Othello3
New Head-Fier
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- May 14, 2009
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I'm looking for some advice regarding an upgrade from an aging pair of Shure SE420. Unfortunately, the Shures still sound pretty good, but the rubber housing is shredded, the cable terminations are deterioriating, etc. Its like snapping the button off a pretty good pair of jeans - yes, I could get them repaired, but the cost to benefit ratio seems dubious.
In light of my Shure troubles, I am ONLY looking at IEM's with user-replaceable cables, A) for durability reasons, and B) in the off-chance that an upgrade cable would impove SQ.
A few things about me:
My priorities: Sound quality = comfort > Isolation > durability > everything else
Sadly, I spend the majority of my time listening to my IEMs while working, which means that isolation and low-volume performance are very important to me.
My music interests: Jazz- I'm a sax player and love listening to mid-late 20th century jazz sax masters. If there's any single thing about my Shures that I love, its that I have nothing to say about their mid-range performance, which is to say that I forget that I'm wearing my phones. That being said, I've noticed some shrillness with a lot of my trumpet tracks and some hiss with certain older recordings that I don't love. I also listen to a lot of rock but I don't listen to it as critically as the jazz. Again, that Shure mid-range has been good to me but I wouldn't mind some more bass impact.
Budget: $200-400
My guess is that aside from the obvious Shure equivalent of my 420's, my options include IEMs from Westone, Ety, and UE. Does anyone have an opinion that might help me narrow down my options?
Also, any thoughts on amping my 420's or equivalent models? Do any of the above models respond to particularly well (or not) to portable amps (and if so, which model amp)?
Thanks!
In light of my Shure troubles, I am ONLY looking at IEM's with user-replaceable cables, A) for durability reasons, and B) in the off-chance that an upgrade cable would impove SQ.
A few things about me:
My priorities: Sound quality = comfort > Isolation > durability > everything else
Sadly, I spend the majority of my time listening to my IEMs while working, which means that isolation and low-volume performance are very important to me.
My music interests: Jazz- I'm a sax player and love listening to mid-late 20th century jazz sax masters. If there's any single thing about my Shures that I love, its that I have nothing to say about their mid-range performance, which is to say that I forget that I'm wearing my phones. That being said, I've noticed some shrillness with a lot of my trumpet tracks and some hiss with certain older recordings that I don't love. I also listen to a lot of rock but I don't listen to it as critically as the jazz. Again, that Shure mid-range has been good to me but I wouldn't mind some more bass impact.
Budget: $200-400
My guess is that aside from the obvious Shure equivalent of my 420's, my options include IEMs from Westone, Ety, and UE. Does anyone have an opinion that might help me narrow down my options?
Also, any thoughts on amping my 420's or equivalent models? Do any of the above models respond to particularly well (or not) to portable amps (and if so, which model amp)?
Thanks!
