[kite7]

I'll be in Toronto in the weekend and I want to try some IEMs such as the E3C,E4C and any grado headphones as well. Here in vancouver I don't believe such stores exists

Any store relatively close to downtown would be great. I only heard of CPUsed but are there any more stores?

 

[scottiebabie]

i hear baybloor radio mite have some cans for demo. i havnt been there for ages though but do give it a try. they are located inside the Manulife Centre (bottom level IIRC) on the corner of bay and bloor (doh...!! hehe) next to yorkville. if u cant find any cans, yorkville will defnatly satisfy your haute couture fashion needs

ps:you're rite. vancouver sux for headfi

 

[cooperpwc]

Agreed on Bay Bloor Radio. They have various Sens right up to the 650s and Grados up to the RS2s on demo display. Eric Clapton's Blues is one of the discs that you can listen to. Not a lot of other cans though. Some Pansonics. Maybe AKGs? Definitely not Beyers.

 

[jayehs]

I've been to bay bloor radio 2 weeks ago to try out headphones.
On their demo display, they have grado's up to RS2, Sens upto 650 and AKG k701's. They do have RS1 and GS1000 so you can try them as well.

They don't let you try on IEM's tho i believe. Correct me if i'm wrong but I think they only carry shure's. I didnt' see any Ety's, UE or Westone's. But then again i wasn't looking for IEM's nor did I ask what selections they had.

 

[cfraser]

Yup, Bay-Bloor is good for demoing cans. I don't think anybody *knowledgable* lets you try out IEMs though. The only luck I've had trying the lower Shure models is at big box stores where they have opened returns. This is a real problem, IEMs being so expensive and from my limited experience with them they are very personal as to which are bad/good. Something really needs to be done there, no way I'm shelling out $350-$500+ for something I can't hear first. Shure needs to get on this somehow, since they are by far the widest distributed retail IEM brand here and have the most to gain by giving people a taste of what they *could* have...

 

[Mark_420]

as stated above, bay bloor radio is a solid choice

 

[kite7]

Very awesome, I will be sure to check out bay bloor radio when I arrive

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfraser /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yup, Bay-Bloor is good for demoing cans. I don't think anybody *knowledgable* lets you try out IEMs though. The only luck I've had trying the lower Shure models is at big box stores where they have opened returns. This is a real problem, IEMs being so expensive and from my limited experience with them they are very personal as to which are bad/good. Something really needs to be done there, no way I'm shelling out $350-$500+ for something I can't hear first. Shure needs to get on this somehow, since they are by far the widest distributed retail IEM brand here and have the most to gain by giving people a taste of what they *could* have...

Yeah, they won't really let you listen to IEMs at Bay/Bloor radio. Go to Cpused store on Dupont/Bathurst instead. There, they will let you listen to all of the ones they have, and they have many - the Shures, the UEs, Westones, Etymotics and V-Modas. I actually bought my UE super.fi 3s and super.fi 5 pros there after some extensive listening and comparison to other models. Just make sure you bring your own player with you, so you can test them with music that you're familiar with.

BTW, they also sell some nice larger cans there. Senn HD280pros, Senn HD590s and Grado RS-1s are some that I saw at the counter.

 

[rlanger]

I demo'ed the e500's for over an hour at Bay Bloor radio last year before I purchased them.

 

[_M2]

Does bay/bloor carry ms1? How much? It seems to me like they would have blown up prices...

 

[lordemsworth]

I was there today. Didn't look like they had MS-1s.

Mind you, I did have a moment to listen to the Grado RS1?, AKG 701 and Senn 650 using the standard setup.

The 650s were great. I could hear more air in the Grado (least comfortable), and a similar airiness in the AKG. The Senns were more laid back, but fuller at the same time.

Just thought I'd throw in my two ducats.

Mind you, I can't believe how expensive the Grados were here.

Amir

 

[oxymoron]

Surprising about CPUsed. Must check it. BayBloor is one of the few places in town where you can demo many different brands using the same music. It's a fantastic system. However, you'll notice that they don't discount from list; so you're paying for that service.

Other choices are pro audio & dj places like Long & McQuade, Steve's, MoogAudio, and maybe SavedByTechnology but they tend to carry a limited range and then maybe only the pro range. BTW Steve's has great prices IF they carry what you're looking for.

Have fun!

 

[danz24]

One of the largest cities and Canada and only 1 or 2 decent places to find headphones...

Stores should have more on display for new people to discover the world of iem.
If those are the only stores that carry them I wouldn't be surprised why they would be so expensive

 

[oxymoron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by danz24 /img/forum/go_quote.gif One of the largest cities and Canada and only 1 or 2 decent places to find headphones...

As Morpheus said, welcome to the real world. Not enough people for more than a handful of retailers to make a go of it in the face of internet competition and a small domestic market. Could be wrong, though.

 

[oxymoron]

oops, double post