[HeadphoneAddict]

My ears must have been plugged or I was brain damaged or something, but after taking a 3-day break from the SA6 they now sound sparkly and the cymbals don't sound dull anymore. I'm kinda taken aback by this change after resting my ears from IEMs. The only headphones I have been listening to since Saturday night are my HD600 on a balanced Single Power Square Wave XL amp.

I am listening to the SA6 with all my portable amps again tonight. This time I do not have the IEM pushed in any farther than I needed to for a good seal, so they are not in as deep as the last time. The problem is that wearing them at this shallow depth that makes them sound best also makes my ear canals itch the most.

With jazz the string bass has good texture and tone, and the fingers sliding on and plucking the strings are sharp and quick as is the bass. The mids are warm and smooth, and I do now have a sparkle on the highs. Very interesting. Bass is present but still doesn't have quite the impact I would like with some rock. Hip Hop and Pop like Rhianna and Usher have better bass than with U2, Linkin Park, Led Zep, Stones or Beatles.

I may not be posting more about this until I add the SA6 and Image to my IEM and portable amp synegry thread.

 

[Sovkiller]

One thing I have noticed also about IEM's in general, is that they sound their best if you listen them at lower volumes, do not crank them up, normal to low volume is the way to go, the bass feels better, more textured, deeper, and the highs get cleared...

 

[kloan]

I disagree with that.

Perhaps some IEMS, but I found turning up the volume to a pretty loud level made my SE530 sound WAY better than lower volumes. They seemed to only come to life at higher volumes.. not cranked (don't know how anyone can enjoy levels that loud), but louder definitely sounded better.

Using an amp probably makes a difference, but unamped I generally find IEMs sound better turned up.

 

[Sovkiller]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kloan /img/forum/go_quote.gif I disagree with that. Perhaps some IEMS, but I found turning up the volume to a pretty loud level made my SE530 sound WAY better than lower volumes. They seemed to only come to life at higher volumes.. not cranked (don't know how anyone can enjoy levels that loud), but louder definitely sounded better. Using an amp probably makes a difference, but unamped I generally find IEMs sound better turned up.

Not sure, but I was never a fan of the Shure sound, I had the 420 briefly, and it never sounded good at any level, the bass was so overpowered that i ended selling it...LOL...but maybe the 530 is far better...but I have tried quite a few IEM, Klipsch, Sleek, Ety, Altec Lansing, FreQs, even the Creative that came with my laptop, and in all cases, they never needed to be cranked to sound their best, I mean a normal listening level, not very low neither...What I feel is that in comparison, the full size need more power to offer the same sound level...