[NickAcrobat]

Alright so I did not know what an audiophile was before today when my skullcandy inkd's broke and I posted here to find a better upgrade. I admit I haven't used a state of the art headphone but I cannot comprehend how good they can be. I mean I know a lot about music from producing my own beats but I used speakers not headphones and I dont see how IEMs can worth more than stereo speakers.
 
Or how a pair of Sennheiser IE 80's can sound $400 better than most headphones.
 
So ya I dont get it, what do expensive headphones sound like?

 

[saintyoo]

well its a price trade off
 
I don't have experience with the higher end IEM's but headphones in general give more precision, detail, instrument seperation, transparency and resolution for a lower price
 
IEMs obviously provide better isolation while full sized headphones have soundstage
 
speakers in the end are better but at a huge cost tradeoff and correctly setting up the room which takes tons of money
 
IMO

 

[NickAcrobat]

Ya well the thing is I know for a fact no headphones could ever sound as good as any kind of decent class speaker system as your left ear cannot hear anything from the right headphone and vice versa. Hence why engineers don't mix in headphones.
 
It doesnt make sense to me why someone would pay $400 dollars for a pair of headphones because they think it sounds amazing when in reality a stereo system sounds much better.
 
For example, how does one pay $50 for some brand of IEMs instead of some $20 skullcandies when the difference between them is probably minimal considering neither of them can account for actual stereo seperation.

 

[ValentinHogea]

Quote:

well its a price trade off
 
I don't have experience with the higher end IEM's but headphones in general give more precision, detail, instrument seperation, transparency and resolution for a lower price
 
IEMs obviously provide better isolation while full sized headphones have soundstage
 
speakers in the end are better but at a huge cost tradeoff and correctly setting up the room which takes tons of money
 
IMO

 
I used to think the exactly same thing... A high.end pair of custom IEM's are almost on par with high-end headphones. My UM Merlins un-amped are better in soundstage than my HD650's with a 500USD headphone-amp.
 
The biggest difference is the longevity. My HD650 will probably outlast me whilst I wouldn't be surprised if the CIEM's will start to malfunction in a couple of years due to accumulated dust/moisture etc...

 

[stozzer123]

Quote:

Ya well the thing is I know for a fact no headphones could ever sound as good as any kind of decent class speaker system as your left ear cannot hear anything from the right headphone and vice versa. Hence why engineers don't mix in headphones.
 
It doesn't make sense to me why someone would pay $400 dollars for a pair of headphones because they think it sounds amazing when in reality a stereo system sounds much better.
 
For example, how does one pay $50 for some brand of IEMs instead of some $20 skullcandies when the difference between them is probably minimal considering neither of them can account for actual stereo seperation.

But you are getting this completley wrong.  No one is putting these directly against each other. 
 
Also stereo separation is just one thing,  but you can be damm sure that you can snag something for $50 after a bit of research and it sounds worlds better than skullcandy inkd.
 
Also when you are talking about decent (not even that great) speaker set up you are into the tens of thousands of dollars region.
 
Seriously dude its not even comparable.

 

[NickAcrobat]

So you're absolutely sure it would be worth my money to invest $30-$40 more into a pair of headphones after some research? I would hate by a pair of headphones that cost 3 times as more as the ones I used before and be only slightly better and equally likely to break.

 

[H20Fidelity]

Quote:

So you're absolutely sure it would be worth my money to invest $30-$40 more into a pair of headphones after some research? I would hate by a pair of headphones that cost 3 times as more as the ones I used before and be only slightly better and equally likely to break.

I can recommend you a IEM that cost less than Skullcandy Inkd and still sounds better. That would give you a perspective what's out there above inkd's price. in quality. 

Go and buy yourself a $10 pair of Phillips SHE3580, come back and tell me which ones better. Then if you like it, I'll recommend something $30 more than your Skullcandy. 

 

[Dacrazydude]

"producing my own beats but I used speakers not headphones"

What speakers did you use? Also, Ink'd are actually not horrible. It's actually has decent price/performance for a skullcandy. Comparing speakers to headphones is really apple to oranges btw. 
 
You don't necessary have to spend more to get more. You can spend the exact same amount as you did on the Ink'd and still get MUCH better sound. It's all about getting the best bang for your buck. I think the cheapo JVC FX-40's are currently the flavour of the month. 

 

[stevenlongs]

For me it was a personal joy to read through many of the reviews in this thread:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/478568/multi-iem-review-245-iems-compared-phonak-pfe-232-added-07-05-12
 
Part of the fun is identifying the earphones that you would find enjoyable and go out and (hopefully) get a good price on them.
 
What made IEMs interesting to me is the fact that:
 
1) They have the most portability...bring them everywhere without looking dumb.
2) No hassle if none wanted (Just plug it into a small media player and voilà)
3) The little things can sound damn great
4) They isolate
5) They have a low cost compared to cans or home setups.
 
With each model having their own sound signature I imagine it can get really addicting to want to try them all...at the expense of the wallet har har.

 

[AyeVeeN]

You never know until you try.
 
I started with ATH-M50s and am now going to customs IEMs so.. I've owned ~6 pairs of other headphones before that. I also bought my Swan M200 mkii's in middle and regret none of the purchases. Main headphone atm is the FA-011, which do beat the Swan M200mkii in many points at a 3x less price tag, especially soundstage and bass (considering a subwoofer would cost a few hundred more for a decent one, which would be on top of the already ~$280 price tag for the bookshelf speakers).

 

[devilsadvocate]

This is such a bizarre conversation.  This is like saying "well, I have a car but how good can a boat be?"  I guess I would suggest that the author of the original post go somewhere and audition some headphones and come to his own conclusion.  These are totally different technologies and each have their advantages and disadvantages.  

 

[eke2k6]

Quote:

This is such a bizarre conversation.  This is like saying "well, I have a car but how good can a boat be?"  I guess I would suggest that the author of the original post go somewhere and audition some headphones and come to his own conclusion.  These are totally different technologies and each have their advantages and disadvantages.  

 
Actually, it's like he's saying "I have this 1908 Ford Model T. How much better could a new Ferrari be? Airplanes go much faster, not to mention they can fly."

 

[billybob_jcv]

I refuse to get into any kind of a serious conversation with someone that is happy with their Skullcandy 'phones.  There is simply no common ground to use as a reference.  I say if you are happy, then stay happy and don't worry about the world on the other side of the fence...

 

[wahu]

I don't think OP was trying to start a war he just wants to be convinced to try more expensive earphones/headphones. We all must have had an experience where we first discovered how good sound can get, he just hasn't yet. So yeh IMHO they sound much better. My desktop setup also sounds awesome but I can't leave the house with it

 

[planx]

goo with the flowwwww