Quantom

If it's sold by Amazon itself, should be reliable. If you get it from Amazon Marketplace, got to be careful.

 

One important thing to find out, will the local distributor provide warranty for an overseas set? This is typically not the case, so you'll have to set the set back to the States if there's anything wrong.

Not too bad shipping overseas by yourself, considering that the local store might just take about forever to ship your stuff back. There's a forummer here who waited months just for his zero dac to come back from Jaben. Sure, IEMs can't be compared to that, due to the size and weight, but doesn't it go to show the mindset of the store? Of course, if someone could attest against that, it'd be great, but if not, I'd say just go for the set overseas.

And another thing to note. Since you're getting it first hand at about $100 off, which would make it close to $500 (do correct me if this isn't the price right now), you'll have to pay for GST when it hits the shores of Singapore, since it's over $400. This could be easily avoided by having the seller under declare the cost of the stuff, but since you're getting it from Amazon.. I think it's wishful thinking.

But for a hobby it boils down to personal preference. Whatever it is as long as it "Works for YOU" and you feel happy.

Haha, more often than not, isn't this is the true essence of the flagrant exploitation that's taking place?

Ok, enough rambling.

Haha, does the Zero DAC count as the "soundcard" in this case? It should be, since technically speaking, you're referring to the Audio DAC for the computer, right? Cheers.

Pfft. If they wanted to even pass of at the least bit truthful, they would not have used such simplistic, unscientific pictures (or "data") to back up their grandiose claims. A mousetrap? A woman putting on makeup? Come on. Even stereophile has true-to-life scientific measurements of all its data on the last few pages, and it describes in painful detail each step taken.

Another perfect example how marketing in audio was never to appeal to the ears, but more to the mind and its vivid imagination. Bravo.

EDIT:

Kinda reminds you of how cars are being advertised nowadays, ain't it?

the travagan white have better bass now,used to be abit thin....after 50 hrs burned in only till now.i hope the bass become better after some time.now i do not get bass but alot alot of lust mids,

To me, a good EQ if you're playing through the computer will resolve whatever "lacking" that one experiences through the headphones. It's just a matter of taking the time and effort to figure out which curve suits your taste.

If I'm not mistaken, the Z4 sub that you're using has a 3.5mm port that is wired up to line out of the PC. Then, the sub has a pair of high level inputs that lead to your Z4 speakers. Thus, if I'm not mistaken, your sub only supports high level inputs, and not low level connections like RCA/3.5mm, which means that it cannot work as a "preamp" of sorts if you wish to hook it up to the AE A2s. As such, your second option will not work out, unless your AE A2 speakers are passive speakers like most high end Hi-Fi speakers are.

You should be able to make it work out as stated in your first option. However, I would imagine that it'd be quite odd having such a deep bass extension for the rear while the front is completely lacking bass.

Since this is a Shure SE530 thread, and I don't have the sufficient number of posts to post in the classified section, I'll shamelessly advertise here that I have a pair of Shure SE530s with the PTH unit to let go. Anyone interested just drop me a PM.

Haha. This is my zone. Soothing instrumental all the way!

Check out Yiruma and Kotaro Oshio for some sweet piano and guitar. Would love to name more, but most of those are from anime OSTs, so I guess they don't really count as "artistes" eh?

Decided to post another part of the "setup". It's really large so it's in a thumbnail format. This is my regular setup when listening through the ER4P.

The strings of 1s and 0s are assumed to be the same (with a clean source and equal ECC capabilities) but the timing of the data when it arrives at the DAC also matters (I guess this difference is reduced when you use high quality DACs which may have a certain level of tolerance with transport and interface jitter). You may want to read the article below for more information about how the reduction of CD Transport jitter translates into 'higher quality' musical reproduction.

 

http://www.stereophile.com/features/368/index.html

 

Personally, I feel you will only be able to tell the difference if your entire audio setup is really high-end (assuming you are using an above-average quality CD transport).

Interesting article. Kind of refreshing to note that their site still has objective articles instead of heavily hyped ones.

Haha ok let me clarify myself further. The creative earphones have a greater bass extension over the W3. However, if you're going to start comparing bass definition, the W3 would probably win.

All that impresses me about the W3 is its ability to convey a "sound space" and the fit. I've never worn such a comfortable IEM before.

Hmm I do have a friend wanting to sell his Shure SE530 PTH's for $500. Do drop me a PM if you're interested, and I'll try to get something done.

Quantom--Is that a pair of Quad 11/12? With super tweeters?

Yup, it's a pair of Quad 12L2's. And yup, Leo Research supertweeters just like what most people have got.

Here's mine. Feeling a little small compared to the previous post.

Whoa. Wait. What's the difference between the 6.5mm to 3.5mm plug and the 3.5mm to 6.5mm plug? If you had a picture to illustrate it'd be great.

Heh. Ok. My bad then. Silly americans with their 1/4" and 1/8" measurements.

Ooh. Interesting thread. Might I add one comment about the Quads? I would say that it is not that immensely detailed, as compared to the IEMs that our thread starter is using. I have to literally shut the windows, turn off the fan and up the volume to get details anywhere near those. Might be my amp, who knows.

That aside, the mids on these are just to die for. Throw in a pair of super tweeters and you're rocking even more clarity outta them. Pity I can't find a solution to my table problem, else they will sound even better.

