[eduard0]

Hey guys i i've been looking around for a while but i didn't join up until now. So im looking to buy  some  new iems, the last headphones i had were some S4s and i liked them, but they broke around a month after i bought them, so im looking to upgrade. Im looking for something alot more durable and an upgrade. I listen to most genres but mostly folkrock, rock, rap, electronic, and ambiant. The s4s broke at the wire, so i figure the detachable wire would be a good option, i saw that the SE315 and SE425 had detatchable wires and i figure something like that would mean i never have to buy new headphones . I am by no means an audiophile so please bear with me if my questions dont make sense.
So i have a few questions:
 
1.Is it worth it to go for the detachable wires, will i really never have to buy more headphones or do the added connections just cause more trouble
 
2. I will be using an iphone 4 and a macbook pro  as my primary sources, is it really worth it using such highend headphones when the source is my iphone 
 
3. The only reason i was looking  at the SE series was because of the cables, im gladly open to other suggestions that would fit the music i listen to better
 
5. Would i need an amp, i didnt need one for my s4 but from looking around it seem as though alot of people like them, do they do anything other than make the volume louder, are they really a necesity
 
6. Lastly i live in Toronto Canada so if you know of any stores where i can get the headphones at a decent price that would be great
 
thanks alot for your help and sorry for rambling on

 

[nadsta]

for great build quality & detachable cables check out the the HJE 900s in ljokers review here
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/473075/clash-of-the-titans-hje900-vs-ck10-vs-turbine-pro-gold

 

[eduard0]

Thanks but i couldnt really get the turbines there a little more than am willing to pay for a monster headphone, and if its anything like the jamz i had a little while ago the cable should break real easy. As for the ck10, i believe its discontinued and so il have a hard time finding them, But i am curious about the panasonics, i saw you had them how did you like them, and how long did they last

 

[illquid]

Detachable cables are a must if you're spending $200. I used to have the S4s and they were a great pair of headphones for that price range, as good higher priced option.
 
1. Spending double that, you want longevity, and cables get worn. Switching cables is literally a doddle, and it just takes a few secs to figure out the orientation, connecting the cable to earphone is straightforward.
 
2. The iphone 4 provides perfectly good sound, and provides enough power to the earphones so that you really dont need to have the volume on max to hear everything. It's more dependent on the quality of your mp3s rips (imo 192 CBR should be MINIMUM, VBR is better, or 320 or if you really dont care about storage space.. FLAC or ALAC in this instance)
 
3. Check out Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10s. I moved from the S4s to these and have not looked back since... Shure's generally price expensively.. ( I don't think in $s but I have heard these can be bought for just over $20, in fact a quick check shows a USD$190 on them from amazon -- BARGAIN). These earphones were designed by Jerry Harvey and have a similar sound signature to the Ultimate Ears custom monitors. They are also on the top end of the universal earphone market and retail for $300 normally. They are quite a difficult fit however for small ears and if interested I can offer more insight.
 
4. No amp needed, iphone 4 doesn't need an amp at all (gone through in point 2.)
 
5. No idea, amazon US to a friend?? and ship it to canada? I have a pair brand new and still all wrapped up from logitech but I am in the UK and thus you would be paying a lot more. cadusd is almost 1-1 currently so the amazon deal looks insane value from where i am standing...

 

[eduard0]

Thanks so much for the reply
I actually am interested in the UE phones but, the thing is that they are around 500 dollars everywhere ive seen them up here in canada, and theres no way i could get them shipped cause the duties would be huge, but i'm going to be in new york for a while so if you know where i could get a deal there that would be great. Also what other headphones with removable cables are out there

 

[illquid]

there are services which provide you a US postal address to send it to and then they ship to you. Even at $20 its still worth it (i don't know the actual price but that's just a guess, they list their services on this site i think), amazon.com is selling the earphones for $188 inc delivery. Or have an american friend do you a favour, especially if they happen to live in new york, then you can pick it up.

 

[dbdynsty25]

Why not get the Shure SE215s (they are brand new, literally came out this week)?  100 bucks, awesome detachable cable, and a great sound.  Check out the impressions thread...almost everyone who's gotten them so far loves them.  For some reason I've got jacked up ears, so they don't fit right on my head, but no one else seems to have a problem.  I am so jealous...I really wish I could have kept mine.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/542003/new-shure-se215-first-impressions

 

[eduard0]

Well i dont really know anybody i could get it shiped to, and i'm positive that using the mail forwarding service i would still face huge customs fees, so i think im stuck with finding something here in canada. 
So what other headphones should i look at, i was thinking one of the shure models, or like nadsta said, the panasonics. But i cant really fund any other iems with a detachable cable

 

[illquid]

you have a choice between the Shures mentioned above or Westone UM1s (both dynamic drivers). Or you could try and find a pair of UE super fi 5s (dual drivers), they don't sell them officially anymore but they are around.
 
