Alpha & Delta KS3 IEM Reviews | Drop

Apr 15, 2020

troychHow would these compare to the ety 2xrs? I’m hearing the etys might be as good as 1000 dollar headphones, is this true?

Apr 15, 2020

Apr 16, 2020

League544Just based off of the frequency response:

Alpha & Delta KS3: Green Etymotic ER2XR: Red Seems like the main differences are more subbass on the ety's, smoother high mids-highs but a little darker with better air. This is purely going off of frequency response so THIS IS JUST AN ESTIMATE. Personally I'd go with the etymotics because the extra sub-bass will warm up the sound a bit and add a nice fullness. The extra air whilst retaining smoothness through the high end also appeals to me not to mention the crazy isolation. I cant say much about isolation for the KS3's but I know Ety's are great for that. Only problem for some people is the deep fit of ety's can be a challenge in both correct fitting for the best sound as well as the fact that the deep fit might not be comfortable for some.

Apr 16, 2020

Apr 16, 2020

QwervyWow, this further solidifies my conclusion that the audiophile community has the best discussions/most passionate community. Incredible response!! I am curious what you think about Ety 2xr vs like Andromeda’s or Roxy’s, do they at least keep up in some aspect? They are my first true audiophile grade IEM, wanted to see if after the 150-200 dollar mark, if they can keep up with the 1500 dollar mark even! What I do is I use bulletz memory foam tips and just let the memory foam keep the tips in place. It’s really weird because when I tried to put their tips and it itches me so incredibly bad, but my galaxy buds + never itches me. Is it a silicon vs rubber thing?

Apr 16, 2020

Apr 16, 2020

League544Hey thanks for that encouraging reply. IEMs: I cant say much about any of these IEM's as I dont personally own any of them so unless I can find graphs to attempt to draw a conclusion then I am unable to help at all. Either way going based off of graphs isn't really the the best way to judge differences as there are lots of other aspects to the sound will come into play.

Etymotic: Red Andromeda: Green Andromeda's look like they would be an overall darker earphone with better mid bass which means a fairly warm sound. It's a completely different profile to the ety's and I'd say that they are very different beasts. It's like comparing apples and oranges, sure they are both fruit but they are completely different. I couldn't find graphs for the Roxy's so I cant really compare those. Again, this is PURELY ESTIMATED and I wouldn't go off of this advice alone. Etymotics are known for being nice and neutral, the "extended-range" version simply having a slight sub-bass/bass boost and very good isolation on both models (se and xr). I'd say that the etymotics are a great starting point for 150-200 dollars and the 2xr or 2se (more bass, less bass respectively) would be a good addition to any collection. However, if you are looking for a very fun sounding IEM I would steer away from the ety's because of their tendency to lean towards a reference signature. Also, if you want to get these graphs and graph comparisons just head over to https://crinacle.com/graphs/iems/graphtool/ Crinacle's got measurements for almost every single IEM you'd consider buying and they are very accurate. EAR-TIPS: In reply to your comment on foam tips, that can be the case for some people. There are people that cannot tolerate foam tips as it irritates the ear because of the roughness or because they are pushing outward on the ear canal. Dekoni Bulletz are generally some of the least irritating foam tips because of their smooth-smaller-pored design as opposed to comply tips. Potentially going up a size of ear tip could help to reduce rubbing and movement could help, either way if you like foams I suggest playing around with sizes as the Bulletz come in 3 sizes. Silicone tips (spinfits, JVC: spiral dots, final audio just to name a few) are less irritating than foams from a friction perspective. Rubber and silicone tips are different: Rubber tips are harder to come by anyway and generally aren't worth it because silicone is superior. I recommend just typing in "eartip comparisons" into google and just reading a couple of links to get a better idea of the pros and cons of different eartip types.

Apr 16, 2020

Apr 16, 2020

QwervyAh!!! Wow, still shocked at how incredible your responses have been. Thanks, I will keep that in mind. I wonder if I can boost and make the etys sound fun with my btr5 coming soon. Apparently experts are saying that the BTR five is arguably one of the best amps in the world, even defeating home amps. And really crazy question: do you play any mobile games?

