[giveway]

Hello all

My denon's are dying on me, so I'm on the hunt for a new pair of headphones/iem's. I'm looking for a $200 max budget, but I could spend a bit more if it was absolutely worth it value for money-wise.

I was absolutely pleased with the denon's, I loved how they sounded, how great bass they produced and still sounded crystal clear. So I'm not ruling out buying them again if I can't find something better within my budget. My only complaint was that they didn't offer much sound isolation, so that's an aspect I'm hoping to upgrade. Sound quality is still my priority, though.

I'm leaning towards dynamic drivers, mainly because I fear that in that price-range I won't get great bass from an armature phone. Or am I wrong?

The Atrio M5's could be a good choice, but they're supposed to lack something in the treble/clarity department. Another question is if they would be an upgrade over the C700's or would they be more of the same?

Any suggestions? I tried searching, but quickly got lost in all those topics, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[walkingman]

As far as dynamics in-ear headphones goes, I think you already have one of the best on the market. The new Sennheiser IE 8 is apparently very good (after a extensive burn-in period) but they also sacrifice isolation for soundstage. Many here can't seem to get a good fit (I hope I will once mine arrives).

Supposedly Klipsch's Image X10 has good amount of bass too but I am not sure if they are on par with the Denons.

 

[ThePandemonium]

I would say take a look at the Klipsch Image X10, even though you want to stay away from armatures. I will garentee it will have enough bass for you, because they do have alot of bass. They even have quite a bit of detail, and the comfort is insane, you wont even know they are there.

 

[tstarn06]

If you buy the Phonak Audeo and use the black filter, bass will be plentiful and accurate, never bloated or muddy. Cost-wise, a very good deal. I owned the Atrios, and while I did like them, you do sacrifice mids/highs, though EQin them does help.

I also own the X10s, and while they do deliver very good bass, especially for an armature, the PFEs dominate them on mids and highs, and still give good bass response for an armature (single) phone. I prefer the PFEs over the X10s, in short. The X10 comfort is off the charts, but the PFEs are a close, very close, second. Also, the PFEs are over the ear, and have absolutely no micophonics. As much as I like them, the X10s are noisy as heck when walking, even with a shirt clip.

Oh, I owned the C700s, and felt their highs were harsh, and they were way too clunkyy design-wise. I sold them maybe too soon, as they did not properly burn in. But I didn't like the design much.

Check out the PFE threads. Just a suggestion.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tstarn06 /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you buy the Phonak Audeo and use the black filter, bass will be plentiful and accurate, never bloated or muddy. Cost-wise, a very good deal. I owned the Atrios, and while I did like them, you do sacrifice mids/highs, though EQin them does help. I also own the X10s, and while they do deliver very good bass, especially for an armature, the PFEs dominate them on mids and highs, and still give good bass response for an armature (single) phone. I prefer the PFEs over the X10s, in short. The X10 comfort is off the charts, but the PFEs are a close, very close, second. Also, the PFEs are over the ear, and have absolutely no micophonics. As much as I like them, the X10s are noisy as heck when walking, even with a shirt clip. Oh, I owned the C700s, and felt their highs were harsh, and they were way too clunkyy design-wise. I sold them maybe too soon, as they did not properly burn in. But I didn't like the design much. Check out the PFE threads. Just a suggestion.

What he said. (I've had all three, still have C700 and Phonak)

 

[giveway]

Thanks for the input everyone.

I read a lot of the PFE topics. Those seem to be generally appreciated iems. My only concern is about durability (changing filters etc)

Another thing is that I found the Sennheizer IE8 in a local store for 185 euros (the Denons C751 cost 176, the PFE cost about 140), which is certainly within my budget. So this seems to be a no brainer, right?

 

[walkingman]

Buy the IE 8 for 185 euros, if you don't like them or can't find a fit you can always sell them for a profit.

 

[jonathanjong]

They died? How? How long did they last?

 

[giveway]

I've had them for over two years. and I can't say I have been treating them too gently..

The right phone produces no sound at all. Something's wrong with the cabe near the jack, cause if you twist it around there is one spot where everything sounds normal. Since there is nothing wrong with the phones themselves, the cable is probably repairable, but I now am already worked up for an upgrade.

 

[walkingman]

Two years is pretty long life for a headphone. That is impressive. At least keep them so you can always recable or replace the jack in whenever you feel like it.

 

[jonathanjong]

Two years is long, huh? Maybe for an IEM, I guess. Oh well.

 

[walkingman]

Well, compare to my Shure...