Shy-ish pirate/lurker: "Ok, Mr IEM Tease, will you tell us why you think the K3003 is still such a good IEM to your ears?"

music_4321: "Is that a real question, or are you trying to be clever, merely curious, or are you simply bored?

Shy-ish pirate/lurker: "Genuinely curious. I know some highly-regarded people don't think much of the K3003s"

music_4321: "Would you like a short or long reply?"

Shy-ish pirate/lurker: "Long, if you don't mind."

music_4321: "I do mind, actually, but here's a brief one:

-- Sometimes low-end decay sounds more realistic on the AKGs, particularly on, though not always exclusive to, acoustic/classical music.
-- Although the UERM's tonal balance/FR is more accurate on the UERMs, higher freqs have better tonality/timbre on the AKGs; as great as the UERM's tonal balance is, treble sometimes sounds a tad unpolished/unrefined compared to the AGK's top-end.
-- At lower volumes the K3003 is a better-sounding IEM (you must know I often listen to music very late at night, and often find myself turning the volume down quite a bit — no IEM I know is able to deliver such high quality SQ at such low volume levels... At such times this really is a blessing)
-- The AKGs, like the HD800s, have a bigger out-of-head soundstage (headstage), but, I have to say, the UERM is absolutely remarkable in this respect too."

-----------------

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ChewZPpwxk

neat

^   Yes, a removable cable would've been nice/desirable, so that's definitely something to consider for those considering purchasing these fine phones, but I personally really feel the (very nice) design of the IEM would have been compromised—the K3003's housings are made of a single piece (read: no seams) of stainless steel—if AKG had attempted to use a removable cable. This IEM should definitely not be abused.

Incidentally, it's a shame the 'non-i' (remote/mic-less) model is only sold in Asia — I've had both 'i' and 'non-i' models and much prefer the latter.

As an aside, it's interesting that the K3003 is much closer sonically to the HD800 than Sennheiser's own flagship IEM (IE800).

The IE800 required a lot of EQ correction for me to listen.  Funnily enough- It actually sounded very good on the Tera Player because it rolls the top end off, reducing harshness and has caps in the output path decreasing the bass by a large margin.

Quote from: mkubota1 on June 11, 2014, 05:37:31 PM

 Is there a "trick" to listening to them such as insertion, tip choice, etc?  There is a flood of the on them used market in Japan.

I take it you're referring to the K3003s? Due to their form factor, with a shallow-ish fit you get the intended K3003 SQ. Seems most people are happy with the stock tips, though there's also been some talk of Comply tips (I personally use stock medium tips). These IEMs are vented (http://www.head-fi.org/t/680119/sony-xba-h1-and-xba-h3-hybrid-dynamic-and-ba-iem/870#post_9927173) so it's important not to block the vents with aftermarket tips.

IE800 I think.