Dodgexander
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2007
- Posts
- 23
- Likes
- 10
I'm trying to keep my options open here.
I have around £150 to spend but can stretch further if the bang for buck goes up.
I'll do my best to explain what I think is my preferred sound signature but I'm really not an expert, perhaps someone can help me with that.
I like a wide soundstage, clarity, clear treble and mids. I'm not so worried about bass but as long as it doesn't drown out anything else it's nice to have.
Here's what I make of the earphones I've owned:
It's worth noting I generally listen to classic rock, blues rock, alternative and sometimes pop and metal. I enjoy hearing guitar riffs and a good bassist but oddly I'm not a bass head when it comes to earphones.
I mostly listen nowadays on my pc or phone. Right now I have my k550s hooked up to my motherboard but I also own a fiio e7 that gives a much warmer, fuller sound. It's limited to 48kHz though which is why I'm not using it right now.
My phone is a ZTE Axon 7, I bought it with audio quality in mind as it has a AKM dac/amp and it's generally impressed me.
I would prefer to be able to hook whatever I buy up directly though and not worry so much about amping but if I will really get better sound if there's something more suited out there I can go back to using my fiio again and perhaps upgrade that later too.
I'm looking for recommendations that you think match my likes/dislikes. I'm very open to which type.
IEM, earbud, open or closed full sized, on ear...whatever but comfort is very important as I will likely want to both use them for long sessions on my pc and laying down in bed too.
I'm also very interested in finding one that includes a decent microphone or maybe even a Bluetooth one with a mic if any exist that you think I may like.
So far I've thought of:
Despite my current shortlist I'm not so fussed about noise cancellation or anything like that. I'll use it if it has it but I don't commute in public places anymore. Having a mic is preferable but not essential. Bluetooth appeals but again I don't mind wired as I did have my phones dac and amp in mind when I purchased it.
I made this unnecessarily long sorry, just don't want a repeat disappointment of my k550's.
Although I'm currently in the UK and I'd prefer to buy here I can also buy from the USA and ask my gf to post them to me..I'll be back there in 6 months hopefully.
Thanks for any help you can give.
I have around £150 to spend but can stretch further if the bang for buck goes up.
I'll do my best to explain what I think is my preferred sound signature but I'm really not an expert, perhaps someone can help me with that.
I like a wide soundstage, clarity, clear treble and mids. I'm not so worried about bass but as long as it doesn't drown out anything else it's nice to have.
Here's what I make of the earphones I've owned:
- Etymotics er6i - I loved these, I found myself falling in love with music I've listened to since and never found as great. Sadly their build quality let me down twice. I wasn't keen on their bass and microphonics but it was worth living with because they excelled so well in other areas.
- Senheiser PX-100 mk1 - these feel like the opposite to my old etys and I still own them. The bass for me is a lot more pronounced and there's still a lot of detail in the mid range but to me they lose a lot of clarity and feel muggy and over powered with bass. Especially because I had to replace the foam with leather casing.
- AKG K550 mk2 - I bought this with high expectations but have only ever been disappointed, I think I even preferred my crappy plantronics gaming headset I was using beforehand. I tried so hard to like them and everyone seems to think so highly of them but for me they are just boring. A big disappointment.
- Onkyo HB500BT - I actually like these despite being Bluetooth. They sounded exciting to me, detail and clarity was more similar to my old etys but I ended up returning them because the microphone on them was terrible.
It's worth noting I generally listen to classic rock, blues rock, alternative and sometimes pop and metal. I enjoy hearing guitar riffs and a good bassist but oddly I'm not a bass head when it comes to earphones.
I mostly listen nowadays on my pc or phone. Right now I have my k550s hooked up to my motherboard but I also own a fiio e7 that gives a much warmer, fuller sound. It's limited to 48kHz though which is why I'm not using it right now.
My phone is a ZTE Axon 7, I bought it with audio quality in mind as it has a AKM dac/amp and it's generally impressed me.
I would prefer to be able to hook whatever I buy up directly though and not worry so much about amping but if I will really get better sound if there's something more suited out there I can go back to using my fiio again and perhaps upgrade that later too.
I'm looking for recommendations that you think match my likes/dislikes. I'm very open to which type.
IEM, earbud, open or closed full sized, on ear...whatever but comfort is very important as I will likely want to both use them for long sessions on my pc and laying down in bed too.
I'm also very interested in finding one that includes a decent microphone or maybe even a Bluetooth one with a mic if any exist that you think I may like.
So far I've thought of:
- etymotic mc5/hf5/hf2/hf3 or even a used er4p. I've heard the er4p to be worthy of its price but I've also heard others to say it differs very little from the hf series. I've even heard the mc5 are as good. If the er4p had a mic I would have probably just got them. Right now I can get a used er4p for £150. The hf5 are close to that price and also don't have a mic. Hf2 or 3 are hard to find here in the UK and I can't seem to find a decent deal. Mc5 more readily available.
- Sony MDR-100ABN if I can get a decent discount somewhere...But are these bass heavy? How is the microphone on these? I like that these use LDAC that is going to integrated in the next android version. They also have aptx which is nice, although aptx hd would be even better. (I can mod my phone to work with both aptx and hd)
Despite my current shortlist I'm not so fussed about noise cancellation or anything like that. I'll use it if it has it but I don't commute in public places anymore. Having a mic is preferable but not essential. Bluetooth appeals but again I don't mind wired as I did have my phones dac and amp in mind when I purchased it.
I made this unnecessarily long sorry, just don't want a repeat disappointment of my k550's.
Although I'm currently in the UK and I'd prefer to buy here I can also buy from the USA and ask my gf to post them to me..I'll be back there in 6 months hopefully.
Thanks for any help you can give.
