[Vamp898]

I recently used the INAIRS quite often due to the higher isolation and because i was traveling a lot.

I switched to the EP-NI1000 today to see how big the difference in sound quality really is, especially after getting used to the INAIRS.

The Sound Quality of the EP-NI1000 is significantly higher, especially with very fast songs you instantly hear an big improvement in details and clearity. Even at higher volume there is absolutely no distortion or "muddying", i am still impressed how good these are. And i still have the same pair i bought over an year ago! For foam thats like ancient.

 

[WilliamBlake]

I recently used the INAIRS quite often due to the higher isolation and because i was traveling a lot.

I switched to the EP-NI1000 today to see how big the difference in sound quality really is, especially after getting used to the INAIRS.

The Sound Quality of the EP-NI1000 is significantly higher, especially with very fast songs you instantly hear an big improvement in details and clearity. Even at higher volume there is absolutely no distortion or "muddying", i am still impressed how good these are. And i still have the same pair i bought over an year ago! For foam thats like ancient.

it depends on how much you used them, I've read reviews of people complaining about lasting, just like a month

 

[redrich2000]

Has anyone heard of anyone trying to mod these? They have a very long piece of foam damping in the tube, I'd say 5-10mm long. It seems to be stuck down at the bottom inside the tube but you could pull it out and cut some of the foam away. I thought some people who found these too laid back/warm might have tried that.

I wonder if cutting say half of the foam away would open them up a little?

 

[surfgeorge]

Has anyone heard of anyone trying to mod these? They have a very long piece of foam damping in the tube, I'd say 5-10mm long. It seems to be stuck down at the bottom inside the tube but you could pull it out and cut some of the foam away. I thought some people who found these too laid back/warm might have tried that.

I wonder if cutting say half of the foam away would open them up a little?

This has been done by some, and Crinacle even has a measurement of an M9 with the filter removed in his data base.
Here's a comparison of the IER-M7 with the IER-M9 filterless
(Since you cannot show 2 variants of the same IEM at the same time)

 

[WilliamBlake]

omg that peak!

 

[redrich2000]

This has been done by some, and Crinacle even has a measurement of an M9 with the filter removed in his data base.
Here's a comparison of the IER-M7 with the IER-M9 filterless
(Since you cannot show 2 variants of the same IEM at the same time)

Wow, awesome, thanks. Unsurprisingly, removing a long piece of foam makes a big difference LOL!
If I was to do it, I would not remove all the foam, I reckon I'd cut half of it. It would be interesting to see that graphed.

 

[kith86]

First, try to clean it with an cleaning kit (those kits that contain that special putty/dough like this one. I cleaned my IER-M9 several times with these and it works perfect. So far, they did not clogg when using this from time to time.

But you can't buy/replace the foam officially from Sony. They only offer to replace them. There are similar foams that you can use, but you can't get exactly this one.

You can buy similar foam at lot of companies that have no relation with in-ear companies. This type of foam is used in a lot of products.

Also Final sells several types of tuning foams for their Make Series, they can be used just fine with the IER-M9 too

Thank you, but still 1 concern to me if the unit later really have bad damage and need to be serviced, i wonder how much do they cost, since theres no info at all, the only info is the unit cannot be repaired, this is worried me.

 

[DynamicEars]

Thank you, but still 1 concern to me if the unit later really have bad damage and need to be serviced, i wonder how much do they cost, since theres no info at all, the only info is the unit cannot be repaired, this is worried me.

Don't think too much as M9 build is like a tank, with magnesium body, use for professional musician on stage, maybe on rock concert they smash the guitar and IEM after the concert and the M9 still survived when guitars are wrecked.
It won't fail on you easily for daily use. Just treat them carefully, and don't drop them

 

[kith86]

Don't think too much as M9 build is like a tank, with magnesium body, use for professional musician on stage, maybe on rock concert they smash the guitar and IEM after the concert and the M9 still survived when guitars are wrecked.
It won't fail on you easily for daily use. Just treat them carefully, and don't drop them

Ok, i will take your word for it, if my unit goes wrong so bad i will definitely complained so hard, share my unsatisfaction, i bought it used, hope it long lasting

 

[DynamicEars]

Ok, i will take your word for it, if my unit goes wrong so bad i will definitely complained so hard, share my unsatisfaction, i bought it used, hope it long lasting

Just saying, dont take my word as a guarantee point, take with grain of salt.
But having long experience with Sonys, their build quality is top notch as long as we treat them well.
If you're buying used M9, please do check everything and measure them if possible to avoid dead BAs.
I've been experienced with damaged Z5 before, but the shell condition were telling half of the story, they looked bad. Looks like previous owner didn't treat them well.