These all have detachable cables.
 
There is an argument that can be said for fixed cables too, that with a 2 year warranty, it doesn't really matter anyway. Less moving parts, good treatment will make them durable.
 
Lets be honest, these are unlikely to be the last pair of headphones you will own. If you include fixed. the Klipsch image X5/custom-3, Future sonics Atrios or even some etymotics (although i like my bass and wouldn't go for etymotics personally) are all worth looking at.

 

[fairgun]

Quote:

Well i dont really know anybody i could get it shiped to, and i'm positive that using the mail forwarding service i would still face huge customs fees, so i think im stuck with finding something here in canada. 
So what other headphones should i look at, i was thinking one of the shure models, or like nadsta said, the panasonics. But i cant really fund any other iems with a detachable cable

I am looking for detachable iem for the same reason as you. I really like what I hear about Shure SE215, but it is hard to find it here in Canada. Most US seller don't ship to Canada. The ones that ship the item cost really expensive or offer no insurance. In addition, I worried about paying too much for taxes and duties.
I saw this website www.earphonesolutions.com will ship to Canada for less than $10 with no insurance or tracking. I think I will try to buy from them after I have some update regarding the shipping from US to Canada.

 

[eduard0]

Yeah i was looking at that website as well, but i have gotten things shipped from the US before but i always get big customs fees, so im worried about it. If you do go through with it though please post about the experience.

 

[eduard0]

Quote:

you have a choice between the Shures mentioned above or Westone UM1s (both dynamic drivers). Or you could try and find a pair of UE super fi 5s (dual drivers), they don't sell them officially anymore but they are around.
 
These all have detachable cables.
 
There is an argument that can be said for fixed cables too, that with a 2 year warranty, it doesn't really matter anyway. Less moving parts, good treatment will make them durable.
 
Lets be honest, these are unlikely to be the last pair of headphones you will own. If you include fixed. the Klipsch image X5/custom-3, Future sonics Atrios or even some etymotics (although i like my bass and wouldn't go for etymotics personally) are all worth looking at.

Thanks i hadn't seen your post, il definetly take a look at those you mentioned, but after thinking about it do you think that the tf-10's are worth the trouble, like are they better than all the others you mentioned above because i may be able to pick those up off amazon of it would really be a big difference.
 
 

 

[illquid]

Yeh, for $200 the TF10s are without a shadow of a doubt the choice if you can make it. It's in a different band to those others, purely because it *shouldn't* be $200.
 
It's triple driver, one of the last designs by Jerry Harvey before he left UE, and has stood the test of time since 2006/7 when first released. Shures have come and gone in that time frame, and whilst arguably the se535s are considered by many to be better (although you will find plenty of users who prefer their TF10s to the SE535s) your paying double the price or at least a significantly higher price for a competing iem (fact).
 
One thing to be wary of is that TF10s aren't made for people with small ear canals...of which I am one and thus I got custom moulds made by ACS for my TF10s. But my friend wears them stock and its a perfect seal for him, after a wearing in period of course for your ears to adjust. I just found it painful as I have small ear canals and whilst seal was great, they were too big for my ears and caused a lot of discomfort for more than 30mins of listening, which you don't want.

 

[eduard0]

Quote:

Yeh, for $200 the TF10s are without a shadow of a doubt the choice if you can make it. It's in a different band to those others, purely because it *shouldn't* be $200.
 
It's triple driver, one of the last designs by Jerry Harvey before he left UE, and has stood the test of time since 2006/7 when first released. Shures have come and gone in that time frame, and whilst arguably the se535s are considered by many to be better (although you will find plenty of users who prefer their TF10s to the SE535s) your paying double the price or at least a significantly higher price for a competing iem (fact).
 
One thing to be wary of is that TF10s aren't made for people with small ear canals...of which I am one and thus I got custom moulds made by ACS for my TF10s. But my friend wears them stock and its a perfect seal for him, after a wearing in period of course for your ears to adjust. I just found it painful as I have small ear canals and whilst seal was great, they were too big for my ears and caused a lot of discomfort for more than 30mins of listening, which you don't want.

 
Perfect, so i think i'll go to a local store an try them out to see if they fit me well, which they should because i mostly used the bigger inserts of all the headphones ive had so hopefully it shouldnt be a problem. One concern though, since im buying through amazon and im bringing them into another country should i be worried about the warranty?
 

 

[illquid]

I just went through the warranty for you...no clauses regarding transfer of product from regions (why should there be, you may have lived in the US for a year, bought the earphones and moved back home, pretty normal situation). The one thing TO NOTE is, the warranty is non-transferable, so to cover yourself, please make sure the receipt or whatever email record is under your name, address shouldn't matter as it's only a delivery address (and the warranty refers only to the person, and therefore your name is sufficient. You are still the same person whether you've moved homes or not)