Quick Comparison of 63 IEMs (Spreadsheet)

[dfkt]

Only time will tell what's next. Next phones review will be the Yuin G1A/G2A clip-ons, which obviously won't go in this list.

[a_tumiwa]

from what i know, Yuin G series have not very good response from reviewer, i hope these cans not that bad

[dfkt]

Maybe you mean the old G1 and G2? The new revised G1A and G2A are very nice sounding to my ears.

[jAx23]

First off i'd like to say hello to everyone and thanks for all the information on here. I have a couple questions on the bass quality rating. How can this be determined? Is it subjective or something objective that is quantifiable? Or rather, is it being confused with bass extension? Is a 50hz tone not a 50hz tone regardless of the source?

[daniel1703]

the source might be able to provide a 50Hz signal but it doesn't mean the speaker/headphone/earphone is able to generate such a sound signal (be it accurate or not).

I think bass quality includes the low end extension and also the accuracy. I've had experiences with crap (cheap) earphones that have a lack of control in the bass department. Everything runs rampant. That's bad bass quality, despite having overly sufficient quantity.

[jAx23]

I see. I'm asking becuase one could presumably take a pair of phones with high quality bass and eq the quantity to a preferable amount (as long as distortion does not occur). This would result in plenty of quantity and good quality.

[Aardvark]

What happened that the Shure SE530 pth is now above the Phonak Audeo PFE?

For a while the Phonak were second in line and some websites still use a screenshot of this positioning.

any insights would be great, thanks

[jjrosaria]

Originally Posted by Aardvark

What happened that the Shure SE530 pth is now above the Phonak Audeo PFE?

For a while the Phonak were second in line and some websites still use a screenshot of this positioning.

any insights would be great, thanks

Dfkt suddenly thought that the SE530 are better overall lol, kidding ..

Dfkt any chance you can rate the IE6 between those IEMs

[WalkGood]

Originally Posted by Aardvark

What happened that the Shure SE530 pth is now above the Phonak Audeo PFE?

For a while the Phonak were second in line and some websites still use a screenshot of this positioning.

any insights would be great, thanks

Originally Posted by jjrosaria

Dfkt suddenly thought that the SE530 are better overall lol, kidding ..

Not sure how you would rate them, but imo we each rate iem’s/phones a little differently. I can guarantee you that there are phones you like that I hate and visa versa … Just remember that one mon’s wine is another’s vinegar.

Personally I really enjoyed the se530s and at times wish I still had my pair, very comfy iem’s with incredible mids, bass that kept me happy and acceptable treble. When compared to the ue11s the “price/value” doesn’t look bad, but when you compare to the phonaks it does. Too bad I can't comment any further, haven't had the pleasure to the phonaks :/

[dfkt]

Originally Posted by Aardvark

What happened that the Shure SE530 pth is now above the Phonak Audeo PFE?

For a while the Phonak were second in line and some websites still use a screenshot of this positioning.

any insights would be great, thanks

As stated in the first post, that list is just my opinion and may change at any time. I've been using the SE530 a lot more lately, that's why I moved them up again. Even if the Phonaks are technically the better - or more realistic - phones (better treble than SE530, no rolled off sub bass, no hiss with any player), I've been using the SE530 daily for sleeping. They're just comfortable enough and more forgiving with badly recorded tracks, makes them better phones for relaxing to my ears.

[dfkt]

Originally Posted by jAx23

First off i'd like to say hello to everyone and thanks for all the information on here. I have a couple questions on the bass quality rating. How can this be determined? Is it subjective or something objective that is quantifiable? Or rather, is it being confused with bass extension? Is a 50hz tone not a 50hz tone regardless of the source?

Some phones don't extend really deep, they roll off the bass in the lowest octaves (+/- 10dB at 20-30Hz is not uncommon). Other (usually cheap) phones have an artificial hump in the 100-200Hz range, giving that dreaded mushy mid-bass which might veil the midrange or treble frequencies. Some phones just deliver a single note "disco" boom/resonance, while others deliver layered, textured bass.

