[bluerage]

My first post...After ordering a set of white mhc1's from dx and thinking of picking up another pair of black from ebay I'm wondering if I have a problem lol.  Keep in mind I still have a set of r1's and a set of xba-3's on the way.  This all within a month of buying 2 pairs of m5's and a pair of s4's to compliment my bose ie2 and turbine pro coppers.
The funny thing is that I don't think I'm listening to them properly because they all sound similar.  I mean there are differences but not huge differences where I'd say the coppers are worth paying 10x's, more than the m5  
Anyway, I'm hoping that some of you might be able to offer some insight on how to optimize the sq of an iem.
Some specific answers I'm looking for:
quality of recorded source needed
how do you know you've got a good seal
will the fiio e5 have any effect on the above iems I've mentioned
would a dedicated music player ie ipod be better than listening to an iphone/samsung android
does any of the above even matter if I'm using the iems while working out at the gym?

 

[nihontoman]

recording quality must be lossless or high bitrate lossy stuff - say something like 320kbps ogg...
 
achieving good seal depends on the size of the tips and insertion depth. you just know when it is sealed, there is no definite way to describe it... you just hear less outside noise when having a good seal...
 
I don't think you'll need an amp with any of those...
 
they say that samsung galaxy s3 has one of the best audio processors so no - it depends....
 
it is hard to concentrate on music while you are working out.

 

[H20Fidelity]

Try and use 320kbps if you can or 256kbps as a standard.

What you mentioned about the increases in sound quality isn't really justifying the price is because this hobby revolves around the price of diminishing returns, It's not just you or your ears, It's the way this hobby works. There's a noticeable jump from $50 to -$150 IEMs though as you creep up in price the percentage of improvement lessens.

Many people become confused for example.......person A buy's one $80 pair of IEM's, they sound great to them coming from Apple earbuds, immediately the first thing they think is "imagine how good a $200 pair sound" but in reality although there maybe a nice improvement the $200 IEM is not going to sound 120% better. The real figures are probably like a 35 - 40% increase, if that. This is something that tricked me at first. that's why cheaper IEM's are still rather popular (especially in the $80 - $150 region) because as we move up the chain room for improvement begins to narrow, people found they've discovered a happy medium without a need to go further in those price ranges.

 

[bluerage]

Thanks for the replies.  Most of my music is 128kbps or 192kbps so I guess I'll start there.  What are some of the better sites for downloading higher quality music?
Thanks H20fidelity for the explanation on diminishing returns.  This will help keep my expectations in check.

 

[H20Fidelity]

Thanks for the replies.  Most of my music is 128kbps or 192kbps so I guess I'll start there.  What are some of the better sites for downloading higher quality music?
Thanks H20fidelity for the explanation on diminishing returns.  This will help keep my expectations in check.

Bandcamp Grab everything in 320kbps.There's a wide variety of great music on that site (some of it free)

 

[bluerage]

Thanks for the link to bandcamp.  It's fun going through the different genres.  Any suggestions for more mainstream music?

 

[nick n]

One important thing that many people overlook or forget about doing periodically, visit the doctor and have your ears flushed . I'm being serious. You may not need it but you may be surprised
Best cheap audio maintenance ever.

 

[Reomero]

Quote:

visit the doctor and have your ears flushed

+1 to this. No words can explain what it's like to have wax-free ears. 

 
 

Thanks for the link to bandcamp.  It's fun going through the different genres.  Any suggestions for more mainstream music?
 

 
Be a good citizen and buy it.

 

[Techno Kid]

If the stuff you have in 192kbps is recorded good then they'll sound pretty much the same as a 320kbps rip imo.  I've had some give me a blind test with the same song at 128kbps, 192kbps, 256kbps and 320kbps and to be honest there wasn't that big of a difference, I could tell what was 128 quite a bit but 192 to 320 it was 50/50 which means I couldn't tell the difference because odds are you'll go 50/50..  Now WAV I can easily tell but they take up a lot of space, though WAV does sound awesome.