[mrpool06]

I am not an "audiophile", but I do love music. When I was in Vegas a few weeks ago, I stopped by a electronics store that sold Ipods......they had one hooked up to some Bose IEM's.........I did a quick listen since I didn't have much time........& was blown away. I did not have time to listen to it through some full-size headphones.

How does the sound quality of an Ipod with good quality headphones (or IEM's) compare with, a home stereo system.......or car stereo system setup? I did not have sufficient time to judge myself, but I may be thinking that its pretty damn close, if not better. I may be way off here as well.

I am thinking about buying an Ipod & some Ultimate Ears IEM's.

Opinions appreciated.

 

[stewtheking]

Bose IEM's? Really? Are you sure?

I can see no mention on the internet of any IEM made by BOSE. Maybe you had a little too much sun in Vegas.

 

[mrpool06]

Hmmm, guess that shows how little time I spent in there. I may have seen some Bose headphones next to it. I'm not sure what brand the IEM's were.

 

[K2Grey]

I have never heard of any Bose IEMs. I am sure if there were any someone would have made a thread on it by now and it would most likely be bashed as overpriced (as with all other Bose equipment).

A home stereo system is considered to be superior to an iPod -> IEM system. Or rather, the ceiling of quality is higher with the stereo system.

In general, IEMs are considered worse than full-sized headphones, the iPod is considered worse than a high quality CD player (or DAC), and speakers are considered better than headphones.

All this is irrelevant since an iPod to good IEMs is perfectly satisfying. The best IEMs are generally considered to be the Shure E4(c/g), Shure E5c, Etymotic ER-4P/S, Westone UM2, and Ultimate Ears super.fi 5pro. There's also the unreleased Shure E500 and the custom IEMs that cost a bucketload. Between the ones mentioned, it is a matter of taste, although the people who've heard the E500 seem to think it's superior to all the others (it also costs more).

 

[Purgatos]

The answer is of course:

It depends. It depends on your iPod(1st-5th Gen), your headphones or IEMs, your home stereo and your car system.

An iPod with good headphones will certainly sound good though, even if not as good as a home/car system.

 

[Spyro]

Wouldn't it be also be fair to say that even though portability usually costs more, if you were starting from complete scratch, you could create the best sound for the least amount of money (let's say $500-600) using an mp3 (or actually a CDP) and mid-range IEM's (like UM-2's or E4, ER4's) versus buying a home set-up or car stereo??