Buying portable or in-ear headphones? Seeking guidance? DON'T START A NEW THREAD. Ask for advice... - Page 180

Hey all-

Looking to replace my Shure SCL3s. I love the clarity of the SLC3s, they're the best IEMs I've ever owned. I previously had Shure SE110s and they didn't compare in quality or comfort.

Unfortunately my SCL3's are on their last legs...they go out and are spotty (which is incredibly annoying). I've been trying to find a suitable replacement, but so far nothing I'm happy with. I won't go back to the SE110s. I purchased Klipsch X10s and didn't like them. They sounded ok, but weren't nearly as good at isolation as the Shures SCL3s with the foam tips and the cord noise was unbearable - louder than the music while walking.

I also tried Klisch Image S4 and was unimpressed. They didn't sound great, they didn't have anything like the clarity of the Shure SCL3s. I'm sure some of the Shure's appear is from the good seal I get with the black foam tips.

So, no I'm at a loss. I don't really want to spend more than $100 if I can avoid it.

I'm considering the MEElectronics A161P...maybe I'm just attracted to them because they look similar to the Shure SCL3s.

I think I prefer the sound from balanced armature over dynamic drivers...I really like the clarity.

Any suggestions?

I listen to a wide spectrum of music - rock, indie, classical, jazz, alt country.

Neat, like amazon for india.  Go with the KSC75s to start at least, for your purposes.

I bought a pair of the Klipsch x10s for the Black Friday sale and will be returning them as I do not really like what they're offering. Not enough bass, mids/highs feel muddy at times and everything feels too relaxed for my liking. I guess this means that I'm really looking for a fun pair of headphones with lots of musicality ( not sure if thats the right term?) 

I'm looking for a pair of headphones (IEMs or cans, whichever have the best sound quality for the money) that have the following qualities:

Bass- I think that I'm somewhat of a basshead, I'm not sure though as I am new to the high-end headphone market but I definitely want a very good amount of bass, tight and thumping (especially in metal with things double bass pedals and the like). I really want to feel the bass. Not just listen to it (which is what it felt like with the x10s)

Mids/Highs- Clear and crisp mids and sparkling highs are probably quite important for metal.  I'm not too sure how else to describe this category as I am new and my vocabulary is limited. When it comes down to it, clarity and excitement is what I'm looking for here. I know that theres probably not a pair in my price range that will give me everything I want but there has to be some sort of sweet spot right?

I do listen to older metal on occasion (Iron Maiden, Metallica, etc.) but am mostly into death metal like Children of Bodom/ Between the Buried and Me/ Dreamshade/ Veil of Maya and recently even some metalcore such as August Burns Red/ Parkway Drive (these bands especially are where I love the deep impactful double bass pedals). Besides that, I listen to a lot of rap/hip hop also so bass is a must there obviously too.

I'd like to stay below 400 at the maximum, a little lower would be good. But I'm willing to dish out a little extra if it's really needed. A few I've seen mentioned are the GR07/TF10/Westone 4 for IEMS and ATH-M50, HD-25's, and a few others. (I've heard that cans give a better sound quality, is this true?) I definitely lean towards a V-shape/fun sounding headphone. I've also tried the Monster turbine golds and they sounded pretty good, would like a step up from there though.

Also- I'm definitely open to buying a cheap amp if it makes sound quality that much better.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Could someone recommend an over the ear set of iems similar to price/SQ of the monoprice these were mentioned a few times: http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Flexible-Headphones-SHS3200-28/dp/B003CJTR82/ref=pd_sim_e_2   

Also how is it possible to setup this mic   (  http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-Zm-Mic1-Sensitivity-Headphone-Microphone/dp/B00029MTMQ?tag=hardfocom-20    )  with the monoprice IEMS on a cell phone?  

I am in the UK, but not on the mainland hence the huge difficulty in demoing anything.

Thanks Inline79! I pulled the trigger on MC5 for $55....reading about the JVC HA-FX40...lots of great reviews..wow!>....but will they be good for jazz music?

a neutral sound?...also reading people recommend an insance burn-in of 150hours...thinking of ordering them to take on my long flight WITH the MC5 for testing

...are there some tips I should get which are better than all the ones coming with the MC5?...are there tips that improve the JVC HA-FX40?

I have been lurking for awhile.  I am having the hardest time purchasing my first pair of good cans.  I am having such a hard time based on how I will be using my headphones.  For the cans I have narrowed down I can get them all for $60 or less (some used).

Usage

1)  MP3 player and PC - must be able to be driven by these

2)  Wearing while walking the dog, sitting at my desk at work, and at the gym (lifting weights) - like the idea of not having a 10 ft cord 

Priorities

1) Comfort - I wear glasses so must be comfortable with glasses

2) Outside Isolation -  I really want cans that isolate outside noise so that I do not have to crank the volume up when outside.  I already have tinitus (ringing in the ears) and im on in my early 30's =(

3) Sound  - obvisouly I want great sound with my other two priorities meet

So far I have narrowed down my list which i can find for about $60 for all.

