[JonesyS]

I currently have the following equipment which I use to listen to music both at home and while travelling:
-iPhone 3GS
-Ultimate Ears UE700
-Music: downloaded from iTunes or ripped from cd's.

What I want is to have better audio quality. The main complaints I have with my current setup are:
-"Flat" / "lifeless" audio from my iPhone
-UE700: lack of bass, only sound good with comply foam tips which wear out much too quickly and take too long to properly insert, normal tips don't stay in and are thus not comfortable.

My question is this: how to best upgrade my current setup as to maximise the increase in audio quality. Should I buy a better pair of headphones? Or is my iPhone the bottleneck? Would a portable amp do any good? What about the quality of my audio files?

Constraints/additional info:
-In any case I want to get rid of my UE700's, I want on-ear or over-the-ear headphones that don't leak sound to my fellow travellers.
-My budget is 300 euro's MAX
-Any upgrades have to be suited for portable use
 
I am currently considering the following headphones: Sennheiser hd25-1 and Shure SRH840. Are these good choices for portable use? Can my iPhone handle these? Any other recommendations?
Thanks!

 

[ostewart]

get a portable amp, the SRH840 are useless without an amp. the SRH440 are ok without an amp tho. dont know about the HD25 tho.

 

[ZARIM]

I think these DAPs + IEMs will sound much better than you current rig ( AMPs canbe add later) like S:Flo 2 + RE0 or IE7, X1060 + DBA-02.

 

[JonesyS]

Quote:

get a portable amp, the SRH840 are useless without an amp. the SRH440 are ok without an amp tho. dont know about the HD25 tho.

How come some require an amp while others don't? How can you know? Is there something in the specifications that indicates this?
 
Quote:

I think these DAPs + IEMs will sound much better than you current rig ( AMPs canbe add later) like S:Flo 2 + RE0 or IE7, X1060 + DBA-02.

I am looking for closed-back over-the-ear or on-ear headphones, could you recommend some?

 

[ostewart]

usually it has to do with the Ohms (higher means harder to drive) and also the sensitivity SPL i think....

 

[ostewart]

but your best bet would be to get a better DAP and amp and headphones. For just music i recomend the Sansa Clip+

 

[Brooko]

Quote:

get a portable amp, the SRH840 are useless without an amp. the SRH440 are ok without an amp tho. dont know about the HD25 tho.

Incorrect IMO.  I have the SRH840 and use an iPod Touch Gen 4.  The Touch drives them with no issues - and they sound great.
 
Do they benefit from amping - yes IMO they do.  I also have the E7 (entry level) - and they do sound better amped to me.  The clarity and separation from amping are slightly better to my ears.  But is it necessary - no definitely not.
 
The only thing I would question with the 840's is the 'portability'.  I generally just use mine at home as they are quite heavy.  They are very nice entry level cans though.
 

 

[JonesyS]

On avforums someone recommended custom sleeves to me in combination with an universal IEM. My first reaction was that this would be a perfect solution: I don't have to carry around full-sized or portable cans, I can keep using the custom sleeves with any future upgrades to other universal IEM's, they can be perfectly driven by my iPhone, as opposed to some cans apparently, etc.
 
From what I hear you get a very decent boost in sound quality and comfort. Will they compare to portable cans sound quality wise? Any things I need to watch out for? Will this fit into my 300 euro budget, considering I need to get ear impressions done + get an universal IEM with custom sleeves?
 
Great community BTW, thanks for helping out a newbie

 

[davidcotton]

FWIW the type of custom sleeve will depend on nozzle fit.  Best to check first whether it will fit to the type of phone.

 

[cifani090]

What is your price range?

 

 

[JonesyS]

Quote:

What is your price range?

 

See my original post: 300 euro's max.
I just found out about 1964 ears: they look to be the even better option (I am considering the 1964-D, and could maybe maybe stretch to the 1964-T because of the favorable euro's->dollar's exchange), as they're not very expensive for full customs and provide much better sound quality than universal IEM's + custom sleeves, or so I've read. There is a HUGE appreciation thread on them, should keep me busy
 
The thing is that I would not even consider another pair of non-custom IEM's anymore, as they just don't stay in, itch (this is because of the bad fit I guess), and don't sound good without a proper seal, obviously. That's why I started looking for portable cans, but custom IEM's seem to be the perfect solution for me! As long as they're in my price range that is
Thank you all for all the advice, any more thoughts on this?

