[szwety]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Change is Good

 
This thread should help you find ALMOST EXACTLY what you are looking for. It's how I found my IEMs
http://www.head-fi.org/t/478568/multi-iem-review-279-iems-compared-audio-technica-ckm500-added-05-01-13-p-678
 

 
Cool, I saw the one on portables but not on IEM's.  So now that you guys have given me the RE400 reccomendation (ordered from amazon today *fingers crossed!!!*) Can you help me with some of the industry jargon so related to my description of what kind of sound I like and what to look for in a headphone?  What should the frequency responses look like in a headphone with those qualities?  I'm a newb when it comes to using the jargon...

 

[warrenpchi]

Quote:

Cool, I saw the one on portables but not on IEM's.

 
There are actually two on IEMs, which can be really useful when wanting to get multiple perspectives on a single unit.
 
Quote:

So now that you guys have given me the RE400 reccomendation (ordered from amazon today *fingers crossed!!!*)

 
Congratulations on the new addition! 

 
Quote:

Can you help me with some of the industry jargon so related to my description of what kind of sound I like and what to look for in a headphone?  What should the frequency responses look like in a headphone with those qualities?  I'm a newb when it comes to using the jargon...

 
Sure, let's go back you your previous post for this...
 
Quote:

To answer your question I like warm, crisp and detailed sounding headphones.

 
That's not bad right there, though I think you mean to say detailed and with good separation instead of "crisp and detailed sounding".  I have a suspicion that when you say crisp, you mean that you want to hear specific instruments and voices individually and not as a jumble.  So that would be separation.  Also, in line with that, you would NOT want congestion or muddiness.
 
Also, warm generally means a good low end or bassy.  Are you sure about that part?
 
Quote:

I like to feel like I'm in an auditorium and hear the music like it's being played.  Have you ever been to a jazz performance or gone to see a symphony orchestra?

 
You want a large or expansive or wide/deep soundstage.  You'll also want good presence so as to feel that an instrument or voice is in the room with you.
 
Quote:

There's that detail and warmth and cleanliness to the sound... Never harsh, always inviting and smooth like relaxing in the sun or something...

 
You want a natural and somewhat musical sound that is colored enough to convey realism and ambience, and not too dry or analytical as to be too cold, dry or strident.
 

---

 
In addition to all the above, you'll want to put some time into thinking about the general signature as a whole.  Specifically, you should know whether you want a dark (more bassy, less trebly) or bright (less bassy, more trebly).  Also, think about the mids as well.  Do you want recessed (less) mids or forward (more mids).  If you want bass, mids, highs evenly, then you want it balanced.
 
Taking all that together, and presuming that you'll want a balanced signature, I'd tell people that you want:  "a balanced signature with good detail and separation, a natural and somewhat musical sound, and with excellent staging and imaging."
 

---

 
Okay, now here's the kicker... in the real world, you can't have everything right?  I mean, for megabucks you can have a lot.  But on a realistic budget you're going to have to prioritize.  So while it would be easy to throw a whole bunch of terms together because "ooh that sounds good, I want that!" - you'll have to pick and choose what matters most in descending order.  That will help out tremendously in terms of choosing what you like.

 

[warrenpchi]

Quote:

what kind of sound I like and what to look for in a headphone?  What should the frequency responses look like in a headphone with those qualities?

 
Oops, forgot about this part...
 

 
BTW, if you're wondering why this wasn't suggested to you, that's because it's not portable (unless you are mentally ill).  It's also, um, not even remotely close to the specified budget.

 

[szwety]

Wow that's awesomely helpful!
 
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by warrenpchi
 
That's not bad right there, though I think you mean to say detailed and with good separation instead of "crisp and detailed sounding". I have a suspicion that when you say crisp, you mean that you want to hear specific instruments and voices individually and not as a jumble. So that would be separation. Also, in line with that, you would NOT want congestion or muddiness.
 
Also, warm generally means a good low end or bassy. Are you sure about that part?

I think you are dead on with all of that.  I guess by warm, I mean more like honey... I guess I can only describe the term as golden sounding?  Maybe it's the "lower to mid" mids I like.  Bass I just like being tight, not boomy.
 
I'm thinking of getting the UE600's too just to see how they sound.... DANGIT... I gotta keep this rush going man.
 
Yeah my next pair of cans are going to be the HE-400's.... That will have to be a little down the road though lol
 
edit: got the Astrotec AM90 due to the free shipping... Figured I'd give those a try since they are BA's with the same driver as the a151's but with a slightly better soundstage (according to one reviewer at least)

 

[warrenpchi]

Quote:

Wow that's awesomely helpful!

 
TwinQY would've done a better job but it's his day off today. 

 
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I think you are dead on with all of that.  I guess by warm, I mean more like honey... I guess I can only describe the term as golden sounding?

 
Musical should cover that, but if you want, feel free to add "juicy" into the mix.  Yes, believe it or not, that's a term.
 
Quote:

I'm thinking of getting the UE600's too just to see how they sound.... DANGIT... I gotta keep this rush going man.

