[Tom22]

this might be a stupid question but i realized after purchasing a number of iems (started with the phillips she3580,, 8320, hifiman re400, monster turbines, gr07be) and getting a pair of portables (noontec zoro) and the fullsizes 8323
 
 
i'm just curious why some head-fiers including myself a bit look for a different set of gear?
 
for example, At the moment i'm happy with my re400s i use them for a mellow vocal, acoustic based music at home, but i see a pair of sony mdr 1r on sale at canada computers for 189.99 off $100, and i have demoed them a few times at the sony store and i liked the sound signature (but i have trouble justifying buying the mdr1r for mostly home listening when that spot is currently filled with the re400s).
 
the two above don't have the exact sound signature but i love how thick the mdr1r and how relaxing it sounds. the re400s have fantastic technical performance in its own right
 
but i want to throw this question out to more experienced head-fiers, Why would you move from say iems-->portables or to full size? or whatever. why not just stick with the same "category"?
 
 
why not just stick with ____ in my case i find iems soo portable and convenient, plus they don't interfere if i style my hair, or if i wear at hat, its low key enough to fit almost to look decent with anything. plus storing them is easy ( i have all my iems in a 1 pencil case, its getting a bit full but whatever)

 

[jjcoolaus]

Well I really started out with "earphones" as in the "bud" type that sit on your ears, and not inside of them like IEMs do, mainly because I didn't know any better. That was in high school in the early 1990s.
 
Fast forward to university and my first days working, and I upgraded to full size DJ headphones mainly because I was a clubber and listened to a lot of dance music then. I thought well if all the DJs used Sennhieser I'd better get a pair of those. I was happy with them, but got some portables as well for the smaller form factor that can fold up into a pocket - that was the Sennheiser PX100.
 
As I got older, my dissertation for the finer sound qualities of music improved, and one year I found myself spending $300 on a pair of headphones which is something I never thought I would do. My daily commute to work has also grown over time to an hour now (from about 30 minutes) and i'm wearing headphones for longer.
 
Since the PX100, i have bought and tried a lot of "on ear" or "portable" headphones only to be disappointed by how long I can wear them before they physically hurt my ears. Wearing glasses made of titanium make them very tough but also extremely painful for on ear headphones. Then I needed a pair for planes, then i wanted a seperate pair for the football, then i wanted another pair for commuting and so it goes. So i'm completely full size now and this has all happened over time and due to different circumstances.
 
I have since sold or otherwise gotten rid of all my "portable" headphones except the PX100s, and even those I don't use anymore because I have a set of open headphones which are far more comfortable.
 
I use:
Audio Technica ATH-AD700 - on my desk at work
Audio Technica TAD-500 - I use these for football matches (so i can still hear the crowd noise above the radio commentary, and for when walking just for exercise so it's easy to hear cars etc)
Bose QuietComfort 15 - for planes
Shure SRH-940 - currently my daily commute headphones, but i've got a new amp so i might change these to the SoundMAGIC HP 100. I still keep the Beyerdynamic DT 770 80 ohm around as a backup pair, although they are in pretty "used"/bad shape themselves (work fine, the earpads are stained and the etchings/writing of the branding on the plastic is all worn off)
 
If I ever move into an apartment (instead of a house) or have children i may spend $1,000 or more on a good home rig so I can retire the floor standing home theatre speakers.

 

[Tom22]

Thats cool im just starting this thread just for some interesting discussion.

Y do u have a pair for planes only? Ur qc 15 can work for ur daily commute i think.

I dont travel much ar all on planes so i dunno how important noise cancelling is. I usually use iems but i dunno how effective iems are on planes