Generally, BA sounds smoother while dynamic sounds more musical

then why the price difference is so wide?

there are really expensive dynamic driven IEMs as well, like the DITA Truth at RM3300

It's all about implementation. Not all BAs are super expensive, and they can sound very good too even at a budget, like the SoundMagic PL50 at about RM200. Some single BAs are cheaper still, but you won't find any BA under RM150 I think. BAs are speakers that have small arms (hence the name "armature") that is moved by the magnetic assembly and attached to the diaphragm. The arm is balanced in between the magnetic assembly, hence the name "balanced armature". The arm can stick to one of the magnets if it's not centred properly within the assembly. The technology isn't new, in fact it's been around since the 50's. It was primarily designed for efficiency. They don't "move" the air to make sound, they just make it vibrate until it reaches your eardrum, so they don't need ports and a vacuum seal is easy (actually needed), and tuning the drivers for certain freq range is easy and they respond to it well. But because of the way they make the sounds, bass feel is virtually non-existent. However bass BA drivers have also been made but are quite expensive. So a multi-way with a bass BA is needed for a bass response you can feel. You can see why they can be very expensive.

Dynamics are rather straightforward. If you've seen a naked driver of a speaker, imagine that but miniaturized. Easier to build, and can be built easily to extend well beyond the frequency range of the human hearing (you can see dynamics having a response from 5Hz to 30,000Hz). They can also move a lot of air if need be. The trouble is they can be rather slow to react depending on the mechanical suspension, diaphragm mass, magnet strength, shell design, etc. They can sound good, but as you may know asking them to handle the full range of freq very well can be a problem, and a multi-way dynamic to split the job is difficult to do. But, it can be done and has been done (there's a 3-way dynamic now). Manufacturers can have fun with them too such as making a sort of mechanical crossover to achieve a multi-way setup, like different diaphragm coating or material for each driver, play around with port sizing, using the push-pull effect, whatever they fancy. In a way, the variety of a dynamic driver sound is vast.

too advance ady...cannot understand....

by the way, i now only consider dynamic driver...im70 and ckr series...
any suggestion for western female pop song?

i heard some of the ppl said ba need a good amp only can produce good sound, if not just normal as normal driver...

Dynamic drivers do benefit from higher current from an amp. However, that depends on your complete audio chain ( setup ) from type of files (.mp3, .flac, .dsf) > type of players ( or phones ) > DAC or amp or DAC/amp combo > earphones

thank for your comment...

my setup just normal setup...wav->sony a series->depend mood...some time will bring amp sometime not....->searching...

heard many ppl said, ath is not suitable for western female pop....

Different ATH has different signature, in fact, the ATH woodies excel with female vocals

Does your Sony comes with the dock connection or purely USB

come with dock....

actually i got one woody ath headphone...feeling quite ok...but i like more in the open air series....haha....

just never try in monitor series headphone, heard many ppl said...im70 is mini size of m50...

Walkman > FiiO L5 ( LOD ) > Amp > AT-HDC5 ( upgrade cables ) > ATH-M70

the cable not a cheap thing....

it look like a good setup....

but im now stuck in between im70 and ckr9...

both are good earphone but price.....

BAs are unstable electrically, relative to dynamics. Not all amps can power a BA well, but most decent ones can. Some reviewers reported that even a Graham Slee Voyager won't drive a BA well. I've paired a Hippo amp to a PL50 and it sounds horrible. I think everyone will notice it. I think it's because of the motor construction.

oic.....

but im looking for one earphone is for convenient purpose...so have to power by amp...i will not consider it ....

both the IM70 and CKR9 will do well without an amp

i saw a lot of deal for im70...but it is difficult to get more information about ckr9....i read other forum review....ckr9 will produce more clear sound than im70...

If you are in KL, drop by Sungei Wang to compare them

i also wish to try this two model before make decision..but the problem is i will not go kl in the next few month....

so the only way for me to get information is read the review and ask other....

where to get the best bargain for audio technical?

i also wish to know....haha

but if u want to find dealer....sale thread there a lot of saler.....here also got few....e1-akg is one of the dealer in kl....

Curious, does only the price matter to all of you instead of reputation, service and warranty