Just clearing the recent stuff up. I'm done the other parts...but can't find the files for the life of me.
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Need a pair of earphones or IEMs for walking and gym time.
For use with a Sandisk Sansa Clip+. The earphones that came with that are on the way out as of yesterday, and besides, I know - in theory anyway - that almost anything would be superior to them.
I have really no experience with headphones of any kind to speak of, other than a few times in studios, and then as a musician, not a sound engineer. Speakers, I got into a while back, but have since settled for something that "does the trick"... for now. Was quite fond of some older mid-to-high end British models in particular, in case it's relevant.
What I'm after is something that sounds
significantly better than stock earphones (as noted, probably a given), and - I hope I am using useful terms here - qualities like: lush,
musical, sweet,
immersive... and also
non-fatiguing, not harsh, not sibilant, not boomy, not muddy. A nice balance across the spectrum is desirable, but I suspect not necessarily attainable without blowing the rather limited budget (see below).
I mostly listen to prog and metal via the Sansa, though there could be just about anything else in the mix at times. Budget would be
preferably under $100, but that might depend somewhat on just how persuasive a given product (or sales pitch!) happens to be.
Lush, musical, immersive, non-fatiguing...
Thank you
so much for just spelling out what you want so clearly, people usually hardly ever do that here on the first post.
Anyways, pretty much describing the PFE012 in it's entirety. Word for word. Consider it done.
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Hi, quick question for Klipsch S4 owners.
Which Shure 'Olive' foam tips fit these the best? I've been trying to look for an alternative to the Comply foam tips.
Will these work?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015PN3W6/ref=gno_cart_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
Yes, Olives work on the S4. Takes a bit of the edge off without being mushy. Highly recommended tips for these.
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Hi I'm looking for a pair of IEM to really cancel out the noise while I study at school.
I need it to fit comfortably as I study for extended periods of time. It needs to block out all types of sounds like talking, whispering, and loud typing. I would rate noise cancelling ability over sound quality, but having both would be nice.
I'm currently looking at the etymotics hf5.
My price range is 150.
Thanks
Nothing will isolate as much as the Etys. Nothing. Comfort could be a PITA for some people if you dislike deep insertion. EPH-100 have the double-flange, huge nozzle thing going on that gives a lot of isolation, won't be as deep but if you have smaller ear canals...
Other than that, can't think of anything other than those two that can isolate to that degree, and at that price.
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Hey guys,
So, a few months ago, my package containing replacement SE425's was stolen. As I'm looking for a replacement pair of headphones, I decided to *maybe* branch out and look for a few other models. Not wanting to spend a ton of money, I wound up with the GR07's from Vsonic. At first, I found them to be incredibly comfortable, but sound wise, they did not fit my needs at all. They sound qutie muddy, especially down low, even compared to my X10's.
I think I've broken them in enough (about ~20-ish hours), but I'm willing to try breaking them in further.
However, in the mean time, it got me thinking into looking at other IEM's in the price range of about $250. I loved my SE425's (and I even paid a pretty penny to get them replaced since those ended up breaking). Things sounded really smooth and well put into place. Maybe my iPhone just couldn't the Vsonic's without an amp? I tried using my Fiio E17, but they sounded weak down in the bottom ranges.
As far as my needs go; I produce electronic music (trance, IDM, and a lot of other genres). I have monitors, and DT880's, but I do like to use my IEM's for production. The 425's obviously weren't the most natural pair of headphones, but I loved the kick to them.
So I'm looking into suggestions. I did read the giant massive IEM thread, but personal suggestions are welcome as well.
Thanks!
Neotriple
I'm going to make a possibly-not-very-accurate judgement and say you might like the BA sound more (the SE425 epitomizes BA sound in a sense). So in that sense, don't just knock VSonic out of the running yet, the GR01 are still a depature from the Shures, sweeter and, from memory, better separation as well. Of course might not have that kick for electronic (although I don't remember it lacking too much kick against the Shures). The W2s are a more pricey, warmer and richer sound but still managing to be lean and coherent in the grand scheme of things. Comfort might even be better than the SE425s for some (certainly for me).
Since you mentioned smoothness, the discontinued RE262/272 could work even though the GR07 wasn't to your liking. Bass is endlessly linear, clean and clear. No mid bass hump like with the 07s. The latter would work especially well for production, like a smoothed out RE0, retaining all that accuracy and adding even more to the mix, without having a hint of stridency.
