[regiapemid]

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Hey regiapemid great comparison between the GR07 and the EPH-100. I've been deciding between the two of these for quite sometime and was just wondering how the comfort level and isolation was for you. I listen to mostly bass heavy music like hip hop and trance but still would like a great all arounder. 

 
Thanks! They're both rather comfortable. The EPH-100 has better isolation as it seals more completely - if I insert them in very firmly, there's a very slight "grip" to my ear when I pull them out. The GR07s never generate that "grip" no matter how hard I push them in. Their isolation is not as good as the EPH's, but still decent - no complaints at all from me. I do imagine that this might vary from person to person though, just based off ear canal sizes.
 
I think ideally you should get both, do your own testing, and return the one you like less. You could even keep them both if they're close enough in performance, as I had hoped to do (I was really hoping I would like the GR07 so I could use it for working out since its better suited to be worn over-the-ear). Everyone has their own tastes after all! I know Amazon is running extended returns until January 31 due to the holiday season and you can pick up a GR07 from there (~180 from what I saw a few days ago). I had to order my EPH-100 directly from Yamaha (~150), but they also have a return policy of course.

 

[AznInvasion138]

True that thanks for the info mang. Hopefully the yamahas will be my next purchase haha. 

 

[regiapemid]

Quote:

True that thanks for the info mang. Hopefully the yamahas will be my next purchase haha. 

No problem! Best of luck finding the right IEM for you!
 
Did another long A/Bing session today, and the Yams are the clear winner. Retested "Collide" and "Cosas Que Suenan A..." numerous times, which really showed how much better guitars sound on the Yams. I also A/Bed the Feed Me remix of Robyn's "Call Your Girlfriend." The Yams again sounded clearer, this time on both the snares and the electronic synth notes. I felt the sub-bass was better on the Yams as well - when the bass line comes in I get a much more visceral feeling when I'm wearing the Yams. I also A/Bed the instrumental version of Radiohead's "High & Dry", and the guitar is more clear and crisp on the Yams.
 
I wonder why the Yams are so much better for me. Perhaps my ear canals? I have slightly large ear canals (I always have to use the large tips for almost any given IEM to get a decent seal), and my ear canals did result in the condensation problem with the Yams which most people didn't have. Because after a night of sleep and a new round of testing, the EPH-100 is much more clear on the mids and highs for me. Last night I was doubting myself a bit after reading so many other opinions that said the two were very close or even that the GR07 were slightly clearer.
 
Today I can say for sure that the EPH-100 is much clearer for me - and not slightly, but by a noticeable amount. I also remember the Shure SE215 being remarkably unremarkable - if the GR07 beats the EP-630/CX-300 by a decent amount, the SE215 did not. The GR07 and SE215 both have a different nozzle design than the Yams - that is, they have smaller nozzles. Maybe for the vast majority of people (or at least most people) the smaller nozzle doesn't decrease sound quality, but for me, with my ear canals, they do? I also remember being very unsatisfied with the Etymotic MC3s I had, and those also had small nozzles (though that case was probably more related to the anemic bass). The more I think about it, the more I suspect small nozzles and my ear canals don't play nice, because the EPH-100 is simply much clearer and cleaner to my ears.
 
Another thing is that all my tests are using no EQ and from unamped sources, from my desktop's P67 Sabertooth onboard sound, a MacBook Pro, and a Nexus 4 (I did most of my A/Bing from the first two sources). Maybe a good amp will bring the GR07 up to or even above the EPH-100's level, but I will always run my phone unamped and amping the others is still a hassle. I still think the ear canal size/shape is the major player. The amping issue wouldn't really explain why most people find the two pretty equal while I find the EPH-100 much better. Just strange.
 
I will be getting the Sony MH1C's tomorrow (they look like they have relatively larger nozzles, so that's a good sign!), and if they do well enough, I'll probably return or sell the GR07s. The GR07s cable is fantastic, the buds feel solid and well-built (though less so than the machined aluminum of the Yams), comfort is excellent, isolation is good, etc. I have absolutely no complaints about it - aside from its lower sound quality for me and my ear canals.
 
