[Fimbulvetr]

Quote:

lolwut

My thoughts exactly. HILARIOUS post by SoundFreaq.

 

[Dsnuts]

Quote:

WESTONE 4 Vs MONOPRICE 8320
 
Seeing as how the original purchasers were looking for a good IEM for trance, and thus that's how Dsnuts portrayed them - as a must listen for trance, this comparison is done using Armin Van Buuren's A State of Trance 2011. I'll address issues like clarity, detail and resolution within the three categories. 
 
Bass: Bass impact and quality are about the same. They both deliver loads of great bass when called for. I feel with sub-bass around 60-80 hertz, the Monoprice have more quantity. They both have about the same slam from 110-130 hertz, the main frequency for trance bass kick. Now, the bass sounds very different in the two earphones because of the mids. 
 
Mids: This is where the W4 is dramatically different from the MP. Starting at around 150 hertz, all the way through upper mids around 7,000 hertz, the W4 are MUCH more forward, brighter, and have a large presentation. On the low mids, that means that the higher frequencies of the bass kick on the W4 have much more slam. With the mids frequencies overall, the W4 exhibits fantastic detail, imaging, resolution and clarity all the way through. There's no contest. BUT, there's a big but. On musical interludes, and buildups of songs, before the bass kick kicks in at musical peak for trance, when the music is mid-centric, the W4 is just razor sharp, clean, and completely involving. BUT, when the bass kicks in, the mids are still ultra-present and don't let me take the bass impact in like I want. The mids sort of dominate. Especially at around 7,000 hertz, at louder volumes I have to back the W4 down as it can get a bit harsh. With the MP, I can get much louder, sans harshness, and let the bass pull me in, making me feel the slam more like I were at a live show. The MP sound much more like a live show than the W4 do, without a doubt. When listening to the MP, I'm never wanting of the W4 mid detail and resolution. The MP has plenty. 
 
Highs: Both have nice smooth highs. The W4 is probably more extended, and a bit more present. But because again of that dominance in the upper mids on the W4, it takes some smoothness out of it. 
 
Conclusion: I can tell you right now that the W4 will trump the MP in many genres of music, especially stuff that employs the use of quality mids. FOR TRANCE, those mids can work against it, making me back down the volume and pushing the bass into more of a background role as compared to the mids, which end up making the W4 less lively when the music is at full tilt. 
 
It honestly would be a toss-up as to which pair I would reach for when listening to EDM. My $400 Westone 4, or my $7.11 Monoprice 8320. I think I would have to evaluate what I'm about to listen to. With AVB, it would be the MP. With some minimal Techno like Richie Hawtin where the mids are less present, I would go for the W4 and still get slamming bass and smooth and extended highs, and the mids, what there is of them in the music, would be razor sharp. For trance, the W4 mids are just too much.
 

Ain't that just the craziest thing..So these do stack up to the Westys, well at least for trance. I suppose you would need more a refined mids centric earphone for vocals/ intrumentals and such and that is where the Westones will beat the tar out of these but it is good to know I didn't have no magical wax build up in my ears when I was hearing some of the best trance on the 8320s. Great impressions and one I am sure will shock many. If you think about it though, something as expensive as a Westone 4 would be more catered to the serious audiophile in that I think would be more of a detail oriented earphone with the 4 drivers and such..A proper sounding trance earphone does not need to have the intricate details on the mids so much so that is probably the reason why the monoprice is good at Trance.  But Strangely enough vocals come in full and clean for me on these as well.  I suppose the 8320 wouldn't fare so well against more mid centric genres.
 
@john in Cali. You sure your hearing all this ear pain inducing sibilant highs?. Hmm I have a good ear for crazy sharp highs and I have to tell you I have no idea what you are talking about..The highs are good on the monoprice as far as I can tell and in fact on tracks with intricate high notes they convey highs just to my liking.. I listen to a lot of Trance and I have to tell you if highs are not good it is one half the equation that would not make these one of the best for Trance..If you could hear my portable set up with my bass boost and Fiio E11.. I think it would change your mind but hey I am glad you at least tried these.
 