 
Haha, easy... pace yourself.  Sometimes, discovering what you don't like is as important as finding what you do.  Oh BTW, in case no one said it when you were welcomed to Head-Fi, sorry about your wallet.
 
Quote:

Yeah my next pair of cans are going to be the HE-400's.... That will have to be a little down the road though lol

 
Hmm, if you do that you *might* want to consider upgrading your E07K.  I haven't tried that particular Fiio so I don't know.  But just giving you a heads up just in case.
 
Quote:

edit: got the Astrotec AM90 due to the free shipping... Figured I'd give those a try since they are BA's with the same driver as the a151's but with a slightly better soundstage (according to one reviewer at least)

That's cool!  I haven't tried it but I hear it get mentioned every so often as a good starter single-BA.

 

[Faab]

Quote:

Hmm, well keep in mind that despite the similar bass-mid cohesion, treble still has that grain and slight tinge on the Sonys. Also the remote is a bit more "plasticky" and thin compared to the X10s. 
 
Not trying to talk it down though, they have it beat in terms of lateral stage size, very expansive. Usually people haven't complained too much about defects, so give it a go, why not.
 
Just a side note, I have a similar growth, except that it grows outwards instead.
 
Comfort (in this case), durability, isolation - taking in the practical factors the Etys are a cinch. Better safe than sorry. But sound wise, they definitely aren't lush - that would go to the similarly shaped X10 - though the volume controls likely won't work on your S4 (if you read the quote above me though they've got it working fine otherwise), but the build thing he experienced is definitely something to consider. 
 
The Etys have a similar level of crispness, clarity, immediacy as does the HE-400, but the tonal balance is rather disparate as they have slightly elevated upper-mids as compared to the HE-400's shelf in that area. But considering the fit, you most likely will have to compromise on some areas in terms of sound - there simply aren't many IEM with a similar tonal balance as with the HiFiMANs. The UE900s are the closest I can think of but that's irrelevant to your situation.
 

 
 
Yeah the UE900 are too expencive for my intended use.
 
I'm willing to sacrifice some in the audio quality region. The main thing that I'm looking for is good isolation, good comfort for my (right) ear and build quality. The key requirement is that it has to be able to fit my right-ear, otherwise I can erase that option.
 
You mentioned that the Ety's are going to be a cinch and that I should better be safe than sorry. I quite didn't get this part, could you please be more eleborate in terms of comfor?. Sound wise, I've already looked on those in which fields I'll have to sacrifice. Most important thing for my choice for an IEM is comfort for my ear-type.
 
Could you please also list some recommendations on IEM's that have a small housing? I'd very much appreciate it.

 

[szwety]

I'll let you know my impressions and on whether or not you guys are my friends in a couple weeks when these things get here.  I'm stationed overseas currently and have to wait WAYYYY too long for things to get here!  I WANT THEM NOW!  
 
But seriously thanks for all the help.  I copied what you said into a notepad so I can study it and compare it with my current headphones.  My next learning experience is with EQing.... Wow it's tough.
 
Oh yeah, with those new IEM's, will it make any difference plugging them into my e07k w/ lod on iphone or not?

 

[abhisheak08]

My budget ~ 250-270$
 
headphones
 
Location: India
 
Place of Buying: online , can buy product from other country websites like amazon
 
Music preference: pop rock,rock, r&b, hip hop, dance, electro (sometimes) ,
i dont have much knowledge about music genre
 
i prefer artists like: david guetta, maroon 5 , usher,Justin timberlake,  enrique, pitbull, chris brown, bruno mars, rihanna
 
This will my first major purchase in music instruements
 
for source i will be buying a new DAP or PMP (BUDGET FOR PMP/ DAP: havent decided but around 350$ i guess)
 
i  am open to using Amp
 
i dont have trained years
 
 i like bass but bass should not overshadow / overpower vocals or other sounds, bass should be present and punchy but it should not be fatiguing ,i am not a bass head
 
i am not a pro so  please use noob language while explaining to me

 

[warrenpchi]

Quote:

I'll let you know my impressions and on whether or not you guys are my friends in a couple weeks when these things get here.  I'm stationed overseas currently and have to wait WAYYYY too long for things to get here!  I WANT THEM NOW!  

 
Wait wut?  I didn't rec no Astrotec! 

 
Quote:

 
But seriously thanks for all the help.  I copied what you said into a notepad so I can study it and compare it with my current headphones.  My next learning experience is with EQing.... Wow it's tough.

 
You should check out the heretics thread.  If you haven't already found it, search for "EQ heretics" here and it should come up.
 
Quote:

 
Oh yeah, with those new IEM's, will it make any difference plugging them into my e07k w/ lod on iphone or not?

 
You know, REALLY hard to say.  Take my Fischer SBA-01 for example... without amping, it sounds like a thin, tinny, telephone armed with ice picks.  With amping, OMG da bass, but What did my highs go???  No firm rule to my knowledge, probably best to experiment.

 

[szwety]

Thanks for the help. Couldn't find that heretics thread, but I'll look more later.  I feel bad taking up this thread lol!  But there's so much to learn.
 
