[vfalks]

I just upgraded my laptop to an Echo Indigo IOx. And I think it's finally time to upgrade my headphones too.

I've been using the EP630 which I've always thought to be a great little pair of IEMS for the price (£16). I want to upgrade to something dramatically better and am sussing out the players like SE520, Westone 3 and UM3X, and might settle with something more like the SE420.

With the equipment I'm using - the Indigo IOx - is the huge price jump justified by an equally huge quality difference? Or should I stay with what I've got and wait later to get a proper high-end heaphone with a proper amp, etc?

I want it to be a HUGE difference over the EP630 and would be disappointed if it wasn't like night and day. What I find annoying about the EP630 is its muddyness, lack of high frequency clarity and (you guessed it), stifled soundstage...something I'm hoping a higher-end EIM like the SE420 can very much address.

Thanks for your insight!

 

[mark2410]

erm why the se420?

my guess is because its shure, you have heard of them and the 420 is about how much you wanted to spend?

given you dont say the 630 dont have way too much bass for you im thinking ignore the shures. you need to think denon or sennheiser.

Play.com (UK) : Sennheiser IE7 Headphones : Electronics - Free Delivery

Play.com (UK) : Sennheiser IE8 Headphones : Electronics - Free Delivery

probably your best bets

 

[vfalks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark2410 /img/forum/go_quote.gif erm why the se420? my guess is because its shure, you have heard of them and the 420 is about how much you wanted to spend?

No, I don't go by brand (I go by what's the best and what I prefer), it's because from what I've researched so far, the SE520 is a great IEM in a certain price range and the SE420 is the model down from it which is more likely what I'd settle for (in price) and I'm assuming it's quite similar to the SE520 sonically. So yes it's about how much I want to spend, but if I learnt that there was a big enough step up with the SE520 I would consider it (and therefore, the ones at similar price to IT like Westone 3 and UM3X).

Quote:

given you dont say the 630 dont have way too much bass for you im thinking ignore the shures. you need to think denon or sennheiser.

Yeah the bass is a lot, I must admit am a lover of bass - even if it's a tad on the unnatural side

...but given my inexperience in trying other IEMs, I'm not sure whether you simply must have less bass or wider soundstage/clearer highs to get rid of the muddyness, which I definitely do *not* like.

Thanks for the recommendation - so you're saying that Shures have much less bass? :/

I had a look at the Sennheisers and can't stand the designs, and didn't take a serious look at Denon as I've never known them to be a significant manufacturer of headphones and they didn't come up that often in what people seem to like here. Upon checking it out just then, Denon AH-C751 seems overpriced for me, I'd rather go something higher-priced that's worth it.

But that's just it: I'd still really like to know whether it IS night and day in sound quality between the EP630 and the SE420/520 range? I've never had a chance to try out decent IEMs in person.

Thanks for your help.

 

[mark2410]

shures have lots less bass, the can pump bass out when its demanded but its not what id think your after. quality wise there is a spectacular difference from the ep630 though.

higher priced than the 751 or 710 your options i can think of would be are

senn IE6, 7,and 8
monster turbines but no idea where youd get in the uk
atrio's
W3

 

[jleewach]

you'll get better soundstage & isolation w/ the shures, but that's about it. Clarity (treble in particular) is shure's biggest weakness, and the bass on the 420's pretty much sucks. If you must go Shure, I'd stick w/ the 530's, or even the 310s (which I would rate higher than the 420s. The 420 sounds horrible in my opinion). Otherwise, I'd second Mark's advice to try out Sennheiser.As a side-note, I've recently got a hold of some Klipsch Image X10's, and have been EXTREMELY impressed with them. Easily the best single BA iem available, and I honestly prefer their sound to that of the Shure 530s. The bass is powerful & smooth (not overbearing,) and they have better treble than the 530s. Snare drums snap like none other I've heard in an iem

.

 

[vfalks]

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. After tonnes more reading and excruciating decision-making, I've decided to fork it out and go with the UM3X, and it will be my primary headphone for a LONG time, considering how ruddy expensive it is.

I do truly love the fun music experience with tonnes of bass and extra sparkle, and that's why I found it so hard to make a decision between the UM3X and W3.

But at the end of the day I'm too much of an audiophile (and more specifically, I'm one of those "transparency" guys, not so much a vinyl-loving coloration-loving guy) and I think it's a smart choice to buy something neutral, which I can tweak in a number of ways later down the track, but still be able to have the pure default sound when I want.

I really like the fact that IE8 has an adjustable bass dial, it would be cool for other models to have that too. But what I'll try and do is use EQ in my software players (foobar etc) to color up the EQ if I ever want it.

Thanks again. Head-fi is awesome.

