[ah_long]

i just sold my UM1s and i'm looking at the Audio Technica EW9s or the A500s

i'll mainly be doing music and with a bit of movie watching... some portable use, but not too much...

i can get either for a very similar price, I have an ipod shuffle for portable, which one should i get?

 

[jjcha]

These are very different headphones to be honest. Neither are that useful for portable use - and their usefulness as being portable are quite different. If, by portable, you mean you want to bring them to another, quiet, location where you can just focus on the music, I think the EW9 have a use. But if you mean on the bus or walking around or just on the go, the A500, despite their huge size, is the far better alternative.

Really, for me it's apples and oranges. If you need an all-arounder, I'd go with the A500 in a heartbeat. The EW9 has its strong points, just... if I had to have just one headphone, the EW9 wouldn't be it.

Best,

-Jason