozieq? She sounds scary! 
 

 

[cn11]

Ahhh, nooo need to be frightened!! Ha ha ha!!! She's simply one of the single most knowledgeable, insightful, smart audio people you'll ever want to meet. I hope she attends. 
 
Awesome that you're attending. Please take lots of pictures. I would kill to hear the LCD-2s, which are going to be there. Funny thing is that my wife and I will be in London for about five days, but just up until the day before the meet. We have to fly back to the states on Friday unfortunately.

 

[cn11]

Quote:

 
 
Sounds like you're no longer mad at me.

Never was!! The shocking thing is how they've made my long time favorite SM3s sound almost subpar. I remember the Earsonics making the IE8s seem a bit behind the times when I received them too. Now these are starting to approach the enjoyment I get from full size headphones. I'm really glad I found your review, and made the impulsive decision to get them. My ears thank you too! 

 

[tuahogary]

 
Quote:

Ahhh, nooo need to be frightened!! Ha ha ha!!! She's simply one of the single most knowledgeable, insightful, smart audio people you'll ever want to meet. I hope she attends. 
 
Awesome that you're attending. Please take lots of pictures. I would kill to hear the LCD-2s, which are going to be there. Funny thing is that my wife and I will be in London for about five days, but just up until the day before the meet. We have to fly back to the states on Friday unfortunately.

Ah, in that case I hope she attends too! I have very little experience with full sized headphones, the best I've ever auditioned are the Alessandro MS2i which I preferred over the Beyer DT770. Would be interested so see why so many grown men go gaga over the LCD-2 and HE6 haha. I better brace myself for the London meet then if it's going to be that epic!
 

 

[soozieq]

 
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Who is this soozieq? She sounds scary! 
 

 
Oh, she is!

 
Great impressions by the way, and I think I understand your description of the treble, although I won't know for sure unless I hear them. But according to Chris, they protrude as much as the TF10's, which doesn't seem possible when I look at the pics.

 
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Ahhh, nooo need to be frightened!! Ha ha ha!!!

Hey!! Stop downplaying my scariness

 
 

Thanks! Well I thought you and cn11 had an agreement that he's to buy the phones and send them to you?

 
I know. He's owned them for over 24 hours so far and hasn't even shipped them to me yet. Sloppy, much??
 



 

Chris, do you think the fit problem is going to outweigh the positives? Such a shame if that turns out to be the case, because it's been a long time since anything's come near to toppling your much-loved SM3. Can you take the memory wire off? And if you could, would you be able to wear them down?
 

 

[tuahogary]

Haha soozieq, sorry but I'm no longer frightened at you! 

 Nice to meet you and also please come to the London meet! I see you have a FX700 and that's something that I really want to listen to as well. 
 
I think I may have exaggerated the sweet treble a bit but as I said I'm only nitpicking on the details I thought are standing in the way of preventing the EX1000 from being 99.9% perfect. It's the really minor details like comfort, softness and sweetness that keeps it at around 97-98% in my scale. Though comfort has improved quite a bit since a few helpful HFiers have been giving me tips 

 Personally the fit problem is a non-issue (only not perfect) and the positives far outweigh the minor problems I had.
 
Yes they do stick out a bit, I think as much as the TF10 although it doesn't stand out as much with its low profile black design compared to the shiny blue housing of TF10. The memory wire is built into the cable so no you can't take it off. I think you can wear it down although I never tried it, the angled cable connector make it seem like it's only for use over the ear.

 

[soozieq]

 

 
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Haha soozieq, sorry but I'm no longer frightened at you! 

 
Well, that's just not right!

 
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Nice to meet you and also please come to the London meet! I see you have a FX700 and that's something that I really want to listen to as well. 
 

Nice to meet you too. I will try and come to the meet but I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it, which is a shame because there's a lot of gear there I'd like to steal, I mean, try

 
I don't have the FX700's anymore, just the CK10's, although I really miss my FX700 now that they're gone.
 
