[John2e]

My portable rig is constantly evolving.
 
Currently using; Ipod  classic > CLAS> headroom portable desk top> Edition 8's.
 
Just picked up a 4th gen Touch 64 gig to replace the classic.
 
So what HP works best with the touch un-amped. Do not want to carry around my portable rig when out to lunch or shopping.
 
Sound signatures I have liked over the years are that of UE, Westone & yunkin.  
Sound signature I do not like; ETY.
 
I have only used HP's amped never directly from the source output
 
Thanks in advance 
 
 
 

 

[John2e]

http://www.head-fi.org/products/earsonics-sm3-universal-fit-iem
 
How bout these straight from the Touch?

 

[imackler]

I don't think you need to worry about amps from my experience with iems, except for the ER4S and RE252/262/272. (And some of the Yuin buds.) Most of them are so low impedance, you'll be fine. I think amps with iems can be fun (like the E6 or JDS Cmoy) because it changes the sound signature but very few need them. You'll be fine going unamped. I'd worry more about finding the sound signature you like the most!

 

[mastershake2393]

What are your favorite genres? What do you want in a sound signature? We'll be able to help out more once we know those two things 

 

[ubercaffeinated]

this. an amp is cool and fine for that coloration and extra oomph and control, but 95% of iems don't need them. finding your preferred sound signature is what you need to do. a lot of people use amps to fix that sound signature a particularly way, and that's just tiresome trying to find correct synergy and counterproductive in terms of portability.
 
the ipod touch is more than enough to drive any of the flagship multiBA iems and even some customs. the only thing that might necessitate an amp for it is that i don't think the ipod touch has a super low output impedance. i think it's around 7 ohms or so, which might make sensitive multi BAs cry on paper, but i haven't seen it happen in real life - then again i've only tried out the sm3 v2, se535 and the w4, so i can't speak for all the fine multi BAs out there. i wanna try them all believe me.
Quote:

I don't think you need to worry about amps from my experience with iems, except for the ER4S and RE252/262/272. (And some of the Yuin buds.) Most of them are so low impedance, you'll be fine. I think amps with iems can be fun (like the E6 or JDS Cmoy) because it changes the sound signature but very few need them. You'll be fine going unamped. I'd worry more about finding the sound signature you like the most!

 

 

[WashuTaisho]

I my be alone in this, but I really love my Klipsch S4s. They aren't the best overall headphones, but they're good for the price and sturdy too. They even come with a little case to keep them safe.

 

[John2e]

Thanks
 
The Westones 2 were great unamped.  The others I've owned / own ETY 4 (high imp) Yuin 2 and UE 10's all benefited greatly.
 
My Yuin 2's are almost bearable out of the Classic, hopefully the Touch will add a bit more.
 
I listen to Metal & Rap mostly with Classic rock thrown in 
 

 

[imackler]

From what I hear about them, I'd give the GR07 a try. They sound like a well-balanced but aggressive enough for metal iem. Probably the best that I've personally listened to for those genres is the W3, but I'm just not a huge fan of them; prefer, the W2 and W4 to the W3. And again, haven't heard them but the JVC FX700 might be fore your liking. Those are genres that dynamics seem to do well with. If I were you, I'd pick up the GR07. Not many people disappointed with them!
 

 

[dyl1dyl]

How about a westone 3/4 with free fiio e6 amp?

 

[imackler]

For whatever reason, I don't think the W4 comes with the amp.
Quote:

How about a westone 3/4 with free fiio e6 amp?

 

 

[mastershake2393]

I listen to mostly Metal as well as Rock too. That being said, I can recommend the FX700, UM3X, or EX1000 for those two genres. If you need excellent isolation, then I would cross the FX700 and EX1000 off that list.
 
Now, to compare all three... I think the FX700 had the best bass ratio of quantity and quality out of the three, with the EX1000 having the best quality but the worst quantity and UM3X having more quantity but less quality. That can be taken with a grain of salt as bass quantity/quality is all perspective... As for mids, I would set them all equally. The EX1000's and FX700's have a very wide and spacious sound stage, which lends the presentation of the mids to be more far away than the UM3X's. They all have the same quality of mids, just a different presentation is all I'm saying. The EX1000s' highs/treble is the best out of the three, with the UM3X's coming in last. As I've already said, the UM3X's have the best isolation, although the FX700 and EX1000's isolation is not as bad as most people describe. 
 
Soundstage is always subjective, but I think the EX1000's have the biggest soundstage out of all the IEM's I've owned. Err, I guess you can say the IE8's have the largest soundstage, but I thought it was distorted. The UM3X's have a large soundstage for a BA IEM. 
 
All three have very, very different sound signatures. If you want a natural and romantic sound, then look into the EX1000's. If you want a very aggressive sound, look into the FX700. And if you want great isolation and a very smooth sound, you should look into the UM3X's. 
 
If I had to decide which one I would choose for Metal and Rock, I would go for the UM3X's. But overall, the EX1000's are the best for any genre (if that makes sense.)

 

[John2e]

Thanks again
 
I will try the UM3xs

 

[imackler]

Now, I'm not a metal fan but I'm not sure I'd pick the UM3X. I find the bass a little bloated. Their strength is their instrument separation and they are meant to be a monitor. Just not a very exciting listen after you get over the initial wow factor of the detail and instrument separation. They're really good earphones, just not great. I think they're probably a better monitor but not being a musician, I can't promise that. So...good if you love instrument separation. Besides that, not my favorite, though one of the iems I had the longest. I just ended up bored with them!