Heathrow Airport

The UE900, Sony EX1000, HF5, UM3x, CK100Pro, CK10 and Shure SE535 are great buy for these genres music

 

See, Zarim hasn't heard the UE900 (no-one really has, as they haven't even been released yet!), and the SE535 is one of the last phones I'd recommend for rock.

 

 

What specific artists do you find yourself listening to the most?

 

I have heard the UE900...  They will work for his genres.  But like Eke said, it's not available yet.  I haven't heard the SE535 though.  If you can find the W4 for the right price, it may also be worth a look as well.  I don't want to go PFE232, that's a bit expensive, I don't think you'll find them in retail too often either XD  

 

X2. All his posts are made up of gear 'recommendations' of stuff he hasn't heard. Seems he just reads others' impressions, then pawns the info off as his own advice. It's specifically contrary to the rules of conduct here on HF. Not cool at all.

 

Argh! Burn him! Burn him to ashes!!!! I'm afraid I can't help you.

 

 

Kidding :)

 

Of the earphones I've heard, the ones that stood out for rock music are:

 

Vsonic GR07 MKII - Awesome, and I mean awesome, guitar crunch and drums. Soundstage won't be as fulfilling as the others I'm about to mention though. However, this is my first choice for those artists...you probably won't find it in any airport store though.

 

Aurisonics ASG-1 v1.2 - RAW POWER, and the best soundstage I've heard in an iem. It's like you're in an orchestra hall, and your head is in the middle with sounds flying all around you. If you're a treble freak stay away, as it's a bit recessed. You won't find this in an airport store either, and the ASG-2 (a hybrid design with balanced armatures, and a dynamic driver) is on the horizon.

 

Hifiman RE272 - Beautiful mids and treble that work amazingly well with rock, but it's light on the bass. It will have more bass than you expect, but ultimately less than you want. Again, not available from an airport store (as far as I know).

 

Sennheiser IE8(0) -  Rich sound, great soundstage that puts you in the arena if it's a live recording. I personally preferred the older IE8 to the newer IE80 (as the IE80 sounded grainy to me), but a lot of people seem to like the new one so you may be one of them. DEFINITELY available in airport stores, and you should be able to try it out. Expensive though.

 

JVC FXD80 - V shaped signature with great clarity. I don't usually recommend V-shaped stuff for rock because the mids are where the guitars and vocals live, but it's so damn clear that it makes up for it in spades. Probably not available in airports. WAY cheaper than the competition, and huge bang for buck factor.

 

Overall, these are the iems I would listen to rock with

 

 

Notable mentions: Westone W4 (didn't recommend because I've only spent 20 minutes with them), and UM3X (haven't personally heard, but I heard they're good at rock).

Etymotic stuff really, really excels with rock IMO. Really satisfying guitar crunch and since they isolate like a boss, they'd be a good choice for flying. Might want to keep an eye out for the Monster Trumpets and Sony XBA-1 as well.