Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Portable Headphones, Earphones and In-Ear Monitors › Portables and IEMs. Worth having both? When do you use which?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Portables and IEMs. Worth having both? When do you use which?

post #1 of 16
4/11/10 at 12:54am
Thread Starter 
I've been thinking about getting portable headphones (been eying the HD25 for over a month) to complement my IEMs, but then i wondered whether that'd be a waste of money to have both at the same time.

Sometimes I just feel like it's nicer/more comfortable to have something over my ears, instead of in my ears, anyone else feel that way?

For those of you that have both...
In what situations do you use portables instead of IEMs or IEMs instead of portables?
Do you find yourself using your portables more or your IEMs more?

Discuss!
Reply
post #2 of 16
4/11/10 at 1:09am
Purely for comfortability, I will choose IEMs over portables. I think I have an average head size (not too big nor too small), but if you have a big head(), better go with IEMs in my opinion. The clamping force will make your pinna sore even it's just a short 30 minutes (one of my friends who has a larger head complaint that even PX100 is no good to him). Plus, the headband of portables will mess up your hair style.

Secondly, it depends on the weather/season in my opinion. I don't feel like wearing a portable in summer or in a rainy day. But that's just me

Last but not least, you are walking in the street and it's about fashion

I personally like IEMs more because of comfort and portability (easier to keep them in my bag). By the way, some IEMs can actually do better than even full-sized headphones in sound quality.

EDIT: If you don't want phones which go into your ear canal, some clip-ons or earbuds would be a good option too, but with less isolation and sound leaking.
Reply
post #3 of 16
4/11/10 at 1:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by KLS View Post
Purely for comfortability, I will choose IEMs over portables. I think I have an average head size (not too big nor too small), but if you have a big head(), better go with IEMs in my opinion. The clamping force will make your pinna sore even it's just a short 30 minutes (one of my friends who has a larger head complaint that even PX100 is no good to him). Plus, the headband of portables will mess up your hair style.

Secondly, it depends on the weather/season in my opinion. I don't feel like wearing a portable in summer or in a rainy day. But that's just me

Last but not least, you are walking in the street and it's about fashion

I personally like IEMs more because of comfort and portability (easier to keep them in my bag). By the way, some IEMs can actually do better than even full-sized headphones in sound quality.

EDIT: If you don't want phones which go into your ear canal, some clip-ons or earbuds would be a good option too, but with less isolation and sound leaking.
I have never heard this stated as a fact before.
Reply
post #4 of 16
4/11/10 at 2:01am
I have ESW9 portables & MTP Copper IEMs (have had the Coppers for less than a week). I actually use my iPod at home quite a bit; I tend to move around a lot, and don't want to be chained to a desk/listening area, so I've been trying to get as much SQ out of a portable setup as possible (w/in my budget, of course). That being said, I'll likely use my ESW9 only at home, and my Coppers when on the go. TBH though, I am so impressed by the Coppers, my ESW9 could collect dust as I haven't used them at all since my Coppers arrived.
Reply
post #5 of 16
4/11/10 at 2:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by stonyboys View Post
I have never heard this stated as a fact before.
I'm not sure if he means it in the overall sense, just like, The JH13Pros might be better than Skullcandy Skullcrushers, ya know? XD
Reply
post #6 of 16
4/11/10 at 2:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by stonyboys View Post
I have never heard this stated as a fact before.
if you're talking about staging, then it's almost impossible for IEM to defeat Full-size, but if we're talking about the whole SQ, yes, IEM can beat the full size (depend on their class sure!)

and for Eraser:
if I need portable, I always think an IEM, never any portable headphone. IEM is really easy to carry, so simple (you even can save DAP and IEM in your pocket), and less eye matching (back to your preference though)
Reply
post #7 of 16
4/11/10 at 3:22am
I own 1 portable headphone (ATH-ES7) and two IEMs (JH13 and Klipsch X10). I use the ATH-ES7 with either one of my computers (1 laptop & 1 desktop) for general listening, movie-watching, & PC gaming; and the JH13 on the bus & plane whenever I travel (which is fairly frequently throughout the year). I also use the JH13 whenever I want to listen to something right before I sleep (and inevitably I fall asleep while wearing them).
Reply
post #8 of 16
4/11/10 at 4:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by stonyboys View Post
I have never heard this stated as a fact before.
Sorry I should have stated 'in my opinion'

