[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rdr. Seraphim /img/forum/go_quote.gif Glad you pushed 'im Larry. I agree that more posts will flesh out a better picture of the characteristics of these top tier IEMs. Bluto's got a discerning ear, that's apparent. I was, maybe, leaving some leeway for additional comments I knew would come. I'm not sure if the folks in the JH thread are following the ES3X thread, but passion is abounding, much as it is here! However, nothing I've read so far has moved me onto the diving board. Reading between the lines in some of the posts, there seems to be a hint of reservation re the midrange. I think the folks at Westone get a lot of input from musicians, which probably explains their continued success. Interestingly, my loudspeakers were designed by a musician (with an engineering background) as well. BTW, I now have several hundred hours on my Pico/ES3X combination. I have to say, things have mellowed to an extent that I find the synergy pretty remarkable. I'm not sure which has mellowed more, the ES3X or the Pico, but the highs seem to have been set free. They are more relaxed, more natural. This is especially apparent on cymbals and violin. If there was an area that I might tweak a tiny bit, it would be the bass. Not the mid-bass which is as close to perfection as I've heard. Rather, it's the sub-woofer terrain, say the 25Hz - 40Hz range. I have the DNA Sonnett on it's way, and I'm hoping that it will provide a different perspective. What is your experience using the ES3X with your reference amps? I'm especially interested in the Woo products.

The WA6 does not bump the ES3X bass or extend it more than the TOTL portable amps. I have not tried the WA22 prototype loaner or EC ZDT with the ES3X yet. The Head-direct HiFiMan EF2 I have tried with ES3X and it was nice, but I forget what the exact results were because I had so many IEM that I tried with it around the same time for my EF2 review.

 

[music_4321]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blutarsky /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey all, I got a chance to listen to all three flagship customs recently I managed to get both pairs of another members (I wonder who) UE11 Pro and JH13 Pro crammed into my ears and of course I have my ES3X. Caveats: Unfortunately since I did not have IEMs custom made for my ears in two cases I admit there may be a very large flaw in my methodology so take these impressions for what they are meant to be - my experience and opinion. That said - I do feel like I got great seals on each IEM and my experience with IEMs is extensive enough to convince me I heard what I needed to hear to evaluate my interest in these IEMs. The UE11 Pro was my least favorite of the three. I heard a significant bass bump, they seemed colored and placed the listener further from the stage than the other two IEMs. I could see them being extremely enjoyable for some music genres like classic rock but not so for others. The JH13 Pro were a tiny bit disappointing only because my expectations were very high after I had read such great reviews. I found the bass to be excellent, amazing really, the highs to be nice but not great and I was surprised to hear the mids sounded more than a bit dull/recessed. The soundstage was very large and more forward than the UE11 Pro. Another surprise was that I had to turn the volume of the player up to roughly 60% for comfortable listening (at a similar level to the other IEMs) during the session and could have gone to roughly 75% w/o it being too loud. The UE11 Pro and ES3X approached the same level of volume at roughly 30% of the players volume capacity. Overall, the JH13 Pro sounded very nice, maybe approaching great but the explosive bolts on my socks failed to detonate. Comparatively, among the three, the ES3X seem much more accurate in reproduction and more balanced across the frequency range to me than the other two IEMs. While I have seen the ES3X described here as forward, they are more forward then the JH13 or certainly the UE11 Pro. I would describe them as having an onstage presence - they give me the impression I am onstage during the performance. Overall I find the ES3X to be equally enjoyable for classical, jazz, acoustic and rock. I also would say that the bottom line is that if I could keep only one of my current headphones, I'd choose the ES3X. I could not say that for the other two IEMs. For a comparative reference, my favorite two headphones (I own) are a recabled (SAA) balanced and modified Grado HP1000/HP1 and a highly modified pair of Grado HF-1 with PS-1 drivers and Moon Audio silver dragon cable. During the listening sessions with the IEMs I listened to selections from Diana Krall "Very Best of", Donald Fagen "Morph the Cat", Eva Cassidy "Live at Blues Alley" and Five for Fighting - "Live Session" in high bitrate or AIFF un-amped from my iPhone 3G.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif What he did not mention was that he also tried the "alien" ES3X and his own fitted ES3X at a previous encounter and found the sound to be similar, despite the one pair of ES3X not being made for his ears. I think that renders his impressions of the other two customs more valid.

