Recommendation for IEMs with bass

[philthy]

Hello- I'm looking for an IEM with a lot of bass. My usual preference for music is hip-hop, r&b, and jazz. I've been debating between the Hippo VBs and the Monster Turbines (refurbished). I have not tried either of them. I'm coming from a pair of S4s which I don't find have much bass, even with the largest stock tips. Can anyone shed some light which one will be the better of the two?

[sjondenon]

for a better overall sq (with still a huge amount of bass), get the turbines, for 'pure bass' get the VB

[philthy]

What separates the Turbines from the VBs?

[IDvsEGO]

they have a smaller body to them and I liked the fit of the turbine better. the sound...a matter of preference. both have big bass. If I were choosing between an $80 Hippo and a $50 turbine refurb, I would get the turbine. I have owned the hippo and have listened to the Turbine on my own clip+ at a couple of electronics stores.

BTW, if you S4 didnt have a lot of bass you either didnt get a good seal or you are goign to be dissappointed with IEMs, and maybe headphones in general. There are a lot of complaints about the sound of the S4 but a lack of bass is not one of them. Keep in mind that earbuds go in the ear opening, IEMs go in the ear canal...so they have to get pushed up in there to get a real seal.

[philthy]

I'm using the largest tips and they're pushed all the way in. I bought the S4s from Vann's via Slickdeals several months ago. The source I use is a fourth gen iPod touch and the quality of music ranges from 192 kbps to VO. Am I not getting a good seal with them? I'm not EQing the iPod. I feel like the bass is not enough on the S4. Do I just need new tips to get a better seal?

[Confispect]

Originally Posted by IDvsEGO

they have a smaller body to them and I liked the fit of the turbine better. the sound...a matter of preference. both have big bass. If I were choosing between an $80 Hippo and a $50 turbine refurb, I would get the turbine. I have owned the hippo and have listened to the Turbine on my own clip+ at a couple of electronics stores.

BTW, if you S4 didnt have a lot of bass you either didnt get a good seal or you are goign to be dissappointed with IEMs, and maybe headphones in general. There are a lot of complaints about the sound of the S4 but a lack of bass is not one of them. Keep in mind that earbuds go in the ear opening, IEMs go in the ear canal...so they have to get pushed up in there to get a real seal.

Agreed either lack of seal, dud or you have shark ears.

[IDvsEGO]

you could have a perfect seal and think the bass may not be enough...I am just saying, if you have a good seal with the s4 and dont feel they have enough bass, you will be hard pressed to get more quantity with another IEM. quality and overall sound signature can be improved though. The S4 is kind tough to get a seal on so plenty of people have had this issue.

[steinburger1109]

Maybe the tips are too big, have you tried smaller tips? Or do you know from experience that you have massive ears?

[Machiventa]

I keep going back to my trusty CX-300's!! With EQ they sound even better than my VB's IMO and they fit a thousand times better. I've been really tempted to try the Turbines.

I would immediately install Equ or Equalizer from the app store and try that out before buying a new set of IEM's.

[cnhardwick]

Are you using the stock oval shaped tips on the S4? I know that I was not able to get a good seal with the stock tips because of there unique shape, so I ended using Sony Hybrids instead. Like IDvsEGO said, it might not be a seal problem at all, just throwing that out there.

[h1a8]

What's your budget?

[philthy]

My budget is up to $160. But I prefer to look for a pair of IEMs or headphones that go well with the genre of music I listen to. Since it may be a seal issue with my S4s (using the stock oval tips) I might go purchase either the Sony Hybrids or Olives.

[esanthosh]

Hope you get a good seal with Hybrids. I find many faults with S4's signature, but bass quantity certainly is not an issue.

Mid-bass heavy IEMs: Eterna, Consonance (supposed to have even more bass than Eterna, need to check it out soon)

Sub-bass: Hippo VB
At higher price end - Atrio MG7, JVC FX500

Others: Monster Turbine (esp at $50-60), Xears TDIII v2 (not so great build quality)

[Confispect]

More bass then the Eterna is not something I want to check out soon. Whatever happened to this thread was a IEM picked.

[IDvsEGO]

I was curious too but I dont expect a response from the OP. he posted a few times in 2008 asking about a d2 refurb and didnt follow up, then he has this post. I assume the lack of response means he was satisfied with something.

[Confispect]

Agreed well at least we helped.

[philthy]

Although you guys have been very helpful I still haven't decided what to get. I was watching an auction for a pair of AKG K518 LEs for $30 US but the seller took it off the market b/c it had no bids. As of now I'll probably get either olives or hybrid tips for the S4 to get a better seal. I'll wait until Monster has a restock of those 100 dollar Turbine Copper refurbs.

[IDvsEGO]

Originally Posted by philthy

I'll wait until Monster has a restock of those 100 dollar Turbine Copper refurbs.

I waited on those for a while until getting imaptient and picking up a set of Audio Technica ATH-CKM99 IEMs. I dont regret the purchase, very nice IEMs with plenty of bass for most everything I want. I still carry my n3i for those days I may want excessive bass or when I use them with my phone, but otherwise Ia m quite satisfied.

[philthy]

I got some Sony Hybrid tips and they created better sealing with the S4s. I'm curious if there would be noticeable wow factor going from the S4s to the Hippo VBs?

[IDvsEGO]

not so much. its more subtle. a lot of times its more noticeable when you use the lesser IEMs again. Your like, "wow, I dont remember these being like that."