[Stangs55]

The first time I ever heard an IEM, I was in love. The in-your-head sound was like nothing I had heard from any speaker system or headphone setup. It involved me in the music in a way that I had never heard. It completely blocked out the world around me and brought the music to a personal level. I was no longer listening to the music, I was experiencing it. They were what got me into this hobby in the first place.

So now, a few thousand dollars later, I have done everything my wallet and wife would allow in an attempt to build a comparable home rig that would emulate the personal emotion that IEM's brought to my portable music. I've listened to some of the better SS amps out there and just recently purchased a $1200 Singlepower MPX-3 SLAM tube amp. I've upgraded my source to include a wonderful DAC, the Lavry DA10, and a PC capable of outputing bit-perfect data. I've auditioned some of the best headphones I can find, from the Grado RS-1, HF-1, Senn 650, AKG K701, Beyer DT990, etc.

And so now. after a journey that's spanned several years and many credit cards, I find myself at a bit of a impass. I now have, what I'm assuming many here would consider, a head-fi worthy home setup, yet I still find myself listening to my IEM's more than my headphones. No, my Shure E500's aren't really in-my-face like the RS-1's, they lack the bass of the 990's, they don't give me the soundstage of the 650's, and lack the detail of the K701's. But I enjoy the sound that the E500's give me more than anything; I'll find myself plugging my E500's into my MPX-3 SLAM nine times for every one time I plug in some headphones. I enjoy feeling like the band is sitting on my brainstem playing to an audience of one. They bring to the stage an x-factor, an emotional aspect to me that I cannot reproduce even with some of the finest in head-fi equipment.

So in the end, when all the hype and the head-fi dust settles, what we really have to listen to is our ears. That's more important than any glowing Stereophile, head-fi post, or website review can tell me. And yes, I know that it may seem like I'm stating the obvious, but when your sitting here with a few grand in headphone equipment next to you, it just seems counterintuitive...but that's just what my ears are telling me.

With that said, I'm probably going to be posting up in the FS/FT forum the following items in the next day or two: Singlepower MPX-3 SLAM, Lavry DA10, Grado RS-1, and a Beyer DT 990 (2005). With this money, I just plan on climbing the IEM tree as far as it will take me. And no, I'm not going to be leaving head-fi.org. I love this hobby and everything about it; and I will continue to follow the world of headphones...but just with a different perspective this time.

Also, my lawyer wants me to note that the above does no way insinuate that I think headphones are stupid/worthless/silly/not-worth-the-money/wasteful. This is just my humble preference.

Thanks for reading this far

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Welcome to nirvana!

 

[stewtheking]

Cool man, you know what you like and you're willing to ditch the peripherals to get it. Nice.

What's your upgrade path planned then? Customs I guess, and a kick-ass portable amp?

 

[PsychRN]

Thank you for that post.

 

[Bob A (SD)]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stangs55 The first time I ever heard an IEM, I was in love. The in-your-head sound was like nothing I had heard from any speaker system or headphone setup. It involved me in the music in a way that I had never heard. It completely blocked out the world around me and brought the music to a personal level. I was no longer listening to the music, I was experiencing it. They were what got me into this hobby in the first place.

You've touched on the crux of how personal the experience and enjoyment of music is. For you the in-the-head sound is the ultimate. For others it is something else. For example for me it was auditioning Magneplanar Tympani speakers back in 1974-5. A few years back I finally found myself with the space to accomodate some Maggies and I haven't looked back since. Sure I have other speakers and of course headphones, but for me the ultimate is the huge accurate soundstage that to my ears replicates fairly accurately what I've heard from live performances (especially jazz clubs). My Maggie system provides for me what my other systems can't deliver.

I applaud your conviction although it's too bad you can't keep the lesser used and lesser satisfying system too. Bottom line here is enjoy Stangs55, enjoy!

