HD-25 and amperior. The best when it comes to portable on the ear HPs with a great mid bass hump and isolation. Soundstage isnt great though, More suitable for rock, metal and bass heavy music. Your other best alternative is V-Moda M80s if you're looking for a slightly open sounding phone with...

Good decision. You can consider a used one. These age bautifully...hardly have any wear and tear so why not pay less for one which has gone through the burn in and has hours behind them.

hd-25s do rock and metal better. I was in the same dilemma along with a friend of mine who got m-80. I auditioned hd-25s after that as I had a benchmark of how m-80s sounded. hd-25 drivers have the right pace, attack, mid bass hump, timing that you need for rock and metal. I find it better than...

I've developed a special bond with these IEMs. I've put in 18 hrs, 7 days a week on an average at work over the last one year and I've spent more time with these phones than with friends, family, hobbies. I've recently gotten over this phase and moved into a new role at work. Throughout the...

May come down to the genre your listen to. For rock/metal, signature of hd/25 is a better conductor. For accoustic. ambient, classical and others could be preferred. You could chose amperior for both. It took me 30 mts of listening to amperior and thinking really hard to decide it wasnt worth it...

Just to also add...my biggest disappointment was...For the price, 'no pleather pads' included in the package, which on the hd-25 makes the presentation a bit more forward and aggressive compared to the velour pads. And it's great to have both these to keep switching as and when you wish. My...

I have had the hd-25 1 ii for the last few months. After reading this thread, I had made up my mind to get the Amperior, no matter what. I live in Oxford, UK and we dont have Apple retail store in our town. The closest place I figured would have a store was Reading where I took a train to...

But the OP is looking for portability....K550 is not suitable for that while the isolation though is best in class for home use, again not ideal for when on commute.

There is none which meets your criteria of portability, sound quality and isolation. It's Hd-25-1 ii. These are gems. I have compared the isolation of these with some real good passive sound blocking IEMs and they come closest when compared to any other open/closed on ear or over the ear...

Starting from ground zero and looking at first real IEM purchase couple of months back, I was sold on the GR07. My friend has it and lent it to me for a few weeks. I absolutely loved everything about it. A non intrusive neutral sound which did drums really well. This was important for me as I am...

amp not required...easy to drive though you have to raise the volume couple of notches over when compared to JVC FXT90s.  But I am sure an amp will positively influence the overall SQ, but definitely not a 'must have'.

I agree. Progressive Rock/Metal sounds excellent on EPH-100. They have the right kind of sound signature for bands like Rush, Liquid Tension Experiment, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Dream Theatre...due to it's above average instrument seperation and quality of bass. On extremely congested metal...

Quote: In my experience, it will be hard to get an optimal fit right the first time. It's all trial and error till you figure out what works...you can have 2-3 different stock tip sizes work for you..but what I recommend is...go for the one which is 'large enough; to give you a good...

To Miow's credit, a lot of things he's said, have unfolded with time...For eg: EPH-100 sounding better on the default sansa player compared to rockbox is so true on sansa clip 2 atleast. Another point was how the treble quality changes and growing on you from loathe to like and love over a...

Quote: 'Better', not as subdued as it were brand new. On the other hand, my FXT90s have amazing treble with a very rounded bass...but it definitely causes fatigue quite quickly with its agressive delivery. You have to be in the FXT90 mood to handle its agressive sound. EPH-100 is quite...

Quote: That's exactly what I'm surprised about too. Treble on mine is getting with every 20 hr block that goes by....80 hrs down the line into mine....huge improvement from 'out of box'. People are definitely in on a surprise when they discover how much this aspect changes along with the...

Quote:   I did read about these  tips few times on the thread. Not sure anyone managed to get these and comment on them yet? They do look comfortable but I've really gotten used to the stock tips now. I've had these on for the last 5 hrs in a stretch. No discomfort or pain. I think I had...

Quote: Works differently for me though. Going down a size and compromising on the seal makes the sound quality and isolation below average for me.

Quote:   It took me a week to get the best possible fit and painless too. Do you use the stock tips or any other?  I am with you on againt buying a high-end anytime soon. I think this is as good as it gets in this price range...and there's a lot of juice left in it's signature to be...

This thread has turned into a reality show for sure.. What I see here is also what I witness at my work place, every single day with everyone wanting to be a rockstar, endlessly arguing and emphasising over the same point, which itself is pointless...and no one seems to get that.   But then...

  This is a good track to test the sound stage on eph-100 or any other IEM for that matter.

Quote: Oh 'Burn in' exists. My ears aint BS me with the two phones I got recently with very vivid memory of how they sounded 'out of box' vs now. It just can't all be psychological.

Quote: Add ''Conditioning" as a burn-in to the list as well.The kinda feeling that makes you go...'Well, I've been an ass to lighten my wallet to satisfy my insatiable need for 'the best' out there. Now while I've got these, let me make me the most of 'em and live with the choice I made'...

Quote: I agree mate! Mindset change required. I am going to stick to what I have for sometime to come before any vertical/horizontal/backward jumps. Ok...just want to share where I feel 80 quid went on these:   20£ on 'Bad Horsie' - Steve Vai:         Another 20£ on YYZ...

. These things are melting the wax in my ears(darn).  I've finally found the right size of tips(stock) which works perfectly for me...but the process of getting has here has left my ears sore and during the process there have been times, when I didnt get the same quality I heard earlier due to...