Switching from speakers to headphones: high-end options for classical and jazz - Page 2

So someone who hasn't heard them is telling someone who has that he's wrong? Sorry but your whole post is invalid.

Do you need to hear Magnepans to know they'll have a larger soundstage than ibuds?

You are mistaken that IEMs cannot have a large soundstage. I would say the UERM has as large or larger soundstage than HD800 which is renouned for it's soundstage size and precision. Even my Hifiman RE262 ($150) have quite a large soundstage, albiet the rest of the sound signature is not really up to par, which is why I got the UERM.

Ok cool.  Note I didn't say you were ever wrong, just that I'd be surprised.  I'll put them on my list of things to hear.

Sure seemed like you did, but I'll let it pass. Not a big deal really. With all the praise these high end IEMs get I'm surprised more people aren't using them as their dedicated home rig like I am. I haven't owned any full size headphones since January and only listen to my IEMs at home. They are certainly capable of being dedicated rigs, and as I mentioned in my initial post in this thread, they have some nice advantages; isolation (noisy neighbors, kids, WIVES, wives vacuuming..), small size (harder to damage since you can slide them in your pocket instead of leaving them on a table for your kids/pets to break), minimal amp requirements (no super huge bulky amps) meaning you can listen anywhere you want, even portably (notice how foreign this sounds to me, heh). The last advantage is one you don't really expect, but since you don't have big cans on your head your head stays much cooler, plus if you are moving around you won't risk accidently bumping into something not giving berth to the large growth on the side of your head when reaching down to pick up a remote control or something.

To be honest, I share your opinion. However, since I haven't heard the particular IEMs Maxvla's referring to, I'll concede here (but remain skeptical).

 

Even if the impression of soundstage size is comparable to the full-size open dynamics, I doubt a sealed IEM can come close to the airiness/openness of the former.

I had the same thoughts until I tried IEMs and was shocked at what I heard. A lot of people around here dismiss IEMs as portable only or not even worth bothering with, but IMO they can easily be as good or better than a dedicated home rig of equal or superior value.

The real benefit of most IEMs is the holographic soundstage. The airiness may not be up to par with stats or the like, but the immersion is as good or better, even my RE262 has better immersion than the SR009 did. I can forgive some lack in air for an IEM putting me in the music instead of it just being played at me.

Speaking of IEMs and soundstage, are we just talking dynamic and balanced armature ones here, or can we also include the Stax SR-003/S-001 Mk2 (same thing, except the latter has a different plug meant for a bundled portable amp)?

 

While I'm skeptical of the positioning/imaging benefits, I have to admit that I haven't tried a competent IEM before, and there's reports of people using the Etymotic ER-4P (and its gaming-marketed offshoot, the EDGE Acoustics GX-400) to great effect in games (which is where imaging is extremely important).

 

As far as immersion goes, though...I'd say the ambient, atmospheric presentation of my vintage Stax Lambda (don't know about the flagships I have no hope of affording any time soon) contributes to that immersion.

I just wanted to comment that the HD600 graininess mentioned in the original post is most likely due to the LDmkIII amp. I had an LDmkII (basically the same amp design) with WE tubes and although the power was good with the hd580 and 600s, they were a bit grainy compared to other amps I've used like the Headamp gilmore lite or even the much cheaper FiiO E9 :)

I agree - the HD-600 isn't grainy. It depends entirely on the amp you use.

The HD-580/600/650 is very revealing of amplification. Use the right amp and they are amazing.

They're underrated here. People think that because they're not $1,000+ headphones that they're not so good. Truth is they're still some of the best headphones available at any price if you amp them correctly.