This is why I think everyone should A/B IEMs they're interested in, because for me, personally, the EPH-100s are a clear winner over the GR07s, while for numerous other people, it's either a draw or the GR07s take a lead. Other people's opinions are always helpful, especially for narrowing down the field, but ultimately the best way to pick an IEM is to do direct, on-hand comparisons by you yourself.

 

[regiapemid]

Got my Sony MH1C's today and did yet more A/Bing. I've spent almost 3-4 hours (perhaps even more) per day for the past 3 days (including today) doing A/Bing! Today's my last though! Anyways, using the medium stock tips, the MH1Cs sounded pretty good - equal to or better than the GR07s - but when I switched to the largest tip size, the clarity improved greatly. Similar to my Yams in fact - moving up one size from the stock medium tips resulted in an improvement in clarity (though in the Yams' case it was much less pronounced).
 
I then tried the MH1C's medium and large tips on the GR07, as a sort of last attempt of "saving them" before getting rid of them. The Sony tips didn't improve sound quality - if anything, they made them sound slightly more muffled. During the past few days of A/Bing, I tried the largest GR07 foam-filled tip, the biflange, and the stock tip; none of them changed the sound quality significantly, though the largest foam-filled one was perhaps a bit better. I retested those three GR07 tips again today, and found the same result. So it seems like no matter the tips, the GR07 won't play nice with my ears.
 
The EPH-100s sound clearer than the MH1Cs. From the songs I've A/Bed so far, guitars and vocals sound slightly better on the Yams and there seems to be a sense of overall improved clarity on the Yams. When a slew of instruments enter the mix ("Por El Miedo A Equivocarnos", ~35 sec in and ~2:40 in; "Entertain The Pain", ~50 sec in) however, the difference becomes much more noticeable. The MH1Cs become congested while the Yams keep everything separated and clear. In addition, the Yams are less fatiguing, which I noticed after many, many repeats of sections of several songs, over and over. The MH1Cs sound harsher ("Por El Miedo A Equivocarnos" ~2:40 in, especially) and its inability to keep all the instruments from running over each other contributes a bit to this as well.
 
However, the MH1Cs still sound rather damn good and are clearly punching well above their weight. Sounds better than the GR07s. I suspect the GR07 is every bit as capable as the Yams or MH1Cs in terms of sound production, but it just cannot get the sound though my ear canals and to my eardrums as well, no matter what tips I try.
 
A few miscellaneous/closing thoughts: I A/Bed between all the configurations above, and found that the worst tips on the Yams (XS) still sounded better than any of the tips on the GR07. I also tested some cymbals, and the Yams reproduced them clearer than the GR07, and without the "strangeness" a few other members reported. The EPH-100 and MH1C sounded significantly better than the EP-630/CX300 while the GR07 sounded better but not by as much.
 
Ultimate conclusion: Same as before - everyone should simply do their own testing! It can get tedious but it's worth it. Sometimes the results for you will deviate wildly from the results for many others.

 

[chipstjuven]

I LOVE THESE SO MUCH
 
 
I am about to buy my second pair. Did my first pair break? No. I just want to make sure I never have to be without them.
 
The best headphones ever made.

 

[Ryan1411]

Hey guys. Is there a big difference between using these IEMs with the Sansa Clip and some other music player? Currently using the Sansa Clip but wondering if sound is noticeably fuller on something else. Oh and would an amp give an even greater (significantly noticeable ) difference?
 

 

[H20Fidelity]

Hey guys. Is there a big difference between using these IEMs with the Sansa Clip and some other music player? Currently using the Sansa Clip but wondering if sound is noticeably fuller on something else. Oh and would an amp give an even greater (significantly noticeable ) difference?

 

I think they performed rather well through my Clip+ there are noticeable improvments when using another DAP. Something like Cowon C2 performed well. I do however feel there's better options out there within this price range. Something like T-Peos H-100 Hyrbid will mince the Yamaha's, especially with electronic / dubstep genres.

