[midoo1990]

Joe,you are contradicting yourself.the fx500 is excellent for all genres except very bass heavy music like electronica,but what about ck10???????it only suit bass heavy artificial genres and doesn't suit ANY other genres.hiphop,pop and rock need more bass than the ck10 have,metal and country are incredibally fatiguing on them because of the harsh treble which is by the way harsher than fx500.so what do you think is more limiting ck10 or fx500?if you apply this rule,apply it on all iems and not only fx500.and by the way ie8 is also not good eith electronica,so maybe they don't deserve to be top tier because of their genres limitations......

 

[shigzeo]

It seems that this thread is doomed. I am one of those who unlike Mido, think the CK10 is a fit-all earphone, but it doesn't fit all with its normal tips and because of a pretty linear FR, it isn't overly warm.

I think that the idea was great Joe, but it is very hard to pull this off (TWSS).

 

[iponderous]

^ Yep, and it comes as no surprise to me.

 

[elnero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shigzeo /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think that the idea was great Joe, but it is very hard to pull this off (TWSS).

Sorry, I don't even think the idea was all that great. In my opinion, trying to organize definitive lists like this is impossible and in the long run becomes very misleading to the readers.

 

[HONEYBOY]

Quote:

Originally Posted by elnero /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry, I don't even think the idea was all that great. In my opinion, trying to organize definitive lists like this is impossible and in the long run becomes very misleading to the readers.

I think the original intent was good but I knew nothing good was gonna come from a discussion of what constitutes to top tier status. If people can instead start talking about what they consider to be the strengths and weaknesses of the IEMs in question, we might make some progress. Perhaps it would have been a better idea if the headphones were categorized into various price ranges. Among other things the inherent value in some of the lower costing IEMs would be more readily apparent.

 

[TCD1975]

I think I'm a bit more niave than some others.

For as long as I've been visiting these forums I thought there were a group of IEMs that everyone generally agreed were the top tier regardless of whether they fitted your own personal taste or not. This thread has just shown me that actually there's no general consensus whatsoever.

 

[daouda]

People, please take it easy on poor ol'joe, he started this with nothing but good will and is trying his best to objectively reflect everybody's opinion, but obviously bit way more than he could chew. Whatever the result, I agree with iponderous, this is a very interesting experiment...

 

[midoo1990]

I am not attacking Joe in anyway and he knows that and knows that I respect his opinions very much,I just don't agree with him on this matter and it's ok,it won't change anything I am not going to hate him and I still will respect his opinion.

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TCD1975 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think I'm a bit more niave than some others. For as long as I've been visiting these forums I thought there were a group of IEMs that everyone generally agreed were the top tier regardless of whether they fitted your own personal taste or not. This thread has just shown me that actually there's no general consensus whatsoever.

Actually listening to music and enjoying it is all about taste and the desire for accurate reproduction has to do more with trying to justify a purchase of a more expensive audio device than actually desiring better sound quality IMO. Through iBuds, many people can get a much more satisfying sense of space than with high-end IEMs and with $20 full sized closed cans, like Senn HD202 for example, many can get a far more satisfying bass kick than with cans costing hundreds of $$. And even though more expensive cans are technically more accurate, the thing is that most of the music that we hear on day to day basis when we are out and about is reproduced through cheap car stereos, cheap speakers in stores, etc, and we get used to that and consider that sound as right on a subconscious level. Thus, cheap cans can actually sound far more enjoyable than crazy expensive cans, even though most people who are into high-end gear don't want to admit that.

