One last question, does anybody know where to get the K553 for less than $195 in the US? It looks like Amazon usually carries it for $169, but is currently sold out, and previously there have been massdrops for as low as $129.    $195 isn't totally out of my price range, but maybe there is...

One related question, are all open headphones about the same in terms of sound leakage, or are some better than others? I've heard that Beyerdynamics (DT990 and DT880 for example) are semi-open, and have less sound leakage than the 598s?   I also see that the K7XX are on massdrop for $199...

Ok, this looks quite promising on first inspection -- will need to keep looking around, but they seem to be compared quite favorably with the 598.   Thanks!

I almost convinced myself to get the 598s, but then stopped at the last minute because I'm worried about sound leakage. I work in a pretty quiet office with one office mate, who sits about 8 feet away. I usually listen to music at pretty low volumes, but am worried it will be too bothersome for...

Just as a point of comparison, is there a closed-back or semi-open back headphone setup that is similar in sound (especially for classical/jazz/soft rock) to the 598s?

I ordered them, and then of course panic cancelled, due to concerns about leakage - maybe I just need to go and find a pair and listen to how bad it actually is. My officemate is 8 feet away in a room with some ambient fan noise, but not much.....    Thanks for the help - I will quit torturing...

The thing holding me back is the discussion that the soundstage on the 900X is much larger, which would be nice for classical, but maybe it is too much?

Purpose: Will stay at work, might move from work to home on weekends?   Music Choices: Wide Variety, but a decent amount of classical music, especially at work. Not a fan of really heavy bass. I tend to like precise headphones.    Environment: Quiet office with one office mate. He usually...

Sorry to bump -- is there not a set of headphones around that will achieve these goals? Should I be looking in some other direction?

Buying some headphones for my wife for Christmas, looking for something with the following qualities:   1.) Noise Isolating (She works in an office with 20 people in it, this is the major reason she wants new headphones, because low quality ones don't block the sound).   2.) No Amp (She's...

Hi All,   Thanks again for your help! Got the CK10's on Friday (~38 hour shipping from Hong Kong!)   The sound is terrific (though it's the first pair of headphones over $50 i've ever listened to, so it's hard to compare -- for anybody looking at this as a comparisons threads).  ...

Ended up going with the ATH-CK10....will take awhile to arrive - hopefully in time for a long flight early next month.    Thanks for all your help! ~Lyuokdea

So - I think the final decision is between the ER-4PT and the CK10 - the best prices I have come up with are $220 for the ER-4PT and $270 for the CK10 (I'm pretty locked into buying via ebay, cause I have gift cards).   A few final questions to help guide my decision:   1.) How much do I...

This is certainly a very difficult decision - can anybody explain what the differences between the etymotic hf5 and er-4p are? I'm a little confused what the previous poster means about tuning.   Thanks, ~Lyuokdea

what do you mean by specially tuned? Is this for left/right matching? or for frequency response? How big is the difference?   Does it still have the ridiculous isolation of etymotics?   Thanks!   ~Lyuokdea    

Thanks for all the help everybody - it's still a tough decision, it seems. Can anybody suggest a site to get the best prices from?   Thanks, ~Lyuokdea

Quote:   Not a problem  - outside opinions are great, are there any details about these that make them specifically good for my preferences? The Multi-IEM review here rates them to have very average isolation, which is why I am worried.   Thanks, ~Lyuokdea    

Sweet - thanks for the info. In that case, it sounds like I shouldn't worry about native isolation so much, and should really think about my preferred sound signature, and the price point.   I've seen listing prices on here saying that the etymotics are cheaper than the others ($169 gets...

Cool - thanks for the info.   So how exchangable are tips between different headphones? Can I buy the triple flange tips listed above, hook them into a CK10 or Xcape, and get the same isolation I would get from the ER-4PT? If I buy a ER-4PT and don't like the triple flange - could I add...

Oh really - that's good to know. So you can plug the CK10 into the Etymotic Research ER20? Or am I reading you wrong?   Sorry for the newbie comment, but I'm kind of new at IEMs.   Thanks! ~Lyuokdea

Thanks for the information -- it's good to know that the microphonics aren't as bad as some have commented. I definitely don't plan to be running with these or anything. Probably just desk work and planes.    I have not used tri-flange protection before, and it looks like they are a bit too...

  I'm a newbie to nice headphones (I've owned a Sennheiser CX-250, but that's about it). But I've been getting into the sound system thing a little bit (I now own an Infinity Beta 50 based 7.1 sound system). I'm looking for good headphones in the $50-$250 range (but could push it a little...