Apr 16, 2020

Apr 16, 2020

League544Oh yeah, the btr5 is pretty well renowned. I tend to stay away from DSP correction unless absolutely necessary purely because I'm a bit of a purist but yeah. You could definitely make the ety's sound more fun. The XR's are already the slightly more fun sounding model so you might like it as it is but depending on your tastes you could change the signature pretty easily with EQ. And no lol. I dont play any mobile games.

Apr 16, 2020

Apr 17, 2020

QwervyAww mayne, well if you ever do let me know. You’re a cool guy glad we met, 🙏

Apr 17, 2020

Acutis

Apr 18, 2020

QwervySorry to comment on this after so long (1 day), but do you mind recommending me a good pair of IEMs for around $150? I want to drive them with just my phone/laptop ideally, though I wouldn't mind getting gear in the future, but I'm having a pale egg of a time trying to figure out which ones to get.

Apr 18, 2020

Vote

Apr 18, 2020

AcutisHey, that's all good. It really depends what kind of sound signature you like. I'd strongly recommend looking at other viewers for their opinions (bad guy good audio, super review, z-reviews, josh valour just to name a few of the good ones). It's important to look at these lists: In terms of IEM's though I'd recommend having a look at the list that bad guy good audio has: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1TH9_bqUq1vANsFiXVbVZ6w8kVA9C3DkknnMGyIcKE7M/edit?usp=sharing and the list that the crinacle has: https://crinacle.com/rankings/iems/ Both the crinacle and BGGA's lists are really solid and by cross referencing I think that you will be able to find something that suits your tastes. There are just so many options its hard to know what would be best for any one person so it's best if you figure out what is best for your needs and uses. Straight off the bat though, I would recommend for:

Neutrality: etymotic er2se/er2xr (reference bass and slight bass boost respectively) and if you want balanced armature sound go with the higher models in this series if you can afford it.
Harman-Tuning: Moondrop Kanas/Kanas pro or the drop version the KXXS (moondrop does some pretty nice IEM's with harman tuning)
Bassy-Wide: Ikko Oh10 (also they look super sexy and are built like tanks, quite heavy though)
Thick, rich, warmth: Final Audio e4000 or e5000 for more detail if you can afford it
Planar: I'd have a look at the tin audio p1 for that, they are a pretty solid set with great separation and speed but the sound sig might not be for everyone. they are also known for being a tad aggressive and narrow.
Electrostatics: Shuoer tape these are pretty well renowned with plenty of detail according to reviews.

Other mentions: BQEYZ Spring 1, TFZ (king, king pro, no.3), Tin audio (T4 and T3 these are both pretty cheap relatively speaking and are aimed at a brighter sound). Lots of great chifi out there (chinese-hifi) that will be on the BGGA list, if he recommends it so do I. These are just a few ideas and there are plenty more that I could recommend but it's hard to keep straight hundreds of iems in my head all at once so the lists are more important. Crinacle also has literally hundreds of graphs and they are accurate graphs too. Feel free to ask any questions. Another consideration is buying something less expensive and then playing around with ear tips to change the sound and/or amps. There is also the question of whether you want to use DSP correction or not or analog equalization.

Apr 18, 2020

Apr 18, 2020

AcutisI bought the etymotic er2xr and they are FANTASTIC. Sound similar to my hd6xxs, easy to drive, small light weight, crushes my mee audio m6 pro 2nd gens. They’re on drop/amazon for 125/135. Think Ety is known for the best imaging. Has really low base even in the base boosted bottle this can be fixed with an amp but if you’re just trying to plug and play music wise I would probably go with the Tin t4/p1 for fun sound. Ety is accurate/analytical. I use my Etys for gaming 😎

Apr 18, 2020

Apr 18, 2020

QwervyWow, incredible websites. Ty for they especially crinacle one. Sick

Apr 18, 2020

Acutis

Apr 20, 2020

League544I've been looking at the etys but am really put off by how deep they sit in the ear canal. Isn't it a little scary or uncomfortable in practice? Do they have tips that do not do that, and if so, does this sacrifice quality? Are they fragile? I'm coming from the Shozys that were on drop recently, and I liked them very much for the most part. I would like to make music so having reference sound would be nice, but I want my ears to survive.

Apr 20, 2020