[125mph]

Hi,
 
I was in a rush to get some headphones without any research. I got the Beats In-Ear Tour for $150 at bestbuy.. they are pure crap and are marginally better then my wife's in-ear sony headphones that she got for $10.. I know i need to break them in but I dont really think the quality will improve that much.... I needed something for my xmas airplane ride so I just brought them. The guy at bestbuy told me in-ear's arent capable of producing quality sounds like regular headphones (over-ears)..
 
Anyway, so I was thinking of exchanging them for the Beats Studio... but my buddy showed me this forum..  and I did some more research.. 
 
I'm now thinking of getting IE8 because I really do like the portability of in-ears.. Will the sound quality be good or is the salesman for bestbuy correct when he said in-ears can never be as good as quality over-ears? I did like the quality of beats studio when i tested it at bestbuy.

I listen to all sorts of music, like bass for hip-hop and like watching movies on my iPad.
 
Beats Studio? Sennheiser IE8? Sennheiser HD650?
 
How would sound quality compare if you were to choose between Beats Studio vs IE8?

 

[afinch1992]

As most people on the forum (if not all) will agree, STAY AWAY FROM THE BEATS. They are not worth how much they cost, period. But to answer your question I would suggest the klipsch image s4's for in-ears. They're only $80 if you get them straight from best buy. The sound is some of the best I've heard from in-ears and are pretty reasonably priced. They have a pretty good amount of bass behind them, but also maintain good highs and mids. As for the over ear headphones, it comes down to a few things. Do you want open or closed backs, more nuetral or bassy and so on. The open backs will have a wider sound stage, but there will be no isolation, meaning anything you listen to will be very easily heard by anyone by you and you will be able to hear them. Closed backs will give you better isolation, but make for a closed off kind of feeling (which can be good or bad). Closed backs will provide more bass at a lower price in my experience too. For recommendations, if you want open backs, the HD650's are very good headphones, but I have not personally heard them. I have Grado sr80s (open back), and they are great headphones, but there isnt much to the bass without getting into the quite expensive ones or making mods. For closed backs I would recommend either the m-audio q40 or audio technica m50. I have the q40s and they provide a good amount of bass and overall incredible sound. The at m50s, according to what I have read, are very similar and will have a good amount of bass while keeping overall detail. I'd also recommend the beyerdynamic DT 770. They have very prominent bass, but will cost a bit more than the previous two. It really comes down to what price you're willing to pay and what exact signature matches your style. Search around the forums for the pairs that I've mentioned and you can find out more about each individual pairs sound to make a better decision for yourself.  
 
I would also suggest looking online if you're ok with that. The deals will be much better than anything you could get at bestbuy (not to mention the options are virtually limitless with places like amazon). 
 
I hope this helps. Feel free to ask me any questions about what I've said or about other choices

 

[ArmAndHammer]

Yeah...the only way to improve Beats is by taking them back to the store for a refund. Doesn't matter the model...they are all junk...except the Turbines (I think that is what they are called) seem to get a tiny bit of approval, never tried them so I won't talk bad about them. Generally though, Monster (Beats) = Garbage.
 
Oh, and thank your buddy and buy him a sixer for sending you over here. Best thing for you (worst for your wallet) he could have done.
 
HD650's...HIGHLY regarded headphone. 
 
IEM...not much experience with them. I demoed one pair, some Etymotic ER-4's. Having never tried something like that other than earbuds, I wasn't expecting too much. I was totally blown away. Flabbergasted. They sounded excellent even down to some deep bass. I could not believe the sound that was coming from such little things. So yeah...tell the salesman at Best Buy to shove it. He probably thinks the Beats are highend audiophile quality headphones too. There's your sign.