So regarding that FR chart.  I see that there's some gain in the lower frequencies and it's a bit lower from 1kHz to ~8kHz.  Is this where that "sibilance" comes into play or is it lower from 1 kHz to 5kHz?  I'm not even sure if it's what you'd call sibilance.  It's just those really piercing highs that bug my head. The spike @ ~9kHz seems like it'd make the sound very bright?
 
Also:  Is there a better thread to be asking this stuff.  I feel like I'm REALLLLYYYY off topic.

 

[Hutnicks]

Quote:

Thanks for the help. Couldn't find that heretics thread, but I'll look more later.  I feel bad taking up this thread lol!  But there's so much to learn.
 
So regarding that FR chart.  I see that there's some gain in the lower frequencies and it's a bit lower from 1kHz to ~8kHz.  Is this where that "sibilance" comes into play or is it lower from 1 kHz to 5kHz?  I'm not even sure if it's what you'd call sibilance.  It's just those really piercing highs that bug my head. The spike @ ~9kHz seems like it'd make the sound very bright?
 
Also:  Is there a better thread to be asking this stuff.  I feel like I'm REALLLLYYYY off topic.

Have a look here.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/615417/how-to-equalize-your-headphones-advanced-tutorial-in-progress

 

[warrenpchi]

Quote:

Thanks for the help. Couldn't find that heretics thread, but I'll look more later.

 
Oops, my bad.  I mis-remembered the title.  Check this one out:  http://www.head-fi.org/t/413900/how-to-equalize-your-headphones-a-tutorial
 
Quote:

So regarding that FR chart.  I see that there's some gain in the lower frequencies and it's a bit lower from 1kHz to ~8kHz.

 
That's not so bad.  It's important to know that slope matters.  So in the case of the above, since its a very gradual depression, I doubt you're going to have a pronounced dropout. 
 
Quote:

Is this where that "sibilance" comes into play or is it lower from 1 kHz to 5kHz?  I'm not even sure if it's what you'd call sibilance.  It's just those really piercing highs that bug my head. The spike @ ~9kHz seems like it'd make the sound very bright?

 
There does seem to be a peak there... and maybe treble sensitive people will have a little bit of a problem with it.  But honestly it doesn't look too bad to me.  It's not viciously steep peak, so I personally don't think I'd be bothered by it.  At least not based on how a peak like that comes through in some of my other cans.  YMMV though (See below).
 
Quote:

Also:  Is there a better thread to be asking this stuff.  I feel like I'm REALLLLYYYY off topic.

 
I would imagine that there's probably a how to read graphs thread somewhere around here.  BUT, please know that it's not going to make much sense to you right now, no matter how much you read it. 
 
The reason why is because while the data is objective, your ears are subjective.  You'll need to listen to the exact same cans so that you can correlate what you see in the graph with what you are hearing through the headphones.  Know what I mean?  Until you know what that downward slope sounds like, or what that peak sounds like, they mean almost nothing to you.
 
This is why the simple answer to the noob question of "can I use graphs to totally understand what a pair of headphones sound like?" is pretty much no.  With experience, you can get close.  For some people, damn close.  But you're gonna need to ramp up to that over time.

 

[warrenpchi]

Quote:

My budget ~ 250-270$
 
headphones
 
Location: India
 
Place of Buying: online , can buy product from other country websites like amazon
 
Music preference: pop rock,rock, r&b, hip hop, dance, electro (sometimes) ,
i dont have much knowledge about music genre
 
i prefer artists like: david guetta, maroon 5 , usher,Justin timberlake,  enrique, pitbull, chris brown, bruno mars, rihanna
 
This will my first major purchase in music instruements
 
 i like bass but bass should not overshadow / overpower vocals or other sounds, bass should be present and punchy but it should not be fatiguing ,i am not a bass head
 
i am not a pro so  please use noob language while explaining to me

 
Hi abhisheak!  First of all, thank you for including a whole bunch of info and making it super easy. 
 
Based on what you said, I would have to go with the V-Moda M-100.  My second and third choices would involve you getting a good deal so as to meet your budget... and they would be the Sennheiser Momentum and Sennheiser Amperior, respectively.  Also, TwinQY should be in here any moment now to tell you all about the UE6000 (which I have not heard, but is reputed to be very good for your needs).  And realistically, you won't need an amp with any of the above. 
 
With all of the above, you should have enough bass.  It's not enough bass to overwhelm everything else, but it's also not to little bass that you'll ever complain about not having enough.  The rest of the frequency range will be respectable for the music you listen to.  Have fun!

 

[szwety]

Thanks for the help!  I'll post an update once new stuff comes in.  (I have so many more questions... I'll search around though! LOL)

 

[danielghofrani]

Hi folks, 
my desktop setup is Bifrost -> Lyr -> HE500 
I like this setup for most applications but sometimes I need isolation. I was wondering if there are any high impedance low sensitivity IEMs around for me to use with the Lyr. 
 
I own Westone4 and Shure SE535, but they are both too sensitive and there is a lot of noise floor when attached to Lyr. 
 
please let me know