[Bozo]

Looking for my first pair or pairs of IEMs and I've read a lot of the reviews and peoples comments on here but I still can't make a decision on what to go with. Basically, I'm after something better than the stock phones that came with my Sony NWZ-A816 MP3 player, the stock phones are Ok but they do seem a bit lifeless.

I listen mainly to rock, pop & country, and sometimes some easy listening stuff like Frank Sinatra. However, I'm beginning to think that it's a bit unlikely that one pair of IEMs will give a good representation for all of the different types of music I listen to.

So from doing some research on here, I've come up with a short list of IEMs in the price range that I can afford, and I've listed them as follows :

£50-£60 range
Etymotic HF5's
Klipsch Custom 2's
Klipsch S4's
Head Direct Re0's
SuperFi 4's

£90-£110 Range
Shure SE310's
SuperFi 5's

So with the budget I have I could buy one pair from each of the price ranges or I could go for 3 pairs from the lower range.

So I'm interested to hear what people think would be a good combination to span my tastes in music.

Thanks

 

[what]

TripleFi goes for $150 USD new on ebay. so perhaps that will be in your upper budget.

 

[brown274]

I enjoy my Etymotic er.6i with pop & country

 

[intoflatlines]

Owning both, SF5 Pro is infinitely better than the SE310, in my opinion.

And I agree, the TF10 Pro is much better than the SF5 Pro and can be found in that price range roughly.

 

[Bozo]

I think the TF10's are out my price range really. I could buy them on eBay but as I live in the UK I don't want to chance them getting lost in the post, as none of the sellers appear to offer insured international delivery. Brand new the cheapest I could find were £209 which are £120 more than the SuperFI 5's.

I could stretch to a pair of IE8's but people seem to either love them or hate them, and I'd rather not spend all my cash on them and not like them, I can always look at them another time.

I'll have look around at the ER6i's though, I've not read much about them.

 

[intoflatlines]

SF5 Pro will be the best of the bunch if you can get a good fit. I would rule out the SF4 and SE310 if you're looking for any hint of bass. I haven't heard the others.

 

[Bozo]

The SuperFi 5's aren't described as pro's, am I right in thinking that UE changed the naming of their IEMs so that now it's totally confusing what you're getting (I seem to think I read that on here somewhere).

They are described as :

Ultimate Ears SuperFi 5 Noise Isolating Headphones
# Earphone
# Type: In-ear
# Frequency response: 15 Hz - 15 kHz
# Impedance: 13 ohms at 1kHz
# Sensitivity: 115 dB SPL/mW at 1 kHz
# Speaker type: Single driver, proprietary, balanced, top fire armature
# Weight: 12.4 g (0.44 ounces)
# Noise isolation: 26 dB
# Connection
# Cable length: 116.8 cm (46 inches)
# Input connector: 3.5 mm (1/8 inch), gold plated

 

[intoflatlines]

Oh I didn't notice that you didn't put "Pro" after.. That's an entirely different IEM, sorry!

The SF5 Pro is dual driver and the SF5 is single.

 

[Bozo]

Well, my budget went out of the window big time and I put everything on my credit card.

I ordered the Triple Fi's, Klipsch S4's, ER6i's, Radiopaq Jazz & Q-Jays, and I'll see where I go from there. However, I'm having doubts about the Triple Fi's, as I've noticed a thread on here where people seem to think that the sound quality is not what it used to be since Logitech took over. So being a novice I may never know if the Triple Fi's I have are worth the money I've paid.

 

[Ellen_125]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bozo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, my budget went out of the window big time

Welcome at Head-Fi

Hope you'll enjoy your new phones!

 

[Bozo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ellen_125 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Welcome at Head-Fi Hope you'll enjoy your new phones!

Thanks

 

[semisight]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ellen_125 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Welcome at Head-Fi

Sorry about your wallet.

 

[Bozo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by semisight /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry about your wallet.

Not as sorry as I'm going to be next month when I have to pay the credit card bill

I figured I'd tag on a Cowon D2 as well as my Sony MP3 doesn't support FLAC, and possibly an amp, maybe the Fiio E5 or something similar.

 

[semisight]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bozo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not as sorry as I'm going to be next month when I have to pay the credit card bill I figured I'd tag on a Cowon D2 as well as my Sony MP3 doesn't support FLAC, and possibly an amp, maybe the Fiio E5 or something similar.

Hey, if you're already spending, why not get a better amp? You might find something good used on the for sale/trade forums here.

Not that I would ever encourage over-spending.

 

[Bozo]

Well, the TripleFi's have arrived through all the snow, but I have not had much chance to have a play with them. My first impressions however were that the fit was not good as they kept falling out, but I haven't had chance to try any of the other various tips in the box yet.

One question I did want to ask though, are these supposed to stick out quite a way? or should I be looking at smaller tips to insert them further into my ear canal