[cqtek]

I'm quite interested in Moondrop kxxs too. Now what should I do with the newly acquired Kanas Pro. Lol.

And you're asking me...? I'm just like you

Hey! Maybe you've read my KXXS review. If not, please do. It should help a bit with your decision.

Well having KP and KXXS both, I honestly always go for the KXXS. It just plain simple sounds better to me in all areas.

In fact now I'm listening and comparing KXXS to the older and substantially more expensive Tanchjim Oxygen. They have one substantial difference. I like to categorize IEMs with a parameter I like to call 'Drummer's perspective' and 'Audience perspective'. One makes you feel like you're a part of the band and the other makes you feel like you're watching the band perform as an audience member. Mixing engineers use these perspectives to pan instruments, but I'm talking about how the IEM helps you visualize the scene. KXXS gives me the drummer's perspective and I being a musician love visualizing songs that way. On the other hand, Oxygen is a good specimen of audience perspective and helps me visualize the performance like I'm watching from the sweet spot in the audience.

Hope this is interesting and doesn't sound like ramblings of a crazy person.

Of course I read your review, that's why now I have all these doubts. The real question is whether to go for the Kxxs or something more expensive, which surpasses both loosely.

 

[Animagus]

And you're asking me...? I'm just like you



Of course I read your review, that's why now I have all these doubts. The real question is whether to go for the Kxxs or something more expensive, which surpasses both loosely.

Haha thanks! Well then it depends if you have buyer's remorse or not. Ha! More money can surely get you a lot but I'll still suggest you give KXXS a shot. Wow that rhymes! Even if you don't find it to be much of an upgrade from KP, I'm sure there'll be a lot of takers without you making a loss. Or try auditioning it if you can.

 

[FastAndClean]

i just got the Audiosense T800, they are a real deal

 

[CoiL]

You have quite a lot of confidence without having tried the kxxs yourself, just by hear say. Hehe
I got to audition the kxxs for a little while and think that it is substantially refined for it to NOT be just a sidegrade. I'm personally going to get the kxxs and either give the KP to my sibling or sell it in the near future.

Well, like I said, I was told that and based off from graphs, they almost measure same too, which I would take rather as "sidegrade" than real upgrade. I belive KXXS is probably better in every area - but how much? And that`s the thing - I don`t think it is SO much better to call it "upgrade". JMSO.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv]

So i'm going to chime in. DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS. I have a display pair of IE800 that I got from an audio store, so I didn't pay $800 for them, but substantially less, and still, I love the Senn IE800 more than I do the previous woodie flagship JVC FW01. When i alternated between the two, the only thing i'm getting better of in terms of technicality from the FW01 is timbre. There's that distinct and vibrant hi resolution timbre you get from the woodies you just don't get from other earphones. With the IE800, I get better bass speed, comparable soundstage and imaging, but a winning combination when you incorporate comfort. It's 10X more comfortable than the JVC. I love the sound I get from the Senn's right out of my phone or DAP. No amp needed to have truly enjoyable sound. This is why I'm selling my Moondrop Kanas Pro. Sure I enjoy the MKP, but I find myself reaching for the IE800 more often, or the Tin T3, because I don't need to carry around the amp like I do for the MKP or even the E80. My Fiio isn't the smallest or lightest amp, so the fewer times I have to carry it around, the better. I also love my Sennheiser Jubilee headphones. Isolation is whack, but for listening in a quiet environment, I lose myself in the sound. Both the IE800 and Jubilee provide me with fun and engaging listens. I have others that spit out details more readily, but the IE800 is still a FUN listen that supplies ample details and technical engagement. Are they overpriced? I guess it depends on what you pay for them, and the joy you get out of them. I paid as much for my pair as I did the JVC, and I like them better. I won't sell them like i will the Kanas Pro, but top my ears, my preference, and my opinion, the IE800 are better for me and technically as proficient and more fun to wear and listen than both the Kanas and JVC.

