[Baron5]

Hey everyone, i recently bought a cowon s9 which i picked up pretty cheap and i was wondering what the best set of headphones would be for me.

My budget is around 400US, i have a pair of SA6 which i used with my cowon d2 i previously owned so if i wont get a worthwhile upgrade i will keep using those but my brother had got the same s9 coming so i need a recommendation for him anyway.

I was thinking about either the SE530 or the HD650's which i can get pretty cheap on wholesale, but i guess i would have to use a headphone amp and i know nothing about amps, whats do you suggest? recommendations for headphones and earphones are welcomed.

 

[Zalithian]

The 650's supposedly need a pretty beefy amp, and are not recommended for a portable for a number of reasons, one of which is their open design. I've also read that a portable amp will not do the 650's justice at all so I'd probably avoid those unless you wanted to build a home listening setup.

As far as IEMS go - need more information. You can buy any universal for under $400 depending on where you live.

What kind of music do you like? How important is comfort? What do you like/dislike or wish was different about the SA6's?

 

[Baron5]

I listen to rnb music the most but most of the rnb i like is hard to get quality files for, so usually its just 256kb mp3 or something. The main music i want quality for is alternative music like coldplay and move OST soundtracks (like craig armstrong themes).

comfort is somewhat important to me, but the sa6 fit my ear fine, i heard those comply foam attachments are good.

The sa6 are great upgrade from my sennhieser cx300 but i'm not audio savvy so i prob won't use proper terms with my judgement here. I would say the SA6 has good tight bass when i use the standard bass port. The optional treble tips only give higher frequencies but i dont like to use any besides the treble +1, its seems like the highs are there, there lows are there but the mids are absent. Bass is not really overly important to me and i hate when it is overpowered (cx300). i really just want iems that have great production in mids and highs mostly. hope this helps and makes sense

 

[ABathingApe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baron5 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I listen to rnb music the most but most of the rnb i like is hard to get quality files for, so usually its just 256kb mp3 or something. The main music i want quality for is alternative music like coldplay and move OST soundtracks (like craig armstrong themes). comfort is somewhat important to me, but the sa6 fit my ear fine, i heard those comply foam attachments are good. The sa6 are great upgrade from my sennhieser cx300 but i'm not audio savvy so i prob won't use proper terms with my judgement here. I would say the SA6 has good tight bass when i use the standard bass port. The optional treble tips only give higher frequencies but i dont like to use any besides the treble +1, its seems like the highs are there, there lows are there but the mids are absent. Bass is not really overly important to me and i hate when it is overpowered (cx300). i really just want iems that have great production in mids and highs mostly. hope this helps and makes sense

I can recommend SE530's as I've used these for about a year. I listen to mostly trance/rap, and they sound great. If you don't mind spending a little more, you could get ear impressions and get the Ultimate Ear 4's! I've heard really good things about those for the price. I've used my SE530's with my Cowon 02 and FLAC files, no issues with sound quality there