Do IEM's match Traditional Can in the Sound Quality/$ Ratio?

[O.D]

The title really says it all.

My reason for asking is, i have myself convinced that for under 150$ I wont find IEM's that match up with portable cans in sound quality. I always had the feeling the bass couldn't have the same affect in IEM's as it does in Reg. Cans.

I Listen to mostly Rap and I've notice how un-detailed the bass sounds in $100 IEM's vs. $100 cans.

If I'm on a 150$ budget is it more worth it to go for Cans rather than IEM's?

I have NO CLUE what IEM's are good for the music I listen to and what aren't.

Can IEM's give you as good 'soundstage' as cans on my budget?

If so recommendations would be awesome.

Enlighten me!

[Bacon_N_Cheese]

No they can't I believe. It's portability vs sound.

[mvw2]

You can get quality of sound but not the presentation. It's a different scale of things and a different approach. Full headphones can gain that visceral aspect that an IEM can't reproduce. In the same realm, a full sized can can't create the presentation of a home theater. It's simply different systems, even if the match frequency response, dynamics, everything.

[Nigel79]

Nope

[TheMarchingMule]

Definitely not. I started this hobby thinking it was always best to have great portable sound with me (source, expensive LOD, amp, the works), but once I was shown how much farther my money went on a full-sized setup, I pretty much dismissed all ideas of having a serious portable setup.

[roy_jones]

I'll go against the grain and say that they come close- but not at the price point that you're talking about. For $100, I think you're better off full-sized. But once you get into the higher tiers of both IEM's and headphones, I think the line becomes blurred.

It's really hard to divorce the value of portability from the equation, too. I'd argue that a decent portable setup can come fairly close from a sound quality perspective, but offer decent value when "ease of use" gets factored into the equation.

I mean, for $500 you can have really good quality with you no matter where you are in a small form factor. Sure, you might get a comparable full-sized setup for $300 (maybe), but are you going to be using a computer with that setup? Because if you're going to be using a traditional setup of a CD player, amp, headphones, which is a truer comparison, then it's not so simple.

I don't think the technological changes that have improved 'usability' gets nearly enough weight in these comparisons. A pair of JH13pro's and a HiFiMan player could be every bit as good as multi-thousand dollar rigs.

[Rise To The Top]

NEVER. Portability ALWAYS comes at a cost. ALWAYS. No exception.

[roy_jones]

Originally Posted by Rise To The Top

NEVER. Portability ALWAYS comes at a cost. ALWAYS. No exception.

I simply don't agree. It's like saying headphones are ALWAYS cheaper than comparable speakers. They're different animals, and it isn't a simple 1:1 rule of thumb, IMO.

There have been a number of experienced members that have said they prefer the JH13pro to much more expensive headphones. That fact invalidates your argument with a single example.

[hifidk]

Originally Posted by Rise To The Top

NEVER. Portability ALWAYS comes at a cost. ALWAYS. No exception.

Many says that JH13 Pro are up in the level of HD800, O2, L3000 and other high-end full-size headphones and these custom IEMs cost much less. Similar result with ES3X also. Of course there are characteristics that they lack such as wide soundstage, but they will do better on other parts such as details/speed/tone. I have only tried universal demo of JH13 Pro but I still liked it more than HD800, my HF2, GS1000i, W5000, and HD600 (or any other cans that I have had).

So, I wouldn't say never.

[MrOutside]

tell that to the ER4 and JH13 users

[Beyerfan70]

Iems come nowhere close end of story.
Obviously just like everything there will be people who think otherwise because of personal taste but at the end of the day a lot of the time with the stupidly high price of an iem,Especially a good and respected one it's usually a case of saying they are better simply because of the high price and the owner trying to justify the purchase.
From my personal experience when you put an iem and a full size can of the same price together the can will 99.9% of the time wipe the floor with it.
The higher the price gets with an iem the less of a jump in sound occurs,whereas with cans the sound gets better with price.
Dont get me wrong i love iems because of the great isolation but for sound i'd take a can every time.

[Berlioz]

For under $150, IEM's will be hard pressed to outperform a good pair of full sized cans. As already mentioned, the ultra high end IEM's can outperform their full sized counterparts.

The JH13's have been compared head to head against HD800's and have won, and this is coming from some people on this forum who I have a lot of respect for.

The people who are making these "IEM's stand no chance against full sized" comments have probably never heard anything better than an upper range universal IEM. Frankly, neither have I, although it doesn't hurt to be open minded

[Beyerfan70]

My beyerdynamic dt880 makes every iem i've heard sound poor!
My senn hd650 are the most dull sounding can i own (been in the cupboard boxed for ages as i dont care much for them,but even those are significantly better than any iem ive tried.

[hifidk]

Originally Posted by Beyerfan70

My beyerdynamic dt880 makes every iem i've heard sound poor!
My senn hd650 are the most dull sounding can i own (been in the cupboard boxed for ages as i dont care much for them,but even those are significantly better than any iem ive tried.

I have had DT880 and HD650 also. I liked JH13 Pro considerably more than both of these headphones. However this isn't fair comparison since these headphones are much cheaper than the JH13 Pro. But I still think they are on par with similarly priced full-sized phones (even with more expensive phones according to many other members).

[Uncle Erik]

I was happy with the Shure e3c until I got a HD-650. The prices are different on those, but I've been a full-sized devotee since. The very high end of IEMs may be terrific (I haven't heard them), but full-sized seems better for your money.

That being said, used speakers can often outperform higher end headphones for your money. The Quads cost less than half the price of the HD-800, and they dothings that no headphone can. And it's not just the Quads - there are other bargains out there.

If you really want to maximize your dollars, be sure to consider everything out there.