 

[Majin]

i might be in the same boat as soundfreaq
 
i bought the brainwavz m1 and the rest didnt feel like a major upgrade: m2 - td-iii - ex600 - tf10 (except for my custom). In the end i am still using the m1 cause of the durability and easy fit.

 

[JCup]

OK, my first post is a reply to the thread, but I ordered ten pair, to give as gifts to the techs that I work with. They sit at monitors most of the day, and several listen to music, sometimes annoyingly on mini speakers.
 
I have some experience with IEM's, have had several mid grade Sony models, bought Etymotic ER6i, and Brainwavz M1.
 
My Etymotics were my favorite, a little weak on bass, but it was solid, and they were great for plane trips. Great isolation, very accurate.
 
These Monoprice sound good to me, on a par with the Brainwavz. A great buy. The sound is well balanced, good range.
 
Major issue is the pitiful tips that do not seal well in my somewhat large ear canals. The units themselves are large, and sit rather awkwardly in my outer ear. 
 
Unfortunately, my Ety's were eaten (partially) by a Bichon Frise (likes earwax?) but the silicon tips were still useful. The tips were difficult to put on (smaller ID than the plastic tip flange on the 8320). These give me a pretty good seal with a moderate amount of fiddling.
 
So, I ask, does anyone have a suggestion on where to get some tips? I will need to buy at least 9 sets.

 

[Dsnuts]

Take a look at these pics. .Remind you guys of something?? Don't know if you guys know but the very same factory that make these Sennheiser phones very well could also make monoprice ones.  The reason why there are so many new earphone companies that pop up out of no where is because of.. COPIES.. As you guys should know the Chinese are notorious for duping everything.. Even earphones..I can understand why there are so many new earphone brands. In reality they are probably all made in 10 locations in China. Tweek a design here and throw the same driver there you can call it whatever you want.

 

[SoundFreaq]

Quote:

My thoughts exactly. HILARIOUS post by SoundFreaq.

Well I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "hilarious," but fair enough.
 
All that aside, I refuse to be discredited by anyone that:
 
A. Has not listened to the MP 8320
 
B. Cannot give a valid argument that is contrary to my point resulting from personal critical listening. 
 
C. Has adopted the mentality that more money equals better sound. 
 
Isn't it possible that one time in the universe one person accidentally created a fantastic IEM for a little more than $7 bucks? If that's hard to believe, go read a book on Quantum Mechanics and truly blow your mind. 

 

[Dsnuts]

Quote:

OK, my first post is a reply to the thread, but I ordered ten pair, to give as gifts to the techs that I work with. They sit at monitors most of the day, and several listen to music, sometimes annoyingly on mini speakers.
 
I have some experience with IEM's, have had several mid grade Sony models, bought Etymotic ER6i, and Brainwavz M1.
 
My Etymotics were my favorite, a little weak on bass, but it was solid, and they were great for plane trips. Great isolation, very accurate.
 
These Monoprice sound good to me, on a par with the Brainwavz. A great buy. The sound is well balanced, good range.
 
Major issue is the pitiful tips that do not seal well in my somewhat large ear canals. The units themselves are large, and sit rather awkwardly in my outer ear. 
 
Unfortunately, my Ety's were eaten (partially) by a Bichon Frise (likes earwax?) but the silicon tips were still useful. The tips were difficult to put on (smaller ID than the plastic tip flange on the 8320). These give me a pretty good seal with a moderate amount of fiddling.
 
So, I ask, does anyone have a suggestion on where to get some tips? I will need to buy at least 9 sets.

http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Foam-SuperTip-Sampler-Starter/dp/B003TFEHMA/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1322544487&sr=1-1

I bought a set of monster tips. These tips are quality and you get all those for various ear sizes.. Good buy

 

[TheGame21x]

Quote:

Well I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "hilarious," but fair enough.
 
All that aside, I refuse to be discredited by anyone that:
 
A. Has not listened to the MP 8320
 
B. Cannot give a valid argument that is contrary to my point resulting from personal critical listening. 
 
C. Has adopted the mentality that more money equals better sound. 
 
Isn't it possible that one time in the universe one person accidentally created a fantastic IEM for a little more than $7 bucks? If that's hard to believe, go read a book on Quantum Physics and truly blow your mind. 

