[F700]

You should give the Sony IER-M9 a try if you haven't. By far my favourite warm IEM! You're spot on with my assessment of the E5000. Nowadays I have a bias towards all-rounder IEMs in which I find the E5000 too genre-specific. Too dark for my (rock-loving) tastes but it certainly works better with acoustic genres.

Thanks for that. My budget for any other IEMs equals zero. And to be honest, I have all I need, no desire to get something else for a long time. Yes, the E5000 is not the best for rock, but delivers with Electronics and acoustic.

 

[himaraya]

Bought the Etymotic ER2XR based on your description. Blind yet incredible purchase. At USD 200.- in the price segment and even in the USD 500.- class, excepting my warm & dark guilty pleasure (see below), I cannot think of something coming close and even if I haven't your mileage in terms of IEM testing, I have a tried a few. On a total different league soundwise, the Final E5000 comes to my mind when it comes to price/performance ratio (given your tastes, you surely don't like the E5000, though). Thanks for the tip, ER2XR is an addictive IEM and this OOTB

Keep an eye out for connector and cable wear. One earpiece died after three weeks of daily use for me, so back they go. The proprietary replacement cable's quality also looks questionable for $50. If Ety could improve build quality (and customer service), I'd jump for another pair.

 

[buonassi]

The proprietary replacement cable's

they're not standard mmcx? Other than being less angled with no ear guides, I thought they were standard MMCX

 

[himaraya]

they're not standard mmcx? Other than being less angled with no ear guides, I thought they were standard MMCX

Nope, proprietary MMCX: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/etymotic-research-er2xr.23811/reviews

Pretty sure my driver died, but cable complaints here: https://www.etymotic.com/consumer/accessories/er4-new/er4-06.html

Can't have everything, I guess.

 

[himaraya]

Edit

 

[Sunstealer]

@https://www.head-fi.org/members/toranku.494715/

Having demoed the Khan and Kantana, your interpretations I feel are accurate. Loved the part where you use the adjective “Sterile” describing the Khan, and pointing out that the tune is sacrificing tonal balance in it’s reach for technicalities.

For me the biggest surprise was the Khan thin areas making way for more detail, at the expense of soul? I just summed it up to not liking the midrange, and knew right away.

I own and I really love the Encore despite it’s lack of realism. Your review is exactly what it is; reconfirming the Encore’s use of artistic freedom.

I demoed the Khan at Canjam last year and couldn't get on with the treble spike. I liked the rest of the tonality though. That spurred me on to purchase the Tux5. Changing the copper cable for a Litz hybrid has really opened out the sound and added a little air whilst tightening that deep bass. I also added a touch of 1k and 3k to bring the mids up slightly.

I recently sold some Encores as I found the treble overwhelming. Neutral / slightly bright overall with great technicalities but just too much for my ears. I was having to use a less revealing source to dial back on the detail. That's not the best use case for the Encores! I think what I would like from Noble would be something in between the Encore and the Tux5, if that's not too much of a stretch: something truly balanced but with warmth.

EDIT: Just realised I might be describing the original K10 but am not willing to take a chance on them blindly, given my experience with the Encores.

 

[himaraya]

You should give the Sony IER-M9 a try if you haven't. By far my favourite warm IEM! You're spot on with my assessment of the E5000. Nowadays I have a bias towards all-rounder IEMs in which I find the E5000 too genre-specific. Too dark for my (rock-loving) tastes but it certainly works better with acoustic genres.

How does the M7 stack up against the M9, or ER2XR for that matter? I enjoyed the M9, but can't stomach its price as a casual listener. I would spring for another ER2XR, but the build quality and pricey cables put me off.

 

[toranku]

How does the M7 stack up against the M9, or ER2XR for that matter? I enjoyed the M9, but can't stomach its price as a casual listener. I would spring for another ER2XR, but the build quality and pricey cables put me off.

My opinion of the M7 is that it's largely similar to the M9 and M7 has a little less treble with an overall colder tonality to cymbals with less rendition of metallicness. It's a smoother listen. Many say the M7 is a downgrade and my opinion is the same, except that its just a small "downgrade" imho

I wish there was an iem with the sound of ER2XR but not in the ety fit. Now that would be killer.

 

[toranku]

Here's a 71 minute long podcast between @OverlordRush, @antdroid, Leneo (a good friend of mine) and myself. We discuss about the Dawn against the competition. More of a casual, friendly discussion & most of us have pretty crappy mic quality (sorry!)

Enjoy

 

[OverlordRush]

shill

 

[Love Music]

My opinion of the M7 is that it's largely similar to the M9 and M7 has a little less treble with an overall colder tonality to cymbals with less rendition of metallicness. It's a smoother listen. Many say the M7 is a downgrade and my opinion is the same, except that its just a small "downgrade" imho

I wish there was an iem with the sound of ER2XR but not in the ety fit. Now that would be killer.

M7 with eq is totl lol but i sort of agree plus its half the price of the M9. Some ppl may prefer the closer vocals of the M7 and slightly warmer tonality.

 

[F700]

Keep an eye out for connector and cable wear. One earpiece died after three weeks of daily use for me, so back they go. The proprietary replacement cable's quality also looks questionable for $50. If Ety could improve build quality (and customer service), I'd jump for another pair.

Thanks for the warning. This IEM really is something, though. Finding the perfect fit is something also Now, deep insertion and full bass coming in make the ER2XR a pure delight with my source(s)

 

[Fargeg]

Here's a 71 minute long podcast between @OverlordRush, @antdroid, Leneo (a good friend of mine) and myself. We discuss about the Dawn against the competition. More of a casual, friendly discussion & most of us have pretty crappy mic quality (sorry!)

Enjoy

Mind providing a summary of each listener's audio quality judgments and comparisons? The talk is interesting, but the audio skipping makes it hard to listen to.

 

[soundperfection]

I demoed the Khan at Canjam last year and couldn't get on with the treble spike. I liked the rest of the tonality though. That spurred me on to purchase the Tux5. Changing the copper cable for a Litz hybrid has really opened out the sound and added a little air whilst tightening that deep bass. I also added a touch of 1k and 3k to bring the mids up slightly.

I recently sold some Encores as I found the treble overwhelming. Neutral / slightly bright overall with great technicalities but just too much for my ears. I was having to use a less revealing source to dial back on the detail. That's not the best use case for the Encores! I think what I would like from Noble would be something in between the Encore and the Tux5, if that's not too much of a stretch: something truly balanced but with warmth.

EDIT: Just realised I might be describing the original K10 but am not willing to take a chance on them blindly, given my experience with the Encores.

I have the noble k10.They have alot of midbass but there is an obnoxious peak at 7khz thats always makes itself present. I cant imagine how unpleasent the encores must sound. I shrudder at the thought.

 

[Sunstealer]

I have the noble k10.They have alot of midbass but there is an obnoxious peak at 7khz thats always makes itself present. I cant imagine how unpleasent the encores must sound. I shrudder at the thought.

I had to reduce 3k and 5k to be comfortable. It was a shame to let them go as they were really good at what they were doing. Not warm enough for me even though it would dig deep (for a BA setup) if there was a lot of bass on the track. I don't really want to use EQ just to get a sound that I like. Ideally (perhaps futilely?) I'd like the IEM to do that by itself.

Hopefully if the UK Canjam goes ahead I would like to try a 64audio U12 to see if that's where I'm heading.