[W1ll1eTheP1mp]

Hey there, I’ve owned IE800 before, and currently own Z1R, M9, EX1000 and EX800ST.

If you want neutral warm, M9 is incredible with one of the most natural tunings in all iem’s, and I prefer it to Z1R in many cases.

If you want more of a neutral reference, with a bit more attack/ sparkle and bite in the treble, EX1000 is still up there with today’s best iem’s. Keep in mind the fit is a bit strange and it’s open back

Hellp! Im a sucker for soundstage,clarity and details! Doesn any of those compare to IE800's soundstage? What is the used price of the M9? I mostly listen to instrumental music.

Ive decided that the Z1R is out of reach for me due to price. Its very interest and tempting,but idk if i can justify the price. Dont know how much they go for secondhand since i love to buy used

 

[W1ll1eTheP1mp]

[


I have the M9 and EX1000 and share your feelings about them.

Some additional comments - the little brother of the EX1k, EX800ST is cheaper and has very similar tuning as the EX1k, but it does not come close to the clarity and definition of the EX1k in my opinion. Some even prefer it but I feel the EX1k is worth the higher price.

On the more fun side, I found the XBA-N3 quite good, punchy bass and smooth and detailed mids and treble. But I only tested it, did not own it.
The cheaper brother of the M9, the IER-M7 lacks some sparkle and is even more laid back than the M9, but might still worth checking out as well.

What sbout the Z5? Read alot of good things about that one! Have u compared that one to M9?

 

[Damz87]

What sbout the Z5? Read alot of good things about that one! Have u compared that one to M9?

The Z5 is a bass canon compared to the M9. I would classify the Z5 as an L-shaped signature compared to the M9 which has a more balanced tuning (it still has boosted bass, but nowhere near as much as Z5). The Z5 is a dynamic driver/BA hybrid so the bass has a more realistic sub bass rumble, texture and slower decay compared to M9’s BA driven bass. Unfortunately the mid/upper bass on the Z5 is so elevated that it can bleed into the lower mids making that region sound a bit congested.

The midrange on the Z5 has a warmer, thicker tonality with lower mids presenting a little more forward than the M9’s. Overall the midrange is fairly balanced between the lower and upper mids. The M9 on the other hand has a little less warmth in the mids so it sounds a little clearer/more analytical. It’s still a warm midrange but not as warm as Z5’s.

The treble is where they differ the most with the M9’s treble presenting more forward and extending further up and with more air and detail. The Z5’s have quite a laidback treble presentation which is pretty relaxing and may not be ideal if you like your treble to sound energetic and exciting.

The soundstage is wider on the Z5 compared to the M9, but the M9 has incredibly precise imaging, and it’s transient’s are faster than the Z5’s which gives the M9 a greater sense of speed and clarity overall compared to the Z5. The M9 is also more resolving, picking up a fair bit more detail across the FR.

The other thing to factor in is the fit and ergonomics. The Z5 has a strange USB stick shape that sticks out of your ear and may be harder to maintain a proper seal. Whereas the M9 sits flush in your ear and generally fits more securely (at least for me it did). So that can be a bit of a dealbreaker for the Z5.

But, if you like a fun sounding IEM with lots of bass and super wide soundstages, then the Z5 is pretty hard to beat for its price

 

[Pricklyears101]

[


I have the M9 and EX1000 and share your feelings about them.

Some additional comments - the little brother of the EX1k, EX800ST is cheaper and has very similar tuning as the EX1k, but it does not come close to the clarity and definition of the EX1k in my opinion. Some even prefer it but I feel the EX1k is worth the higher price.

On the more fun side, I found the XBA-N3 quite good, punchy bass and smooth and detailed mids and treble. But I only tested it, did not own it.
The cheaper brother of the M9, the IER-M7 lacks some sparkle and is even more laid back than the M9, but might still worth checking out as well.

Hmm that's true but ex1k is going for crazy prices, and that's also condition dependent in the used market, whereas you can get the 800st/7550 around $200 easily on ebay. Also, the paint coating on the ex1k chips more easily than ex800st if not taken care of properly, which might not affect the sound of course but it's just heartbreaking to see. Oh yea back to sound, take this with a grain of salt, with that added clarity and definition mentioned before, it is also more punishing of badly recorded songs. Ex800st is the better all rounder overall, and imho you don't compromise much if only have the 800st and have never heard and wonder what the bigger brother sounds like.

But the thing is, if you can afford the ie800 I'm pretty sure the m9 is right up your alley, that's one of the few iems that subjectively, sounds right with whatever i throw at it.

 

[W1ll1eTheP1mp]

Hmm that's true but ex1k is going for crazy prices, and that's also condition dependent in the used market, whereas you can get the 800st/7550 around $200 easily on ebay. Also, the paint coating on the ex1k chips more easily than ex800st if not taken care of properly, which might not affect the sound of course but it's just heartbreaking to see. Oh yea back to sound, take this with a grain of salt, with that added clarity and definition mentioned before, it is also more punishing of badly recorded songs. Ex800st is the better all rounder overall, and imho you don't compromise much if only have the 800st and have never heard and wonder what the bigger brother sounds like.

But the thing is, if you can afford the ie800 I'm pretty sure the m9 is right up your alley, that's one of the few iems that subjectively, sounds right with whatever i throw at it.

I got my IE800 at a very good price though.. I try to buy as much as i can used/secondhand in this hobby and i will also do that for a Sony IEM.

