[LostArk]

I'm new to the world of IEM's... well, good ones anyway. Up until recently my 16GB iPhone has doubled as my portable music solution, paired with a pair of (brace yourself) Apple earbuds. In my defense, as a proponent of lossless audio since the conception of mp3, I figured there was no reason to listen to my butchered music on anything but the garbage that came with my phone. But I digress. I was having iTunes compress my lossless library on the fly to make it fit on my iPhone, but I recently ran out of room. So, instead of buying a 32GB iPhone, I figured I'd pick up an iPod classic and a pair of good IEM's. And when I say good, I mean able to fully resolve all the detail in lossless tracks. So, with that in mind, I thought it might be interesting to see at what price point you find an IEM with which you able to discern mp3 from lossless with near certainty. 

 

[shureThing]

I think it really depends on the quality of the recording.
 
Some phones you can tell more than others. I think it is easier to tell on the analytical sound sigs. The $170 is pretty good, but nowhere near the JH16 ($1k+) demo I tried. It is sometimes more difficult to differentiate on more expensive IEMs, due to the nature of the sound sig and the set up.
 
Hope this helps.

 

[Fimbulvetr]

IIRC, I'm pretty sure you can't differentiate between 320kbps and loseless.

 

[LostArk]

Quote:

IIRC, I'm pretty sure you can't differentiate between 320kbps and loseless.

I can differentiate between 320kbps and lossless EASILY on something like an un-amped pair of HD280's. I don't understand how anyone couldn't tell the difference on a good setup unless they had hearing damage or loss. 

 

[TheGomdoRi]

Quote:

I can differentiate between 320kbps and lossless EASILY on something like an un-amped pair of HD280's. I don't understand how anyone couldn't tell the difference on a good setup unless they had hearing damage or loss. 

Easily as in 15/15?

 

[LostArk]

Quote:

Easily as in 15/15?

I don't know what 15/15 means. 

 

[Stereodude]

Quote:

I don't know what 15/15 means. 

It means he's challenging you to prove it using Foobar2000 and the ABX plugin by posting a 15/15 log where you correctly identified the track 15 out of 15 tries.

 

[LostArk]

Quote:

It means he's challenging you to prove it using Foobar2000 and the ABX plugin by posting a 15/15 log where you correctly identified the track 15 out of 15 tries.

 
I could have gotten 15/15 if I took longer between trials and listened closely, but I took the test just listening casually.
 
 
foo_abx 1.3.4 report
foobar2000 v1.0
2011/12/02 01:55:13
 
File A: C:\users\noahfence\Desktop\01 We Repel Each Other.mp3
File B: C:\users\noahfence\Desktop\01 We Repel Each Other.wav
 
01:55:13 : Test started.
01:56:29 : 01/01  50.0%
01:57:20 : 02/02  25.0%
01:58:04 : 03/03  12.5%
01:59:01 : 04/04  6.3%
02:00:39 : 05/05  3.1%
02:00:59 : 06/06  1.6%
02:01:32 : 07/07  0.8%
02:02:31 : 08/08  0.4%
02:02:58 : 08/09  2.0%
02:03:25 : 08/10  5.5%
02:04:14 : 09/11  3.3%
02:04:38 : 09/12  7.3%
02:05:08 : 10/13  4.6%
02:05:36 : 11/14  2.9%
02:06:27 : 12/15  1.8%
02:06:40 : Test finished.
 
 ---------- 
Total: 12/15 (1.8%)

 

[vyyye]

 
 
 


Quote:

 
I could have gotten 15/15 if I took longer between trials and listened closely, but I took the test just listening casually.
 
 
foo_abx 1.3.4 report
foobar2000 v1.0
2011/12/02 01:55:13
 
File A: C:\users\noahfence\Desktop\01 We Repel Each Other.mp3
File B: C:\users\noahfence\Desktop\01 We Repel Each Other.wav
 
01:55:13 : Test started.
01:56:29 : 01/01  50.0%
01:57:20 : 02/02  25.0%
01:58:04 : 03/03  12.5%
01:59:01 : 04/04  6.3%
02:00:39 : 05/05  3.1%
02:00:59 : 06/06  1.6%
02:01:32 : 07/07  0.8%
02:02:31 : 08/08  0.4%
02:02:58 : 08/09  2.0%
02:03:25 : 08/10  5.5%
02:04:14 : 09/11  3.3%
02:04:38 : 09/12  7.3%
02:05:08 : 10/13  4.6%
02:05:36 : 11/14  2.9%
02:06:27 : 12/15  1.8%
02:06:40 : Test finished.
 
 ---------- 
Total: 12/15 (1.8%)

I don't think you can get a worse score than you said you would and blame it on 'listening casually'. That's 12/15, not 15/15.
 
 

 

[El_Doug]

Based on this statement, you clearly have better hearing than 99% (possibly 100%) of the rest of the members of this forum.  Perhaps YOU should test out various IEMs, and then report to us which ones are the most revealing?  I'm sure everyone would appreciate the effort! 
 
Quote:

I can differentiate between 320kbps and lossless EASILY on something like an un-amped pair of HD280's. I don't understand how anyone couldn't tell the difference on a good setup unless they had hearing damage or loss. 

 

 

[LostArk]

 
@vyyye: I never said I'd get a 15/15, just that I can easily tell the difference between 320kbps and lossless with "near certainty." If I put more effort into it than listening normally, I don't think that qualifies as "easily." 
 
@El_Doug: I sense sarcasm, but if you're being serious I'm flattered. Since the difference is so noticeable to me I've always assumed people who claimed not to be able to tell were just using gear that couldn't resolve the differences.
 
When I get my first IEMs, whatever they may be, I'll be sure to let everyone know how detailed they are! 

 

[bcasey25raptor]

Doesn't matter the price because i can't hear a difference period.

 

[TheGomdoRi]

Quote:

Doesn't matter the price because i can't hear a difference period.

 
Quote:

I don't understand how anyone couldn't tell the difference on a good setup unless they had hearing damage or loss. 

We have hearing damage/loss

 

[nikp]

12/15 is pretty good!! You must be really young.

 

[bcasey25raptor]

Quote:

 


We have hearing damage/loss

Not according to my doctor.