For the past 3 years or so, my portable rig has consisted of an iAudio X5 -> Shure SE530 IEMs.  I have been so satisfied with this rig that I stopped posting (and reading) head-fi -- it's been just the ideal setup for me and I felt no need to change it.   Unfortunately, while in the process...

All these cheapie threads have me wondering if we can go even lower...I've seen $4 headphones before. Which is the best of the absurdly cheap phones/buds/whatever? I'm willing to go to $6 if necessary.

So I was sitting in a coffeeshop today next to a couple: the guy was wearing HD280s, and the girl was wearing some cans I've never seen before, but I thought were pretty stylin'. They were closed, not very huge but circumaural, powder blue, black headband, and had a sort of retro-70's look going...

...going back to the E4s (and holy crap when I came back to the E500s, the difference in SQ was even huger!). And I think my tolerance has improved a *little*...I can probably make it 30 minutes now without getting a headache. I really want to keep the E500s...to my ears, they blow the E4s...

Hi all, I'm trying to get rockbox installed on this thing and can't for the life of me figure out what I'm doing wrong (I'm sure it's something simple, like always)...I downloaded the latest build and unzipped it to the root directory of the player's hard drive and rebooted, but the Cowon...

I've only been listening to them for a couple of hours, so this is very preliminary, but I wanted to comment on a couple things I noticed/ask whether others have found similar things. I'm coming from E4s, and the second thing I noticed is that the e500s sound NOTHING like the E4s. Really...

Oh noes! But I've been so happy with my E4s for, like, over a year! Ahh well...the E500 sounds too good to pass up. My one question (which I'm sure has been addressed, but which my lazily-read search results did not yield the answer to): can the E500 be worn straight-in, Ety-style? I almost...

I know that it's been said before that there is no performance improvement with IEMs due to burn-in, but I just wanted to check and see if that's still the accepted wisdom. I've had my new Shure E4s for about a month, and I have to say that I was very lukewarm to them the first two weeks or so I...

...E3s (which I like), so if possible, please use those as a point of comparison, but I also currently own the E2s, and have owned E5s and er4ps. I *like* the Shure sound, and prefer it, on the whole, to the Etymotic sound. So...first question -- how is the synergy between the Super.Fis / E4s...

I know that all the buzz right now is focused on the Nano, but with SQ questions still unresolved, I decided to purchase a 1GB Shuffle for the gym. I had briefly listened to a friend's Shuffle before making the purchase, so I felt pretty comfortable that it would sound ok, but I just wanted to...

I am getting a new hd mp3 player to replace my iPod photo. I'm thinking about going back to an iRiver iHP-1xx, but I'm also considering an iAudio X5. So here's my question: for those of you who have heard the iRiver iHP-1xx AND the iAudio X5 AND either the iPod or Zen Xtra, does the X5 sound...

...there which fulfills my criteria? Here they are: -1.8" drive (no 2.5" behemoths) -Voice Recording capabilities -File-Tree Organization -Good, *present*, musical sound (I very much liked the sound of the iRiver, by contrast, I dislike the iPod Photo's rather thin, unmusical presentation)...

...is being shipped to the manufacturer for repair" or whatever. I have called their toll-free number on at least 4 occasions over the weeks -- they *never* have live people to talk to, and they never return my calls when I leave detailed messages. Back in the old days, I sent the iHP-140 in...

I have to say, I'm a bit disappointed. My iHP-140 crapped out on me about 4 weeks ago...I have an extended warranty and sent the iRiver in for repair, but it's taking them for bleeping ever to fix it, and the lack of portable music was driving me insane, so I decided to spring for an iPod Photo...

I know this has been discussed, but I thought I would poll for opinions again on the Darth Beyer upgrade to my 770-80s. Specifically, I am interested in a) how much the midrange improves and b) how much the highs are tamed. Bass is fine in the Beyers, but the midrange definitely leaves something...

I haven't blown any money on headphones in a while, so I'm thinking about buying some e3s. I've done some research on here, and they sound like a potentially good match for me, but there are a lot of conflicting opinions. Here's what I've thought of the canalphones I have owned so far: E2Cs...

So I got a Super Mini Moy last week to power some DT770/80s. The 770/80s just arrived yesterday, so I'm still getting used to their sound, but I have been playing around with the SMM powering my old AKG K240Ms and Shure E2s as well. What I've discovered is that the SMM does a fantastic job at...

...I currently have a pair of E5s which I have been listening to for the past week, and I feel that in some ways, the E2 + SMM combination compares *very* favorably to unamped E5s. The bass really tightens up but also goes lower, sibilance is reduced substantially, and the soundstage is 10x...

I'm thinking about getting a 20-gig HDD-based mp3 player for my girlfriend for christmas. I have an iHP-140 myself, and I know she likes that, so ideally I'd like to get her a iHP-120. My budget, however, is $175-200, and I haven't been able to find an iHP-120 for that price, even used. I've...

Ever notice how in this forum, in every thread, no matter what the problem is (or even if there is a problem at all), someone always recommends getting new/better/generally 10x more expensive equipment? Just posting to say you like the bass of your Sony earbuds? "Forget those and get some...

Sigh...I knew this day would come. I mean, I've been pretty slack about putting all my music on here, but I've reached the point where it's no longer even close to a possibility. I have less than 500MB free on my 40GB player, and like 700MB ready to be uploaded... iRiver needs to hurry up and...

I've noticed again and again, both from my own experience and also from what others say about various headphones on this board, that the cans that Headroom says are great tend to be really sterile-sounding, treble-heavy headphones. Lots of examples of this, but the most recent is the posting of...

I've had these phones for coming up on a year now, and I love them to death, but I've recently started having a problem with them: the foamies just don't seem to last more than about a week before they start losing isolation and bass (clearly due to seal problems). I've tried everything I can...

The Sennheiser website lists these cans as having a 1.5 meter (around 6 feet) cable. Headroom, however, lists them as having a 10 foot cable. Which is it?

...tons of new foamies all the time, so I'm thinking about getting some regular headphones to break up the monotony. Here is what I am looking for: * Portable. I'm used to a setup that fits in a pocket (iHP-140 + Shure E2C). Something not much bigger than this would be the ideal size, but I'm...