[playingwithfire]

Hey guys, got a pair of HD600 today and after about 5 hours of listening I've decided that they are going to be my home pair and since I am a poor college student, I cannot justify keeping the HD 600 with my Ortofon eq7 even though I like the Ortofon just as much. So I'm looking to downgrade to the $100 range. I thought about just go and buy a new pair of RE0 since I liked them when I owned them but thought I'd post something to get other suggestions.
 
Criteria (in order of importance)
-Must be comfortable and easy to insert/remove, I will use them to sleep and go places.
-Looking for an overall analytical sound, not the no bass etymotic sound. Something along the line of the W2 or eq7 is good.
-I like soundstage, it doesn't have to be pinpoint(I won't be playing shooter with them), a general "big" feeling is all I need.
-No amp, will be driven out of an iPod Classic on the go. Might get sometime with the D4 at home but I think I'll use the HD600 for that purpose mostly.
 
Possibilities at the moment
-RE0(Tried them, had them, liked them, maybe want to try something else to see what else is there?)
-RE1(How well does it do without an amp? How's the comfort since they look to have similar housing to the RE2 and I didn't care for that thing's fit and cable)
-IE7(How comfortable is it?)
 
Are there other suggestions? Thanks in advance!

 

[mark2410]

RE-0 super good as you know.
 
IE7, very very comfy but its a weird one.  it took me ages to get the fit and tips that worked and to learn they go insert deep at all, super shallow and they are open so not very isolating either.  sound wise they are much warmer and more gentle than the 0 or 600.  its a very smooth midy, bassy sound.

 

[playingwithfire]

Quote:

RE-0 super good as you know.
 
IE7, very very comfy but its a weird one.  it took me ages to get the fit and tips that worked and to learn they go insert deep at all, super shallow and they are open so not very isolating either.  sound wise they are much warmer and more gentle than the 0 or 600.  its a very smooth midy, bassy sound.

So would you say that the IE7's signature is closer to UM3x rather than RE0/eq7? I mean I love the UM3x, but not because of it's signature.
 
Also, any other suggestions at this price point?

 

[mark2410]

erm id say the 7 is not a million milles from the eq7 or i guess the um3 but what id say its closer to is the 530.  the IE7 is both bassy and mid abundant, the highs are there but not to the extent of the other two.  it also has that senn warmth making it a really pleasant thing to listen to for long periods.  the um3 i was no big fan of.
 
btw not sure where your getting the IE7 for us$100.  id be very wary of getting fakes
 
oh and as for other suggestions, really for around us$100 and analytical you really probably want the RE-0

 

[playingwithfire]

Quote:

erm id say the 7 is not a million milles from the eq7 or i guess the um3 but what id say its closer to is the 530.  the IE7 is both bassy and mid abundant, the highs are there but not to the extent of the other two.  it also has that senn warmth making it a really pleasant thing to listen to for long periods.  the um3 i was no big fan of.
 
btw not sure where your getting the IE7 for us$100.  id be very wary of getting fakes
 
oh and as for other suggestions, really for around us$100 and analytical you really probably want the RE-0

It'll be around $130, which is okay
 

 

[ZARIM]

HJE900, Klipsch Custom 3, IE7 and Q-Jays are highely recommended

 

[playingwithfire]

Quote:

HJE900, Klipsch Custom 3, IE7 and Q-Jays are highely recommended

can you expand on their signature and their pluses and minuses a bit?

 

[lucozade]

i can recommend the custom 3 ,it has great bass , very detailed in the midrange and treble,isolates very well ,no sibilance ,easy to drive without amping. it compete with the best and is still one of my favorate iems

 

[playingwithfire]

Quote:

i can recommend the custom 3 ,it has great bass , very detailed in the midrange and treble,isolates very well ,no sibilance ,easy to drive without amping. it compete with the best and is still one of my favorate iems

Funny, the Custom 3s interested me before I got my RE0. Just 1 question, how bad is the cable?

 

[playingwithfire]

anybody knows if the C3's cable is okay?

 

[ljokerl]

The cable is bad in these sense that it's not very flexible and the nylon sheath has a tendency to kink. Disappointingly frustrating for a $150 product. Other than that it's fine but you have to be a bit more careful than with the average earphone.

 

[playingwithfire]

Quote:

The cable is bad in these sense that it's not very flexible and the nylon sheath has a tendency to kink. Disappointingly frustrating for a $150 product. Other than that it's fine but you have to be a bit more careful than with the average earphone.

I think I'll just go with the RE0. I thought about being more adventurous and try different things but RE0 was just great on every front and I really don't have to baby it since it's half the price of Custom 3.

 
Thanks guys!

 

[Pianist]

Around the $100 mark, RE0 is a no brainer if you like accurate, detailed sound. It needs a good source and preferably a dedicated amp to sound its best, but unamped it will still be better than almost anything else in that price range. Around the $150 mark however, there are also Q-jays and Sleek SA6 which will probably sound better unamped out of a mediocre source like iPod Classic. In my opinion, RE0 has more potential though and you can always upgrade your source later so I would get the RE0. Also consider a used RE252 which can be had for around $150 or even less. I haven't heard them, but they should sound better unamped than the RE0, but also scale up well like the RE0 from what I've read.