Buying portable or in-ear headphones? Seeking guidance? DON'T START A NEW THREAD. Ask for advice... - Page 172  

I'm not new here, but almost might as well be. I'd like to get something new for the office; for years I've been using an HD580 with a Corda Headfive, which sounds just fine, but I'm tired of wearing headphones all the time. It's not as comfortable as it used to be.

 

I see there are not so many earbud options as when I was last up to date on the market, but far more IEM options than before. However, I'd prefer not to be particularly isolated. And I don't have much to spend (well, unless I sell the HD580...). Anyone in a similar situation have wisdom to offer? Thanks!

Edited by David Mitchell - 1/25/13 at 3:43pm

Yeah, the isolation has its pros and cons. Their are a few good earbud options-I had to get some for my brother, as he hates the feeling of IEMs. Got him some Yuin PK3s, but those a miles away from the HD580s. I don't know of any really high end earbuds. Unfortunately, non-sealing earbuds/IEMs tend to lack bass. You could find some tips for IEMs that don't seal so hard, but then you get awful SQ and zero bass. Their may be some tips that seal but don't isolate so much.

As a fellow HD580 owner, not much you could go earbud-wise. If you don't mind shallow seal IEMs, we could go from there. Betas are sort of analgous in terms of tonality, obviously not an exact match, and bass is more emphasized ($40, can't complain). A budget range would help narrow things down as well.

*double post (mobile platform..), might just use it for the responses I had lined up earlier.
Edited by TwinQY - 1/25/13 at 6:35pm

 

I have to choose between hearing my surroundings and hearing bass, I take it. Bleh.

 

I looked at the Yuin earbuds at Headroom's site; the PK1 looks pretty nice (though I have no idea how it compares to the HD580), but it's on up there, price-wise.

 

I have no IEM experience so far, so I don't know what I mind. :) I've been poking around and wonder if I should just buy a pair of the Monoprice IEMs to experiment with, and for some basis of comparison.

 

Betas—is that the IEM from Brainwavz?

 

My price range is probably under $50 or $60 unless I do sell the HD580 (or, actually, one of them, since I have a pair both at home and at the office).

Yep, the Brainwavz. 8320s would be a good entry sound-wise (more like the K701 rather than the Senns, always good to try new things though ), but keep in mind that the fit is pretty atroious for IEM standards. The housings and nozzle are huge, and may have wept tears of blood trying to get them to seal. So maybe aim for something more universal like the E10/30. GR06s would be the go-to for HD580-like mids.

Most of these won't isolate too much, especially if you roll the right tips.

Anyone have experience with the aiaiai capital? I should expect they've fixed the problem with them not sealing well.

Didn't notice a problem with seal. Only complaint is that they're still too dark and claustrophobic like the rest of the line up. Honestly felt like I was listening to the same sound sig but slightly improved as I moved up. They might be some of the darkest phones I've heard. The antithesis to treble sparkle.

Build and style get the highest points though. Defines smexy.

That bad eh. Is there a sense of bass and midrange detail? I actually prefer a darker sounding headphone, the px100ii being one of my favorites

They'd still be a tad dark even next to the Senns. Don't get me wrong, I like dark, but details get glossed over more often than not. Push the top up with a liberal splash of EQ, and you notice that actual detail levels are only decent, not amazing. Mids are smooth, nothing to cry home about, but fairly competent. Bass is a bit slower compared to say the M80s. They have a fairly clean background, not a lot of grain, which is always welcome. Sort of if the Momentums were tipped more to the bass and treble was shelved even more.

The ones to suffer from all this the least would be the TMA-1. Use whichever pads that stiffle treble the least, +3-4dB of Eq, and they make for an extremely non-fatiguing portable set. For that niche, the sound works, just be prepared though.

IF monetary budget is less important in consideration but has to be best value for money (because, let's be frank, it's not too tough even for any working class to save up 1000 dollars for an earphone), what would be the best representative pair of in-ear/earbud earphone that can be worn straight down, used without any external boost(amplifiers etc), can be powered by iphones/android phones perfectly well (no weird noises, loss in SQ), belonging to top quality range in terms of sound quality that will thrill anyone introduced to it and the unique pair that one will introduce to buddies after experiencing them and suitable for all types of music, namely, pop, edm, trance, classical, orchestra, instrumental, ambient, new age, rock, oldies.
 

will be perfect if it is low fatigue for long hours of music appreciation (6-8 hrs)

i know i am asking for everything here, but isnt this the ultimate question that everyone from low to unlimited budget has in mind?
 

 

for example, <Secret Garden> is a duo/group that i will recently swear by if anyone asks me about new age/instrumental music. :)

Edited by pokpokgei - 1/26/13 at 12:01am

Wow, pretty interesting. How did you like 'em with edm like bright dubstep and trap? 

I tried them with rock, and that sucked. Then acoustic/vocals, still not very fun. I had maybe ~15% techno/trance in my library, so that was my last resort. I guess EDM fans are the core audience that they're going for.

It's an interesting perspective into the genre, a deparure from the typical v shaped techno cans. You ears start to appreciate the forgiving nature on treble heavy trance. Bass notes are as mentioned, slow, but the decay isn't overly long to make it muddy sounding. The rounded nature is...fun I would say. Still not a huge fan, especially if they can only excel in one genre, but at least it does excel at something.

Hard to link on a mobile, but the only tracks that I could distinctively remember were some really generic stuff. Boom Boom Satellites - Fogbound and Dub Me Crazy. Take the equalization on those tracks, exaggerate it even more, and boom - TMA1 tonality.

Aggh, I don't know any of these brands. Or what the right tips might be. I'm not set on having something that sounds the same as the HD580; that's just my reference. I always wanted the Etymotic ER-4, which I know has a different sound.

 

(Okay, searching tells me E10/E30 is SoundMagic and GR06 is Vsonic. So many new companies.)

 

Are there really so few good earbud options? It's hard to even search for them, because too many refer to in-ears as earbuds. I find it hard to believe this segment is so neglected. 

hey guys, ive shorlisted sennheiser hd219,203,px 100ii and jbl tempo on ear.... my budget is kinda low, around 2000-2500 INR (40$-50$) i listen to rock,rap,metal and house.

so pls tell me which ones will be the best based on comfort,portability,sound quality and value for money or if u think you of a better pair of headphones pls tell me.

thanks!

pls note that only sennheisers and cetain audio technica headphones are available