 
Always good to see someone standing up for what they believe in.
 

 

[John In Cali]

Okay im rechecking them, and trying the trance you guys are saying sound good with these. Your right the highs are smoother for trance and sound great, but when i go back to rock or vocals, or pretty much any other genre the highs become unbearable. Turning it down helps but at that point they don't sound as good, the quality on these seem to go up the louder they get and im not really a fan of loud listening so these just aren't for me.
Also if someone wants to listen to a 20-20k frequency response generator on these you will hear the extremely uneven upper end frequency response, none of my other headphones or my Samsung OEMs had that uneven of a response. It sounded like someone is hitting the mute button rapidly for the treble.

 

[randomZash]

 
 
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Dsnuts
 
It is very interesting that these have a similar sound to Bose IEM.

 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Dsnuts
 
So these kinda sound a bit like the Gr07s and even a bit like the Sony EX600, RE0?  So I am learning where the sound level of these fit in the whole scheme of things.

 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Dsnuts
 
This makes complete sense to me.. On the spec sheet the specs of the kicker EB141 is almost exactly the same as the monoprice 8320.. kicker driver size is 14mm.  Monoprice 14.2mm.32 ohms Different shell with same basic design. Same cloth cable..This is indeed interesting.

 
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Dsnuts
 
It is funny you mention this Kiteki..Just a theory. I have a suspicion on why these sound so good..Considering these were "reverse engineered" from a famous German make. The very first thought was. It must be Sennheiser..They do look a lot like the 8320s..Even the air vents on the back is similar.

 
 
 
So we're settling on these sounding like sennheiser now? What's it gonna sound like next?
 

 

[Dsnuts]

You have to agree that these have nothing to do with the sound of a sub $10 phone. Well maybe John but everyone else that has heard them. I am merely stating what others have said. I didn't say they sounded like all those other phones, others have. I am trying to find some reasoning why these are so outta whack with what we all know a sub $10 should sound like. My only reasoning is that maybe these drivers are from something else.. Left overs perhaps?. Anyone know the size of them IE6 drivers? I couldn't find any online.
 
I am leaning more toward a kicker EB141 rebrand using the same drivers as them. Which was originally reversed engineered/ copied from Sennheiser earphones more than anything.. Just a theory.

 

[kiteki]

Quote:

Okay im rechecking them, and trying the trance you guys are saying sound good with these. Your right the highs are smoother for trance and sound great, but when i go back to rock or vocals, or pretty much any other genre the highs become unbearable. Turning it down helps but at that point they don't sound as good, the quality on these seem to go up the louder they get and im not really a fan of loud listening so these just aren't for me.
Also if someone wants to listen to a 20-20k frequency response generator on these you will hear the extremely uneven upper end frequency response, none of my other headphones or my Samsung OEMs had that uneven of a response. It sounded like someone is hitting the mute button rapidly for the treble.

They're that uneven in the treble? That sounds pretty cool.
 

 

 

[kiteki]

Quote:

SoundFreaq /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Quantum Mechanics

I'm still waiting for your monoprice versus Edition 8 review thanks.
 
 
 

 

[ri_toast]

Quote:

OK, my first post is a reply to the thread, but I ordered ten pair, to give as gifts to the techs that I work with. They sit at monitors most of the day, and several listen to music, sometimes annoyingly on mini speakers.
 
So, I ask, does anyone have a suggestion on where to get some tips? I will need to buy at least 9 sets.

ah yes, speakers wars....good times......
fit seems to be all over the place, complys because of the foams properties will fit more ears better unless you're considering the supertip samplers.
 

 

[SoundFreaq]

 
 

I'm still waiting for your monoprice versus Edition 8 review thanks.
 

I have not forgotten. I owed the guys the W4 comparison long before the E8 comparison. I'll get there for you, no worries. Probably tonight. 

Quote:

... Your right the highs are smoother for trance and sound great, but when i go back to rock or vocals, or pretty much any other genre the highs become unbearable...

People, please keep in mind my comparison with the W4 is for trance only. That is the only genre I have listened to with them because that's the preferred genre among the interested.