Quick Comparison of 63 IEMs (Spreadsheet)

[FreeZ5]

Originally Posted by dfkt

But somehow they do get mainly favorable reviews, not only on DX, but even on Head-Fi. So I thought I try them, putting things in perspective. They are a step down from most stock earbuds, so they're not even worth spending a cent on.

I won't argue the sound quality, but I think that they are better than earbuds because they aren't earbuds and therefore stay in my ears.

Steve

[CrowdAds]

[WalkGood]

Originally Posted by dfkt

Added the UE11 to the spreadsheet in the first post. There's nothing much to say, except "wow"...

dfkt, you know I respect your opinion and agree with you on 99% of all assessments and I’m glad that you now have added the ue11 to the comparison spreadsheet. That said, I would disagree with you on one point, IMO the microphonics on my ue11s is a none issue, so I would have rated them as good instead of medium. On the other hand, I found my se530s to have some, so I would have rated mine as medium.

[dfkt]

Added the Radius Atomic Bass to the list.

They're pretty bad for most kinds of music (except maybe Techno and similar stuff) - severely lacking clarity, detail, and most of all treble. However they are very comfortable - probably the 2nd most comfortable ones for sleeping after the V-Moda Vibes.

They do have one great use for my needs though - they're really awesome with Nintendo DS games. Cause of their lack of treble and their muddy sound they take the harshness out of the synth-sounds generated by the DS. The Radius' bloated bass helps beefing up the DS' wimpy low frequency response. Furthermore, their high-ish impedance and low sensitivity helps reducing the Nintendo's inherent background hiss - actually getting rid of the obnoxious hiss once and for all.

That's some great synergy between the Radius and the DS. But for music I would not use them at all.

Their awful J-style cable (which totally defeats the over-the-ear construction) can be easily modded to Y-style, btw.

Radius isn't a "headphone company"... the Atomic Bass is definitely just some rebranded Chinese OEM phone, released on the Western market with a hefty $39 price tag - "hefty" considering it's quite sub-par sound quality.

Still, I really like them for DS gaming - seems that low quality phones go well with the low quality sound circuitry and amp of the DS. They sound better than the UE11 with the Nintendo.

[Xenodius]

I am awed yet unsurprised that the UE11's got ranked for best soundstage... A small part of me isn't even comfortable investing such a sum on a device with such a simple purpose, as with my current interest in music it would be selfish. But eventually, I may. If UE is still around with that new administration. I am going to have a band-room in my house.

Also particularly surprised they got best bass, I would have guessed best mids since they are armature phones. But, four armatures is plenty... =D

[WalkGood]

I agree with all of dfkt's assessments on the spreadsheet concerning the ue11s other than microphonics, which I would rate good and price/value which I would rate bad. IMO the freq’s would be a good example of good price/value.

@ Xenodius, soundstage on the ue11s is tight, but good because of the excellent instrument separation adds to it. And as far as your bass comment, I can only quote what I wrote in my review: “Bass – Every time I have the pleasure to immerse myself into my music, the ue11’s do not disappoint. They deliver a profound, mysterious, broad and substantial bass reproduction that really sounds natural to my ears. All this emanating from the subwoofer that appears to be in your head comes across without being strenuous, fatiguing or overbearing. They certainly deliver the rich and deep bass reproduction that I look for in my headphones.” ... and I still feel the same every day I use them

[dfkt]

Added the Phonak Audéo PFE to the list... quite a nice surprise for the low(ish) price.

[Aardvark]

Will the talented Mr Sagmuller be doing a full review of these do you think?

[dfkt]

Her certainly feels inclined to do so... actually, he's working at this task this very moment.

[Jack4L]

¨Where'd you get the Phonaks anyway? They dont seem to be available in too many places. Even there website doesn't have a listing of places to get them.

[dfkt]

Here's some pics of the prototypes they sent me a few months ago: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/4948413-post2.html

[s.zhao2891]

They seriously do look killer uncomfortable... it hardly resembles anything that could fit into the human ears natural curvature o.O

[dfkt]

Well, they're comfortable enough for normal use, but for sleeping they suck:

[wsatia]

Hmm dfkt, are you going to get a pair of MylarOne Bijous to review anytime?

[Jessipoo]

too bad you don't have the sleek audio sa6's, I would've loved to see how they compare. They are getting rave reviews all around the board.

and I never heard of the Audeo's.. but they are sexy!

[dfkt]

There are so many single/dual armature IEMs on the market today, it's hard keeping an overview. I'd be interested in the Sleek, and also the Klipsch Image, but I don't know if I will find the time/funds to test them.

After the Phonak review I will tackle the new Super.Fi 5 v2, by the way.

[dfkt]

Added the new Super.Fi 5 (v2) to the list...

[juicedownload]

Originally Posted by dfkt

Well, they're comfortable enough for normal use, but for sleeping they suck.

Do you mean sleeping on your side (ear against pillow) creates irritation, or irritation from the iems being in your ear for hours, or both?

[dfkt]

Ear against pillow mainly, for normal use they're ok... I've written more about it in the review: http://www.anythingbutipod.com/archi...one-review.php

[dfkt]

Overhauled the list in the first post...

[inoesomestuff]

you should add skull candy to the list since they are getting pretty popular and since you tested other low end ones like the one from deal extreme