[gbadude]

What are the pros & cons of each. I personally bought a pair of ER6i which by the way are awesome, but I noticed a lot of the members here own both a pair of IEM's & headphones. Not that I have the money to go buy a pair of head phones, but I would like to know the pros/cons of each. Thanks!

 

[iPatcH]

From my personal experience, I still take my headphones over my IEMs. Then again, my headphones costed me twice as much....

 

[crazyfrenchman27]

How much do you wish to spend?

The pros and cons really should be obvious.

-Matt

 

[gbadude]

I'm not actually wanting to buy a pair. I'm just asking the differences between a pair of headphones and a pair of earphones. Does one provide better isolation, better sound, etc. I meant in general, no specifics.

 

[Fripp]

I have got a pair of Sennheiser and IEM Shures 500 and I find myself listening to the Shures all the time. It feels more intimate and very true.

 

[Razoramus]

IMO IEMs can't compare to headphones at all and I've heard the Shure E500s. IEMs are for portability and isolation, they really lack a realistic presentation in terms of soundstage and openness/airyness to compete with full sized headphones. The very nature of their design is their limitation. The E500s were incredible tonally, very detailed and musical at the same time. However, I think my HD595s are scores better than E500s, no way E500s can come close to HD650s. The owner of the E500s that I heard (my brother) immediately agreed after he heard my HD595s. Maybe if you like the in your head sound or grado sound you'd take IEMs over headphones, I can see how it feels intimate.

IMO even the KSC75 bests the Creative EP-630, Shure E2c, and Etymotic ER6.

 

[marvelusjd]

It really just depends on what you're using them for. I like my IEMs for my commute as I'm on the bus and I want something that isolates well. I prefer over the head headphones for the office and home use.

IEMs do have a more in your head feel, which is sometimes what I'm looking for. On the other hand, I really enjoy the spaciousness of regular headphones. This is why you see so many people with multiple sets used for different purposes.