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$500 - new IEM's to last "forever"

post #1 of 7
4/17/11 at 9:51pm
Thread Starter 

I own two pairs of IEM's:

- Etymotic ER-4P

- Ortofon E-Q7

 

I like the sound of the ER-4P's, but I simply love the E-Q7's. The problem is the cabling on the Ortofon. They have some sort of nylon "sock" that have developed a rip, leading to a situation where the inner wiring is more or less bare, with just the thin plastic around them.

 

So, $500 in pocket: What are my options? I mostly use these for iPod, but from time to time I hook them up to a DAC on my Mac. I see that the Shure SE535 get good reviews, but I have never tried a pair of Shure's, and have heard stories of them generally being too bass heavy for my liking.

 

What am I after? Naturality, non-fatiguing, crystal clear sound, seductive. Can I get all that in a pair of IEM's? :)

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Westone UM3x
Westone 4 True-Fit Earphones
post #2 of 7
4/17/11 at 10:07pm

Sounds like my 1964 ears quads except these are not completely natural. It has a little bass boost but that would make it "seductive" to some but these still sound close to natural. 1964 ears triple driver is in your price range with impressions and they are more toward natural. I would recommend looking into 1964 ears or another custom maker. I was told they are built to last 10 years which by then there should be new advances in portable sound. I think that's as close to forever as you can get.


Edited by Megalomaniac - 4/17/11 at 10:08pm
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post #3 of 7
4/18/11 at 7:38am

Do you guys mean neutral rather than natural? I wouldn't say that the quads don't sound natural. They do to my ears.

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post #4 of 7
4/18/11 at 9:43am

ATH_CK100, Grado GR10, Westone 4, UM3x, Sony EX1000 and SM3.

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post #5 of 7
4/18/11 at 4:41pm

x2 on the Sony Ex1000, based on the reviews i've read and they have a detachable/replaceable cable.

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post #6 of 7
4/18/11 at 8:25pm

Crystal clear and seductive spells the EX1000 for me too.

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post #7 of 7
4/18/11 at 8:30pm

I'm going to say get the Grado. I've got the GR8 and it's  crystalline.  The GR10 is more of the same and would be the next universal I'm probably buy if I weren't saving for some full-sized  phones.

 

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Westone UM3x
Westone 4 True-Fit Earphones
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