[Dexter Morgan]

I'm pretty new to hifi audio - I've spent the last several months reading different threads on this forum and trying to learn from you guys how to optimize my audio experience. Essentially, I wanted a portable sound library (iPOD 5.5g) and came to the conclusion that IEMs were the way to go.

My first IEM was the Shure E4c. I got this before I found head-fi, when I was relying on editorial reviews from CNET

. Well, they almost performed flawlessly, except for with choral music tracks... whenever a female singer hit an especially high note, there was ugly crackly distortion. Yuck! I was actually quite surprised... I figured that $200 dollars would buy me headphones that wouldn't distort at moderate volume levels.

So, I went for a trade and tried out the UM2 at $300, but it seems even that isn't enough money to eliminate distortion. Finally, I bought the SE530, and I had high hopes. One look at its gorgeous industrial metallic casing and I knew I'd finally entered the price bracket of distortion-free sound. I began listening to the troublesome tracks and things were sounding good... the 530s were definitely sounding much better in musical passages where the other IEMs struggled. But my victory celebration was premature, because the 530s still distorted at especially intense sections of music

I'm wondering what the problem here is. Do I need an amplifier? Is it because my headphones are plugged into the crappy iPOD headphone jack rather than using the port or having an iMOD? Am I asking too much of IEMs? What is the meaning of life? Do I need to step up to more expensive IEMs? Any help with this would be, in the words of Jar Jar Binks, "bom bad."

 

[PiccoloNamek]

I've never had this problem with any of my IEMs, ever. What you're hearing is probably some kind of digital or solid-state distortion, and not anything that has to do with the IEM's hardware.

Is your iPod's equalizer on?

Your comment about this happening during "intense" portions of the music makes me wonder if the music itself is digitally clipped, and the IEMs are simply more revealing of the distortion already present in the file.

 

[uraflit]

is your music file(s) of good quality? if you have a certain track on a cd that his this distortion try ripping it in apple lossless then playing and see if you hear the same problem, if so, you might want to upgrade your source/amp. you have plenty of options on that part =]

 

[ClieOS]

Never have that kind of problem on my IEM. I think it is more possibly that your source isn't capable of producing such a high note. It is quite common to find DAP producing noise when it comes to very intensive music. Also as mentioned, the file itself might have problem.

 

[catscratch]

If a problem manifests itself in multiple headphones, then the issue is probably not the headphones. I'd check the quality of your files first, then check your DAP. If you're using any kind of EQ, turn it off. Honestly it sounds like there's a simple clipping problem with the DAP not having enough headroom to pull off whatever you're tying to do. IEM's do not have trouble reproducing high decibels; in fact, most IEMs are capable of producing far higher effective decibels than regular headphones, and can be quite dangerous to your hearing if you're not careful with the volume. I've owned nearly every universal-fit IEM out there and I have never had one with the issue you've described.

 

[Claus-DK]

I had the same problem, the solution for me was to use mp3gain, try that it is free and easy. I gained everything to 87 db..

 

[GAD]

If you're using the EQ in your ipod, turn it off. That's a quality-killer.

GAD

 

[vo328]

If you're using your iPod's EQ, I suggest turning it off and seeing if you have the same issue. Where are you getting your tracks from, that are distorting on your iPod? Do you have the same issue with the original source as well?

 

[IPodPJ]

Click on the link in my signature. That might help you.

 

[Dexter Morgan]

Wow, thank you all for your prompt and invaluable suggestions! Although I was disappointed that nobody attempted to tackle the meaning of life. Let me first say that I don't have my equalizer on. The quality of the music file is lossless, which makes me think the issue is with my DAP - though I'm not sure I know what the term "headroom" means.

I'm going to attempt to modify an offending music file with mp3gain and/or ipodpj's method, to see if that solves the problem. In the mean time, would anyone be interested in testing an unmodified version of the music file with their DAP? PM me if you're interested.