Hopefully yours are in pristine condition and last long

 

[TurtelyEnough]

Hi everyone,

So I bought the M9s from a head-fier a bit ago and I find them close to perfect for me - both tonally and with respect to technical performance. That said, however, I am struggling to find anything I find remotely as satisfying on the headphone side of things. Are the Sony over-ears similar tonally to the IER-M9s or otherwise comparable and if not, please let me know if you have any other recommendations! If I could summarize the sound I'm looking for, it would be warm-neutral (read: not v-shaped), coherent, with solid bass presence (i.e., a bass presence that does not require significant EQ, at least in your opinion). Closest I have come is maybe the E-Mu Bamboo but that also doesn't isolate particularly well and I wouldn't say its a top technical performer.

Thanks!

 

[kefs]

Hi everyone,

So I bought the M9s from a head-fier a bit ago and I find them close to perfect for me - both tonally and with respect to technical performance. That said, however, I am struggling to find anything I find remotely as satisfying on the headphone side of things. Are the Sony over-ears similar tonally to the IER-M9s or otherwise comparable and if not, please let me know if you have any other recommendations! If I could summarize the sound I'm looking for, it would be warm-neutral (read: not v-shaped), coherent, with solid bass presence (i.e., a bass presence that does not require significant EQ, at least in your opinion). Closest I have come is maybe the E-Mu Bamboo but that also doesn't isolate particularly well and I wouldn't say its a top technical performer.

Thanks!

Go MDR Z1R all day long

 

[kith86]

Hi everyone,

So I bought the M9s from a head-fier a bit ago and I find them close to perfect for me - both tonally and with respect to technical performance. That said, however, I am struggling to find anything I find remotely as satisfying on the headphone side of things. Are the Sony over-ears similar tonally to the IER-M9s or otherwise comparable and if not, please let me know if you have any other recommendations! If I could summarize the sound I'm looking for, it would be warm-neutral (read: not v-shaped), coherent, with solid bass presence (i.e., a bass presence that does not require significant EQ, at least in your opinion). Closest I have come is maybe the E-Mu Bamboo but that also doesn't isolate particularly well and I wouldn't say its a top technical performer.

Thanks!

Fostex th610 sounds so closer to m9 in my ears, warmist yet neutral, thats why i bought this iem too, the sony mdr z1r in other hand feels darker and more v-shaped to my ear

 

[BonGoBiLai]

Hi everyone,

So I bought the M9s from a head-fier a bit ago and I find them close to perfect for me - both tonally and with respect to technical performance. That said, however, I am struggling to find anything I find remotely as satisfying on the headphone side of things. Are the Sony over-ears similar tonally to the IER-M9s or otherwise comparable and if not, please let me know if you have any other recommendations! If I could summarize the sound I'm looking for, it would be warm-neutral (read: not v-shaped), coherent, with solid bass presence (i.e., a bass presence that does not require significant EQ, at least in your opinion). Closest I have come is maybe the E-Mu Bamboo but that also doesn't isolate particularly well and I wouldn't say its a top technical performer.

Thanks!

ZMF Caldera. I prefer it to Susvara, Abyss 1266, STAX SR009S and Final D8000. It embodies the incredible timbre of HD 650 with the advantages of ToTL planars. kinda like what a suped up planar 650 would sound.

 

[WilliamBlake]

ZMF Caldera. I prefer it to Susvara, Abyss 1266, STAX SR009S and Final D8000. It embodies the incredible timbre of HD 650 with the advantages of ToTL planars. kinda like what a suped up planar 650 would sound.

also the hd650 could be similar to m9?