To conclude: My Etys are in, and I'm happy with them. Like hell. With high end variable bitrate mp3s, that is. Time to get ripping. Peace, ya'll.

Ahh, after taking my second listen and comparison between the two qualities, the differences are becoming more apparent. It's not that you can always hear one specific difference, although sometimes you can. It's more of a feel. The higher quality tracks sound fuller, more life like. The best...

XD Yeah, whenever I have under a grand in the bank I feel uncomfortable.... I now have. ****, 300 bucks.

So you guys suggested I re-rip my music collection to MP3 160kbps or variable bitrate. I was using 64 kbps wma's on my old MP3 player, and I didn't really have a problem with it, using my Grado sr80s, blasphemer that I am. Now, people have said I should use itunes or LAME to rip my music...

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/5...2006time14.jpg What kind of relation is there between "160 kbps" and having variable bitrate at "Highest". Is there ANY relation between the two? Maybe the "160 kbps" doesn't mean anything when you have variable bitrate selected. Otherwise there would be...

Is there supposed to be more than one skin in the envelope? One for the front, and one for the back, for instance? Mine only comes with one for the front of the Vision, and I'm not sure if it's supposed to be like that. Maybe the back is intended to be left open... hmm.

"And I could live with it today if I was still using poor-isolation phones during the noisy commute." I used to listen on the subway a lot with my Grado's, when I lived in Boston. Ok, one more friggin question before I sleep: Is it true that wma has better sound than mp3, meaning if I...

Thanks a lot. The help is greatly appreciated. It's 2:15 in the ****ing AM, time for sleep. ciao

Thanks, man. I have one last question. You mentioned AAC at 128, and DieInAFire mention DAC... If I can get quality like MP3-192 from something smaller, like this AAC you speak of, I'd prefer to do that. I have WAY too much music to waste space, especially with only 30 gigs on the Vision...

I have good ears, they're just untrained. After my Sennheiser 590s were stolen, and I replaced them with the grado's, I stopped scrutinizing the music so much and just tried my best to enjoy it. Nowadays I don't think about sound quality as I'm listening. I am really excited to get the Ety's...

There are actually some really well recorded albums I have that sound pretty good, even at 64 kbps, but most of my 64 kbps songs are sorta..... meh. I have some 128 kbps MP3s in my library as well, though I don't pay attention to which is which. Maybe sometimes I assume it's a better...

I currently own a pair of Grado sr80s, and I'm now the winning bidder on a pair of Etymotic er4p's. I'll be using these with the Vision:M I bought online, which should arrive soon. My music library is all in 64 kbps. I was wondering if I should change those to something with better sound...

In three months you should be able to buy it at any type of store that would sell things like that. I.E Best Buy, Circuit City. Go to a mall, and it should be there. Also, I HIGHLY suggest buying some nicer headphones to compliment the Vision: M. The Grado SR60 would be an excellent choice...

Thanks, I think I'll get two pairs, like you suggested. How large of a hole should be cut in them?

I've heard that I can buy the pads from the Sennheiser HD-414 for the Grado SR-80s... Tell me more about this, and where I can buy them. Will they improve both sound and comfort? If sound, in what way? Also, that cloth mesh protecting the drivers is abbrasive to my ears(It's either that or...

The SR-80s should arrive in the mail tomorrow, or so. Should I get the 454 pads for the 80s?

What worried me most, was that HeadRooom said they sounded muddy without an amp, unlike the 60s. Thanks much for the reasurrance. ...I can't wait!

*Bass :P

I ordered them off Amazon yesterday, reading that they where the same headphone, but with better base... Now, hearing all about the SR-60s and nothing about the SR-80s, I'm getting worried. Can someone who's used both on an ipod, or any protable(I have a Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra), ease my fears?

Now, would it be a waste of money to buy the Etymotics if I used them only with my Ipod-like contraption? With sound like that, might WMAs at 64mpbs sound like ****? Would they benefit from a headphone amp?

Could someone comment on the bass of the Etymotics? Sufficient for a basshead? I suppose it must be good, considering they're almost perfect..

About ear damage... Are there any guidelines to follow to not ruin your ears? Is it even TRUE that loud music will ruin your ears?... I've noticed that the louder I went with my Sennheisers, the better the music sounded. Hell, that's generally true for any headphone, hence people always blasting...

To start off, I'm a musician. I listen to music from many genres, but play jazz piano, more than anything else. I have a good ear for music, and tone, but I don't know how much that has to do with having "trained ears" goes, headphone wise. The first real headphones I ever owned was the...

I ordered the 590s at Amazon and they should be here in a few days. I read that they work well without an amp. Is this true? If they will work on my Nomad (like an Ipod) with no amp, will I get the full sound potential of out of the headphones?