Hello to everyone,
even if this is my first post, I have been reading on this forum for years now and drawing out great pieces of information (it was actually due to the reviews of HeadphoneAddic that I decided to purchase my dearly beloved and hugely missed Westone W3) so to begin with I want to thank all of you for giving life to such a lively community.
I am looking for an IEM or for a portable overear headphone that would put a smile upon my face, make my foot go and, more in general, bring me back the emotions that made me listen to music for hours at day with joy.
Unfortunately right now all of this is partially faded away and I point my finger mainly on my M-Audio IE-10 that I bought after my Westone 3 were stolen (may the thief melt its bowels!).
Important and preliminary things to point out:
- Budget: less than € 200,00 shipped (that is USD 240) don't care if new or used as long as they work!
- Source: I will be listening this mainly through an iPhone 3Gs without amplification (pocket portability is of the essence to me)
- I wear thick frame glasses and this may represent a problem with tight headphones (Sennheiser hd-25 comes to my mind)
- I had sealing problems both with the Ultimate Ears shape and with the Westone (altought struggling with the foam tips I was able to get a good isolation with the latter)
- I will be using this in the streets and on public transportations which means that isolation is important
Soundwise:
My first IEM were the Shure SE 210. I were dazzled at first (quite a jump from the Koss plug) but it was mainly due to the high isolation that the (extremely unconfortable) triple flange tips were granting. Highs were almost painful and basses were almost non existent compared to the W3 that came right after.
With the W3 and the cowon X5 I entered a different dimension. The sound was everywhere I loved the soundstage and the spaciousness of that IEM. On the other hand I should say that sometimes I felt it was too much on the warm side, some tracks felt too dark and bassy for me, lacking clarity, but overall I was amazed by the change.
When I was forced to part from them I bought the m-Audio IE-10 which I believe are almost identical to the UE super 5 pro and I must say that it just never took of with those. Bass was probably still at the shop because I could not hear it. I even tried the iPhone EQ (desperate move) to try to enhance the low spectrum, but the result was the equivalent of throwing a wool carpet on some speakers. It may be that the lacking of bass was due to a poor fit, but this does not change the fact that right now I am on the hunt again!
of course I have read plenty of reviews here and I have a set of names in my head but I would really prefer to keep all options open. As I said I don't care if it is an IEM or an overear headphone, I am just worried about the glasses/lack of seal thing.
Thank You Guys