 

[chrisssssssss2]

As you climb the ladder to higher-end IEMS, you get diminishing returns. A lot of the time, you really can't justify the price on high end IEMs because the price for them doesn't make up for the sound that's just as good for 100 dollars cheaper. Just look at what happened to the TF10s. At $300, everyone considered them top tier. Now that they're $150, they don't sound good anymore. People say "oh, the drivers changed." But really, all that happened was that they've become cheaper, and since they're much cheaper, people don't consider them top tier anymore. If the TF10s cost $20, then it wouldn't even be considered as top tier. Just goes to show that a price tag can really affect what we consider as top tier. It also shows that there's a psychological aspect to how much we spend and how much we value products. The truth is, we judge the way things sound not only for how they sound, but also for how much they cost. When it comes down to it all, this is simply ridiculous and puts head-fi to shame. Instead of listening with our ears, we're listening with a price tag.

I find a lot of cheaper IEMs/full-size headphones sounding better than higher priced IEMs/full-size headphones. For example, in my opinion, the IE7s sound better than the IE8s because they're more neutral with similar qualities of the IE8. The IE8s are way too colored for my tastes and has an overpowering bass, but people here would consider the IE7s to be a lower tier to the IE8s because of the price tag.

I think this thread is doomed. I agree that instead, there should be IEMs put in the same price range, and compared with each other in that way. The best comparison of IEMs that I've seen was done by Clieos, who compared IEMs of different price ranges and placed "value" as one of the categories. In this way, comparing IEMs by keeping price constant allows us to compare the sound of IEMs within a certain price range, which is great because then we don't judge an IEM by its price tag.

 

[average_joe]

This thread needs support, and I appreciate the support I am getting from some. Even if the people have different opinions from mine, that is fine. I am not here to debate, nor is this thread to debate, it is to state your opinion and see if others agree/disagree. And I don't take any of this personal, this is a message board and I am looking at this as a data collection effort! I am not making changes based off what one person says, no matter how loud they say it. I added the TF10 because multiple people consider it top-tier, not just one person, even though I disagree.

Maybe we should have a specific post format such as:

IEM:
- what it does best (if anything)
- strengths
- weaknesses
- sound sig
- notes
- if you think it is/isn't top-tier

And then all the IEMs you have heard for perspective/comparison purposes.

For those of you that have done this already, thank you.

And I don't think the post below adds anything to the conversation and is just thread crapping.

Quote:

Originally Posted by elnero /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry, I don't even think the idea was all that great. In my opinion, trying to organize definitive lists like this is impossible and in the long run becomes very misleading to the readers.

If you don't like the thread, ignore it. If you don't agree with the idea, stay away! If you want to try to help with something that possibly be helpful for people that are going to spend a lot on universals, please contribute.

Thank you for your contribution and respect!

 

[Kunlun]

I'm glad Joe made this thread and the chart.

So what if people disagree on points? There are a ton of iems out there and here the discussion is narrowed to a relative few. That's already pretty good.

Shigzeo, please give your take on the iems you own according to Joe's format.

 

[midoo1990]

joe,i actually didnt use any foam modding on my fx500 or any other iem,i use the stock tips that come attached to each of them and didnt change it

.they fit me the best.anyway,i agree that the ie8 is a top tier,so add me to the list.

 

[atothex]

I like the concept of this thread, but I don't know any of you guys. It's hard for me to take the info here to heart.

 

[bcpk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisssssssss2 /img/forum/go_quote.gif As you climb the ladder to higher-end IEMS, you get diminishing returns. A lot of the time, you really can't justify the price on high end IEMs because the price for them doesn't make up for the sound that's just as good for 100 dollars cheaper. Just look at what happened to the TF10s. At $300, everyone considered them top tier. Now that they're $150, they don't sound good anymore. People say "oh, the drivers changed." But really, all that happened was that they've become cheaper, and since they're much cheaper, people don't consider them top tier anymore. If the TF10s cost $20, then it wouldn't even be considered as top tier. Just goes to show that a price tag can really affect what we consider as top tier. It also shows that there's a psychological aspect to how much we spend and how much we value products. The truth is, we judge the way things sound not only for how they sound, but also for how much they cost. When it comes down to it all, this is simply ridiculous and puts head-fi to shame. Instead of listening with our ears, we're listening with a price tag.

The RE0s' popularity increased tenfold when they were reduced to $80.