After 2 months, these IEMs are still amazing. Compared to all my other IEMs ($90 and under) it was like going from a 360p YouTube music video to a 720/1080p one. I did get the condensation problem though - sometimes the right or left side (usually right) would become heavily muffled. This happened several times, but each time it recovered completely after I let them dry out (I only timed it once; it took about 30 min to return to full functionality). Hasn't happened recently, but it's something to note.
I also bought the Etymotic MC3 last month, and after hours of A/Bing, the Yams blew them out of the water. It was similar to A/Bing with the Yams and the much cheaper Creative EP-630 (same thing as the Sennheiser CX300, they're all from a Japanese OEM) - the Yams destroyed them.
As for the next mid/hi-fi IEM, I picked the GR07. I decided that the BA design of the TF 10, DBA-02/B2, BA200, etc. wouldn't generate enough bass/sub-bass for my tastes (I listen to almost everything, but really want some thump for my trance/chillstep/etc.), and the GR07 is so well-regarded I pulled the trigger on the MKII revision two days ago for $180 shipped from Amazon. They arrived today, and after some brief initial testing one thing that bothered me was the sibilance. A bit of hissing from certain tracks. Also, the GR07 seemed less "clear" than the Yams. For example, I must've listened to the intro of Howie Day's "Collide" 10 times, and the guitar simply sounds sharper and clearer on the Yams. Very strange. But otherwise I thought the GR07's sound was pretty darn good. I'm running pink noise on the GR07s now, hopefully some burn-in will rid it of the sibilance and perhaps improve clarity. After some burn-in I'll do some more A/Bing for sure.
I also picked up the Sony M1HC, will be getting them soon. Time to see if it lives up to the hype!
The EPH-100s are still one of my favorite IEMs - I like their sound better than my GR07s and possibly my XBA-3s too (both of which are quite excellent). The Yams soundly trounce the Shure SE215s and Etymotic MC3s. The M1HCs turned out to be rather competent (a step below the Yams though), but their flat cables, J-cord design, and bulky inline controls made them a no-go for me (the XBA-3s with inline controls are perfect for on-the-go instead).
Unfortunately, I get the moisture problem quite consistently with the Yams, so I no longer use them much. I used to wear them until they died, and then swap to my GR07s. The Yams always completely recovered after drying, but it's a hassle to have one ear go out all the time. Funny thing - my XBA-3s did the exact same thing earlier today. I wore them for maybe 3-4 hours, and the left side died. I let them dry for one hour, and it came back to life. This has only happened a few times with my XBA-3s over the course of a year though, whereas it would happen literally every other day with my Yams. Must be something about my ears or how I insert these IEMs?
In any case, I recently tried some Sony XB90EXs and Audio Technica ATHCKM500s with the hope that the XB90EXs might outdo my GR07s and that the ATHCKM500s would be decent enough to hit the gym with. Here are my A/Bing thoughts on this (unfortunate) endeavor
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I tested the XB90EXs and ATHCKM500s against the XBA-3s on my phone (relatively low impedance, where the XBA-3s perform well). The XBA-3s absolutely destroyed the XB90EXs and ATHCKM500s. To be fair, the XB90EXs and ATHCKM500Is are both ~$60 headphones (in Japan at least, they cost more to import to the US) while the XBA-3 retails for $300 (but you can snag them for much less). The XB90EXs had some decent, thumping bass, but on tracks that combined said bass with detailed highs (e.g., the LTN Remix of Come Home by Nigel Good, at ~1:45) the muffled/"lost" highs of the XB90EXs and ATHCKM500s really stuck out like a sore thumb. On the Kygo Remix of I See Fire by Ed Sheeran, the guitars were much, much crisper and more "realistic" on the XBA-3s. On the XB90EXs and ATHCKM500s, it felt like parts of the higher frequencies simply went missing. On Sweet and Low by Augustana, the intro was "smushed" together and very muddy on both the XB90EXs and ATHCKM500s, while the XBA-3s were able to separate the instruments deftly, and present their sounds very cleanly.
Testing the XB90EXs against the GR07s on my desktop, the former again had better bass. However, the latter still had decent bass, and had superior clarity overall. On Cosas Que Suenan A... by Maldita Nerea, the intro guitars were much crisper on the GR07s (note: the Yams handled this song even better than the GR07s). The XB90EXs did have noticeably better bass/subbass on the JLE Dub Mix of Indigo Children by Puscifer, but I only tested that song to evaluate subbass. Using the LTN Remix of Come Home by Nigel Good again, the highs were much better represented on the GR07s. Again, it just felt like small parts of the highs just decided not to show up on the XB90EXs. The mildly better bass/subbass of the XB90EXs was far outweighed by the markedly inferior mids and especially highs.
To come back on topic RE the EPH-100s - since I find my Yams to sound better than my GR07s and about on par/perhaps slightly better than my XBA-3s (depends on the source I guess), I suppose my point is don't even bother with the XB90EXs or ATHCKM500s.
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TL;DR: The XB90EXs and ATHCKM500s were pretty weak - at least, compared to the XBA-3s and GR07s (and thus, the EPH-100s). I know, I know, they cost anywhere from 1/3 to 1/5 of the EPH-100s/GR07s/XBA-3s, but I didn't expect them to be so lackluster. The ATHCKM500s just didn't live up to joker's review (to be fair he gave them an 8.0 in sound whereas the EPH-100s and GR07s have an 8.9 and 9.1, but to my ears the ATHCKM500s are a 6 or lower). But, everyone has their own tastes I suppose.
If you you're part of the majority of people who don't seem to get moisture problems, the EPH-100s are phenomenal. Definitely worth a try.