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Hi guys, I'm new to all this technical stuff surrounding headphones and whatnot, so please be kind
I'm currently (or upto a week ago) using some Philips SHE5920's (loss of the earbuds forces my search). I love the sound of them, and they give me the bass I want. I am finding it hard to get some more at a reasonable price, $16.99 is the cheapest I've found them, but after factoring in the shipping from the US (I'm in the UK) it's just a silly price ($55).
So, my question is this. Can anyone recommend some bassy earphones with an in-line volume remote? Price limit of $45 or £30? Even this is a lot compared to the original £9.99 I paid for mine 5/6 years ago, and don't want the missus finding out I've spent more than even £20 on new ones.
As I say, I love the sound of the Philips, and believe that the surround sound dynamic that Philips have put into them has given it that feel that I like, but I'm willing to try others.
I have found the Philips SHE6000/10 which look similair and have the surround sound feature and I believe has the same size driver, for £20, but I just wondered what other options were out there
Thank you all in advance.
Craig
Surround sound is a misnomer, IEMs are two-channel stereo by nature, unless there's already a gaming IEM or something similar in the making. Sorry, just had to point that out
You're probably not talking about the technology but characterizing the sound, and that makes sense.
Anyways, the Klipsch series all have mic/remotes, and competition, especially if you want a SHE3920 signature, can be slim. Both are pretty sparkly, but the S3/4s can be downright strident at times. Again the mic is the limiting factor. I'd take a deep hard look into the MEElectronics as well (sorry for only stating brands not specific models), especially the M16. Most of the offerings do have mic/remotes at the ready, and are quite dynamic sound *coughM16cough*
If you didn't need the remote/volume though, would have said the GR02 Bass or otherwise.
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Hi. This is my first post on Head Fi. I am looking for a pair of earphones to use unamped with an iPhone 5 and iPod Classic (2nd generation). I prefer a balanced sound signature with good instrument separation, treble that sparkles is a must, bass that is not bumped up, midrange that is not too forward although I prefer forward to recessed mids. The earphones should sound good with all music genres as opposed to an earphone that is music genre specific. The thing is I listen to all types of music although I tend to favor indie rock. My music collection consists mostly of apple lossless (from ripped CD's), iTunes downloads and mp3 files (most of which are 320 kbps). I prefer an earphone with a detachable cable. Comfort and build quality are also important. Accessories is the least important criteria. I am looking to spend about $500.
I've been on a mission since last fall to find two pairs of audiophile quality earphones. The earphones I have auditioned and returned thus far:
Etymotics 4PT (sounded too thin/rather uncomfortable, liked the accessories though)
Bowers & Wilkins C5 (too much bass, uncomfortable)
Sennheiser IE80 (too much bass even at the minimum setting although I liked the sound stage, very comfortable)
VSonic GR07 MK II (too much sibilance even after 100 hours of burn in, kind of ugly looking, no comfort issues though)
HiFiMan RE-272 (not enough bass, mushroom tips were the wrong size, too small, wouldn't fit on the stem, customer service sent another package of mushroom tips, again same problem, too small, mushroom tips would not fit on the stem. Out of frustration I returned the earphones).
Right now I have a pair of Shure SE-535 and the Westone 4R. The Westone 4R are definitely keepers because overall I love the sound signature. Also the Westone 4R are very comfortable. I wanted to love the Shure SE-535's because Tyll of Inner Fidelity thinks they are awesome (usually agree with everything he says about audio). Also I think the Shure SE-535 looks great especially the bronze ones. The thing is I just can't find the sweet spot with the SE-535s. I've tried various eartips to try to get the sparkle in the treble. Only the yellow foamies bring out the sparkle to a certain degree but they are very uncomfortable. The comply tips are the most comfortable but they hinder the treble. I bought the 6N OFHC Silver Plated Shure upgrade cable hoping it would bring out the treble. Big mistake. The only difference I can hear between the aftermarket and stock cable is the aftermarket cable has annoying microphonics. As a last resort I have used the Equalizer app to try to get the treble to sparkle. Even that doesn't work. Either the treble is rolled off on the SE-535 or my hearing is rolled off on the upper end. I am 58 years old (lol). The thing is the Westone 4R have plenty of sparkle in the treble, even without being EQ'd.