Yes, I'm selling the Kanas Pro for $110 USD, so that's a testament to how much I think the Senn's are worth it....to ME.

 

[Lurk650]

Amp for the MKP? Seems fine straight out of my ES100 & ZX300

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv]

Amp for the MKP? Seems fine straight out of my ES100 & ZX300

Not for driving, but for them to sound their best. Optimization.

 

[Otto Motor]

I wrote a review of the Sennheiser IE 500 PRO, and my co-blogger wrote a second opinion.

On the respective Senns thread it was concluded I was biased because (a) I didn't have ownership (it was a loaner and not a freebie) and (b) I generally don't like to spend more than $200 on an earphone. The treble starts rolling off in the upper midrange, at about 2 kHz which was attributed to a measurement bias. That's how easy it is to dismiss rigorous work. Will I soon be shilling loaners?

The price of the IE 500 PRO is justified either because of an enormous R&D cost or not at all as it was set by a bunch of marketing psychologists...but it is not justified by production cost, which should be approximately the same as in the $99 IE 40 PRO (add a German salary bonus). An indication that the pricing is more on the fantasy side is the pricing of the cable at 79 USD/EUR. It is a 4-core cable almost identical to the $7 one I use with my UE900s. The IE 500 PRO has the purpose to bring out vocals for stage musicians but it does the opposite because of the missing upper midrange.

Spoiler: Missing upper midrange

Coming myself from the German educational system (later Canadian), it is very theoretical, and I wonder whether the engineers ever had people like you and me test the product.

I am with @jon parker that a $600 earphone should be built more lavishly than its $100 sibling...and I prefer the IE 40's cable. Here in Canada, the IE 500 PRO cost $749 CAD...which I find insane, whereas the $129 CAD IE 40 PRO are a good deal imo.

Following my review, a Sennheiser product manager contacted me and asked me a few questions. Great that they are welcoming comments to make their stuff more appealing to potential customers.

What is a bit odd is that Sennheiser Germany give away freebies generously whereas Sennheiser USA limit their loaner to 30 days.

 

[kova4a]

The price of the IE 500 PRO is justified either because of an enormous R&D cost or not at all as it was set by a bunch of marketing psychologists...but it is not justified by production cost, which should be approximately the same as in the $99 IE 40 PRO (add a German salary bonus). An indication that the pricing is more on the fantasy side is the pricing of the cable at 79 USD/EUR. It is a 4-core cable almost identical to the $7 one I use with my UE900s.

That's the thing though, you can never take out the R&D cost out of the equation and judge a product solely on what you think is its production cost. One can always justify the price of something by using simple psychology for the sake of your own arguments. For instance, I can say that Sennheiser decided to use a light plastic shell for all the new models because they are intended for stage use and Sennheiser wanted them to be as light as possible while retaining durability. Then I can ask why does JVC has several wooden series with pretty much exactly the same housing and wooden dome diaphragm but some of them cost 100 bucks and some of them several times more while essentially they look the same and have almost the same specs? So using the same build in both the cheap and the expensive models is fine for JVC but not for Sennheiser? Then you say that it uses wooden housings which are more expensive than plastic or metal and I tell you that House of Marley and other brands make wooden iems and they sell them for 10-20 bucks, not 10-20 times more.

Then I can start bashing all high-end multi-driver models of pretty much all brands as they all have pretty much the same plastic acrylic builds across all price ranges and the only difference is the number of drivers. Someone will say that this or that model has 2, 3, 4 more drivers, so that justifies a $500, 1000, 1500 price difference but if you don't consider the R&D cost then what warrants these high prices as a 10-driver iem that costs $1000-2000 has a production cost of $200-300 and all those "bang for your buck" chi-fi multi-driver iems using bellsing drivers have way way lower production cost than the "bargain" prices they are being sold at, not to mention than they don't even use actual R&D but usually just put some drivers together and cross their fingers from what I've heard.