Blutarsky, You'd better not post the same thoughts on the JH13 thread as you might face a permanent ban. If I were you I'd be very careful.

 

[music_4321]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rdr. Seraphim /img/forum/go_quote.gif Glad you pushed 'im Larry. I agree that more posts will flesh out a better picture of the characteristics of these top tier IEMs. Bluto's got a discerning ear, that's apparent. I was, maybe, leaving some leeway for additional comments I knew would come. I'm not sure if the folks in the JH thread are following the ES3X thread, but passion is abounding, much as it is here! However, nothing I've read so far has moved me onto the diving board. Reading between the lines in some of the posts, there seems to be a hint of reservation re the midrange. I think the folks at Westone get a lot of input from musicians, which probably explains their continued success. Interestingly, my loudspeakers were designed by a musician (with an engineering background) as well. BTW, I now have several hundred hours on my Pico/ES3X combination. I have to say, things have mellowed to an extent that I find the synergy pretty remarkable. I'm not sure which has mellowed more, the ES3X or the Pico, but the highs seem to have been set free. They are more relaxed, more natural. This is especially apparent on cymbals and violin. If there was an area that I might tweak a tiny bit, it would be the bass. Not the mid-bass which is as close to perfection as I've heard. Rather, it's the sub-woofer terrain, say the 25Hz - 40Hz range. I have the DNA Sonnett on it's way, and I'm hoping that it will provide a different perspective. What is your experience using the ES3X with your reference amps? I'm especially interested in the Woo products.

Re: the bolded text, that's a very interesting observation and one I'd noticed as well. The ES3X is stunning, really, and I find not many people seem to place that much importance to the midrange. Westone really nailed it there, imo.

Re: the bass aspects you mention, you may well have more discerning/ sensitive ears than me - and I do mean that - or it may be the better equipment you use and higher rez files to listen to, or a combination of all these factors. I myself cannot find fault with the ES3X's bass response and, if anything, I've come to appreciate it even more as evidenced by some of my more recent posts, and find the bass, in general, quite refined & textured.

 

[Rdr. Seraphim]

Quote:

Originally Posted by music_4321 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Re: the bolded text, that's a very interesting observation and one I'd noticed as well. The ES3X is stunning, really, and I find not many people seem to place that much importance to the midrange. Westone really nailed it there, imo. Re: the bass aspects you mention, you may well have more discerning/ sensitive ears than me - and I do mean that - or it may be the better equipment you use and higher rez files to listen to, or a combination of all these factors. I myself cannot find fault with the ES3X's bass response and, if anything, I've come to appreciate it even more as evidenced by some of my more recent posts, and find the bass, in general, quite refined & textured.

Good morning music_4321! Don't you just love listening to music late (early) into the a.m.--it's just so quiet and easier to listen to more music, undisturbed.

I agree, the midrange is critical. And judging by the how poorly most systems perform there, it must be difficult to properly implement. Yep, this is one area Westone is spot on!

I've been primarily listening to classical lately. Re the bass, I'm coming to the conclusion that if it's not in the music it is not reproduced. I just switched music genres (Steely Dan - Two Against Nature), and on "Negative Girl" the kick drum is taut, textured, well defined, plumbing the depths without any sense of bloat or overhang. Nothing missing. And I'm not sure I'd want to change the balance for fear of ruining something else.

 

[Rdr. Seraphim]

Quote:

Originally Posted by music_4321 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Blutarsky, You'd better not post the same thoughts on the JH13 thread as you might face a permanent ban. If I were you I'd be very careful.

X2!

 

[music_4321]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rdr. Seraphim /img/forum/go_quote.gif Good morning music_4321! Don't you just love listening to music late (early) into the a.m.--it's just so quiet and easier to listen to more music, undisturbed. I agree, the midrange is critical. And judging by the how poorly most systems perform there, it must be difficult to properly implement. Yep, this is one area Westone is spot on! I've been primarily listening to classical lately. Re the bass, I'm coming to the conclusion that if it's not in the music it is not reproduced. I just switched music genres (Steely Dan - Two Against Nature), and on "Negative Girl" the kick drum is taut, textured, well defined, plumbing the depths without any sense of bloat or overhang. Nothing missing. And I'm not sure I'd want to change the balance for fear of ruining something else.

