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Audio Quality between canalphones and buds

post #1 of 6
12/30/09 at 7:19pm
Thread Starter 
I'm a bit of a newbie but looking to get into things more. Most of my music is flac or ogg 320 kbps avg with some mp3's mixed in and I have some decent headphones but I lack anything good at the portable level. I'll be on a 9 week bike tour across Europe this summer and want something portable enough for such a trip - obviously to be used at the various nightly stops and not while riding. Sometimes I like to listen to music while I walk across Cambridge/Boston and sometimes I like to listen and enjoy the music in a dark room. My music tastes vary from folk, to metal, to punk cabaret, to french pop, and psytrance/psychill/psyambient/idm.

I'm torn between in-ear canalphones and traditional earbuds. Any thoughts? I've been reading tons of posts on the forums and it seems to be coming down to the Yuin pk2's and the klipsch image s4 - I'm looking to stay under $100 ideally. Probably a ridiculously silly question, but most posts compare in the same category. How is the audio quality between these categories?
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post #2 of 6
12/30/09 at 7:40pm
Welcome to head-fi
I don't think you can generalize between categories. While there are more high-end canalphones (iems), there are a few high-end buds as well, mainly the flagship yuin models. Its kind of like the debate between balanced armatures vs dynamic drivers. Mostly its an issue of comfort or isolation for people as some people find iems uncomfortable or others need more isolation than buds can provide.
I think you will be better off describing a sound signature you enjoy, or what full-size you own, and someone here can probably find a phone to your liking.
I haven't heard the klipsch or yuins so I cannot comment on those.
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post #3 of 6
12/30/09 at 7:46pm
I bought the S4 just yesterday and after 26 hours of burn-in, they sound great. They'll perform pretty well with your choices of music.
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post #4 of 6
12/30/09 at 8:02pm
if u want pk2, i can sell you for $50, just recabled them
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post #5 of 6
12/30/09 at 10:09pm
The thing that always stands out with the IEM vs Earbud comparison is that with IEM's, you've got to work with them to get the right fit and it usually turns out to be a trial and error with the tips. With the Earbuds, like Yuin's earbud line, you put them in and you're good to go. The obvious downside is the leakage issue, but considering you'll be biking in a foreign land and with just traveling in general where you'll need your wits about you, that isn't always a bad thing. When it comes to portability, I'd be looking at something that gets the job done, rather than spending anymore than you have to which is why I suggest going for Yuin's PK3's rather than the PK2's. The PK3's have more bass which will appeal more to your music tastes, and they're only about $40.00; half that of the klipsch image s4's, so you won't do your nut if something happens to them. Just ask yourself, is the isolation that you would get from the S4's more important than the safety issue of tuning into all the sounds around you?
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post #6 of 6
12/31/09 at 5:38pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the help (and the welcoming). I missed out on the Yuin OK options but it seems they aren't amazing as IEMs. I'll probably go PK3 but I am looking a bit more into the OK3 (possibly OK2 but they are pricey). Again, thanks!
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