And in the end whether something is worth its asking price is really affected by you personal finance and what you are willing to pay. Few years ago I used to bash on expensive tech products and how the prices of smartphones, for example, are getting really ridiculous and bashed on the new flagships costing 1000 bucks. Now I have a $1000 phone myself coz now I can easily afford it - it doesn't matter that it's not really worth it. I bet that if I get into an argument with my neighbor he will have similar thoughts about his 50k gas-guzzling Hummer

 

[peter123]

Not for driving, but for them to sound their best. Optimization.

Eh, you lost me there?

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv]

Eh, you lost me there?

Not for volume. Amps are used for hard to drive earphones or headphones, to achieve personally acceptable volume, and sometimes to optimize the sound of the iem. The MKP don't need an amp for volume, but to make them sound their best, an amp is recommended.

 

[CoiL]

Not for volume. Amps are used for hard to drive earphones or headphones, to achieve personally acceptable volume, and sometimes to optimize the sound of the iem. The MKP don't need an amp for volume, but to make them sound their best, an amp is recommended.

Yeah, it is better with low output impedance source and mA, though current new DAPs are mostly filling the check-box, phones too but not many.

 

[HunterT]

Well, like I said, I was told that and based off from graphs, they almost measure same too, which I would take rather as "sidegrade" than real upgrade. I belive KXXS is probably better in every area - but how much? And that`s the thing - I don`t think it is SO much better to call it "upgrade". JMSO.

No offense but I would personally form and post such a hard opinion in forums after listening and comparing the products...rather than listening to someone else's opinion or by looking at graphs measured by someone else. But well we all can't be the same.

 

[CoiL]

No offense but I would personally form and post such a hard opinion in forums after listening and comparing the products...rather than listening to someone else's opinion or by looking at graphs measured by someone else. But well we all can't be the same.

Look, read Moondrop thread. I even posted some comments and impressions from audio-enthusiasts opinions regarding KXXS vs. KPE... improvement? yes. But again, little, not to call it real "upgrade" in terms of "another lever" iEM you or someone else should definitely "upgrade" to.
If I would get KXXS instead KPE, I`m sure I would like them more. But I probably wouldn`t call it "upgrade" to kPE, rather improved KPE.
I would call something like Sony EX800ST or A8 as an "upgrade". Anyway, it is all very subjective and your opinion is no better than me, even You having heard both, as we all have different hearing response and have different gear matchup, different tips, different size ears etc.
I was just trying to give sensible opinion on this and "slow down" impluse buys just because someone tells one is definitely better than other and calls it "upgrade".

 

[castleofargh]

Not for volume. Amps are used for hard to drive earphones or headphones, to achieve personally acceptable volume, and sometimes to optimize the sound of the iem. The MKP don't need an amp for volume, but to make them sound their best, an amp is recommended.

you're giving zero information. no concept of power, distortions, or other "optimizers" of IEMs sound that would be considered not making them sound their "best". anything can be better if you replace a crap device with a better one, but you're so vague that there is simply no case to be made. you can go around all over the forum and say for each IEM that it needs an amp to sound its best, that will make you look like a connoisseur of sort I guess. but as we will have several instances of DAPs or cellphones actually performing better than some random amp, the only thing you're really saying that is not going to be disproved, is that better is better, or that more is more.

I'm not saying that this IEM isn't strongly dependent on the source, I haven't tried or measured one so I don't know. but the sensitivity is high without being crazy high, so power is pretty much never going to be an issue and background noise from a source should only be an issue on notably noisy sources. then the impedance seems to be a very flat line near 32ohm, meaning that we won't have any issues with current limits in some cheap sources or certain cellphones like we'd potentially get with IEMs that drop as low as 5ohm somewhere. it also means that the impedance of the source is not going to alter massively the signature of the IEM. so while I don't know if that IEM is source dependent or not, I can at least say that it doesn't show any of the most typical reasons why an IEM would be obviously source dependent. and that leads me to wonder if you're correct? and if you are, what is actually being affected?