[TheGame21x]

Quote:

 
It's as good as I can hope for it to be on a smartphone mate! I don't really believe that anyone is serious about their audio if they have to run it from their smartphone because they don't possess a dedicated audio source.

That's a rather unfair generalization. I do all my mobile listening straight from my iPhone 4S as it's an excellent source and I'm definitely serious about my audio.

 

[Jakkal]

Quote:

iPhone isn't any worse than a regular iPod when it comes to audio quality, is it?

It should be even better, especially iPhone 4/4S, it is a great source.

 

[Vain III]

which one is that?

www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B0050DXQXK/

I paid $21 for it and I think it uses the same driver as the Etymotic ER-4 series. Perhaps I need to do a review with pictures to get attention.

Would love to hear that; I'm not really a Elymotic fan, but with a review and at $21 (probably more for me) I might give it a try a little later down the line.

Not right now though; I'm at $100+ dollars this week in budget and headphone deals.

 

[MuZo2]

Quote:

 
www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B0050DXQXK/I paid $21 for it and I think it uses the same driver as the Etymotic ER-4 series.

It does not use the same driver. It uses a BK series and and Etymotic ER-4 uses ED series from knowles.

 

[Theta Alpha 1]

Quote:

It does not use the same driver. It uses a BK series and and Etymotic ER-4 uses ED series from knowles.

 
I'm not sure about that.  Regardless, it's the cheapest Knowles driver IEM there is by far and wide.

 

[Lifted Andreas]

Quote:

 
Yup, me too! Hopefully it can be had for $200.
 
It has 8MB of internal memory, and a single microSD slot which at this point supports up to 64GB cards. I'm going to have to wait and see if it actually ends supporting 128GB cards (or higher if/when they are available and affordable), because 64GB isn't going to cut it for me. I just got a SDXC 64GB card for my clip zip, and it's practically full already! There is hope though as ClieOS said here:
 
 
The X5 is also interesting because it has two microSD card slots. So at worst it could handle 2 x 64GB. The 64GB cards are getting somewhat affordable, so I like that option. But, the X5 will probably be quite a bit more expensive than the X3. Another interesting one is the ibasso DX50...

 
That must be my fault... 

 
Sorry for making you fill up your SD with awesome music wayne lol

 

[bhima]

Quote:

 
I'm not sure about that.  Regardless, it's the cheapest Knowles driver IEM there is by far and wide.

Interesting but even if it is using the same driver, wouldn't the body design also have something to do with how it sounds? Maybe less so for a BA driver since it sort of has its own enclosure. I also thought Ety designed their own BA drivers (or at least designed a proprietary driver through Knowles) but that could have been me just drinking the Ety marketing.

 

[Theta Alpha 1]

Quote:

Interesting but even if it is using the same driver, wouldn't the body design also have something to do with how it sounds? Maybe less so for a BA driver since it sort of has its own enclosure. I also thought Ety designed their own BA drivers (or at least designed a proprietary driver through Knowles) but that could have been me just drinking the Ety marketing.

 
You hit the nail pretty fast, BA drivers have their own enclosures so the aerodynamics of the IEM shell is largely irrelevant, unless the BA driver itself is vented which is very uncommon.
 
If it's the same driver, it's only the cable and the nozzle, and anything else such as noise cancelling which come into play.
 
 
We could discuss whether it's an ER-4 clone or not all day, but the IEM costs around three to four hamburger meals including shipping and has a few glowing reviews.
 
 
What I find amusing is if these IEM's were priced at $100-$250 they'd have been discovered a long time ago.

 

[Theta Alpha 1]

By the way they're supposed to cost around $75 USD... http://www.soundhouse.co.jp/shop/ProductDetail.asp?Item=369^GHERCMBW^^
 
 
Not sure why they're selling for $21, don't care either, sound terrific.

 

[quartertone]

Wow, total bargain then. Do they sound thinner and more anemic than the other ones (the DBA02 rebrands)?

 

[Vain III]

(About 385s)

So, I know that we all have our burn-in processes. Some use White/Blue/Yellow noise; a lot of us use EDM. My process for burn-in goes as follows:

12H of EDM, 12H of Classic/Opera, 12H of Pop/Dance, 12H Rock, 12H Nu-Metal/Progressive, 12H Rap/Hiphop (Old-School & Underground @ 8H, Mainstream @ 4H), 12H of Blues, 12H of Solo Instruments (Guitar Solo, Drum Solo, Violin--big one for me as I love violins--solo, ETC) than I repeat the process until I feel the headphones are burned in thoroughly.

