[Pianist]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jyle_t /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'd say of all the universals i've heard (atrios, SA6, SE530, westone 3, um3x, TF10pro, FX500, IE8, q-jays, image x10, e-Q7, etc), i find the Ortofon e-Q7 the most neutral IEM. UM3X is a close second, followed by TF10pro. I've not heard the RE0 or any etymotics.

I knew someone would say it sooner or later. Ortofon e-Q7 is a superbly balanced IEM indeed. But mine sounded a little harsh in the mids out of the box. Does it need any burn in?

 

[jyle_t]

There's NO WAY IE8 could be neutral, unless you're used to it. The bass boost is obvious when you do an a/b with other universals. When i first heard UM3X, i thought its pretty dark sounding, then when i put on the IE8 i go "woah..".

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pianist /img/forum/go_quote.gif I knew someone would say it sooner or later. Ortofon e-Q7 is a superbly balanced IEM indeed. But mine sounded a little harsh in the mids out of the box. Does it need any burn in?

I don't own the IEM so i can't advise burn in info, i only heard it for some 20-30 min at the local shop. Maybe clieos or james could help you with that. I do find the mids a little harsh with certain songs that has some focus on upper mids, got that when i listened to some MJ to test the fun factor.

I'd love to own one but too bad the local shop doesn't have silver color.

 

[charlie0904]

ER4S

not so sure about others.

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

Originally Posted by charlie0904 /img/forum/go_quote.gif ER4S not so sure about others.

Hmm... I am not sure about ER4S. The graph on headroom shows that ER4s has a significant boost in the upper mids/low treble. Doesn't look very neutral to me.

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jyle_t /img/forum/go_quote.gif There's NO WAY IE8 could be neutral, unless you're used to it. The bass boost is obvious when you do an a/b with other universals. When i first heard UM3X, i thought its pretty dark sounding, then when i put on the IE8 i go "woah..". I don't own the IEM so i can't advise burn in info, i only heard it for some 20-30 min at the local shop. Maybe clieos or james could help you with that. I'd love to own one but the local shop doesn't have silver color.

How does it compare with JH13?

 

[StudioTan]

I own the ER4S and the JH13, the latter of which I consider a MUCH more accurate IEM, not to mention all the other areas the JH13 excels in.

 

[jyle_t]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pianist /img/forum/go_quote.gif How does it compare with JH13?

ooo hahaha. I find the JH13 more transparent because of the more present upper treble. And the low bass boost makes it fun sounding enough for music that requires that bit of bass oomph to get your head nodding. The bass texture is much better too on JH13, i've never heard bass presentation like that on an IEM. And the soundstage, JH13 is much wider. However any IEM with forward mids wouldn't have wide soundstage anyways. (EDIT: woops, SE530 is one with wide soundstage, i only thought of westones).

In terms of mids alone, e-Q7 is quite close in terms of details. So if you'd like to have an IEM with good extension from bottom to top with no obvious lack in quantity on any part of the frequency, transparent sounding, with slightly forward mids, i'd say e-Q7 is a great buy.

Now you mentioned it, i miss my JH13s, i only had them for 2 days before sending them back for refit.

 

[ericp10]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jyle_t /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'd say of all the universals i've heard (atrios, SA6, SE530, westone 3, um3x, TF10pro, FX500, IE8, q-jays, image x10, e-Q7, etc), i find the Ortofon e-Q7 the most neutral IEM. UM3X is a close second, followed by TF10pro. I've not heard the RE0 or any etymotics.

I agree with jyle t and pianist about the e-q7s. I would also include the etymotic hf5s...

ericp

 

[charlie0904]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pianist /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hmm... I am not sure about ER4S. The graph on headroom shows that ER4s has a significant boost in the upper mids/low treble. Doesn't look very neutral to me.

i see.

i will try e-Q7 if i have time. looks promising.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Of all the IEMs I have ever owned/heard, I would say the ER-4P (especially with the P-S Cable) are the most neutral and revealing. I would say that they are the K701s of the IEM world.

 

[Lunatique]

I'd like to stay within the same price range as the W3, since I'm mostly interested in doing a trade.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Antony6555 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Check out the frequency response for the hd650-there is a clear bass emphasis. The hd600, on the other hand, is pretty accurate. Of course, you can "feel" the bass on a pair of relatively accurate speakers more than on accurate headphones.

That what I thought too before I actually tested it. After testing it against my K+H O300D's, I can say with confidence that they are not hyped, and is in fact, missing some detail and punchy impact, which the M50 can reproduce much better.

 

[Lunatique]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacedonianHero /img/forum/go_quote.gif Of all the IEMs I have ever owned/heard, I would say the ER-4P (especially with the P-S Cable) are the most neutral and revealing. I would say that they are the K701s of the IEM world.

Some people say that the K701 is not neutral--it is lacking some bass and has a slight spike in the treble region that makes them a bit sharp.

 

[Antony6555]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lunatique /img/forum/go_quote.gif That what I thought too before I actually tested it. After testing it against my K+H O300D's, I can say with confidence that they are not hyped, and is in fact, missing some detail and punchy impact, which the M50 can reproduce much better.

Of course, headphones will always lack some of the punch of speakers. What is neutral in a speaker is not neutral on a headphone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lunatique /img/forum/go_quote.gif Some people say that the K701 is not neutral--it is lacking some bass and has a slight spike in the treble region that makes them a bit sharp.

The k701 actually has a bit of a mid/upper bass emphasis, as well as a slight treble emphasis. The lower bass is a bit rolled off though. I prefer the hd600, it sounds more natural to me.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lunatique /img/forum/go_quote.gif Some people say that the K701 is not neutral--it is lacking some bass and has a slight spike in the treble region that makes them a bit sharp.

The K701 has incredible bass when properly amp'd. Most people who claim this are likely using FiiO amps. But when properly amp'd they go down pretty deep and have better and tighter bass than the HD650s.

There are no spikes in the treble region either. Most comments about this are of non-burned in headphones. These ones in particular take 300+hours to get there and if you don't then I can see the comments of spikely treble be true.

But once fully burned in and with the proper amp'ing, they are the most neutral and revealing headphones I have heard. The only colouration in my opinion would be a slightly exaggerated sound stage (but I like it because it makes me feel like I am literally in the audience).

 

[JaZZ]

To my ears the most neutral IEM I've heard is the Phonak Audéo. It benefits from a narrow 2 dB decrease around 10 kHz, though.

With the bass decreased by 10 or 12 dB and some additional lower-mids decrease (–3 dB) the IE8 sounds quite neutral and transparent, too, and very ear-friendly (smooth).

The ER-4P is still one of the most neutral IEMs, especially with slight EQing (–2 dB at 3 kHz, +2 dB at ~16 kHz).
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