[cajunchrist]

I'm very new to the world of headphone hi-fi, and I need some help figuring out what I need for a good comprimise in a set-up I will use for exercise and for travel.

I'll use a PCDP for the tunes (likely a Panasonic 470 if I can find one, do you have other suggestions?), but for the purposes of exercise, is there a portable headphone amp small enough and easy enough to use to make it practical for walking? What headphones would you recommend for exercise with a headphone amp? Without? I live in Los Angeles, so street noise while walking can detract from my listening experience. Is there a headphone I can use for exercise that also provides reasonable isolation?

I also travel periodically, and I would like to have an isolated set of 'phones for use on planes. Obviously a headphone amp is doable for travel, but is there a set of headphones that I can use both for exercise and for travel that sound reasonably good without an amp (if a portable one for exercise would be unmanageable)?

I have heard tell of these Etymotic ER4S phones, and I am willing to put them on my charge card if they would be suitable for exercise use.

Will I have to get one set of headphones for exercise and one for travel? Help!

Flailingly,
cajunchrist

 

[MacDEF]

cajunchrist:

I would recommend the Ety ER4P, rather than the ER4S. Since the ER4P don't require an amp, you can use them directly out of your portable without having to carry an amp around. Also, Etymotic has a new headphone coming out next month (ER6) that will work out of a portable but is half the price of the ER4S and ER4P. If you do a search for "ER6" here on Head-Fi you'll find a few threads about it (including comments from the manufacturer).