I need to check out the M9 used price.. Both the M9 and Z5 seemd very interesting! Im actually a headphone guy, but a lot of my listening is when im lying in bed . Every morning i wake up 2 hours before i need to get off to work just to listen to music in bed. So iems is best suited so i dont wake up my better half!

 

[Pricklyears101]

I got my IE800 at a very good price though.. I try to buy as much as i can used/secondhand in this hobby and i will also do that for a Sony IEM.

I need to check out the M9 used price.. Both the M9 and Z5 seemd very interesting! Im actually a headphone guy, but a lot of my listening is when im lying in bed . Every morning i wake up 2 hours before i need to get off to work just to listen to music in bed. So iems is best suited so i dont wake up my better half!

Try stalking buyee.jp. That’s where i got most of my 2nd hand stuff in relatively good condition. And cuz Japanese people generally have a habit of really taking good care of their stuff.

 

[W1ll1eTheP1mp]

Try stalking buyee.jp. That’s where i got most of my 2nd hand stuff in relatively good condition. And cuz Japanese people generally have a habit of really taking good care of their stuff.

Whats a good prize for them 2nd hand in Japan? Do u know if any Japanese headphone/iem forums? Cant find any on google

 

[mochill]

$300 max

 

[W1ll1eTheP1mp]

$300 max

For M9?

 

[mochill]

Ex1k

 

[surfgeorge]

Not sure if that has been posted here, but Toranku has created a data base of PEQ settings for a bunch of IEMs and shared them here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/tor...ws-and-target-eq-filters.895832/post-15629741

Damn! The settings for the EX1000 are great! I am not really a bass head, but these settings really turn the EX1k into a super clean and clear bass head IEM.
The PEQ does 2 things, it fixes the midrange and treble, and it adds a sub bass boost of 8,5dB!
With some tracks that sounds great, but when it gets too much it's easy to dial it down with that 1 EQ setting.

Try 808 Slate from Extrawelt - piercing and brittle without EQ, but clean, clear, smooth and ground shaking bass with the EQ settings.

Really great job by @toranku

 

[FcConstruct]

Damn! The settings for the EX1000 are great! I am not really a bass head, but these settings really turn the EX1k into a super clean and clear bass head IEM.
The PEQ does 2 things, it fixes the midrange and treble, and it adds a sub bass boost of 8,5dB!
With some tracks that sounds great, but when it gets too much it's easy to dial it down with that 1 EQ setting.

If you're up for playing around with EQ, try these settings too!
I made them a while back and I can't decide if I prefer toranku's version over this.
Lemme know what you think!
Keep in mind you'll have to match the filters as well since there's bass and treble shelfs.

 

[Pricklyears101]

Hi guys,

Hope everyone is safe and doing well. Just chiming in on my experience on trying these for video conference calls and on the new M1 Macs and at the same time dispel my preconceived notions on certain things. Or maybe cuz I'm waiting for my Mac to backup so I've got some time to kill.

Preconceived notion 1: Apple dongle sucks

Yes the build quality kinda sucks. The cable easily frays on the joints, and it yellows in time. But the sound quality? Surprisingly no. This coming from someone who used an LG v20, although it's been decommissioned now. Not the best thing in the world, but certainly no slouch either. Now, I happily use it with my ex800st with an mmcx adapter and a straight jack cable with in line remote for calls or just general music listening. The ex1k part was just for testing purposes, as that's my benchmark for critical listening and sibilance checking. On a side note though, due to it's signature, since it's picky on recordings, it works similarly for voice calls. For video conferences with people using in built mics in their laptops or bluetooth peripherals, it can be painful at times. Those using dedicated setups for stream/podcast, good news for you.

Preconceived notion 2: Headphone out on laptop sucks

Fortunately, not all. For example, my previous work laptop which is an old Lenovo IdeaPad, yea the sound quality out of its headphone port is less than ideal. I used to plug in my usb dac with that thing to listen to music while working. The new M1 Mac however, I'd have to say I'm pleasantly surprised. Spotify sounds good. I don't have any songs stored in the local drive yet but I'm liking what I've been hearing so far so maybe I don't even need to do it at all. I'll probably use my ex800st for this as well for general use. For those of you wondering, yup the new Macs have a built in mic port as well so any 4 pin 3.5mm jack with mic will work. Although this happened because my Earstudio ES100 won't work plugged in via USB adapter(any or even Apple's) to be utilised as a dac as I did for my previous work laptop, I will happily overlook this cuz the headphone jack works for me. The sound signature of the IEM in question is as I remembered, there is no background hiss, or any other abnormalities that I personally detected.



So there you go, in the age of increased video conference due to the ongoing pandemic, this item(and its sibling) still has use as a daily driver. Don't have to keep switching setups for different uses. Though for my case, I use my EX800ST as my daily driver and for general purposes, as I try to save the EX1K from wear and tear over time. Maybe I am getting older and have mellowed on being so critical about audio, maybe general consumer products have advanced to a point that they're worth a second look, maybe sometimes all we need is an open mind and challenge popular myths to learn and experience new things. Of course I'll still use my existing dedicated setups from time to time, but I seriously wouldn't mind using those 2 previously mentioned sucky things with my beloved.

 

[skeptical]

Hi there. Have anyone compered ex1k to ex800st with filters removed? I'd love to hear some impressions on that preferably from an es100 balanced powered source and with a straight mmcx to exk adapter it looks like the phone design is begging to be worn straight down rather than in unpractical and cumbersome over the ears fashion. Is there a reason why you all keep wearing them like that going through expensive cables nightmare fit issues?

 

[all999]

Are foam filters easy removable? I need to get them cleared and don't want to break anything.