 

[despine]

I've had these earphones for little more than half a year, and though I think they are quite nice,
 
I prefer ath-ck7...
 
but take what I say with grain of salt because, I think ck7 sounds better than he-400. Or maybe I just love ck7's sound signature. 
 
Compared to eph-100,  ck7 is a brighter and vocals are more pronounced, I had it for over 2 years before the Right side broke on me
 
which is why I got the eph-100, but I was a bit disappointed. Maybe I got too  used to the ck7's sound signature.
 
Lately I started to mess with the eq settings to bring everything down by few db's except 4000 range to bring out the vocals more and make it sound more like ck7.
 
I'm listening to eph-100 as I'm writing this, and it sounds really nice through o2/odac.
 
Once I'm using it I'm satisfied, but if I'm switching from ck7 
 
I can definitely tell ck7 is brighter.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHJXPaIIcEE this korea female rock song used to get me 'high' on ck7. Not so on yamaha, I hear all the instruments, but I'm not getting that
 
'high'
 
I hope I can grab me another ck7 in the future, but it will be hard since no one sells it anymore, and do some proper a/b blind testing, but till then
 
eph-100 definitely satifies me. Maybe eph-100 does have better instrument separations. If you tell me that it does, I'll probably believe you.

 

[putente]

Quote:

Hey guys. Is there a big difference between using these IEMs with the Sansa Clip and some other music player? Currently using the Sansa Clip but wondering if sound is noticeably fuller on something else. Oh and would an amp give an even greater (significantly noticeable ) difference?

 
 
I think the EPH-100 pairs wonderfully with a Sansa Clip (in my case, a Rockboxed Clip+). The RB Clip+ can power them to insane levels by itself, and I dind't found them to benefit that much from external amping. So, since you have a Clip, you should think about Rockboxing it... 

 

[Ryan1411]

hmm. maybe im just looking for something that creates a fuller sound then. im big into energetic electronic type stuff and while the sound is great on my clip, it sounds dull compared to when i use it with my galaxy player (yes the player not phone,) and when i change eq with poweramp. only problem with this is it lacks the sound quality of the clip, yet i reach for the galaxy player more. i heard someone say sometime ago that the yamaha is a little harder to power than other iems so thought maybe a different music player would increase the fullness of sound.

anyway, couple people suggested h-100 which im looking into. also thoughts on atrio mg7?

 

[Huxley]

I would hang fire and see what the JVC FXZ100/200 brings.
 
Im quite into my trance and should have my pair sometime this week.
 
By my reckoning they should be rather special for this genre.
 

 

[Ryan1411]

Alright I did some more reading in this thread. Saw mention of cube c30 being superior to a lot of music players for the eph100. Suprised me considering i see them going for $50. Also saw Rocoo which just looks amazing. Maybe I missed it but is there a consensus on which would be more suitable for eph100? Thinking I'll just stick with these IEMs and buy a new music player.

 

[Lifted Andreas]

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I would hang fire and see what the JVC FXZ100/200 brings.
 
Im quite into my trance and should have my pair sometime this week.
 
By my reckoning they should be rather special for this genre.
 

Looking forward to your views on those mate.
 
Something weird happened earlier today, I was A/B'ing the Yams and Ortofon e-Q5s... then it hit me. The Yams have a much more delicate and precise sound signature. 

 

[Huxley]

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Looking forward to your views on those mate.
 
Something weird happened earlier today, I was A/B'ing the Yams and Ortofon e-Q5s... then it hit me. The Yams have a much more delicate and precise sound signature. 

How come you selling yours, i thought you loved them?

 

[Lifted Andreas]

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How come you selling yours, i thought you loved them?

Well, that was the plan...
 
However, after listening to them again today after not hearing them for so long I'm starting to have my doubts as to where it's wise to sell them or not.
 
Today I realized that the e-Q5s aren't much better sounding with Trance music, if at all. Plus, the fit and isolation is better on the Yamahas. 

 
Also, the precision and delicacy is so much better on the Yamahas, the treble sounds so exciting on them but on the other hand the Ortofons are much more full sounding.
 
Not sure what to do really lol