I would love to pit your new amp against my little Poppulse one day though. Wonder what would be the outcome.

Do you mean the 7mm ports, ie the large headphone plug? Those can be bought at just about any electronics store. I would not suggest to get those exotic ones with the wires from the 7mm to 3.5mm plug, since wire is merely elongating a chain that could be as short as a plug itself.

I remember bringing my friend along to demo the new W3 that time when it was first launched, and he was wondering how it was different from the basic creative earphones he was using. It might be due to his "untrained" ears? I'm not sure. However, one thing for sure about the W3 is that it is very muffled, but it conveys the space of the the song very nicely. Reverb, echos and all the other effects are very breathtaking. Other than that.. erm. Ya. $600. Ok. Not worth it!!

i have already contacted a user and he's selling me 10 pro.. collect this saturday..wahaha

"A User"?! Haha, now we all sound like drug addicts.

i went to SE today, really awsome, auditioned um2, ue 5pro, se530, westone 3 and triple 10 pro. think triple 10 pro suites me thanks to Ronald's efforts on recommending me earphones.. really nice service

Heh. So wanna relieve me of my spare set of TF10pros?

Combining jazz and pop may be a tad hard, since pop usually has a larger quantity of bass (I think).

You're on the right track for the K702, though I would personally go for the K701, since it's cheaper, lots of people sell this second hand, and they're just about the same in sound quality and design.

I have had a Zero DAC and K701 combination before, and with a slight low shelf boost at the bass at the 60Hz region, it was one exciting setup. Clarity, depth, superb positioning, immense detail and separation.

Hey,

Looks like I'm not the only one new to this forum. Haha. I'll have to correct you on two terms, the "superfi 10 pro" and "um3". It's actually the Triple.fi 10pro and Westone 3 respectively.

Opinions may vary, and that certainly applies to you as well. Let your ears guide you, and don't be too quick to reach out for your wallet if you've not heard all of the IEMs that you have singled out, or wish to try.

Coincidentally, I have a pair of Triple.fi 10pros to be sold, and the warranty is ending mid-to-late March. It's certainly slightly under your max budget of $400. Was thinking of posting a WTS here, but looks like there's a 50 minimum post requirement.

Hey all,

I'm a new member to this forum, and it seems to be lacking threads with reviews of IEMs that all of us each own. Pardon me if this existed in the past though, since I didn't really look that hard into the past threads. Feel free to contribute to this thread with your own reviews of your favourite IEMs too!

To kick start things, I'll just do a simple review about my latest acquisition, the ER4p.

ER4P

In all honesty, I would probably rate myself as a slightly less enthusiastic audiophile (that's an oxymoron for you) as compared to what I've seen in the headfi forums and elsewhere, where people start hearing cable changes and describe audio beyond terms that I'd deem tangible. Embellishing products above what they're worth isn't my cup of tea, so I'll describe the ER4P as succinctly as possible.

I bought these 2nd hand from the headfi forums, and these are by far some of the cheapest "flagship" model IEMs I have even heard of. As I previously owned a pair of bassy earphones, I cringed hard when I listened to a song on the ER4p. They were simply too sharp and bass-lacking relative to what I'm used to hearing. I couldn't bear with them for more than 10 seconds that time.

The next day, I decided to give these guys a shot again. I then thorougly realised that it was my fault for listening too long on my previous IEMs, which made me overly used to their sonic characteristics. In fact, when I tried out the ER4p again, I realised how very precise and clear they were. I did a little digging on the Etymotics website, and it showed tonnes of research backed by papers drenched in technical details. One particular phrase still lingers in my mind, and it talks about how the ER4p tries to come as close as possible to how we humans hear things with our "open ears". Indeed, "open" is the word to describe these earphones. Wearing them and listening to your music makes you wonder if such clarity is even possible when your ears are so tightly sealed shut. They may lack bass, but the euphoria that comes along from the clarity makes up for it. A little EQ also handles the bass well. "Texturing", if I may, is very prominent on these IEMs as well. It takes you on a ride on every nuance and bump your music has.

Speaking of seal, when paired up with a pair of Shure olives, (Just when I thought shure couldn't make something good) these phones are just as good as a pair of earplugs, in terms of comfort and isolation. While testing them at home one night while helping my mother procure some songs from the net, (listening softly I might add) my mother opened the door, shut it, and stood beside me, watching and probably commenting on what I had gotten that far. I wasn't even the slightest bit aware of her prescence, till I turned my head slightly to stretch out a few kinks. Was that a shocker.

Microphonics is probably a major issue with these phones, as even sitting next to my fan adds a bit of unwanted noise. I have tried winding them behind my ears, but this doesn't seem to help much. I think that this is an issue with the length of the IEM - it protrudes too much.

Practically speaking though, microphonics is not such a big issue when I'm moving about with them, since there I will definitely have less focus on the music anyway. A little bit of a compromise for one of the clearest IEMs I have ever heard. That's sufficient for me. Besides, they are way cheaper than any of the triple/double balanced armature IEMs out there. So much for the term, "flagship".

If you're using foobar, may I suggest using the vst wrapper plugin by george yohng, with the vst plugin, electric-q? It has a very clean EQ that you can shape easily and allows for complex settings. I'm sure it'll be more than enough to boost your bass. I'm currently running a low shelf at 60Hz with a boost of 6db at a bandwidth of 1.8, and it really moves air.