With some EQ, these things can sound decent; however there is way too much leakage in that 100-500hz range where it just sounds muddy out of the box.  These things take fairly well to EQ, so you should come close to the sound you're looking for with these if you're willing to put in the work...

  My opinion on the eq5 is the opposite, they aren't bassy enough with the mids overemphasized for my liking.  Some eq settings got these things sounding great though, so no worries!

Welp, just got my set of eq5's in today.  Using a flat EQ, they seem almost etymoticy in sound with the mids overemphasized.  Awesome sound stage, might even be better than my old SE530s.  On that topic, the top end doesn't roll off nearly as badly as the SE530s, which is nice. But the low end...

I can't find these E-Q8's on either ortofon.jp or ortofon.us.  Are they discontinued already?  I do see a set up for sale on eBay for $420   I'm only curious about these because I just bought a set of e-Q5s NIB for $150 shipped.  

Quote: Originally Posted by hyyam85 how does ipod classic compared to cowon d2 in terms of SQ? cowon D2s drive headphones so much better than any ipod i've ever used... and I've owned a 1G mini, 5G classic and 3G nano. FLAC support, true drag and drop, and SD expandability are...

How about the Sony MDR-EX71 or 81? They can be had for less than $50 online. Deep bassy earphones with decent mids and highs. Very under-the-radar, but give them a shot.

Go to the airport tech store (airport wireless) to demo the high end stuff. If you're nice and the managers there, they can cut down the price for you too. Also check out inmotion at the airport, they have all the ultimate ears phones and archos players at reasonable prices, if again, you ask...

Wow... no love for Shure earphones here at all... Although for the $150+/- pricepoint, the sf5p is probably your best choice. I hate the fit of UEs with a passion though. Consider the Klipsch custom-2's if you can go over $150 a little. VERY comfortable, admirable performance, plenty of bass...

You really have to try hard to make SE530s distort. They take well to EQ adjustments better than any IEM i've ever tried.

The SE420s have nearly the same quality mids of the SE530, but due to the lack of the third driver, it just doesn't sound as full. The low end is present in the 420s and isn't necessarily missing, its just... eh. For the cost of the SE420s, I'd either spend more and get the 530s or look into...

My backup cans are starting to give me a headache... (super.fi 5 eb) I might just return them. They sound like a lot of noise and no quality. Before really getting into the high-end stuff, I was a bass head, I would attempt to attach a big sub to almost any output source possible, but either...

They are head and shoulders above the black olives or silicone tips for sound quality. The only drawback to them is they get dirty quickly and eventually don't expand anymore. If you can afford SE530s, you can afford the foamies for the best sound! FYI, I've "rented" a set of E4Gs from where...

the Klipsch Image has a nice easy fit, but the sound quality is not worth $350 dollars. Go with the Shure SE530.

Quote: Originally Posted by Asr The new Klipsch IMAGE merits serious consideration! I really enjoy mine, they're eartastic! Every time I listen, it's like getting a little slice of their ProMedia v.2-400! They sound very similar to UE's TF10... without the crystal clear highs...

I just received my HD555 this morning. After leaving it on close to max volume for 10 hours while I was at work, I finally gave it a test run. Sadly, on my hip-hop and trance selections, the low-end bass was a bit of a disappointment. Granted, I was running it unamped through my PC line-in, but...