So, I finished up the EDM & moved on to the classic/opera playlist. After about four hours I heard something extremely unique. The sparkle that I heard from the other-day has subsided a tiny bit into something more detailed & dry. Now, the sparkle is still there it is just moderately-low instead of the moderately-high that it was the other day--nothing to the point of FX40 brightness--and because of the extremely tight--read: the bass has improved exponentially, it is refined and blends so well with the highs--lower frequency the headphones are given a unique-ish sound.

Sadly, that is the last of the good news though because the mid-range still hasn't improved that much. Sure, because the bass has tightened up I can hear the mids a little better, but they are still recessed behind the highs & lows. Don't get me wrong; they are everything that Mochill has said they are, but compared to the other spectrum they just feel bland right now. Nothing good or bad about the mid-range with the exception that a headphone with this much bass & highs actually has clear mid-range that is.

I'm glad that someone else thinks they are - almost - balanced, I thought I was going mad!.

I was just about to post that we have two drivers to burn in not one, so may evolve at different rates - but you have that covered.

The Quadlons at there current stage of development sound better than the Xears - Xears over did the sub bass and they are slightly veiled when compared to the Quadlons.

I would bet we are listening to the same iem, one with a detachable cable and the other not. I would also guess that Xears did some of there own stuff to the 4core (own shells to start with) and possibly upset the balance, unless you really love sub bass!

Did you get any foam tips with the 385s? - if you did, don't use them!

Sorry for not getting back to you the other day, mate. I just wanted to let them burn-in on their own before giving them another listen.

Yeah, I can tell that they are balancing out but at the moment the mid-range is still lacking some essence compared to both the other spectrum. My headphones started out with the bass veiling most of the other spectrum, but they were still listenable, and has severally calmed down into something quite spectacular for how much I paid for them.

Nope, I wasn't looking for foam tips for the 385s. I was looking for some double or triple flange tips or anything that is a bit higher quality than what appears to be the Dollar Store ear tips that my 385s came with. The housing and packaging is so nice but I could have spared the packaging for some plastic if they would have included some quality tips and a little cable management.

 

[r4tr4tr4t]

apparently so far none of the look alikes sound as good as the corecool's that mochill described, sfwalcer nows your turn to prove this right / wrong: 
 

The corecool v2 has stronger bass impact and better subbass texture the the fxz200 and gr07 bass edition while having more detailed mids then both as well and very amazing treble crunch to boot as well. Soundstage more spaced out then both and imaging that is crazy addicting 

 

 

[Vain III]

apparently so far none of the look alikes sound as good as the corecool's that mochill described, sfwalcer nows your turn to prove this right / wrong: 

The corecool v2 has stronger bass impact and better subbass texture the the fxz200 and gr07 bass edition while having more detailed mids then both as well and very amazing treble crunch to boot as well. Soundstage more spaced out then both and imaging that is crazy addicting 

I don't know mate; My headphones have extremely good bass impact and great texture. I haven't heard the FXZ200 or the GR07 BE so I cannot make a comparison there. The soundstage, as mentioned in my original impression, is so very AMAZING and the headphones are very 3D they make you feel like you're actually at the concert in the front row. I've played some games with them and I felt completely immersed into the game unlike other headphones I own or have listened to. The highs/treble is very detailed and moderately sparkly. Sounds like mine may be a bit worse, but not by much.

Mochill's also had his burn-in for 300 hours. The 385s have only burned in for 24 at the most.

The 385s sell for about $50 dollars when not on sale. I would say they are somewhere between $80-$130 tier--so far--headphones. So pretty much twice the value.

 

[r4tr4tr4t]

they are then also a great discovery, thanks for the impressions man!

 

[Vain III]

they are then also a great discovery, thanks for the impressions man!

I'm just worried about the quality control over there as my friend bought a pair and his don't sound nearly as good. He got them replaced by 385 audio though so I can vouch for their customer service/warranty. He didn't even have to send the old pair back.

Cannot wait until my VSD1s get here. I think by that time I should have these burned in pretty well and I can stick those on the burn-in process. I'm actually hoping/expecting more out of those than these.