The Westone 4R are not without faults. Sometimes I find the 4R a little boring, wishing it sounded a little more energetic, lively if that makes any sense. So it all comes down to I just want an earphone to balance out the shortcomings I have with the Westone 4R. Does anyone have any suggestions? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you,.
Tough journey. Almost fell for the SE535LE + cable spiel myself. Then I heard them...ekk.
Found that the best complement to the W4 was the W3 or the UE900s. Has the sparkle you want, mids are flat (for the UEs drops at the upper mids). The latter is quite proficient at indie if I must say. And of course with that price range who could forget the PFE232. Might be the greatest V-shaped UIEM around that price (not including the EX1000 since that's more of a slight U-shape).
Would also consider the 4.Ai. Now I've only heard them for a very brief moment, but do have the 3.Ai with me right now, and apart from the bass increase I do recall that they are similar in many respects.
The sparkle is oh-so present, great clarity (though the UEs and PFEs do come close, and edge them out on sheer detail and resolution).
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Hey guys, I'm trying to find some portable headphones for my brother. He's been complaining about the lack of noise isolation from his cheap Sony earbuds lately, so this could an opportunity for me to introduce him to good audio.
Aside from good noise isolation, this is what I know about my brother's needs:
Budget - <$100. I want him to start small for now.
Source - Laptop and android phone (HTC MyTouch, to be more specific); he doesn't have an amp, and I'd rather not buy one right now.
Music - He says he listens to nearly everything, but I suspect that rock, j-pop, and electronic (likely from DDR and Beatmania) are the dominate genres in his library. Still, it would be safer if the headphones do most genres well. Also, he has some of his favorite music in YouTube rips, so the headphones should be somewhat forgiving of low-quality files.
Other - I don't think he would mind whether they are over-ear, on-ear, or in-ear, as long as they isolate well and are very comfortable to wear for hours. However, he doesn't really care for fashion, so the low profile of in-ears might be the best. For the phone, an android-compatible mic would also be very nice, although not necessary.
I'm currently looking at the Thinksound ts02 (preferably the +mic version).
Thanks!
PFE022, SE215 (both are great for J-Pop, the latter especially for rock).
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Hi everyone I am a long time lurker on this site but have just signed up.
Until recently I did have Miles Davis Tributes however they broke and the replacement that was given to me were the Trumpets which I cannot get a good seal on at all & they just don't stay in so I am selling them and trying to make a decision of whether to get B&W C5's or UE900's. I am unsure which IEM to go for however. I have had a look at some frequency response graphs of both of them and I like that the C5's have lots of bass, however I cannot fully rely on a frequency graph to make my decision.
In case you are interested in seeing the graphs here they are...
C5's: http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/photogallery/measured-bowers-wilkins-c5-headphones
UE900: http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/photogallery/measured-logitech-ue-900-ear-headphone
Music I like to listen to are bands like, Rammstein, Incubus, koRn, Garbage, Bjork, Tool, Weezer, Dr Dre, Prince, Snoop Dogg, Limp Bizkit, Deftones, Beach Boys, Beatles, movie soundtracks like Inception, Dark Knight Rises, Batman (1989) etc. So kind of a broad spectrum of tunes. I can't stand listening to music which is just crap sounding and nothing but treble, I like having awesome sound quality. I really like hearing & feeling the bass on songs, drums etc and like my highs to have clarity and be clear, not muffled or ear piercing though. I also like good isolation & sound stage. I also tend to listen to music with V shape EQ to boost the bass and treble.
I currently have a pair of V-Moda M100's which I cannot recommend enough, they are amazing! I luv the bass they produce as well as the clarity of the highs, they have such awesome sound quality. So I am kind of hoping that I can get something close to M100 sounding.
I plan on using the IEM's with my Sony Walkman mp3 player.
So anyway enough of my rambling I think I have painted a picture as to what I am after as best as I can. So please any help or advice on deciding between the UE900 or C5's would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Could not imagine why the C5s are being considered seeing your criteria. UE900s would be more akin, but notes might be thinner than what you are wanting. Good to try new things out, and besides, not that huge of a departure. Would also consider the FX700s (yes the graphs look horrible but bare with me on this) or the Atrios. But the safest choices would be the UEs, yes. Consider the W3/3.Ai if you want an even deeper V-shape but similar tonality.