 

[mirumu]

I understand where you're coming from, IEMs do have a certain magic all of their own and I have no doubt I'll always own some good ones. I'm assuming you're going to start looking at customs but another possible option you could look at if you're adventurous is the electrostatic Stax SR-001 or SR-003 in-ears earspeakers with their matching amps. They aren't true IEMs per-se but they sit on the rim of your ear canal in a similar fashion to IEMs and can do that "in your head" feel. They're "open" so if isolation matters they won't be your thing but they don't leak a lot (I can use them at work) and I find they are great at home.

The reason I suggest them is because I have been amazed by their sound (my number one concern) and secondly by their price performance. I own the Stax SRS-005A system which comes with the SR-003 headphones and a SRM-252A amp. Depending on where you buy they're quite a bit cheaper than the E500s but have detail and soundstage well beyond them. The E500s have more impactful bass but the SR-003 bass is deeper, tighter and more present. In midrange and treble the SR-003 just wins against the E500s in my opinion. They are very musical and enjoyable. I consider them the best headphones I currently own. Oh, and the headband part is optional, I removed that and use them IEM style.

I'm not for a minute saying they're better than customs, I haven't heard customs for a start, I'm just giving you more ideas. I hope whatever you decide to go with sounds great and helps you enjoy your music better.

 

[Bones13]

UE-10pro - with a Hornet. I finally got that feeling the other day, it felt like the guitar string was in there, sound and the vibration.

The IEMs are too isolating for my office setting, and really are hard to dictate while wearing.

 

[Hi-Finthen]

What tubes did you audition with and how long did you allow for proper break-in of the existing component chain and cables? What was the quality of the music on these CDs? Have you tried a turntable and LPs?
Were you in the proper listening mode emotionaly?

I just can't believe you've given all your options with your rig proper mindful burn in time!

 

[feh1325]

holy frijoles, Stangs55. your gear is selling like hotcakes.

good luck in your iem journey!

 

[Pete7]

Suggestion: Since your making a permanent switch to an IEM-based rig and selling off some really expensive gear. Go for a great pair of custom IEM's like the UE-10 pro's or Westone ES2's and don't look back. The higher price is worth every penny for the better fit and comfort alone. Best of luck.

 

[LeChuck]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete7 Suggestion: Since your making a permanent switch to an IEM-based rig and selling off some really expensive gear. Go for a great pair of custom IEM's like the UE-10 pro's or Westone ES2's and don't look back. The higher price is worth every penny for the better fit and comfort alone. Best of luck.

I was going to suggest the same thing. If IEM's are your personal epitome of Headphone enjoyment, then you might as well maximize them (and a top-notch IEM setup would still be significantly cheaper than your previous headphone rigs).

 

[nichifanlema]

I started this headphone hobby since 2003. Although I didn't have a big setup, I did enjoy it greatly. However, I started to feel that I was becoming tamed to the instruments, rather than enjoying the music itself.

So I decided to leave the head-fi world...and sold off all my equipment.
Off to the world with one or two cheap earphones..

About an year and half later.....I return back to head-fi ing.

Some mysterious power...

 

[PiccoloNamek]

Awesome post.

Indeed, there truly is nothing like the intimacy of an IEM's sound, which is why I greatly prefer them to headphones or even speakers.

 

[jdimitri]

Hmm if i was to get a custom it'd be the sensas, it seems to be much more comfortable and doesn't stick out at all.. or maybe ES2, guitar sounding like it is attracts me!

 

[LeChuck]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nichifanlema I started this headphone hobby since 2003. Although I didn't have a big setup, I did enjoy it greatly. However, I started to feel that I was becoming tamed to the instruments, rather than enjoying the music itself. So I decided to leave the head-fi world...and sold off all my equipment. Off to the world with one or two cheap earphones.. About an year and half later.....I return back to head-fi ing. Some mysterious power...

I think everyone should take this to heart.

We should always remember that the purpose of all this great equipment is to facilitate the music we enjoy; the music should never facilitate the equipment.