[yeahman67]

Hey, guys, I've been looking something better than the sony mdr-ex90's and began looking at the denon ah-c551k's. How do the c551k's compare to the ex90's, and are they worth the money? Also, I spotted a guy selling brand new denon c700k's on ebay, is it a fake or not? Also, is there an IEM under $100 that delives great bass, mids, and highs? Thanks People!

 

[knights]

quite happy with ex90... i tried c551, shure se310, and cx500 but i like ex90's signature more... se310 is more of analytical, bass is often too soft but great mids... c551 is too cold when paired with n81; though its better with the classic... cx500 is way too bassy... ex90 is great choice for unamp setup, though it cannot block much of exteernal noise but i think c551 isnt worth upgrade from ex90...

 

[soozieq]

I think the C551's are well worth upgrading to from the EX90s, especially if you can get them for a good price. I liked the EX90s enough in very quiet environments, but I still found the C551 to sound much better to my ears. Better bass, nice sturdy build and a decent fairly tangle-free cable, unlike the straggly old Sony thing! Oh, and the Denons isolate a lot better too.

EDIT: Haven't heard of a single C700 fake, so I doubt the eBay ones are fake. I bought mine from there last year. If they're going cheap it's probably because they've been discontinued on the Denon site.

 

[bestnaru]

I have never heard C551 so I can't really give you any direct compariosn to them. However, I have C700 and still prefer EX90 overall. It's true that C700 has better bass response, detail and goes deeper. It also has smoother high but if you enjoy that airy high and cleaner sound of EX90, I doubt C551 can give you that because even C700 can't do those. Anyway, hope this can help

 

[soozieq]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bestnaru /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have never heard C551 so I can't really give you any direct compariosn to them. However, I have C700 and still prefer EX90 overall. It's true that C700 has better bass response, detail and goes deeper. It also has smoother high but if you enjoy that airy high and cleaner sound of EX90, I doubt C551 can give you that because even C700 can't do those. Anyway, hope this can help

Fair enough. I guess it's just down to personal listening preference. The EX90s do have a nice soundstage, probably due to the fact the earpieces sit further away from the ear canals than the Denons (which is why the isolation isn't so good.)

But we don't know what the OP didn't like about the EX90s. It would help if he told us what was lacking so we knew what he was looking for.

 

[coolchu001]

I just got a pair of iM616 yesterday and I prefer those over my EX90. The isolate is just miles ahead of the sony. The highs and mids are more clear and crisp. But the bass is lacking compared to the EX90. You might want to try the Altec iM616 (i think its only $50 at zipzoomfly) or the Harman EP 730 from buy.com ($52) Both of these use the same drivers (my black iM616 looks exactly like the EP 730). Both are made by Etymotic Research.