[drj]

zalithian, with your budget, going to full sized cans will get you something fairly good.

The IE8s are OK, but there aren't very articulate. Most people on here love them because of their fairly commercial sound and they dominate in the bass department. I'm not saying they are bad, but I think you'll be pleasantly surprised when moving to full sized cans and their natural soundstage and presentation.

If you're not getting a headphone amp in the future, I should recommend you consider the easy to drive Audio Technica AD900. It will definitely sound better than the HD595s which are a pretty poor headphone for your type of music.

However, if you're looking for unreasonable amounts of bass that most audiophiles would sneer at (and the IE8s are capable of), you should look elsewhere than the AD900s.

If you have spare change left, you should also consider getting an Essence STX soundcard. They aren't the greatest thing created like some people claim, but they've provided me a solid upgrade for my MS-Pros. For easy to drive headphones, you won't get major improvements by spending more than the Essence STX.

 

[cn11]

Quote:

Originally Posted by average_joe /img/forum/go_quote.gif That was going to be my recommendation, as I was thinking of getting those until I kept reading and from what I have read don't think any full sized can will dramatically improve upon the IE8 (at least in the sub $500 price range). I could be wrong of course and hope to hear some full sized cans at the LA Can Jam. cn, I am looking forward to your comparison. Maybe you can start a new thread, as I am sure a lot of others will be interested also, and I haven't seen a thread comparing the 2 (but posts in full sized vs. IEM).

Well, I received the Denons yesterday. And I'm afraid these aren't the closed cans for me. My main gripe is they're freaking monstrously huge. I have seen the pictures of them on the head form on Headroom, but those don't convey the true scale of the D2000's. I mean, it looks like you're trying to contact the Mother Ship or something. The main use I will be using closed cans for is at work, and these are huge to the point they're impractical for use at my desk. The cord is braided cloth, but stiff, and about 6 ft. long. Plus they leak sound pretty badly. My other main problem is that I don't think my amp setup is going to do them justice (being run from the HP out on my Sony, I won't be getting the full benefit of the amp), and until I can get a DAP with line out, it's not going to help.

So because of these factors I'm not going to review them.... or keep them I don't think. I'm thinking Sennheiser HD-25's may be more my cup o' tea. I'm going to watch for a used set of them in FS. Or possibly the Ultrasone HFI-780's... more research necessary.

 

[K_19]

Do beware of the Denons if you are planning on going higher than the D1001. 2000 and higher apparently needs an amp so it won't meet your requirement of no amp.

How about something like HD25?

 

[Zalithian]

The hype machine has persuaded me to try out some UM3X's instead.