[kimvictor]

  The only thing that over the ear ever did better in my opinion was the "out of head" sound vs "in the head" sound. With my new customs, that gap is quite a bit smaller and i have completely lost my urge to own a full size now.

 
Me too! But I'm tempted to get a high end full size now...

 

[rawrster]

  These Shure SE535 are so good, I'm not using any of my headphones anymore. Hence why I ordered a high end open headphone ( which is more expensive than the Shure SE535 ) for home use. 
 
So yes, IEM are excellent and can certainly beat headphones. I'm pretty sure my IEM sound much better than everybody else their headphones I see walking everyday in public while offering superior portabilty.
 
However, good open headphones like the HD800 can't be beaten by IEM most likely, but those headphones are not portable at all. 

 
I associate headphones with those like the HD800. I have a UERM which imo is quite resolving and a very good earphone. However it does not compare to my O2 or to a lesser extent my HD800. Both are superior except in isolation (of course) and possibly instrument separation but that requires an A/B and I'm lazy. However both serve different purposes. My UERM works very well with something cheap like say a ipod shuffle and gets better with better sources however their ability to scale up is not as good as my HD800 or O2. The same cannot be said for my HD800 or O2 as you absolutely need a quality dac and amp for them to sound good. With gear that is not as good my HD800 sounds harsh and not very good but with a good setup it sounds amazing. The O2 as well but I have not tried as much gear with that as the HD800 since it requires a special amplifier and there are not as many amps for that as a dynamic.

 

[senzen]

Well after having the IEMs that came with my sony A818, and thinking they were more than ok, I got the ATH-M50, which are really nice; of course I got the bug for something even better, but assumed the step up would be full size cans at around $350, which would probably involve a portable amp and what not. Then out of the blue I was able to get the Sony XBA-4 for about $140, which weren't even on my radar, particularly at their list price of $350... The sound is amazing, particularly when paired with a Z Walkman... They make music so enjoyable, the soundstage is big and all instruments can be told apart clearly and are a nice complement to the boomy (for me) M50. At $140 they were a steal, at the list price they don't sound worse but their value is certainly debatable. Moral of the story for a non expert like myself, but someone who can appreciate that better sound: yes, IEMs are capable of delivering great sound, whatever the physics behind them.

 

[kimvictor]

  Well after having the IEMs that came with my sony A818, and thinking they were more than ok, I got the ATH-M50, which are really nice; of course I got the bug for something even better, but assumed the step up would be full size cans at around $350, which would probably involve a portable amp and what not. Then out of the blue I was able to get the Sony XBA-4 for about $140, which weren't even on my radar, particularly at their list price of $350... The sound is amazing, particularly when paired with a Z Walkman... They make music so enjoyable, the soundstage is big and all instruments can be told apart clearly and are a nice complement to the boomy (for me) M50. At $140 they were a steal, at the list price they don't sound worse but their value is certainly debatable. Moral of the story for a non expert like myself, but someone who can appreciate that better sound: yes, IEMs are capable of delivering great sound, whatever the physics behind them.

 
+1 I feel yeah. Currently, I have three iems and one full size. There is a reason for that.

 

[Muli]

I have a pair of Shure se425 and a pair of Sennheiser HD25-II. I got the Shure first and really like(d) them. However, I thought that proper headphones might provide better sound quality. So my plan was to use the HD25-II when I did not need to worry too much about portability but could afford to be more concerned about sound quality.
 
The base for my subjective comparison: Both have a very similar price point. I would use them with my phone, Samsung Note 2.
 
The advertised and also generally publicly stated good points of the HD 25-II include:
- great sound quality
- great noise isolation
- rugged design
- (portability)
 
The Shure se425 are better, in my oppinion, when it comes to:
- sound quality: much more precision for the bass, clearer treble, more transparent mids. I cannot say much about sound stage, I did not pay too much attention to it when I listened to the Sennheisers. I abandoned using the Sennheisers and regard them as my worst buy for a long time for the purpose I got them for, which was to improve sound quality over the Shures.
- noise isolation, hands down I'd say. Although the Senns would have kind of the best isolation that can be found for closed headphones, it is nowhere near the Shure's. This is my subjective impression, and I can also see it in measurement graphs.
- portability: IEMs are the clear winner.
 
I am undecided when it comes to:
- ruggedness: might be true. I have not wrecked the Shures yet and don;t use the Senns any more. However, just by looking at them, the IEMs appear to be more delicate. The Senns would most likely bemore rugged. However, the Shures can be stored in a nice little case that comes with them. Teh case is of sufficient size to easily fir them in without needing to curl the cable too tighly. An I am getting old, so I take my time to look after them.
 
HD 25-II are better:
- I have the impression that the HD25-II have a bigger fan base.
 
I forgot to mention 1 other reason why I wanted to use non-in ear headphones: IEMs are getting dirty and require regular cleaning, including removal and washing/replacement of the tips. This is quite annoying at times.
 
I'd say IEMs are that good. For the same money I got more value from my IEMs.

 

[thesurvivor90]

i prefer iem for following reasons:
1. fitting
2. isolation
3. size
4. protability
 
at low-medium price ranges, iems are certainly better choice over big headphones. i had zx300, didn't like them, got cx300-ii, loved them.

 

[kimvictor]

I even think that soundstage of iems can be as good as full size hps. UERM actually is wider than SRH940(though it's a closed back).