shotgunshane’s IEM (custom and universal) recommendations, favorites and classics

Makes sense, I didn't consider you can actually clip it onto any pocket, especially if it's lightweight. Man, I miss having a headphone jack on my phone, what's up with this trend anyway?! Markets LDAC - has no 3.5.

My Zune doesn't have lossless encoders either thanks to Win10, so a lightweight DAP with wired earphones wouldn't be a bad idea, to be fair, just that most DAP's with good reviews are pretty hefty. I guess I'll try some bluetooth stuff and see if I find it more convenient on the go. I bet the FD01's bass is sweet, though! Thanks again!

 

The choice is a tradeoff between portability and sound quality. For the most freedom, get a completely wireless earphone. However, the ES100 is small and light enough that it can be clipped to a collar or shirt, with the advantage that it has a good amp and you can use it with high quality IEMs that you may already own. If there were cordless earphones that can give me comparable sound, I would certainly give them consideration.

 

Mifo/TFZ X1 is available at plenty of places. My local store ships international: lendmeurears.com

 

Sure I'll see if I run over at lunchtime

Edit: sorry, they weren't open when I went by. I'll visit them another day.

 

tiptip: for any non-narrow bore iems with too much upper bass and mid bass:

shure orange medium density foam tips. they dont attenuate the highs and the subbass rumble is largely intact, there are two cons, they reduce isolation, they tend to get gross quicker than complys if you don’t keep your ears clean.

 

@shotgunshane sorry, I forgot: may I ask of your impressions on the ES100 vs the Fiio btr? The ES100 is really tempting, but it's apparently made of really flimsy plastic (afraid it might just fall off when I run and break ). Wondering if Fiio is close or if, at least, it does bass well enough to be a good option.

 

Holy...really comprehensive review, thank you!

"Headphone sockets on each side" Wow. This is probably the first time I ever see something like this (I can totally see how it becomes annoying).

Bah, every review points out the ES100 has fuller mids and better presence. I could only find this, the FiiO BTR3 or a brand I know absolutely nothing about on amazon (mostly positive reviews, but then again, so does most garbage on the webs, hard to rate them realistically). I've kinda' strayed away from bright-sounding gear after trying various ESS DAC's, I would take stuff with treble roll-off over it any day.

I'm using a pair of JVC's and they're kinda' lean and sound a bit too metallic for my tolerance, but I've been thinking of getting a pair of MD Noble X's and one of these bt dac's so I don't have a cable attached to a flimsy Sony 3.5 adapter in my pocket (that eventually breaks and makes Google Assistant go into a frenzy). Have you gotten the chance to try the FiiO dac with any iem's? Anything you found offensive?

Edit: good point, finding someone who can shorten the cable might actually be a bit of a pain, I assume earphone cables are much more fiddly to re-terminate.

 

Cool, thanks again! Actually, your review of the Noble X sounded like I'd dig them so I'll look for a pair to go with the bt unit. It's really nice to have ample reviews of tons of gear!

 

One thing about the plastic housing of the ES100 is while it feels cheap in comparison to the glass and metal phones we all have it makes it very lightweight, and not having a screen means you can drop it from a fair height and it’s likely to come away unscathed. The button and other complaints are on point though.

 

@shotgunshane ok for some reason LendMeUrEars has suddenly closed its retail store till 17 May. No warning on their Facebook page; I found out when I got to the shop.

FWIW they have a discount on the new model until 16 May, and free global shipping: https://www.vsonicint.com/?fbclid=IwAR0iVwenSGnWf8at5C6eR3WZsx9Ln-_NWf5H-VL8nWd6k5VwkJqM0Bhh090

 

"Vsonic VS7 is the successor to the wildly successful Vsonic GR07. In terms of sound signature, it is similar to the GR07 classic with better controlled highs. The sibilance which plague the previous models has been reduced."

Oh.. really?

I was thinging about trying the VS7 since they offer some discounts, but not anymore..

 

You can't tell if something is sibilant from a frequency graph alone. That said, those treble spikes do look excessive.

 

True, but more than 5dB compared to GR09 will definitely color the sound somewhat.
You can listen to this sound demo, where VS7 definitely presents female vocals the best, but the resonance in highs can be heard. Not saying that the demo is accurate, but it can show relative differences between the iems. Though, I´d be more interested in hearing not only japanese songs

https://www.bilibili.com/video/av48539452/?p=1

At the end of the vid you can see which iems are hidden under each number.

 

The 8-9 k peaks are most likely a resonance in the coupler; measurements are tricky in that area. Trying different insertion depths (for all the units together) might better reveal differences, but yeah - best to listen.

 

True. The GR0* measurements aren't too far off from other measurements I've seen though, assuming all the measurements were done with the same equipment.

 

Is there space for a SUPER BUDGET category?

I would like for the Sony MH755 ($5) to go on there!
Solid resolution, nice clean notes, nice natural decay.
Happy to have them as my daily drivers any day....

You can even choose between orange or green earbuds!

But f**k that asymmetric cable that is so darn short!

UK seller: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Original-Sony-MH755-Stereo-In-ear-Earbud-Headphone-For-SBH20-SBH50-SBH52-5-2/202218346275?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&var=502184198167&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649