As far as a thousand dollars goes, would a full headphone setup (amp, dac, headphone) from scratch with that budget match up to an un-amplified custom IEM like jh audio's offerings or Westone's ES5. I keep hearing stuff about how the sound quality of CIEMs is going closer to that of its...

As far as a portable rig goes, how do the closed Thunderpants that Smeggy makes paired with an amp/dac like the Fostex HP-P1 Jude uses with it compare to custom IEMs like the Westone ES5 and the JH-16 straight out of an iPod or with an amp/dac in terms of sound quality and isolation? I have a...

It seems like the Westone ES5 is getting more and more popular, as is the iPod. As far as iPod based systems go, it seems like the two best choices are the iPod Classic with the Cypher Labs Algorhythm Solo and an Amp and with the Fostex HP-P1.   So which one sounds better? The HP-P1 or the...

As far as under $1000 goes, I'm pretty sure these are as good as it gets. Now which one actually sounds better? I know a full-size open headphone should have a larger soundstage and different feel, but looking past that, which one performs better? Which one is more versatile? What are their...

I'm looking into buying a pair of Westone ES5s after reading the superb reviews written on them. I currently run my Shure SE530s off of the headphone out of an iPhone. While this isn't quite as terrible and horrific as many seem to make it out to be, it definitely isn't adequate. Any...

I've finally amassed a thousand dollars to buy a decent audio setup, but can't decide between IEMs or full size headphones. I've never owned a good pair of headphones and have been running off of my pair of Shure SE530s, an iPhone, and a decent desktop sound card. Now that I have the money to...