[boomy3555]

I think balanced armatures should be reserved for custom molded All the rubber-silicone-foam tips isolate your skin from the bass. The acrylic and to some extent the silicone customs transfer much more of the bass to the surface of your inner ear because the hard outer shell comes in direct contact with your skin. Also the power of the bass may be better with dynamic drivers but the clarity of the bass is much better with Balanced Armature.

I think if you go with customs like LiveWires, Alien Ears, Westone, or Hearyourself.com you'll find it's worth the extra up front investment and Alien ears and Hearyourself are the lowest price right now. and Live.com Cashback can save up to 30% on eBay right now.

 

[boomy3555]

I think Shure dosn't get into balance armature until you get up to the 210's or higher

Here's a couple of links Headroom is a Headfi sponsor so I don't think the moderator will mind

Hearyourself.com custom IEM discussion thread - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

http://www.headphone.com/products/he...tPrice&dir=ASC

 

[Ashmedae]

Thanks Boomy, tis much appreciated. I'll definitely look into all of that.

 

[dookiex]

Since my last post on this thread disappeared due to the forum going down earlier, let me repost this.

First off, try the pinhole mod and see if that works out for you. If not, go on to the next step.

Here's the step: Sony EX700LPs which can be had for $200. One of the most underrated in-ears on the market that gets occasionally mentioned on Head-Fi. These are dynamic phones that should fill you bill for articulate bass, bass impact, details, AND excellent soundstage (I would say that the soundstage for the EX700's outclasses all the armatures I've tried including the SE530s from Shure and also the nearest dynamic competitor, the Atrio m5s). They LOOK big but they sit snugly and flush with your ear so do not hesitate just by the odd shape and size of the EX700s. I would stay away from the Image x10s as they have a congested sound due to the fact that Klipsch has went with a bigger, warmer, bassier sound signature which results in a negative hit to the higher frequencies (thus causing the congested sound). This actually goes for the entire range of Klipsch in-ears except for the Custom-1s and Image x5's which I have yet to listen to. The EX700s makes the least compromises and retains a sound that is remarkably close to a good set of full size phones. Just to prove a point on how well the soundstage is presented on the EX700s, I've plugged every one of in-ears into a Dolby Headphone processor and demoed them with movies and first person shooters and the EX700s are the only ones that I can actually pinpoint different directions of sound with in a consistent manner. Needless to say, I don't usually use them for that purpose and they are usually plugged into my portable gear let that be my macbook, iPhone, and sansa clip when I'm out jogging. It comes up in spades.

Runner up is the Atrio m5s which is also in the $200 price bracket. The music presentation is a bit darker than that of the EX700s but still exceptional. Soundstage is also presented quite well but falls behind the EX700s. If you really really really need that deep deep deep sub bass, the Atrio m5s will serve you very well.

Now mind you, both of these are dynamic in-ears and I would highly suggest that you burn them in for a minimum of 20 hours before you start to listen to them seriously. My Sony's are at around the 200 hour mark now, I would say that around the 100 hour mark, they were pretty much silky smooth.

Last and final note, the Sony's are incredibly efficient phones and they run great with anything you plug them into, limited only by the quality of your source player. Plugged into my Tomahawk, the Sony's gain a bit more control throughout the spectrum as well as a nice increase to it's already remarkably large soundstage.

 

[boomy3555]

Also,
Several custom builders have custom molds for existing unviversal. You would have to send you Sleeks to the lab with your inner ear impressions but then you could get a more solid seal. Hearyourself is still the least expensive. They offer free impression kits and shipping and they offer the most color choices. Custom art and Swirls and Glitters are just a little bit more.

HearYourself.com... Custom Molded In Ear Monitors

I'm going to try to make my own custom mold for my sleeks when they get here but I've never done it before so I don't know if it will work.

I don't know how long youv'e had you Sleeks but if it hasn't been very long give yourself some time. Balanced armature don't need any "burn-in" but I think our brains do !

 

[dookiex]

I wouldn't bother with getting the custom molds for the Sleeks. I've had a perfect seal with them and the bass was well defined but obviously lacked impact and soundstage was lacking as well so a seal was not the issue but the drivers themselves. Thus if you are not enjoying the SA6's sound, even after the bass mod, then getting a ear mold made would just be pumping more money down the wrong path.

 

[boomy3555]

OOH there in lies the rub with customs. You can never know until you buy and then there's no returning.

I realy feel that customs will be the wave of the future and custom "" BLING "" Cables will soon follow

 

[Ashmedae]

Thanks Dookiex, I'll look into those as well. Tis much appreciated!

Edit: I was looking at the Atrios for sometime, but now that you've mentioned the EX700s I'm on the fence once again. According to one reviewer: the EX700 are a bit harsh in the treble area...while the Atrios lack upper treble detail. If I could get the highs and mids from the SA6 along with the lows from the Atrios and EX700s, I'd be a very happy camper.

 

[dookiex]

The harshness goes away more or less after burn-in. They also have the highs AND the lows. All encompassing I would have to say.

 

[Scriv]

My IE6’s arrived today . These are by far the best earphones for under £100 I have ever owned and iv had a few (shure EC2, UE superfi5 EB, Bose triport, etc).

I just listen to music; I don’t make it, edit it, or produce it so I don’t need to have earphones like the equivalent Shure or UE that are to me too clinical and pernickety. These are warm but clean earphones that just make the music feel better. These are also so small and light, the UE equivalent bass tuned earphones look so stupid but these are actually very smart indeed.

The bass is very deep and with real impact as is advertised but it is not dominating or muddy, all I had to do on my iPod was set the EQ to off and the balance was perfect. The mids are punchy and strong and the highs are crisp and tidy. the best thing about these is the huge soundstage these produce for the money they realy do make the music feel....big. They made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up once more to the dire straits, sultans of swing, a very demanding track if you want it to sound great.

They are not the best in the world but of their price range? I think so, with such a big feeling open soundstage and strength across the frequency range I would not recommend anything else for under £100. Just another great sennheiser product.

PS. They blow the ultimate ears superfi5 extended bass out of the water, if bass is what you’re after set your EQ up and plug these in.