I have a pair of HD280, and I prefer my IEMs (TF10, IE8, CK10) over HD280. Ok that's because HD280 is some kind of crap However I do believe that some great universal IEMs can compete against full-sized headphones in term of sound quality.
Reply
post #9 of 16
4/11/10 at 5:24am
Quite similar to Asr - ESW10JPN in transportable situations (school and library). The IEMs have just a little bit less detail, instrument seperation, bass impact and soundstage (hori and vert), though the triple.fi gets close. Plus it's a great home can for the moment, I don't have a home setup quite yet. One of the IEMs when commuting, gym, traveling and casual listening when going out.

Portables get more use. High end headphones* changed my listening habits, I don't listen to much ambient music anymore, I take short listening sessions during study breaks. Plus, I'm not the type who needs to be surrounded by music every moment of my life, observing the city is important to me. As for the triple.fi's or SE530's taking on a smartly put together full-sized rig - no. Instrument separation, soundstage, even detail... all bit lacking. Would love to hear some e-Q7‎'s, W3's or IE8's down the line, but not a priority right now.

* Not quite the right term. Post HD800/T1 everything I have is now apparently mid-fi. And that's not even counting those R10, K1000 and Stax owners.
Reply
post #10 of 16
4/11/10 at 8:40am
To me nothing beats IEMs for portability/SQ ratio. And I use IEMs as portables 80% of the time. But there are situations where full size portables are more practical. As an example, in cold winter days I experimented some fitting problems with IEMs (maybe due to extreme cold weather/air pressure changes). Another situation where portables non-IEMs are useful is when I have to put on/off the headphones many times without worrying too much about the fit.

Cheers
K.
Reply
post #11 of 16
4/11/10 at 5:41pm
I have portable and had some iems (lost my s4s)...but i think there is a point for having both. I prefer using my iems when i am on public transportation or need isolation when studying. But if i am just away from my setup like at work or at school i prefer to use portable headphones.


But it all comes down to personal preference
Reply
post #12 of 16
4/12/10 at 10:42am
I prefer portables, MX100, at the office because it allows me to hear the phone and other people around me.
Reply
post #13 of 16
4/12/10 at 1:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by KLS View Post
Sorry I should have stated 'in my opinion'

I have a pair of HD280, and I prefer my IEMs (TF10, IE8, CK10) over HD280. Ok that's because HD280 is some kind of crap However I do believe that some great universal IEMs can compete against full-sized headphones in term of sound quality.
Those IEMs are 2-3 times the price of the 280s, so they should sound significantly better.

Still, I own both the HD 280 and the HJE900. I find the 280s quite comfortable; however, they can get hot & sweaty in warmer weather, so while I don't mind wearing them in public, I only consider doing so in colder weather [as a side note, if I don't want to wear them around my neck while not using them, my winter jacket has a pocket that's just big enough to fit them when the earcups are folded in]. The HJE900, being IEMs, are highly portable; ergo, they're to see more use as a portable, especially during the summer.

The one problem with the HJE900s is that because my headphones are both five-plus years old [HD 497 & HD 280], they sound inferior to my HJE900s, leading me to want to upgrade one or both...which is money I can't necessarily justify right now, even if I want to.
Reply
post #14 of 16
4/12/10 at 1:37pm
I used my IEMs for the first time in ages because I was travelling on a bus to a nearby city and had nothing apart from my wallet and the mp3 player.

Even when I travelled abroad I took my ESW9s because I simply do not like IEMs. I am now thinking about getting something good , but not in ear stuff, no.
Reply
post #15 of 16
4/12/10 at 1:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by KLS View Post
Sorry I should have stated 'in my opinion'

I have a pair of HD280, and I prefer my IEMs (TF10, IE8, CK10) over HD280. Ok that's because HD280 is some kind of crap However I do believe that some great universal IEMs can compete against full-sized headphones in term of sound quality.
In my experiance,no way an iem can compete with full size cans.It's a very different experiance but this is another discusion.
I use iems when out of the house and while commuting and I am eyeing the new beyerdynamic portable headphone and I will be using it when around the house and when I am sitting on my desk to use the desktop computer as I use my current home rig near the bed.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Portable Headphones, Earphones and In-Ear Monitors › Portables and IEMs. Worth having both? When do you use which?