[Skarecrow]

I have been using the MS-1s with my portable for months now, and I have to say it's one of the best purchases I've made in awhile.

I use them easily 3hrs or more every day at work. I don't know what people are talking about when they say the cans arn't portable, I've never had them fall off my head ever. They hug your cranium pretty well without the clamping discomfort of other phones.

They are exceedingly easy to drive (I swear they're louder than my KSC-50s, or the stock Senn MX300s that came with my portable, at the same volume settings). I get quite acceptable volume at roughly 21/30 setting. I don't ever feel the need to push it past 24/30 even in noisy settings.

The sound is superb for $100 cans. They don't have the soundstage, detail, refinement, nor grace of my Senn HD 650s, but then the MS-1s are also 1/4 the price. I am very impressed with them.

Oh, and they're not ugly. Not to me anyway. Pictures don't do them justice. Once they're on your head they look a bit old fashioned at worst. Besides, if you're buying headphones for style instead of substance, go look at low end sony or bose cans. However considering you came here, I think you know better.

 

[IpodSF]

I would seriously recommend the Ety ER-6i's to you. They are small and portable, go with the iPod, have incredible sound and are only $118.99 from Earsonic.com.

These seem to match your needs perfect.

 

[flamingantichimp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IpodSF I would seriously recommend the Ety ER-6i's to you. They are small and portable, go with the iPod, have incredible sound and are only $118.99 from Earsonic.com. These seem to match your needs perfect.

I'm actually worried about too much isolation, my parents wouldn't be able to talk to me, and what if my friends wanted to hear what i Just paid $100 dollars for?

However, my main worry with them is, I want to get the best sound quality at my price point, and can the Er6i's actually compete with the big cans I'm looking at? Isn't much of their cost due to the isolation and nature of the canal phone?

 

[DanielK]

You didn't mention comfort as a consideration in this or your original post. I think you should think about that--no matter how good a pair of headphones sound, if they are uncomfortable, you won't be happy when you are wearing them. Of course, people have different comfort thresholds. In my limited experience, though you will find Sennheisers to be more comfortable than Grados/Alessandros (I've tried Grados). If you want these to be your main headphones, for both portable and home use, you probably don't want them to be too big. But not everyone finds canalphones to be comfortable.

My recommendation is that you step down in price, and get some Sennheiser PX-100s. They are comfortable, portable, and they sound very good for the price--you can get these for $40, but they sound better than some significantly more expensive headphones. Or you could take the advice of some other posters and get the MD-33's, which also give a lot of bang for the buck, for significantly less than $100--there is a nearly new pair on sale in the for sale section (by *ahem* me...). But I think you will be happier with the PX-100s. Incidentally, I have an iPod, and use no amp, so my listening conditions are more or less just like yours.

Quote:

Originally Posted by flamingantichimp However, my main worry with them is, I want to get the best sound quality at my price point, and can the Er6i's actually compete with the big cans I'm looking at? Isn't much of their cost due to the isolation and nature of the canal phone?

 

[sgrossklass]

If you're staying with full-sized 'phones, give the 590s another look (used if necessary). Using the search to find out what others think of them vs. the MS-1s, it looks like they may well be a viable option. Mine have served me well for the last 4 years while not always having been treated appropriately (with nary a sign of tiredness), can be worn for hours easily, and I've used them on equipment ranging from lowly Sony shortwave portables to decent-quality amp and sound card headphone outputs with usually good results. With my new sound card I can finally reproduce the weaknesses that have been pointed out, but they've certainly gone a long way. Unfortunately I don't have any experience with newfangled portable players

, so can't comment on that.

 

[clauswitz]

I will support the MS-1's. I just ordered them today, so I really don't know how they sound. Many members here like them a lot. I am going to use them with the Porta Corda group amp. Of course that's a lot more than you want to spend.
I would recommend going to the store and listening to the headphones you can find. Bring your ipod with some of your favorite music. Then listen. Your ears do not lie. You may like one set of phones & your friend may like another on the same music. Go with what you like.
I think you may want to think about an amp if you are going for the etys or grados (& ms1). You can pick up an inexpensive CMOY amp that will help any set of headphones. It is less portable, but the amp can fit in an Altiods tin. That's pretty small, but it adds another cable too.
Check it out. Some research will lead to a more satisfying choice. Usually, you want to hold onto the setup for awhile.

