Ok...Here goes:
- source - iPad, phone, mp3 player etc. Strictly un-amped.
- preferred connection - Single 3.5mm. Has to be straight as L-shaped likely won't work with my tank-like iPad case.
- listening level & session length - Volume? As low as I can get away with. Session length? Depends on how good they are
- listening environment - Anywhere/Everywhere.
- preferred sound signature - Neutral/balanced on the whole, but with a soupçon of a smile...for fun.
- preferred music genre - Eclectic. Mainly for music production, but if they sound good and are comfortable, they could be used for everything incl. podcasts
- preferred shell type - My only preference would be to avoid earpod-shaped, as they give me a lot of pain in my right-ear, within ten minutes of use.
- preferred brand - None, although it'd be really nice if it was something that could be obtained from Amazon, in Spain (I know this is unlikely)
- budget - As little as I can get away with, at the moment. Would consider waiting-and-saving, and would certainly consider 2nd-hand
- special need and/or consideration - With mic and remote would make it a possible all-rounder, though I'm certain this will rule-out a lot of cheaper giant-killer options. I'll take a hit on the mic/remote in deference to other more important factors. But wouldn't mind being made aware of some with in-line controls.
Ultimately, my main use-case will be for iPad music-production. Specifically, I want something balanced enough that I can trust to make destructive audio edits, while out-and-about. An example of this will be combining different sounds, then (re)sampling them into a cohesive whole, after which the original sound sources will likely be discarded. It's all done purely as a hobby (At least for the moment), and so I'm not looking for pro-level gear. Even if the budget were there (And it really isn't), I need something that can be thrown into and dragged out of a rucksack, at various points throughout a day.
I'd like to try my hand at some Hip-Hop production, at some point, but other than that I'll mainly be concentrating on Ambient music, with electronic and acoustic elements.
In terms of Ambient production, a lot of the material e.g drones, will sit at the upper bass, lower-mid/mid range, so I'd like something that isn't bloated in the upper-bass/lower-mids, so as to avoid congestion in that area. I mentioned Hip-Hop as I also want some measure of punch, if possible. But again, as long as it isn't bloated/congested.
The reason i no longer want to use iems is partly because I don't want to be putting anything that deep into my ear, anymore. But also, I want a more zoomed-out, objective perspective on what's going on. Not sure if that makes sense, at all. When I use iems, I'm right inside the sound/music (Though, maybe it's more accurate to say it's right inside me...literally), where the bass is dominant and obscuring the rest of the panorama. But when I listen to ear-buds (at least with my minimal experience), it feels like I'm 'standing' outside the music, 'looking' in. Perhaps a better analogy (or not
) would be the difference between watching a film in 2D or 3D. 3D might be more engaging/enveloping; enjoyable, perhaps. But it's hard to know where the edges are. 2D is flatter, in comparison, but much easier to get an overall perspective on what's happening.
As much nonsense as that description likely is, it's how I felt last night, plugging in my lightning-cabled earpods, after years of being in iems.
On one hand, it was clearly much less immersive. But on the other, the bass was no longer drilling directly into my head, and that left the mid-range singing...which I found to be much more engaging. Of course, being stock Apple earbuds, the experience was slightly lacking. However, not as much as I'd have imagined, and certainly in the ball-park of where I'm looking. If they had slightly better isolation, a bit more bass and less veiled/more detailed, I could imagine using them...
...except for the comfort issue. I used to wear these types of earpods years ago, as I was able to listen while doing my job, and still maintaining complete awareness of my surroundings. Back then, I wore then with sleeves and this meant I could listen for hours. The sleeves also helped with isolation and bass, but at the expense of clarity. Now, without the sleeves, I cant wear them for more than 15 minutes without pain in right ear where the pod tapers down to the speaker grill
tl;dr: I'm looking for a more comfortable, more revealing, non-fatiguing, slightly-bassier ear-pod...I think.
Two other times I've been wowed by in-ear sound. 1) KEF M200 (My current iem) and 2) Yuin G2A. These blew me away, and made me listen to more and more music just so I could listen to them more - an end in itself, as it were.
Too much rambling, f'sure. Any ideas?
Thanks!