 

[WindCatcher]

 
Quote:

-"Flat" / "lifeless" audio from my iPhone
-UE700: lack of bass, only sound good with comply foam tips which wear out much too quickly and take too long to properly insert, normal tips don't stay in and are thus not comfortable.
 
My question is this: how to best upgrade my current setup as to maximise the increase in audio quality. Should I buy a better pair of headphones? Or is my iPhone the bottleneck? Would a portable amp do any good? What about the quality of my audio files?

In my opinion your bad feeling that you call "Flat"/"lifeless" audio may depend on the sound signature of UE 700, that are known to deliver a crystal clear, - Etymotic like - true to ear sound, with an add of 3D sensation and just a lack of bass. Maybe the Shure with their warm sound and enhanced bass would be more in your ears.
 
Another problem would be that UE 700 are 40 Ohms impedance earphones, so could be little hard to drive them with your iPhone, but about this point I'm not sure (and so expert too).
 
About the quality of your audio files, are you using a lossless format when your rip your files from a CD?
 
 

 

[cifani090]

Quote:

See my original post: 300 euro's max.
I just found out about 1964 ears: they look to be the even better option (I am considering the 1964-D, and could maybe maybe stretch to the 1964-T because of the favorable euro's->dollar's exchange), as they're not very expensive for full customs and provide much better sound quality than universal IEM's + custom sleeves, or so I've read. There is a HUGE appreciation thread on them, should keep me busy
 
The thing is that I would not even consider another pair of non-custom IEM's anymore, as they just don't stay in, itch (this is because of the bad fit I guess), and don't sound good without a proper seal, obviously. That's why I started looking for portable cans, but custom IEM's seem to be the perfect solution for me! As long as they're in my price range that is
Thank you all for all the advice, any more thoughts on this?

Not SE535 or Westone 4's? Have you tried them, they are similar to customs as the way they sit in your ear. 
 

 

[JonesyS]

Quote:

 
In my opinion your bad feeling that you call "Flat"/"lifeless" audio may depend on the sound signature of UE 700, that are known to deliver a crystal clear, - Etymotic like - true to ear sound, with an add of 3D sensation and just a lack of bass. Maybe the Shure with their warm sound and enhanced bass would be more in your ears.
 
Another problem would be that UE 700 are 40 Ohms impedance earphones, so could be little hard to drive them with your iPhone, but about this point I'm not sure (and so expert too).
 
About the quality of your audio files, are you using a lossless format when your rip your files from a CD?
 
 

I am not using a lossless format at the moment. About the sound signature: to my ears everything also sounds a bit like it's far away, if that makes sense. Is this another known characteristic? I do like the way you describe the Shure sound signature, but as I said I really don't want another non-custom IEM that won't fit and won't get me a good seal. I don't think the way the Shure's sit in your ears would change this. I am really considering the 1964-D at the moment.
 
Quote:

Not SE535 or Westone 4's? Have you tried them, they are similar to customs as the way they sit in your ear. 
 

Have you looked at my budget?

 

[JonesyS]

After many more hours of research I have concluded that I either want a universal IEM, a custom IEM (this would almost certainly be the 1964-D as it's the best I can afford) or a "normal" IEM with a good set of tips. I originally did not want a non-universal, non-custom IEM because not a single silicone tip will stay in my ears, and as I mentioned the comply tips need to be replaced much too often, making them more expensive in the long run than a custom. Are there any other tips that provide a good seal like Comply tips but last longer? Any recommendations on which route to take? My only reservation about the 1964-D's is that I will be buying something I cannot try out and I haven't found that perfect sound signature for my ears yet. For me it's difficult to find "my" sound as there are no stores nearby that let me try out IEM's, and most webshops I know consider IEM's a "hygiene" product that are not eligible for refunds.