Hi 
So far, I’ve only owned cheap headphones except a pair of Sennheiser HD 569, which I like, but I find big headphones uncomfortable to wear after a while and I would like something small and easy to carry. That’s why I’m looking for new in-ear headphones. After having a look at what is available currently and reading some reviews, I’m hesitating between the FiiO F9 Pro and Final E4000.
I intend to use the new headphones with my laptop most of the time, and possibly start using them with my Android phone too. Of course, I thought that the integrated audio of my laptop probably isn’t great. My laptop is a Lenovo T450s (four years old). The Sennheiser headphones don’t sound bad to me on it, at least, there is not much background noise, and I found someone [here : https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/5q0rg3/headphone_jack_out_quality/dcvr3d9] saying that the integrated audio of that laptop performed close to their FiiO E10K DAC. I don’t have an external DAC or anything similar yet, and I don’t have much knowledge about them, but this is something I could consider in the near future too. I would probably need something that works plug-and-play without specific drivers though, because I use Linux on the laptop.
As for what I will be listening to : in music, pop music and more rarely jazz or classical. I also listen a lot to "informational" videos (tutorials, reviews and the like) on YouTube, as well as to ASMR and meditation music, sometimes with binaural beats. I only listen at low volumes.
Unfortunately, I can’t try the headphones before buying (I had a look at a couple of audio stores and they don’t have those headphones, so I will just order them online).
What makes me hesitate is :
– The E4000 seem a notch above the F9 Pro in terms of general audio quality, right ? But what worries me is that reviews say that have a large quantity of bass, and I’m afraid that might be too much. Otherwise they seem perfect for me, and I quite like the design of the E4000. I don’t really need a cable with a microphone, but anyway the cable is replaceable.
– about the FiiO F9 Pro : The bass quantity is reasonable and they seem like a good choice too, with more accessories provided than with the E4000, but I have never had headphones with which you have to curl the cable around and behind your ear and that doesn’t seem very convenient. I tend to remove and insert my headphones often, so I want to be able to do so quickly. I also wear glasses, which might interfere with the cables on top of my ears. Currently, they are also more expensive than the Final E4000 ; the price of the F9 Pro actually increased since I began looking for headphones. They were a bit cheaper than the E4000 before, but not by much (I compared prices at several online stores)
Would you have a recommendation ? Thank you
So far, I’ve only owned cheap headphones except a pair of Sennheiser HD 569, which I like, but I find big headphones uncomfortable to wear after a while and I would like something small and easy to carry. That’s why I’m looking for new in-ear headphones. After having a look at what is available currently and reading some reviews, I’m hesitating between the FiiO F9 Pro and Final E4000.I intend to use the new headphones with my laptop most of the time, and possibly start using them with my Android phone too. Of course, I thought that the integrated audio of my laptop probably isn’t great. My laptop is a Lenovo T450s (four years old). The Sennheiser headphones don’t sound bad to me on it, at least, there is not much background noise, and I found someone [here : https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/5q0rg3/headphone_jack_out_quality/dcvr3d9] saying that the integrated audio of that laptop performed close to their FiiO E10K DAC. I don’t have an external DAC or anything similar yet, and I don’t have much knowledge about them, but this is something I could consider in the near future too. I would probably need something that works plug-and-play without specific drivers though, because I use Linux on the laptop.
As for what I will be listening to : in music, pop music and more rarely jazz or classical. I also listen a lot to "informational" videos (tutorials, reviews and the like) on YouTube, as well as to ASMR and meditation music, sometimes with binaural beats. I only listen at low volumes.
Unfortunately, I can’t try the headphones before buying (I had a look at a couple of audio stores and they don’t have those headphones, so I will just order them online).
What makes me hesitate is :
– The E4000 seem a notch above the F9 Pro in terms of general audio quality, right ? But what worries me is that reviews say that have a large quantity of bass, and I’m afraid that might be too much. Otherwise they seem perfect for me, and I quite like the design of the E4000. I don’t really need a cable with a microphone, but anyway the cable is replaceable.
– about the FiiO F9 Pro : The bass quantity is reasonable and they seem like a good choice too, with more accessories provided than with the E4000, but I have never had headphones with which you have to curl the cable around and behind your ear and that doesn’t seem very convenient. I tend to remove and insert my headphones often, so I want to be able to do so quickly. I also wear glasses, which might interfere with the cables on top of my ears. Currently, they are also more expensive than the Final E4000 ; the price of the F9 Pro actually increased since I began looking for headphones. They were a bit cheaper than the E4000 before, but not by much (I compared prices at several online stores)
Would you have a recommendation ? Thank you
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