[papermasterarumi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indygreg /img/forum/go_quote.gif to another point, you are going to have to make some decision . . . people here are going to stop answering your 10 what IEM posts to buy each day.

oh darn, you found me out

but yeah, i'm just going to browse the forums some more until i decide on the shures or westones. thanks for putting up with me though

 

[t10]

Quote:

Originally Posted by papermasterarumi /img/forum/go_quote.gif oooo so its between um2, e4c and the super fi 5 pro right now, I listen to mainly rock, alternative and electronica.....they're all around the same price so i'm not sure which to choose

I have owned E5c and UM2, and have had a few hours expirience with e4c.

E5c and UM2 are both one step above e4c to my ears as they sound fuller.. less synthetic if that makes any sense.

If I were in your shoes I'd search between UM2 and SF5pro.

PS, the whole AMP for IEMs thing slightly wierd, a lot of amps sound warm by default and are not very neutral at all. As such with IEMs the amp is more of an EQ colorant, rather than an amplifier of the output of your dap.

/shields up

 

[bellsprout]

search - there has been a lot of discussions on the benefits of multidriver.

multidrivers are capable of moving more air, hence more impact and soundstage, but phase problems at the crossover frequencies cause slower transient speeds which affects detail.

there's been heaps of er-4s vs e500 discussions too. the benefits and limitations of single driver vs triple driver will become clear after reading that. except one thing that's never mentioned in these discussions is that e500 costs twice as much as er-4s. so it's hell not worth it imo. ymmv.

 

[mirumu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by t10 /img/forum/go_quote.gif PS, the whole AMP for IEMs thing slightly wierd, a lot of amps sound warm by default and are not very neutral at all. As such with IEMs the amp is more of an EQ colorant, rather than an amplifier of the output of your dap.

That's true in some cases but not all. Something like a Xin Supermacro with a measured flat response still provides some degree of improvements to impact and clarity compared with the inbuilt amp of most daps. Whether it's worth the $150-$500 for these minor improvements an amp can bring to IEMs is another matter. I suspect for most people it's just not worth it.

 

[Sherwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mirumu /img/forum/go_quote.gif Balanced armatures are a different technology than the typical speaker/headphone dynamic driver and have different characteristics. Personally I have my doubts as to whether their response is good enough in general to perform ideally in a single driver configuration although I'm sure many ER4S owners would have me flogged for such a thought. I've not looked into it so take this comment with a grain of salt but I expect that since IEMs are so easy to drive that an amplifier is not going to run into any issues even if the load is unstable.

Hey, thanks for an honest answer to an honest question. I recently ordered a pair of ER-4p because I have coveted them for so long, but my IEM experience is VERY limited. I'm going to a meet at the Westone lab soon, so hopefully I'll do some learnin'.

For what it's worth, though, the Er-6i are really excellent beginner IEM's. In my limited experience of those and th Shure e1-4 I thought their price to performance was fantastic. I wore mine for 8 months until they wore out, and now I'm graduating up. That seems like the way to do it, for me.

 

[YoungClayB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by t10 /img/forum/go_quote.gif If I were in your shoes I'd search between UM2 and SF5pro.

I agree with this statement - especially considering your tastes in music. I have not heard the UM2, but I had the super.fi 5 pros for 2 years and loved them. A friend of mine has the E4C's and to me they just dont have enough bass to satisfy me....unless you are listening to classical or jazz, they just sound kind of empty.

-Clay

 

[JLai]

I agree with what has been said. If you're coming from iBuds, I don't know if you'd notice the difference b/t Mid-Range IEMs and High-End IEMs since you'll already be listening to music in a way you're not used. That being said, I did a fair share of the upgrade path and the E500s are the best universals I've heard to date (still need to try the triple.fi's but I don't like how the design doesn't sit flush). The SF5Ps are phenomenal sounding (yet a good notch below the E500s) if you can get past the design and sticking out of your ear 3 inches. I have not listened to UM2s, so I can't offer any advice there. As far as a Mid-Range IEM, I'd take them into high consideration purely based on comfort and design factors.

Amping IEMs is a touchy subject and in my experience, the improvement really depends on what IEM you get. If you do get the E500s, I'd highly suggest a Hornet M to go with it. I find it difficult to listen to the E500s sans amp, now that I'm used to it. So difficult, that I need to EQ it if I don't put the amp in the chain. On the other hand, I didn't find much improvement amping the SF5Ps and actually preferred to take the amp out of the chain due to portability concerns. One thing that most people can agree on though, is that an amp will/SHOULD give you a completely black background. Plus the fact that you'll need an amp anyways if you want to correctly (no lineout/attenuator BS) make use of the lineout (which will increase your SQ considerably).

 

[shigzeo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mirumu /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've yet to see any IEM need an amp and I doubt the single driver e4cs do. Will an amp make a noticeable improvement? Yes, maybe a little. My E500s do sound better with an amp but it's like the difference between 95% and 100%.

don't forget that e500, e4c and um2 are very sensitive. they hiss from just about any source. an amp or at very least a line attenuator will eliminate that hiss and make for enjoyable listening -- which i was never able to do from any dap before i purchased an amp... my tuppence