[vinnievidi]

I know that for most of you, after reading the thread title you are crawling out of your skin.  
 
Here's the skinny: I wanted to listen to the Met Live Broadcast with headphones yesterday afternoon (my wife hates Wagner) but left my SE535 at work.  I grab my Apple dual driver IEMs out of my gym bag, held my nose, and jumped in.  Here's the catch: they sounded pretty good out of my receiver, better than my SE535 (though, not clearer).  I say better in that my receiver already emphasizes mids, as do the SE535, and that pairing seems to bloat the mids to the point of slight annoyance.  My guess is that the Apple IEMs have a bit of a scooped in the mids or are very flat; thus, the pairing is more balanced.  
 
Are there any suggestions out there for full-sized cans (new or used <$500) or a new set of IEMs that I should try that will be similar?  I listen to almost all sub-genres of classical about 90% of the time; the other 10% is stuff like Sigur Ros, U2, Sunny Day Real Estate, Fleet Foxes, Tool...  
 
 
Thanks!
 
VV

 

[skit]

I would try a headphone with a good soundstage and high detail.You could always try the fischer fa 003(and other clones like it,theres even a $50 clone at jaycar) with a really good portable amp.The beyerdynamic dt 770 with darth beyer mod,Denon AH5000 is in your budget right now at amazon.These all would work,I can't really sugest any IEMs since I only own 2 pairs.
 
Forgot to mention while these don't really sound like the Apple IEMs they do sound very good for classical.This is just my opinion so take it with a grain of salt.

 

[vinnievidi]

Thanks for the reply.  I've owned the Denon D2000 and D7000 but never the D5000, and not while I had this receiver (which, by the way, is a Denon).  The problem I found with the D2000 was that it was too sibilant.  I don't remember why I sold the D7000... maybe they weren't getting enough use, or it was when I wanted to get the HD800... don't know.  I could D5000 or the anniversary model a try.  They're different than the D2000?  Anyway, I don't have any experience with Beyers but would be willing to investigate.  
 
Any other thoughts?  

 

[skit]

Heres a bit of a comparison between 2000's and 5000's.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/605281/denon-d2000-vs-d5000-treble

 

[vinnievidi]

ok, so I think I should stay away from Denon.  Maybe I should take some time to investigate the Grado PS500 or the Hifiman HE400.  Anyone have experience with the Grado?