 

[jasonb]

IEM's can sound great. the guy at best buy was wrong to say that IEM's can't produce a quality sound. i was perfectly content with IEM's until i tried an open backed pair of over the ears. i have never been a huge fan of sealed over the ear headphones, they just sound weird to me.
 
for me it goes: open backed full size... then IEM's... then closed headphones. may seem weird, but that is my preference.
 
my first pair of open back full-size cans were the Koss UR-40 and i was immediately blown away. i had no idea headphones could sound like that. if you want to see if you like the sound of an open full size maybe try to find a koss UR-40. they are pretty cheap, around 30 or 40 bucks, and will give you a very good impression of what the more expensive HD650's will sound like. it may seem strange to compare the UR40 to the HD650, but they sound VERY similar tonally and in terms of soundstage. the biggest difference tonally is that the HD650's have much much better bottom end extension. the worst part of the UR40 is the lack of sub-bass, but the HD650 fixes that. the HD650's are in a whole other league and overall sound a million times better, but they sound pretty similar.
 
if you do decide to invest in some HD650's, just know that they need some heavy duty amping. an ipod won't cut it, they need a full size desktop amp. so be prepared to invest another couple hundred bucks in an amp.

 

[disastermouse]

Of the headphones you've mentioned, I can only wholeheartedly recommend the Hd 650s. They are open, though not as open as Grado. Sound stage is...well they were the first headphone I've tried that illustrated what a sound stage WAS. Clarity is amazing. Bass has texture, which was not something I was used to.

I don't know about the IE8 - they are known as a bassy IEM, but the Earsonics SM3 come more heavily recommended here. When I get IEMs, they will likely be SM3.

If you're mainly listening at home and open backs aren't a problem, get the HD 650 with the E7/E9 DAC/amp combo (if you listen from a computer.). They sound okay unamped, but amping them really improves the sound. The HD 650 were my 'OMG. I now understand audiophilia' headphones.

 

[jasonb]

yup, the HD650 are great. they have really opened up my ears and i am REALLY enjoying the music. actually, i think i am addicted to music now. i have discovered soooo much good music since i got mine. even music in genres i had no idea i would like. i used to listen to nothing but rock and metal, now i am also enjoying downtempo electronica, trip-hop, dubstep, movie soundtrack type classical, and even a small amount of jazz. the HD650's do everything well in my opinion.
 
Quote:

AOf the headphones you've mentioned, I can only wholeheartedly recommend the Hd 650s. They are open, though not as open as Grado. Sound stage is...well they were the first headphone I've tried that illustrated what a sound stage WAS. Clarity is amazing. Bass has texture, which was not something I was used to. I don't know about the IE8 - they are known as a bassy IEM, but the Earsonics SM3 come more heavily recommended here. When I get IEMs, they will likely be SM3. If you're mainly listening at home and open backs aren't a problem, get the HD 650 with the E7/E9 DAC/amp combo (if you listen from a computer.). They sound okay unamped, but amping them really improves the sound. The HD 650 were my 'OMG. I now understand audiophilia' headphones.

 

[disastermouse]

 
The same thing holds for me regarding the HD 650 opening up new genres of music!

 

[ArmAndHammer]

Headphones (great speakers too I suppose) will do that. I have never been a fan of blues or jazz, until I got my Grados. 

 

[jasonb]

Blues... that's the other new genre I discovered that I kinda like. I knew there was another that I was forgetting. Stevie Ray Vaughn in particular is very good.
 
I love Rdio and LastFM for finding new music.
 
Quote:

Headphones (great speakers too I suppose) will do that. I have never been a fan of blues or jazz, until I got my Grados. 

 

[loremipsum]

As great as the HD650 is, if you're buying to use on plane rides, or for portability in general, you might want to get the IE8 instead. Open designs, by nature, leak sound (so that others can hear it) and don't isolate very well compared to closed phones and IEMs, which is not good for plane rides as most music doesn't go well with screaming little kids

 

[jasonb]

agreed. HD650's are meant to be left at home. they leak everything and they barely isolate at all.
 
Quote:

As great as the HD650 is, if you're buying to use on plane rides, or for portability in general, you might want to get the IE8 instead. Open designs, by nature, leak sound (so that others can hear it) and don't isolate very well compared to closed phones and IEMs, which is not good for plane rides as most music doesn't go well with screaming little kids

 

[WhiteCrow]

i'm still a large fan of ultrasone*over ear* the only way I could compare the HFI-580 to the beat is, they do everything the beats can do, but better and do every thing the beats could only dream to do and surpass that.