I'm aware the 3-step rating in my list doesn't tell the whole story, but there's simply not enough space to go more in-depth there.

"Quality" sure is subjective to a certain extent (some people seem to like the midbass exaggeration of cheap IEMs, gives the feeling of a meatier sound for wimpy MP3 players), however it sure is also quantifiable in several aspects - how close they get to the "ideal" of the perceived Fletcher-Munson curve, head related transfer functions, etc.

[Aardvark]

Many thanks dfkt.

I know that you have referred to this in some of your excellent product reviews, but is it worth mentioning which iems perform the best at lower volumes.

As we all need to preserve our hearing and I already have tinnitus, I would be more interested in iems which keep the bass and soundstage at lower actual sound pressure levels. I have read somewhere that some iems need to be cranked up to get the best from them, and this is something that I would like to avoid.

[jAx23]

Originally Posted by dfkt

Some phones don't extend really deep, they roll off the bass in the lowest octaves (+/- 10dB at 20-30Hz is not uncommon). Other (usually cheap) phones have an artificial hump in the 100-200Hz range, giving that dreaded mushy mid-bass which might veil the midrange or treble frequencies. Some phones just deliver a single note "disco" boom/resonance, while others deliver layered, textured bass.

I'm aware the 3-step rating in my list doesn't tell the whole story, but there's simply not enough space to go more in-depth there.

"Quality" sure is subjective to a certain extent (some people seem to like the midbass exaggeration of cheap IEMs, gives the feeling of a meatier sound for wimpy MP3 players), however it sure is also quantifiable in several aspects - how close they get to the "ideal" of the perceived Fletcher-Munson curve, head related transfer functions, etc.

I see. Thanks for the clarification. Any chance you'll be getting your hands on the Monster Turbines and Image X-10? I'd like to hear your opinion on the bass of those phones.

[dfkt]

Originally Posted by Aardvark

Many thanks dfkt.

I know that you have referred to this in some of your excellent product reviews, but is it worth mentioning which iems perform the best at lower volumes.

As we all need to preserve our hearing and I already have tinnitus, I would be more interested in iems which keep the bass and soundstage at lower actual sound pressure levels. I have read somewhere that some iems need to be cranked up to get the best from them, and this is something that I would like to avoid.

That's a good idea. I also thought about adding a "sibilance" column, something that should be of interest to many people (and something I personally can't stand at all).

The problem with adding these new infos is that I've sold quite a few IEMs already. There's no way I can test them again for these aspects, and going by memory instead of re-testing and AB-ing is the "audiophile" way, i.e. something I really shouldn't do. It's a dilemma...

As a rule of thumb, dynamic driver IEMs usually deliver better sound at low volume levels than armature drivers, however there are exceptions of course. For example, PFE and SE530 sound decent at low volumes, Ety and UE IEMs not so much (including the UE11).

Originally Posted by jAx23

I see. Thanks for the clarification. Any chance you'll be getting your hands on the Monster Turbines and Image X-10? I'd like to hear your opinion on the bass of those phones.

I don't plan on getting those phones, but if the companies would be so kind as to send them to me I'd of course review them. From all I read about them, the bass aspect appears to be decent on both.

[ClieOS]

Keeping track of all-in-one reviews (IEM in this case) can be a real pain. Preference, experience, hearing, and mood all change with time - and they all affect the outcome of a review. For me, that is always a learning process.

[a_tumiwa]

anyone interested to create Comparison of 20 popular daps ??

[ClieOS]

Just want you all to know that Head-Direct is having a summer sale and now RE0 is $99 with a free FiiO E3.

[dfkt]

I found them to be a bit overpriced, considering the whole build/material/ripoff-design matter.... but that price sure makes them a lot more appealing.

[vechung]

Hey dfkt, do you have a similar chart for full size headphones?

[dfkt]

Sorry, no.... I couldn't afford that.

In short: HD650 > HFI-780 > DT770 > K141S > G1A > G2A > KSC75 > K180 ... that's what I have/had so far, from best to worst. Of course I heard a lot more phones, but not long enough to make a real evaluation.