1) CAL! - Creative Aurvana Live!  $60 

2) JVC HA-S500 $58 ( read through the 313 page appreciation thread)

3) Sony MDRZX700  - $56

4) AKG K81DJ -$33

   hmmm... i was actually looking for on ears, with the headband kinda design, are these good for rock,metal, electronica and rap?

i might have described the treble on xcape ie wrongly, let me try again. on the xcape ie, all of of the highest pitch sounds (orchestra) comes on and sound a little short, disappearing quickly before the point/pitch where a listener will expect it to reach before moving on to the next sound. i've only had this and the panasonic for comparison and on the panasonic it seems to reach that height/pitch/point for the high note before fading out naturally to the next sound in the song.

oh and i left out movie OSTs in my musical preference, most of these music are called 'epic mixes' on youtube. not sure what genre these belong to, maybe cinematic rock?

are the re-262s warmer than the 252s? i see in other thread the 252 is categorized as analytical while the 262 is under the list of warm earphones. also will the 262 run from iphone (without amp) if i buy it since it has impedance of 150 ohms which seems huge in earphones, not saying that i already want the 262 but just out of curiosity. 

 

listening to the black eyed peas song <boom boom pow>, the panasonic earphone can actually produce throbbing bass, not sure if it's basshead level kind of bass i am experiencing here but it sure sounds natural and nice. oh yes 1 more thing, i REALLY love the sound of violin. :)

could i be a mini basshead without myself knowing?, if i am, it probably spells trouble wanting bass and good violin sounds on top of overall natural sound. lol it will be a big joke if i try a couple more earphones in the future only to find this pair of cheapo badly abused panasonic earphone to be the best i always wanted. it will be such a big joke, i dare not imagine further. :l 

also, very important to explain is that whenever i use the word 'natural sounding' in music, i mean the natural sound you normally hear from external speakers like 5.1 setup home theatre system, that sort of natural. and i think this kind of natural that most people are used to might be very different from the sound signature of neutral in-ear earphones as i read (from ClieOS's link) that sound emitted by all in-ear earphones (including those with neutral frequency response) do not interact with the surrounding much before hitting our eardrums and thus it might sound very different from the 'natural sounding' most people are used to from external speakers. 

whenever i say natural, the sound i am seeking is the kind similar to the ones i hear in home theatre systems and such.

sorry if i have to post the article of another user here, as i think his words and referencing best explains what i agree with to a large extent. and i think this is the kind of earphones that i have been looking for. http://www.inearmatters.net/2008/12/neutral-vs-natural-thought.html

correct me if i am wrong. now i am trying to visualise my preferences in the form of a frequency response curve. the sound signature i am looking for is probably best described as a 'balanced' profile. with good, fast bass just slightly below basshead/bass focused earphones and better bass than warm/sweet earphones. mids should be above average and that will probably translate to slightly forward. treble has to be sparkly but i cannot accept any sibilance as it is the most annoying and undesirable. the visual picture in mind is a U shape, not V, since i do not want recessed mids. recessed mids will make the whole listening experience sound non realistic or live i presume. and slightly forward mids probably help me to hear the details better which i suppose will be a pleasing experience in terms of musicality? (correct me if wrong)

 

probably what i need will be a bigger bass than the curve in the graph above. treble wise i do not know how to gauge from the graph but it has to be nice, natural, sparkly just before anything hits sibilance regardless of the type of genre of music played and of course it also must not overpower the mids which is where all the vocals and most of the music is. i see that the mids in the graph are above the 0 line, and i interpret that as slightly forward. of course all of these layman explanation and interpretation of graphs are from my non audiophile user experience, writing in length hoping that you can understand what i really want and open to your correction and professional opinion. :)

i read that the re252s are also lacking in bass although generally balanced sounding and specially good due to the silicon interaction with the ear, maybe assisted through bone/tissue conduction. from what i try to interpret of my own preferences above, maybe what i really like isn't the phonak or re252, 262 kind of sound signature as i presume all of them lack 'natural sounding' bass that i like. looking forward to your recommendation here.

if the above opinions still do not change your recommendations, considering all the phonaks (including the ones you didn't list, 232, 022,122,012 etc) and the re262, re252, are you still saying that the hifiman re252 should be the most suited for my preference? because i found a place to buy the re252 for 100 dollars. :) 

also what do you think of the sony xba-3 and their iphone version? i just read minutes ago on this forum that they are 'dynamic sounding' balanced armatures with good clarity? and detail and soundstage (though i still dont really know what soundstage feels like, my interpretation is the 3d/2dness of sound but i hope soundstage and separation are two different matters as i hope it isnt that overly exaggerated separation of vocals and instrument in terms of distance that i heard on the sunrise xcape impressive edition) and some reviews say the treble is metallic sounding, probably from the spike in impedance at 8k Hz frequency? also i am worried if the xba 3 are muddled in vocals/mids, as the xcape ie already sounds a little veiled, i don't think i can accept anything that is veiled since you also pointed out that i am sensitive to timbre of instruments. how do you think the xba3 will compare against the xcape ie?


can't thank you enough for your patience.

You can get KSC75 with headband.  KTXPro1 or Sportapro.