[Runawayk]

Ok so I am totally new to the audiophile scene. I recently bought a pair of sennheiser pxc350's but decided that an IEM is better suited for me. I'm going to college soon, and I'm looking for something that will isolate well so i can ignore my roommate when I want to. If I can hear anything except unusual noises while the music is on, then I'm not interested. I'm going to return the Senns, which means that my price range is preferably $250 or so. I also don't plan on purchasing any sort of amp or other hardware to supplement the new phones. I'm hoping this one expense will be enough to keep me happy for a good while. I'll be using these with an iPod (gasp! i bought it 6 years ago, give me a break) and on my computer/laptop.

I listen almost entirely to rock, alternative, and acoustic. That doesn't mean I don't appreciate bass though. I don't want overpowering bass, just well defined. The Senns I have were a great improvement over my 30 dollar Sony IEMs, but I prefer the portability of IEMs. I've spent days looking on these forums but there's too much information for my rudimentary understanding of the audiophile world, which is why I'm asking ya'll.

To sum up my priorities
1) Price
2) Rock acclimation/sound stage
3) Isolation/comfort
4) Durability or replacement coverage (although i try to take care of my electronics)
Thanks for any advice

 

[Rip N' Burn]

The Klipsch Image X10 can be purchased for $185.60 from Electronica Direct. You can get the Shure SE530 for around $250 used. Both of them sound excellent with rock and isolate very well. When it comes to comfort, the X10 gets the advantage. Good luck with whatever you purchase

 

[karthur]

Hands down the best for rock for the price are the Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10s (with comply foam tips I might add). I consider those to be the Grados of the IEM world.

 

[qusp]

^^ hands down hey; well if asked to put my hand up if TF10 were the best rock IEM I would definitely have my hands down. grados are mid-centric also; and TF10 are recessed in the mids IME, with extended bass and highs. best IEM for your purposes IMO would be SE530 if you can handle buying used. but true enough, the X10 are very good and extremely comfortable (not that SE530 are any slouch in this department either.) You also might consider the Sennhieser IE7; the little brother of the IE8, the IE7 is much more balanced and has better isolation because of the smaller size. the cable is also made with a kevlar sleeve, so very tough and durable.

 

[mark2410]

N.B. the IE7 does not have better isolation than the IE8, if anything a fraction worse

triples or 530 would both work well for what you want, id recommend the 530 more but it just depends on what sort of sound sig ur after

 

[karthur]

Quote:

Originally Posted by qusp /img/forum/go_quote.gif ^^ hands down hey; well if asked to put my hand up if TF10 were the best rock IEM I would definitely have my hands down. grados are mid-centric also; and TF10 are recessed in the mids IME, with extended bass and highs. best IEM for your purposes IMO would be SE530 if you can handle buying used. but true enough, the X10 are very good and extremely comfortable (not that SE530 are any slouch in this department either.) You also might consider the Sennhieser IE7; the little brother of the IE8, the IE7 is much more balanced and has better isolation because of the smaller size. the cable is also made with a kevlar sleeve, so very tough and durable.

I think it is well established on these forums that the SE530s are muddier and more quantity in the bass department than the TF10 (probably due to having too much low-mid)..the TF10 is tight, textured and detailed in the Bass dept, just what you want with Rock IMO...So in that regard the TF10 is like a Grado. The mids are not as good (the shure signature sound) but my personal preference for rock is to turn down the mids!....and the highs well...TF10 is leaps and bounds above the SE530 for highs and that is also comparable to every Grado I have tried. For me the SE530 is more soft and refined...like a Senn HD650....the TF10 is more in your face, percussion stands out....like with Grados....I guess that is what I like about Rock...explosive percussion and rhythm (I am a Muse fan). For me, the TF10 wins, by far...for rock.

 

[mark2410]

lol, pick either im sure you would love both of them before this gets into a "omg your so wrong!!!!" thread

 

[vcw]

You can get the IE8 for under $250,

I just bought mine a couple weeks ago.

 

[qusp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by karthur /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think it is well established on these forums that the SE530s are muddier and more quantity in the bass department than the TF10 (probably due to having too much low-mid)..the TF10 is tight, textured and detailed in the Bass dept, just what you want with Rock IMO...So in that regard the TF10 is like a Grado. The mids are not as good (the shure signature sound) but my personal preference for rock is to turn down the mids!....and the highs well...TF10 is leaps and bounds above the SE530 for highs and that is also comparable to every Grado I have tried. For me the SE530 is more soft and refined...like a Senn HD650....the TF10 is more in your face, percussion stands out....like with Grados....I guess that is what I like about Rock...explosive percussion and rhythm (I am a Muse fan). For me, the TF10 wins, by far...for rock.

LOL: how many cliches do you want to put in one post.

no comment other than that

turn down the mids for rock whaaa??? also grados have pretty grainy highs IME.. hmm I suppose that fits LOL. later

 

[qusp]

how did they manage to get worse isolation than IE8 from what I read they are rotten isolating (havent heard them) but tried my friends IE7 briefly, not long enough to form an opinion though.

 

[mark2410]

Quote:

Originally Posted by qusp /img/forum/go_quote.gif how did they manage to get worse isolation than IE8 from what I read they are rotten isolating (havent heard them) but tried my friends IE7 briefly, not long enough to form an opinion though.

becasue they stuck great big vents on the top of them

 

[karthur]

Quote:

Originally Posted by qusp /img/forum/go_quote.gif LOL: how many cliches do you want to put in one post. no comment other than that turn down the mids for rock whaaa??? also grados have pretty grainy highs IME.. hmm I suppose that fits LOL. later

LOL I couldn't find any cliches. Yes, I always EQ/turn down the mids (vocal/guitar range) otherwise I find it can sound hollow and cheap (the sound of cheap headphones) with rock music. To me, without any EQ, rock sounds great on both my TF10s and my Alessandro MS2s (or other comparable Grados) and not quite as good on my old SE500s (sold a while ago) and my Senn HD650s, or my ATH-ESW9s.

This is how I'd rate them for rock (yes I know I'm mixing IEMs with Full-size).

MS2 > TF10 > HD650 > SE500 > ATH-ESW9.

Of course everyone has their own opinion, this is my experience..

 

[Runawayk]

I think I've narrowed it down to either the TF10 or IE8. I found the Senns online for 290 and I'm willing to go that far, depending on the advantages offered. Can you PM me the link where you found them for under $250, VCW? From what I've read, the IE8s have a better sound stage, but how do they compare in isolation? I have no idea what 26 dB of isolation sounds like (or doesn't sound like, right?) Oh and as far as fit goes, I'm fairly certain I have medium to large ear canals, based on the sizes of the cheap sony silicon tips I've used. Oh and please keep in mind that I'm hoping for an unamped comparison.

 

[Rip N' Burn]

With 26 db, you won't be able to completely ignore your roomate. You will probably want to modify tips to get better isolation or just crank up the music

 

[mark2410]

triples isolate better

unamped the IE8 sound (to me) rather better than the triples but then ive never been much of a fan of the triples