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hi! let's give this thread a chance! feels like I haven't updated myself on IEM's in years.
more of a checking-the-waters atm, so if there are any new ones out soon that might fit well, please let me know.
so I'm looking for an IEM, with unfortunately rather strict requirements:
- either slightly mid-forward or as close to well-balanced as possible.
- good sense of clarity/detail without being harsh, really don't like ringing upper mids/treble.
- bass I can compromise on a bit more, more important is that they don't have overpowering bass.
- comfort! I know tips and such are probably more important than the actual IEM, but I really can't stand Etymotic's shape. which is rather unfortunate because I think ER4 would be a nice sounding IEM to me.
- high durability and replaceable cables would be very nice, not required though.
some notes:
~$500 maximum.
will be driven with the latest generation iPad, and wouldn't mind getting a portable amplifier to go with it so amping should be no problems if needed.
non-fatiguing is the keyword, I'd like to use these for hours on end.
I have no idea how to do proper EQ with the iPad if there would be any need for it...
would prefer to not use comply or bi/tri-flange. absolutely no customs though, even if it would be ideal.
I hope that covers everything... not expecting too much with my pickiness right now. just ended a journey of trying too many closed portable headphones that disappointed me.
cheers
W4Rs have exceedingly nice comfort, balanced, mid-forward, pretty much fits all the criteria. Great detail, upper mids - treble slope down a bit against the overall signature. Again, probably the most apt.
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hi. I can't decide between several sub $150 IEMs! I really need an advice.
Usually I listen to classical music and soft rock. What is important for me are
1. big soundstage (also big in depth)
2. good imaging, seperation
3. neutral sound
4. low microphonics
Thanks in advance!
GR07s have *relatively* large staging compared to <150 offerings, not neutral in the classical sense, but then again what is? Microphonics are pretty low, but the cable is all smooth and to me, a bit weird. Imaging is where it takes the cake though. These are monitor IEMs for a reason.
Again, if the neutral thing is a big issue, I would be hesitant but still consider them. If not, then what are you waiting for? Another way you could go would be the HF5, they have everything in the criteria except for stage size (but seperation is eerie). RE272 fit everything but not as good for microphonics (there is essentially none but not as dead silent as the other two choices)
I have another IEM that comes to mind but just can't put my finger on the name....if I remember, will say so.
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Hello all,
I'm reading this website for a while, but only now found myself in a corner for a decision.
I'm looking for a nice IEM's that worth the price. Upper bound is about 100 - 130$, but preferable much less.
I'm listening to different types of music like classic (10%), pop (30%), rock (30%), jazz (30%).
What is the most important to me is the soundstage. I want it to be the widest I can get.
So the requirements are in order of importance:
1. The widest soundstage
2. Good isolation
3. Nice separation
4. Don't care if the sound is warm, but I hate when it is metallic.
5. Don't like boomy bass.
I have AKG K240 studio which are nice, brainwavz beta (nice soundstage and actually enjoyable), sony mh1c (to boomy bass, the soundstage not wide enough and the sound too metallic for me) and some sennheiser (too boomy)
I checked reviews of:
VSonic gr06
VSonic vc02
brainwavz R01
sony xba-1 and sony xba-3
shure 215
and some more.
There just too many options and I really will appreciate you recommendations.
Would cross the XBA-3 if metallic is an issue. Otherwise nice stage and fits a good deal of the criteria. Again the RE272 (being discontinued but still some pairs on Amazon have great stage and technicalities as well as the PFE022/122. But I use those as recs WAY too often, so will go against the grain and say HF5 because width is actually not that bad, it's sparkly but not metallic, and sig is pretty much dead flat.
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hmm, I was just reading about those before I posted... what I've seen from actual measurements have been quite different from what I am looking for, are there different revisions out or something?
from: http://rinchoi.blogspot.ca/2012/10/heir-audio-3ai.html
I know measurements aren't end-all but what I've seen from this persons measurements so far have been quite up to my experiences.
thoughts?
thanks!
From the graphs (I did see them prior to obtaining my pair, so account for the bias on that as you will) they do correlate for the most part. In fact I found them to be even bassier.
Not saying graphs are everything...but they're a great deal more important than what some others on the forums would like to say. Always keep a critical mind.
