AudioAficionado
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2012
- Posts
- 64
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- 10
Hello Head-Fi,
I am a college student operating on a relatively more lenient budget, but either way, I will most likely save up for one pair of good IEMs. I'm debating between the following three pairs of IEMs, found for the prices listed below:
- Astrotec AX-60 ($200 USD)
- FLC 8S ($355 USD)
- Audiofly AF180 ($499 USD)
Unfortunately, my tastes are fairly broad in terms of music. I listen to a lot of the following genres:
- Electronic (EDM, Progressive House, "Chillstep")
- Classical / Contemporary (Soundtrack and Movies Scores, Classical for studying)
- Pop / Indie Pop / Indie Rock (Saint Motel, Twenty One Pilots, Chromeo, Troye Sivan, Bastille, Jason Mraz, Rixton, The Cinema)
- Songs with Acoustic influences
I have owned these pieces of audio equipment in the past, and my opinions are listed below:
Over-Ear
- Sony MDR-7520 (YES!)
- V-Moda Crossfade M-100 (Meh, too genre-oriented)
- Sennheiser HD448 (Yes, esp. for classical music & vocals)
- Final Audio Design Sonorous / Pandora Hope VI (Yes, but I craved even more detail-retrieval)
- Audio-Technica M50x (Meh, a little more jack-of-all-trades than M-100s)
- AKG K553 Pro (Meh, wanted more detail retrieval, highs rolled off, overall highs and mids were just along for the ride)
- M-Audio HDH-50 (Liked for neutral-ish sound signature)
IEMs
- Echobox Finder X1 (YES!)
- V-Moda Zn (Yes, but sound signature a little too laid back; bass done well though)
- MEElectronics M6 PRO (Nope, mids super recessed)
- Brainwavz M2 (Nope, bass-centric, way too warm, smooth beyond comparison, CRAVED MICRO-DETAIL THAT I COULDN'T HAVE)
- Klipsch Promedia (Nope, bass overpowered everything)
- Logitech UE500 (YES! Vocals were sometimes a little off, but highs surprisingly didn't roll off too fast)
- Monster iSport Livestrong (Meh)
- JVC HAFX67 "Air Cushion" (Nope, bass too strong)
- Xiaomi Piston III (Nope, bass too strong, V-shaped)
Overall, I'm kind of looking for a balanced IEM in the hi-fi realm that bring exceptional micro-detail retrieval, but isn't as sibilant as, say, the B&O H6's nor the Finder X1's (with treble filtre; I was perfectly fine with the reference filtres, however). I've read many good things in the $300-$500 price range, but can't seem to decide on something that fits my specific tastes. I do not like particularly dark sound signatures (read: Brainwavz M2) nor overly smooth, overly laid-back characteristics (V-Moda Zn). (For these reasons, I love my bright-sounding, seemingly clinical Audioquest Dragonfly v1.2 over my Creative Soundblaster X7 LE, which has a warmer sound sig.)
Thank you beforehand for your input~ anything is welcome!
I am a college student operating on a relatively more lenient budget, but either way, I will most likely save up for one pair of good IEMs. I'm debating between the following three pairs of IEMs, found for the prices listed below:
- Astrotec AX-60 ($200 USD)
- FLC 8S ($355 USD)
- Audiofly AF180 ($499 USD)
Unfortunately, my tastes are fairly broad in terms of music. I listen to a lot of the following genres:
- Electronic (EDM, Progressive House, "Chillstep")
- Classical / Contemporary (Soundtrack and Movies Scores, Classical for studying)
- Pop / Indie Pop / Indie Rock (Saint Motel, Twenty One Pilots, Chromeo, Troye Sivan, Bastille, Jason Mraz, Rixton, The Cinema)
- Songs with Acoustic influences
I have owned these pieces of audio equipment in the past, and my opinions are listed below:
Over-Ear
- Sony MDR-7520 (YES!)
- V-Moda Crossfade M-100 (Meh, too genre-oriented)
- Sennheiser HD448 (Yes, esp. for classical music & vocals)
- Final Audio Design Sonorous / Pandora Hope VI (Yes, but I craved even more detail-retrieval)
- Audio-Technica M50x (Meh, a little more jack-of-all-trades than M-100s)
- AKG K553 Pro (Meh, wanted more detail retrieval, highs rolled off, overall highs and mids were just along for the ride)
- M-Audio HDH-50 (Liked for neutral-ish sound signature)
IEMs
- Echobox Finder X1 (YES!)
- V-Moda Zn (Yes, but sound signature a little too laid back; bass done well though)
- MEElectronics M6 PRO (Nope, mids super recessed)
- Brainwavz M2 (Nope, bass-centric, way too warm, smooth beyond comparison, CRAVED MICRO-DETAIL THAT I COULDN'T HAVE)
- Klipsch Promedia (Nope, bass overpowered everything)
- Logitech UE500 (YES! Vocals were sometimes a little off, but highs surprisingly didn't roll off too fast)
- Monster iSport Livestrong (Meh)
- JVC HAFX67 "Air Cushion" (Nope, bass too strong)
- Xiaomi Piston III (Nope, bass too strong, V-shaped)
Overall, I'm kind of looking for a balanced IEM in the hi-fi realm that bring exceptional micro-detail retrieval, but isn't as sibilant as, say, the B&O H6's nor the Finder X1's (with treble filtre; I was perfectly fine with the reference filtres, however). I've read many good things in the $300-$500 price range, but can't seem to decide on something that fits my specific tastes. I do not like particularly dark sound signatures (read: Brainwavz M2) nor overly smooth, overly laid-back characteristics (V-Moda Zn). (For these reasons, I love my bright-sounding, seemingly clinical Audioquest Dragonfly v1.2 over my Creative Soundblaster X7 LE, which has a warmer sound sig.)
Thank you beforehand for your input~ anything is welcome!