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The memory wire is built into the cable so no you can't take it off. I think you can wear it down although I never tried it, the angled cable connector make it seem like it's only for use over the ear.

 
Yes. I realise that now. I got confused with the separate ear guides that you get with some phones. It's a shame Sony seems to have made such a great phone that can only be worn one way. You're stuck if the fit's no good. Mind you, I could get a good fit with the TF10's the first time I had them, and I know a lot of people couldn't.

 

[tuahogary]

 
Quote:

 
Nice to meet you too. I will try and come to the meet but I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it, which is a shame because there's a lot of gear there I'd like to steal, I mean, try

 
I don't have the FX700's anymore, just the CK10's, although I really miss my FX700 now that they're gone.
 

Haha, maybe I do have a reason to be afraid of you. Afraid that you're going to steal my beloved EX1000! 

 Shame that you don't have the FX700 anymore. I really really really wanted to try them. Oh well, the CK10 is also something I've never heard before so not all's lost. 
 

 

[james444]

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Shame that you don't have the FX700 anymore. I really really really wanted to try them.

No problem, PM me with your address and I'll send you my pair. I can also include others if you want to try them and maybe bring along to the UK meet. The SE530, FI-BA-SS, e-Q5 and GR10 are currently lent to other members, but there's still some stuff left.

 

[cn11]

Quote:

 

Hey!! Stop downplaying my scariness

 
 
 
I know. He's owned them for over 24 hours so far and hasn't even shipped them to me yet. Sloppy, much??
 



 

Chris, do you think the fit problem is going to outweigh the positives? Such a shame if that turns out to be the case, because it's been a long time since anything's come near to toppling your much-loved SM3. Can you take the memory wire off? And if you could, would you be able to wear them down?
 

 
Heh, yeah! Seconds....  24 hours? You know dynamic drivers take a long time to run in, and these are 16mm!! They plead more time! 

 
I sure hope the fit issues don't outweigh the positives down the road. Right now they're tolerable in fit, but not ideal. Which is a bit of a shame because they sound so layered and engaging. At least I know I'm getting a good seal for the sonics. Unfortunately the memory wire looks too well integrated to make me want to mess with them. There's also these molded rubber ends/strain reliefs at the base of the memory loops which secure them to the wires. I assume they're also there to help catch behind your ears better, or to grab onto so you can pull them down to secure the loops better (which is what I do often, so the ends are nice to find the grip point quickly). 

 

[dfkt]

I just managed to stuff James444's EX1000 into my ears, after some trial and error. First impressions... I dislike the form factor - not as much as the DDM, but they're still too clunky and somewhat annoying to wear. The cable quality is awesome, same as the IE8 or HJE900 - I just wonder why the Y-splitter is below my navel, that makes no sense. Good thing the cord adjuster thingamabob seems to work really well. The decision that they made the 3.5mm plug "1st-gen iPhone compatible" is almost retro-amusing, but looks off on regular players, when a part of the plug sticks out of the player.
 
As for sound, I can probably already say the same I said for the SM3: the EX1000 sound just right. There's nothing to complain about anything. Personally, I can't say anything more positive than that.

 

[cn11]

dfkt-
Glad you like their sound. I'm still struggling some with their form and fit too. For me it's even a little worse than the fit of the DDMs. But once I manage to get them settled for a while, their sound is spectacular. The thing that gets me is the amount of space they convey. By comparison the SM3s sound a little boxy and constricted. I remember when I got that first great seal with the Earsonics they did that to all my other IEMs (and that includes all my previous top tiers-- FX700, IE8, MD), and now here they are on the receiving end of that same effect. I suppose it's because the EX1000s are dynamic driver IEMs done right, so you get all that tactile quality, impact, and weight to the sound. While the SM3s were/are BA triples done very well, the EX1Ks show the inherent problems (to me anyway) with BA drivers. 
 
Will you be doing a full review of them?