[sproule17]

Quote:

I'm pretty sure the IE8 has the strongest bass by far especially when it's tuned (there's a screw on each earphone you can turn using the included screwdriver to adjust the bass) to the max. So those would be right up your alley. Even on the minimum setting, the IE8 had too much bass for me, but I'm not really a bass lover.
 
Trillian's avatar is of a pair of Ultimate Ears customs. If you want a pair of customs with strong bass, you have the Ultimate Ears UE11 and the Jerry Harvey JH16 to choose from, but since both of those will easily run you over a thousand dollars I would humbly suggest the IE8.

 
Jesus christ, just had a look at those Jerry Harveys!!! I really wish I hadn't now, why does there have to be earphones that cost that much! that's criminal and torture, I want them so bad

 

[MikeATL]

Also, not sure where you do most of your listening but if isolation (blocking outside noise) is a concern such as on the bus/plane, at work, the gym, etc. The Westone 3's will provide a great amount of isolation, while from what I've read the IE8's don't do so well. The W3's are also very comfortable.

 

[Yggdrassilious]

Also your source is important. For example, I mainly use my iPhone 4 for portable music and thus earphones with built-in control for play/pause, volume, and microphone is much better for me than those that do not. 
 
And I sometimes sleep or nap with earphones on, so those that stick out a bit get uncomfortable when sleeping on my sides. 
 
For your price range, I'd also consider the Monster Turbine Pro Coppers, good bass, smooth mids, clear highs, do not stick out, and have in-line controls.
 
But try them out first.. because two pairs of earphones can both have "good bass and clarity" but sound drastically different, because every brand has a different background and philosophy on what is good music.
 
 

 

[papaya]

I bought W3 after trying out IE8, W3 & W4, the IE8 really excels with the bass & soundstage, nothing to compete against. There's a tuning where you can turn the bass down which i didn't know back then.
 
I tried both W3 & W4, i'm a noob with Westone so when i tried out W4 i didn't really know it's a Westone 4, though it looks identical to W3 with different logo.
 
In the end I got W3 instead I'm not sure why. Maybe the W4 i was testing wasn't fully burned in. Sounds tamer than W3 & less bright. Could just be my ear.

 

[joshuamercer]

Those are the default custom avatar.  Ultimate Ears 5 i believe, though it could be any of their custom products since you can have any color you want.  It's certainly not a universal product, though it would be awesome if the universal manufacturers made some crazy new hybrid custom/universal product that fits most ears.  I know what the problems would be, it would just be interesting if Westone or JHA could figure something out.

 

[12345142]

The IE8s with maximum bass are the only earphones that will "blow your head off if you want them to." The Turbines and W3 are for bass lovers, but the IE8 (at maximum bass) is for the most hardened bassheads.

 

[sproule17]

Thanks for all the replys guys, I phoned up advanced Mp3 and they don't have the EI8's in stock to test out, I most likely will still be getting them though and the decision is getting that hard I may have to purchase both them and Westones, not to my bank balances liking I might add, the Westones didn't appeal to me due to a review on amazon I read, apparently after about a year they look like they're about to give up, and for the price you pay, they're supposed to be pretty badly made.
 
The source is something I've been looking up on and it seems EVERYWHERE is telling me to stay well clear of any apple products, the Cowon X7's sound quality reputation has me very intrested but apparently things like syncing songs onto it, and fitting album artwork can be very complicated, I'm very OCD about my iPod at the moment, everything is very neat, especially my Eminem material which has about 10 different albums, I didn't want to start a new thread but is the sound difference between the Cowan and iPod that different? If I'm going to be spending at least £200 maybe £400 on earphones I really want to get the best out of them, and I would've hoped an iPod wouldn't hold them back, I can normally tell the difference between a 128 and 320 kbps track if that makes the question anymore answerable

 

[hk1388]

If you have a problem with the iPod's sound quality, you can always buy a lod cable and get an amp.

 

[sproule17]

 
Quote:

If you have a problem with the iPod's sound quality, you can always buy a lod cable and get an amp.

 
I thought an Amp was basically a speaker?, this sounds like something I would really like to do if it still involves me listening to the music through the earphones, can you go into more depth about how I could go about this?
 
EDIT: Just done some googling and this looks pretty complicated (for me anyway) I would still like to do it though, can you please recommend a decent amp and cable (preferably brand names and models) that wont cost me anymore than £150, it'd be quite cool if it was portable aswell, if this means I can stay with an iPod classic I'd be overjoyed

 

[hk1388]

Unfortunately I'm not that familiar with the various amps that are available. I think there's a subsection that dedicated to just amps. You'll probably have better luck in there.

 

[12345142]

There's no need for an amp. You will be happy with the IE8s out of an iPod classic, and since you already have things organized on iTunes the Cowon is not worth the trouble in my opinion. To be honest, although headphone amps are important, they're quite overrated - they're only totally necessary for the most demanding headphones. You will be more than satisfied with the IE8s out of an iPod classic.

 

[papaya]

I am curious, if my player is capable of putting up sufficient volume to my earphone, do i really need another amp?
 
I hear people saying an amp improves the sound by giving more clarity & details, which I don't quite understand. And I'm not talking about the amp coloring the sound for example boosting low frequencies for extra bass. So for the same volume, does it sound better with an amp?

 

[ickle97116084]

I will be in town tomorrow afternoon around 1pm if you want to hear the ie8s amped through a cowon s9? I have an interview at 2pm so will need to be brief but can meet you in starbucks above currys digital store on princes street!

 

[sproule17]

 
Quote:

I will be in town tomorrow afternoon around 1pm if you want to hear the ie8s amped through a cowon s9? I have an interview at 2pm so will need to be brief but can meet you in starbucks above currys digital store on princes street!

I work 8:30-4:30 mate but I really appreciate the offer, I think I'm going to be pretty wowed by the ie8s when I finally get them, the most I've ever spent on a pair of earphones was £40 from HMV, if the iPod Classic doesn't sound right through them I'll start looking at other things like amps, my dream scenario now is to have the iPod, ie8s, waterstone 3s and a cheap pair of sony headphones, I'm going to use my least favorite earphones for travelling to work/listening while at work, and the favorites for indoors, thanks again for offering, I'm really excited about getting them now, the Waterstones will have to wait till next month though, I must be mad spending £400 on earphones haha!

 

[12345142]

Quote:

I am curious, if my player is capable of putting up sufficient volume to my earphone, do i really need another amp?
 
I hear people saying an amp improves the sound by giving more clarity & details, which I don't quite understand. And I'm not talking about the amp coloring the sound for example boosting low frequencies for extra bass. So for the same volume, does it sound better with an amp?

In short, yes. The amp provides more power at the same volume. I suppose if you want the last word in sound quality, you could use a portable amp, but having an amp tethered to your audio player can be quite a hassle.
 
Quote:

I work 8:30-4:30 mate but I really appreciate the offer, I think I'm going to be pretty wowed by the ie8s when I finally get them, the most I've ever spent on a pair of earphones was £40 from HMV, if the iPod Classic doesn't sound right through them I'll start looking at other things like amps, my dream scenario now is to have the iPod, ie8s, waterstone 3s and a cheap pair of sony headphones, I'm going to use my least favorite earphones for travelling to work/listening while at work, and the favorites for indoors, thanks again for offering, I'm really excited about getting them now, the Waterstones will have to wait till next month though, I must be mad spending £400 on earphones haha!

You've really got your companies and model names mixed up.
 
Sennheiser IE8s.
Westone 3s.
 
Sorry, it's a personal peeve of mine. Hope you enjoy your IE8s.