Good morning Rdr. Seraphim!,

It's now nearly 11:30am here (central European time or GMT +1). Yes, I normally listen to music any time from around 11pm - 2am, and try and make a point of not sleeping with my ES3X's/ music on, but at times this takes some discipline, both to stop just before drifting off and also to not listen to music during the rest of the day.

I find there can be such a thing as 'too much' music, where appreciation can be virtually lost, and some of the beneficial (healing?) aspects of music gone - most of the time I just cannot have music in the background, which it also took some discipline to achieve. Like you, I find the (late) night time more suitable for music appreciation, once the everyday sensory 'overload' has come down.

 

[music_4321]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gilency /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't have Barenboim's version but I am surprised you don't like his CD. I listened to him once at a concert performing with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. If you see him live, his piano playing is like raindrops in a quiet night. Almost brought tears to my eyes. I think I mentioned before that my ES3X are the best sleeping pill. Chopin puts my mind at ease at night, almost like lullabies, again perhaps because its sound is so familiar to me. I play piano (not a virtuoso, but do ok) and have played several of his waltzes and nocturnes in my day.

My favourite band, King Crimson, is known to be quite a different beast live. Probably 90% of their often complex recorded material cannot match their live performances - improvisation has also played a role here, often taking risks 'in the moment' and at times producing some stunning results. Most of the studio pieces have been simply something else when played live, generally avoiding the self-indulgence which is so commonplace in live performance.

However, I generally tend to find the opposite to be the case, ie I prefer studio performances to the live ones, specially so in Rock music, where most live performances I find dead boring, even when they've been (heavily) overdubbed. Even some easier to replicate studio work lacks substance when played live.

I've found that few truly good musicians can sound better live.

Most of Robert Fripp's (founding member and only musician to be a part of all 6/7 Crimson line-ups) 'studio' output has, in actual fact, been recorded live, and when recorded in studio, he'd do a maximum of 2 takes otherwise he wouldn't record the intended piece. All of Fripp's Frippertronics and Soundscapes releases have been actual live performances - not a single one's been recorded in studio. In the last 4 years or so he's given some solo perfomances, quite a few of which have been in churches mostly in England and a few in Estonia - all for free -, and what came out of those 'in the moment' pieces is nothing short of breathtaking. The landmark album 'No *****footing' (1973) he did with Brian Eno was taken from a completely improvised 2-hour session in Eno's sitting room.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Barenboim's performance you attended was indeed a remarkable one. And, of course, you might still find the CD in question to also deliver - I myself liked it, but something was missing. I found the Roberts version had more 'substance', allowing the music to really come alive.

 

[belac]

Don't mean to break into conversation, but how much does a set of ES3X's cost?

 

[Sinocelt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by belac /img/forum/go_quote.gif Don't mean to break into conversation, but how much does a set of ES3X's cost?

$850, officially. The cheapest I've seen on these boards is one guy getting it for $750, impressions included. I'm very jealous, BTW. Here, the ES3X costs over $900.

 

[belac]

Thanks for the response!!!

 

[hockeyb213]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sinocelt /img/forum/go_quote.gif $850, officially. The cheapest I've seen on these boards is one guy getting it for $750, impressions included. I'm very jealous, BTW. Here, the ES3X costs over $900.

That is unless you are active in the military I just saw someone who got them for $650 who was indeed in the military. May be it was in this thread a couple pages back?

 

[shigzeo]

can you be in the military of a non-american country or would that constitute enemy pricing?

 

[hockeyb213]

Haha shigzeo you made me crack up. I would love to see some reviews against 10x3's since it seems destined to be done since obviously jh designed them to compete with the es3x.

 

[Sinocelt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hockeyb213 /img/forum/go_quote.gif That is unless you are active in the military I just saw someone who got them for $650 who was indeed in the military. May be it was in this thread a couple pages back?

Yes, saw it too, sorry. So, $650 as lowest price seen on these boards!

 

[hockeyb213]

Everyone who is old enough go join the military so you can get the discount! Lol j/k but it is nice to see those who serve their country getting rewarded for their deed.