IEM vs. FULL-SIZE CANS....who wins???

[SICmuSIC]

Paired with the best IEMs available vs. Full-Size Cans who reigns supreme in terms of accuracy and soundstage?

Let the war begin...

 

[SactoMan101]

It's not even close. My older Sony MDR-CD750 "full size can" would sound vastly superior to most IEM's.

 

[jgonino]

so you mean The Ultimate ears Custom UE-11 Pro vs. the Sony Mdr-R10? r-10 wins every time!

 

[IPodPJ]

Once you go fullsize, you never go back to IEM for sound quality. There's no competition.

 

[cbw]

I choose speakers

Trumps them both

Really though,IEMs will have a hard time competing with full sized cans in the same price range....

 

[SonicDawg]

apple to orange there...
They just serve different purposes; much like the headphone. vs speakers debate: it all comes down to their respective pros and cons.

 

[manaox2]

I dunno. Should I go run out and buy some Ultrasone Edition 9 to compare to the UE11? In terms of soundstage, I can't see an IEM competing. It may be more specific though. In terms of resolution, I would have to hear. BTW, the R10 is nowhere near the price range on any IEM I know of on the market.

 

[manaox2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif Once you go fullsize, you never go back to IEM for sound quality. There's no competition.

Why would you say that? Have you ever heard a high end custom like the UE10 or 11?

 

[obentou]

I actually started a thread like this long ago, but the sound that headphones produce are much different than those produced by IEM's. I've owned in the past a pair of HD-555's and currently still own a pair of Westone UM1's... the HD555's are great in terms of general listening, but the main point of an IEM is to isolate outside noise and reproduce music as clear as possible.

 

[weste47]

I think I prefer iem's because when I'm listening I like to not feel any headphone on my head. when my pk2's are in I can't even feel them there so it just immerses me even more into the music even though the quality may not be as good as full size cans.

 

[Illidan]

What's the sources

The IEM's can't compete with Full-Size cans in some fields due to different functions of producing the sound, but the sources can be a simply portable dap rather than some big stuff.

Maybe custom iem can do a better job in terms of soundstage when compared to the universal ones. Wait for my ue11

 

[Illidan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by manaox2 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Why would you say that? Have you ever heard a high end custom like the UE10 or 11?

X2

 

[ZephyrSapphire]

Depends on purpose. I would say IEMs win against full sized cans when you're in a noisy place since full sized cans can't block outside noises like the IEMs can. But when you're in a quiet area, full sized cans for the win.

 

[obentou]

Yep same opinion here. Cans perform the best when they aren't being influenced by outside noise.

 

[LawnGnome]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SonicDawg /img/forum/go_quote.gif apple to orange there... They just serve different purposes; much like the headphone. vs speakers debate: it all comes down to their respective pros and cons.

This is a lazy way to respond.

You look at their different strength/weaknesses for different qualities and uses, and you can begin to see which would be superior in different areas.

People can compare things far more complex than this.