Worst/Most overpriced IEMS

Discussion in 'IEMs and Portable Gear' started by Judeus, Nov 1, 2015.

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Worst/Most overpriced IEMS

  1. Shure SE846

    15 vote(s)
    16.1%
  2. JH Audio Layla

    32 vote(s)
    34.4%
  3. Sennheiser IE800 (production)

    19 vote(s)
    20.4%
  4. UE 18 PRO

    5 vote(s)
    5.4%
  5. Sony XBA Z5

    7 vote(s)
    7.5%
  6. Westone W60

    9 vote(s)
    9.7%
  7. JH Audio Roxanne

    31 vote(s)
    33.3%
  8. Noble K10

    17 vote(s)
    18.3%
  9. Dita "the truth"

    16 vote(s)
    17.2%
  10. AKG K3003

    14 vote(s)
    15.1%
  11. JH Audio Angie

    11 vote(s)
    11.8%
  12. 64Ears (basically everything)

    8 vote(s)
    8.6%
Multiple votes are allowed.
  1. Judeus

    Judeus Facebook Friend

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    I think I got most but lmk if I am missing any or want one added
     
  2. rayfalkner

    rayfalkner Not to be confused with Roy Fokker - Friend

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    Ah, I shouldn't vote on those since the only one on that list that I personally ever listened to is the K3003. It was 2 or 3 years ago, auditioned it on a store, listening to a couple of songs from T.Swift, Adele, and Bon Jovi with it (yeah sorry nothing exquisite). A nice sounding IEM for me especially the vocals which are quite clear sounding, but also a seriously surprising one when the staff shows me the price tag... $1200-ish, what!?

    I guess if it's on the $500 price tag or lower it will be more appropriate but it could just be me being cheap against IEM. Those tiny things shouldn't cost that much compared to the bigger transducers in headphones, right? :p

    edit: Got to say that K3003 is pretty though. It looks mature, professional, will compliment your look when wearing a more formal attire, etc.
     
  3. maxedfx

    maxedfx New

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    JH Angie??
     
  4. Judeus

    Judeus Facebook Friend

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    ill add it but I thought it was pretty good, maybe others think different. I thought the layla was pretty good too but $2500 for basically the same sound as the angie is just dumb (arguably worse, I thought it was less cohesive)

    just for reference, I voted for the roxanne and the xba z5.

    the z5 is the most disgusting thing I have ever heard, the bass bloat, my god the bass bloat. So much bass there are no mids. I wouldn't pay $50 for these let alone $700

    roxannes are quite bad too, but at least you can turn the bass down
     
    Last edited: Nov 1, 2015
  5. BlueElephant

    BlueElephant New

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    I feel that the sony A3/2s are better than the Z5s, having demoed both. I do think the Lyra is worse than the Z5 and is terribly overpriced as well
     
  6. OJneg

    OJneg The Most Insufferable

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    I haven't heard the Layla, but isn't it supposed to be more balanced than the normal JH signature? Or is that just fanboi/reviewer wishful thinking? Surprised to see it with so many votes.

    Roxanne was my vote.
     
  7. Judeus

    Judeus Facebook Friend

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    They are trying to be the UERM except not reaching the level.
     
  8. Griffon

    Griffon 2nd biggest asshole on SBAF

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    I only vote for what I've heard. K3003 is somehow redeemable given its street price now, and IE800 in Canada actually goes for ~700 US which is sorta OK. But if CAD-USD exchange rate goes back to 1:1 IE800 definitely has my vote.

    It's hard to explain why I hated every single Westone I've listened to, W40 aside. W60 appeared to me to have an overly thick, gooey, and slow presentation with a big fat uncontrolled bass.

    Voted for Dita truth because of its strange unnatural timbre. K10 also gets my vote. Too euphoric, lacked planktons.

    OTOH JH Angie should never be on the list.
     
  9. maxedfx

    maxedfx New

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    This is why I wanted it on the list!
    There is already two votes for the Angie!

    Where is my popcorn???
     
  10. BioniclePhile

    BioniclePhile The Terminal Man - Friend

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    I notice 64 Ears has no votes at all, which puts it out of the 'terrible' category, but not the 'good' one. We don't have a Best Value/Just The Best IEMs thread up. Anyone who has IEM experience care to start that thread or give insight on what some good IEMs are?
     
  11. Bagged Milk

    Bagged Milk Friend

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    I would say add Ultrasone IEM's but that's a given.
     
  12. Rotijon

    Rotijon Friend

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    Layla, trashcan earphone, it cant even beat the angie.
    Roxxane, slightly less trashcan earphone, but when it was first released, it failed to even top the fitears or SE846. This one gave rise to the driver and price wars.
    Dita, just boring sounding, might be different if i heard it for a significant period of time, but meh.

    Not too familiar with the Z5, but i actually thought they were relatively relaxing when i heard it, just need and obscene amount of burn in. Definitely lackluster though.

    K10, as much as i dislike John, these are really good, one of the TOTL iems that deserve the TOTL price tag.
     
  13. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    For the record, I did not vote for the K3003.
     
  14. No_One411

    No_One411 Fired by Jude

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    Can I cast my vote for the Final Audio Design IEMs instead?

    They're way above the threshold for reasonable pricing.
     
  15. Bagged Milk

    Bagged Milk Friend

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    Their cheap BA's are good IMO. Especially the Heaven II. Their high end ones aren't that great compared to others in their price range I take it?
     
  16. Kunlun

    Kunlun cat-alyzes cat-aclysmic cat-erwauling - Friend

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    The Roxanne is an okay mid-fi earphone...

    The problem with the shure 846 is there is nothing above 7khz.
     
  17. Kunlun

    Kunlun cat-alyzes cat-aclysmic cat-erwauling - Friend

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    When it comes to the ie800, I had it for a month audition and now I own a pair.

    The first set out of the box sounded like how some people describe its sound, a little sharp in the treble with a disconnect to the sound below. Overnight at 130dB fixed that completely. The second set only had a hint of that sound, but got the same short, very loud diaphragm-settling/flexing process.

    With that perhaps, my ie800s sound phenomenal. I wear them over-ear and maybe the helmholtz resonators are working fully in my set with that way of wearing them, but they are very low distortion, detailed, and well extended.

    The tuning isn't ideal for library listeners, maybe, with the sub-bass boost, but for travel and for people who don't like bass anemia, they are excellent. I'll go so far as to say that at least for the set I have they are even worth their street price...
     
  18. Bina

    Bina MOT - Shanling

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    I was really dissapointed with Westone W50 and UM50. I always hoped they would be ES5 in universal form, but both was so bad, even W40 were better.
     
  19. Rotijon

    Rotijon Friend

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    You should try the LAB 1. despite it being the most expensive, i dont find it unreasonable.
     
  20. JeremiahS

    JeremiahS Almost "Made"

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    Dear people,

    I don't think the Noble K10 should be in the list. Not only that it sounds extremely good but it's small in size making it very comfortable to wear, both universal and custom versions.

    I know the UERM is popular here but the K10 is much better in my opinion, treble is smoother and bass is punchier. It also has better sense of space since the sound is not as forward as the UERM.

    Regards,
    Jeremiah
     

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