Full Sized Cans vs. IEMs, rules have changed?
Sep 6, 2009 at 12:31 AM Post #16 of 27
Quote:

Originally Posted by ephemere /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Very interesting. I'll have to check into that. Thanks.


There's a thread called "Orthodynamic Roundup" where you can read about ortho addiction.
wink.gif
Buying 30 year old headphones is like playing the lottery though.
 
Sep 6, 2009 at 8:41 AM Post #17 of 27
From a sound quality perspective alone, my IEMs don't come close to my full sized headphones. The beauty of IEMs for me is the portability and isolation that they offer over my full sized headphones. They produce surprisingly good quality sound from such a tiny package.
 
Sep 6, 2009 at 6:13 PM Post #18 of 27
I own Grado SR60s, Beyerdynamic DT880 and Westone UM3X.

I do agree that when it comes to soundstage and resolution, my DT880s are superior to the Westone.

However I find myself hearing things on my Westones that I've never heard on any of my other cans before.

How do I explain this?

Ambient noise (or rather lack of it in the IEMs). I live in a large metropolitan city, and even late in the evenings there is a lot of noise that comes into my apartment, from the street, from my neighbors (live in a 30 apartment complex), from my girlfriend watching TV in the next room, etc.

I have no doubt if I was in a near-soundproof environment with my DT880s that would be the way to go. Or heck, even in the small town I grew up in where after 9PM the streets are deserted and there's a huge yard between my parents' house and the next door neighbors. But I don't live in that world anymore, and so for me, the IEMs provide the best sound given how they attenuate ambient noise and bring my focus squarely on the music.

YMMV.
 
Sep 8, 2009 at 1:12 PM Post #19 of 27
Quote:

Originally Posted by dvdonly /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I own Grado SR60s, Beyerdynamic DT880 and Westone UM3X.

I do agree that when it comes to soundstage and resolution, my DT880s are superior to the Westone.

However I find myself hearing things on my Westones that I've never heard on any of my other cans before.

How do I explain this?

Ambient noise (or rather lack of it in the IEMs). I live in a large metropolitan city, and even late in the evenings there is a lot of noise that comes into my apartment, from the street, from my neighbors (live in a 30 apartment complex), from my girlfriend watching TV in the next room, etc.

I have no doubt if I was in a near-soundproof environment with my DT880s that would be the way to go. Or heck, even in the small town I grew up in where after 9PM the streets are deserted and there's a huge yard between my parents' house and the next door neighbors. But I don't live in that world anymore, and so for me, the IEMs provide the best sound given how they attenuate ambient noise and bring my focus squarely on the music.

YMMV.



Makes sense, thanks for your impressions.
 
Sep 12, 2009 at 2:43 AM Post #20 of 27
I've read through dozens of threads relating the Shure E500 to full sized cans when it had first come out a few years ago. Generally, it's placed right below the Sennheiser HD580 or HD600 in sound quality, and right above the AD700, DT770, SR80, and MS-1. The ER4P/ER4S is usually placed on par with the E500, and often compared to the AKG K501/K701 in terms of clarity and transparency.

What confuses me most is the number of people who still insist that "any full sized can will pretty much beat any IEM," when it's clear that many IEMs are rather high level and can handily beat $200-$300 full sized headphones in pure sound quality alone.
 
Sep 12, 2009 at 2:48 AM Post #21 of 27
Most IEM's can't image well enough, this is true. Detail and clarity have been IEM's strong suit. I can tell you, custom IEM's are in the league of Full size, but those are 400+ dollars. Then again, u don't have to buy amps.
 
Sep 14, 2009 at 5:21 AM Post #22 of 27
Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott_Tarlow /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Most IEM's can't image well enough, this is true. Detail and clarity have been IEM's strong suit. I can tell you, custom IEM's are in the league of Full size, but those are 400+ dollars. Then again, u don't have to buy amps.


Agreed, imaging and headstage still persists as a problem for IEMs, even with the IE8 which can't reach the levels of even some mid-fi full sized cans. The JH-13 Pro clearly surpasses the IE8 in everything though, and has upended many long held notions on the supposed glass ceiling of IEMs.
 
Sep 14, 2009 at 5:59 AM Post #23 of 27
Quote:

Originally Posted by Antony6555 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I don't agree at all. Iems will probably never have the imaging of full-size phones. In addition, they simply don't cannot match full-size cans in treble extension. Even iems with good treble, like the er-4S, have rolled off treble compared to full-size cans.


This WAS true prior to the introduction of the JH13. It has excellent treble extension, as high as I can hear, and is true to the 20kHz rating it bears by all reports.

The rules have changed, and the JH13 is the one that changed them. I never would have imagined giving up full-sized, high-end headphones for custom IEM's, until I heard them.
 
Sep 17, 2009 at 6:11 AM Post #24 of 27
Quote:

Originally Posted by Iron_Dreamer /img/forum/go_quote.gif
This WAS true prior to the introduction of the JH13. It has excellent treble extension, as high as I can hear, and is true to the 20kHz rating it bears by all reports.

The rules have changed, and the JH13 is the one that changed them. I never would have imagined giving up full-sized, high-end headphones for custom IEM's, until I heard them.



For sure, nearly everyone in the know is reeling from the advent of these JH13s. It's clear now that at least customs have reached ridiculous levels of sound quality.
 
Sep 17, 2009 at 9:14 AM Post #25 of 27
For 100$, I think the RE0 outperforms full size headphones in this price range. I have not heard the alessandro ms-1 yet, but compared to my HD-650 I think the RE0 comes a long way for only a 100 bucks.
 
Sep 18, 2009 at 4:00 AM Post #27 of 27
Quote:

Originally Posted by ancol /img/forum/go_quote.gif
From all IEMs that I listened to, I found that most of them can't compare to the level of fullness and depth that full size cans can provide.


Cool. Care to specify which headphones and IEMs you're coming from?
 

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