 

[gameboy115]

beware UM3X don't have powerful bass if it is what you are looking for. It is bass lite IEM actually depending on track, track with heavy, involving bass will still provide a noticeable bass impact, other than that, track with less bass is essentially less bass than other top flag ship IEM, like IE8, TF10 pro or shure 530.............

 

[derek8555]

If you are really looking for large quantity of bass, then W3 are definitely the better pick between them and the UM3X. For a novice, I would recommend something like W3 or the IE8, they are the more "fun" IEMs.

And as for laptop as a source, price tag on laptops do not always justify better audio quality. Usually the audio parts in a laptop are always cheap integrated circuits that will be outperformed by any $50 standalone DACs.

 

[vfalks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by derek8555 /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you are really looking for large quantity of bass, then W3 are definitely the better pick between them and the UM3X. For a novice, I would recommend something like W3 or the IE8, they are the more "fun" IEMs.

Thing is, I'm not an audio novice, I'm just new at head-fi

. I am a serious audiophile with serious home theater gear. When I upgrade, I UPGRADE

. I don't do it very often, so I want a serious phone which will serve me well for a long time.
Quote:

And as for laptop as a source, price tag on laptops do not always justify better audio quality. Usually the audio parts in a laptop are always cheap integrated circuits that will be outperformed by any $50 standalone DACs.

As noted in my OP, I just upgraded to a $230 Echo Indigo, the best laptop DAC card short of USB interfaces.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gameboy115 /img/forum/go_quote.gif beware UM3X don't have powerful bass if it is what you are looking for. It is bass lite IEM actually depending on track, track with heavy, involving bass will still provide a noticeable bass impact, other than that, track with less bass is essentially less bass than other top flag ship IEM, like IE8, TF10 pro or shure 530.............

As I have come to learn, I believe the more correct term is "bass-neutral"

.

Anyway, I DO love bass and what I thought was that I can use the equaliser in foobar to give me my bass fix. I tested it with my EP-630s just then and I seemed to be able to ramp up the bass to varying huge levels without distorting the EP-630 (different to muddying up the sound image, I know). You think it should be fine doing this with the UM3X?

 

[derek8555]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vfalks /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thing is, I'm not an audio novice, I'm just new at head-fi . I am a serious audiophile with serious home theater gear. When I upgrade, I UPGRADE . I don't do it very often, so I want a serious phone which will serve me well for a long time. As noted in my OP, I just upgraded to a $230 Echo Indigo, the best laptop DAC card short of USB interfaces.

Woops my bad... I thought it was a laptop model number. lol.

Quote:

Anyway, I DO love bass and what I thought was that I can use the equaliser in foobar to give me my bass fix. I tested it with my EP-630s just then and I seemed to be able to ramp up the bass to varying huge levels without distorting the EP-630 (different to muddying up the sound image, I know). You think it should be fine doing this with the UM3X?

I know UM3X's bass driver has very good potential, I have made mine custom and they are pumping out bass like no other universal IEMs I've heard in the past (maybe except IE8), quantity wise of course

. I believe the bass quantity is limited by the plastic housing and nozzle size, so a physical design issue not driver issue.

And EQing them should be fine IMHO.

 

[vfalks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by derek8555 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Woops my bad... I thought it was a laptop model number. lol. I know UM3X's bass driver has very good potential, I have made mine custom and they are pumping out bass like no other universal IEMs I've heard in the past (maybe except IE8), quantity wise of course . I believe the bass quantity is limited by the plastic housing and nozzle size, so a physical design issue not driver issue. And EQing them should be fine IMHO.

Woohoo! Best news I've had all day

What exactly have you done with your UM3X to increase the bass? souds like you've modded it somehow, unless you mean you've UM56s/etc - which from what I've read doesn't seem to increase the bass, but even reduce it a bit, if anything.

 

[gameboy115]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vfalks /img/forum/go_quote.gif Woohoo! Best news I've had all day What exactly have you done with your UM3X to increase the bass? souds like you've modded it somehow, unless you mean you've UM56s/etc - which from what I've read doesn't seem to increase the bass, but even reduce it a bit, if anything.

I guess he remold it in custom shell. I am sure footbar will get the job done if we are talking bass alone, but at the same time, that may have potential to color / degrade the sound. That is why I always refrain from groping about eqing as I am really not an expert for that

 

[mark2410]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gameboy115 /img/forum/go_quote.gif beware UM3X don't have powerful bass if it is what you are looking for. It is bass lite IEM actually depending on track, track with heavy, involving bass will still provide a noticeable bass impact, other than that, track with less bass is essentially less bass than other top flag ship IEM, like IE8, TF10 pro or shure 530.............

i so disagree there, the um3x has ton of bass and its really punchy.

 

[vfalks]

Either way, I'm happy, and just slapped down the cash. woohoo!