 

[flamingantichimp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by clauswitz I will support the MS-1's. I just ordered them today, so I really don't know how they sound. Many members here like them a lot. I am going to use them with the Porta Corda group amp. Of course that's a lot more than you want to spend. I would recommend going to the store and listening to the headphones you can find. Bring your ipod with some of your favorite music. Then listen. Your ears do not lie. You may like one set of phones & your friend may like another on the same music. Go with what you like. I think you may want to think about an amp if you are going for the etys or grados (& ms1). You can pick up an inexpensive CMOY amp that will help any set of headphones. It is less portable, but the amp can fit in an Altiods tin. That's pretty small, but it adds another cable too. Check it out. Some research will lead to a more satisfying choice. Usually, you want to hold onto the setup for awhile.

If I'm lucky, I might be able to find some Senn's at Radio Shack to demo - but past that, I'm skeptical of being able to find something like Alessandro's in my mid-sized-town.

 

[Skarecrow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sgrossklass If you're staying with full-sized 'phones, give the 590s another look (used if necessary).

I've owned the 590s and I'm a proponent of them (not many here on head-fi are), but I'm not sure I'd reccomend them as portable cans. They are much more stay-at-home cans to me personally. They are easily twice the size of the MS-1s, and weigh a goodly bit more too (although I wouldn't characterize them as heavy. Nor "bulky" really... not exactly). Also, they are not nearly as easily driven from a portable's weak output jack as the MS-1s. The few times i used 590s on my portable, I had to max out the volume setting to get what I'd consider comfortable listening volume... a level I reach probably around setting 18 or 19 (out of 30) with the MS-1s.

As for comfort, the Alessandros come with "comfy" pads... and they are. While they are not the equal of the super comfortable 590s (or even the 650s), I can wear My MS-1s for hours with no discomfort issues. I couldn't wear my KSC-50s for even 45 minutes without my ears hurting.

 

[clauswitz]

You may not be able to hear Alessandros, but I bet you could audition some Grados. That will give you a feel for what the other members are talking about. You never know what you like until you hear them against some other choices. After college, I did up my car's stereo system. At the time, ADS was the popular choice for speakers. After listening to them vs. Bostom Acoustics, I chose the BA. I used an ADS amp, but to my ears the BA sounder better. And, guess what, I saved some money. On a $2-3k system, $100 was not the motivation. I liked the BA sound better. All I'm saying is you never know until you hear the components together versus suitable alternatives.

 

[miketriple]

my main music source is my ipods, and i use sony mdr-v6s (~$80) and shure e3cs (~$150). both make me very happy for their prices.

i'd really suggest amping your ipod though! i just build a cmoy amp.. really basic design.. and it already improved the sound quite noticably. now i've got all the parts for a mint amp and am preparing for that, which should sound even better.

of course, even my sonys made the ipod much more enjoyable compared to the stock earbuds.. which i used for about 30s total (already had the sonys). the shures, though.. through the amp.. mmmm

i debated between shure e3cs and etymotic er6is and had to go with the shures. both are good though.

 

[miketriple]

oh.. btw.. my sony cans aren't nearly as easily driven by the ipod as my shures. when the sonys are on (WITHOUT an amp) the volume needs to be around 2/3, which sucks, because i dont really like the ipod's builtin headphone amp. the shures, however, only need 1/3-1/2 of the volume to be quite loud, so the ipod's amp doesn't distort the signal quite as much. soon, i'll be using a sik din with my amp, though, so that won't matter.

"The bass impact is the sweetspot of the V6 IMHO. Studly bass unamped."
I found that, with the iPod, using mp3s at least 192kbps or greater, mostly vbr from 192-320kbps, so pretty good quality, the bass in the v6s was pretty bad unamped. at home, i use an old HK amp and the bass is much more powerful. with the ipod alone, though.. weak..

i'd take a look at shure e2cs or e3cs. i know many ipod owners are happy with the e2cs, and they're under $100, while the e3cs are a bit more. i think i paid around $135 including s/h during the holiday sales time for my e3cs. not too much more for the increase in quality, from what i hear. i've never heard e2cs, though.

also, a headphone amp doesn't have to cut down on portability. search ebay for "cmoy" and you'll see many pics of amps that fit in an altoids tin! that's not too bad, is it? the difference in sound is very worth it.. it's as much of an improvement as getting better headphones.