[jstalz]

So for about a month i did crazy amounts of research looking for the best portable/home use headphone I could find for about $200-$300. I knew I would only be driving my headphones with a portable source (ipod or macbook), so I needed a headphone with a low impedance. Once i discovered some reviews on the ESW9 I found that they are everything that I was looking for.

I went ahead and ordered them.

While waiting for the headphones to arrive at my home I have been thinking about my music library. I noticed that majority of my music is below 256kbps. It is mostly 192kbps and some 320kbps. This library I have spent years creating for my iPod now does not meet my standards.

I will try to update my Music library with higher quality tracks as soon as possible.

For the time being, will my music sound "good" on the ESW9s?

 

[cheemo]

No worries, the 9's are not analytical cans but more warm and musical. Most of my music is encoded between 160-256 AAC VBR. I run them straight out of a ipod nano 4th gen and I have no complaints. YMMV, everyone's ear are different. Enjoy them!

 

[will75]

If they are anything like the ESW10JPN's then the answer is ABSOLUTELY YES.

I have listened to plenty of 192 tracks with my ESW10's right out of a pc with nothing but integrated sound. The sound is still quite good. Not sure why but it just is.

They scale up well too.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Oh, I thought you were having buyer's remorse for the traditional reason.

We can console/assure you all we can (and probably will), but until you actually have them on your head, nobody here can conclude that you will be disappointed because of the bitrate aspect.

 

[jstalz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMarchingMule /img/forum/go_quote.gif Oh, I thought you were having buyer's remorse for the traditional reason. We can console/assure you all we can (and probably will), but until you actually have them on your head, nobody here can conclude that you will be disappointed because of the bitrate aspect.

My remorse is not due to the financial aspect. I actually got them for $230.

I definitely look forward to having them on my head and listening to some tunes. It is going to be a big day in my life.

 

[tintin47]

I know that this is against a lot of people's opinions, but here it is: I do prefer lossless files to a great extent, but I think that my system does wonders for even 128s. Everything sounds better, you just don't get the jump in detail that you see going from lossless with a bad setup to lossless with a good setup. With nice equipment what I notice more than anything is when the albums themselves are badly recorded. Those drive me absolutely nuts and sound terrible on hifi equipment.

 

[scytheavatar]

The ESW9 is very veiled and forgiving, I seriously doubt that you can hear the difference between 192 kbps and 320 kbps on them.

 

[jstalz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scytheavatar /img/forum/go_quote.gif The ESW9 is very veiled and forgiving, I seriously doubt that you can hear the difference between 192 kbps and 320 kbps on them.

Do you have the ESW9?

Could you please elaborate on what you mean by veiled?

 

[scytheavatar]

Its clarity isn't that good, so if you are expecting to be able to hear those hisses and other artifacts, you have gotten the wrong headphone.

 

[Nanago]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jstalz /img/forum/go_quote.gif Do you have the ESW9? Could you please elaborate on what you mean by veiled?

By veiled, he means that some sound clarity is sacrificed for musicality. It's a welcome trade, especially if you're using an iPod source with low bitrate files, because it can make your music more, for lack of a better word, musical rather than cold and analytical, which could end in the destruction and revision of your entire music library as you find that the quality of your tracks might be below your headphones' standards. You may or may not prefer this: some people prefer vanilla and some prefer chocolate. Personally, I prefer chocolate flavoring with my music, but YMMV I guess.

Enjoy your ESW9's. They're stunningly good looking and while you may not care much for aesthetics, it's a small comfort to know that the ESW9's won't fail in making head turns around family and friends.

 

[roosta]

ive converted damn near all my music into lossless now, ever since doing a blind test 3 months ago with a mate. im only listening through portapros, but i got between 65 and 70% (cant remember exactly) correct. the differences were only subtle, and if i wasnt paying attention to it as much as i was, i doubt i would have noticed. but in typical me fashion, i had to have "the best".
i wouldnt NOT use good phones since the compression doesnt make it sound crap, just not as good as it could be.
however i never downloaded anything off iTunes so i dunno bout that.

 

[Rednamalas1]

You should be having second thoughts.
Should've got ESW10JPN for twice as much money for a slight improvement in sound quality

 

[scytheavatar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rednamalas1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif You should be having second thoughts. Should've got ESW10JPN for twice as much money for a slight improvement in sound quality

The improvement is anything but slight, I think that the ESW10 is a far better phone and is nowhere near as veiled as the ESW9.

 

[Rednamalas1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scytheavatar /img/forum/go_quote.gif The improvement is anything but slight, I think that the ESW10 is a far better phone and is nowhere near as veiled as the ESW9.

Yes, the difference is quite noticeable, but not a night-and-day difference as some people described. Those two cans are more alike than they are different.

 

[scytheavatar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rednamalas1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, the difference is quite noticeable, but not a night-and-day difference as some people described. Those two cans are more alike than they are different.

I think that the ESW10 sounds a lot more like the ES7 than it does to the ESW9. The ESW9 has a Senn veil in it and seems to be more suitable for different types of music than the ES7 and ESW10.