[bestnaru]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nor_spoon /img/forum/go_quote.gif Another amazing thread...

Tell me about it lol

 

[Kilane]

It's really apples and oranges. IEMs aren't comfortable or as able to project space as full sized cans, likewise... the same could be said from headphones to speakers (at different levels). I use both, but given the choice at a given cost I'd almost always choose full sized over iems.

 

[Audio-Omega]

So UE-11 is not up there with top full size headphones ?

 

[Walie]

Just get one of each and be done with it

 

[majurglery]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kilane /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's really apples and oranges. IEMs aren't comfortable or as able to project space as full sized cans, likewise... the same could be said from headphones to speakers (at different levels). I use both, but given the choice at a given cost I'd almost always choose full sized over iems.

IEMs being uncomfortable is an opinion. I know that myself and others included could wear our IEMs all day and not feel one ounce of discomfort.

 

[Yikes]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Audio-Omega /img/forum/go_quote.gif So UE-11 is not up there with top full size headphones ?

Nope.

 

[Icarium]

Uh I mean again it depends what you are looking for but the UE-11 has the same limitations as EVERY other IEM.

Frequency Response: 10Hz to 16,500 Hz <- 16,500 Hz is not an acceptable upper range limit in a top tier top tier headphone.

Yes sounds past that are bordering on inaudible and not exactly notes people are hitting in music but shrug I can personally hear close to 19kHz (Tested) and other people make claims of hearing further... and these sounds do sometimes exist in music for various reasons (I forget the theories at the moment). The thought of loss of information is pretty unacceptable to me personally.

 

[audionewbie]

also, i can't info about alot of these which tell me the tolerances on that frequency response. how audible would the frequencies at either end of the scale be?

 

[LnxPrgr3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Icarium /img/forum/go_quote.gif Frequency Response: 10Hz to 16,500 Hz <- 16,500 Hz is not an acceptable upper range limit in a top tier top tier headphone. Yes sounds past that are bordering on inaudible and not exactly notes people are hitting in music but shrug I can personally hear close to 19kHz (Tested) and other people make claims of hearing further... and these sounds do sometimes exist in music for various reasons (I forget the theories at the moment). The thought of loss of information is pretty unacceptable to me personally.

To try to get a quick feel for how important highs above 16k really are, I took a few seconds of pink noise and filtered sections of it to remove anything above 16k. When I listened to the file, I found the result interesting.

In case anyone else wants to try this, I have uploaded the file to:
http://rapidshare.com/files/128697779/16ktest.mp3.html. While I can hear the change in my TF10s, I recommend full-sized phones for this. Also, be careful with the volume -- the noise is nearly full scale.

 

[Aevum]

the 16500hz limitation comes from using armatures, it can be easly overcome by using dynamic drivers, like the futuresonics customs,

and IEM´s have to work with smaller drivers, are mostly closed, have a compressed soundstage, anyways, theres alot of things a full sized can can do that a IEM cant,

i just dont want to be on the bus or the subway with some DT770 or HFI-780´s on me, and my triple.fi 10 pro still sound good,

 

[slowth]

I think for me... I've just left out cans for portability sake and for home use, I think my speakers are the bomb...

I never saw the need for it.. but I must say honestly, a good set of cans can really draw real near to a good set of speakers.
But speakers are just untouchable for me.

 

[oicdn]

But see, you fail to take in the account that there ARE image whores out there.

There are just as many kids now that want HUGE cans as opposed to something more portable. Why? I guess the in thing is having huge headphones, or something REALLY small. A fad that typically comes in and out I guess.

I don't think the population knows What an IEM is, and assume an earbud is the same thing. And if it's not Bose, it's not good. I got told by my boss "man that thing must be really old school...(pointing at my Stax), it takes AA's and has a flat cord like from the 70s!!!!"

I gave my buddy a pair of Marshmallows and the first thing out of his mouth was "Man, these things are really good..." Expecting to hear something about the SQ, he finishes with "they really block out the noise!". So umm...yeah. And 9 out of the 10 people I let listen to my Grado's, put their hands over the cups and "really listen". They then follow to say "they're pretty good, but I have to put my ears over the cups to cover up any outside noise..." I've also gotten told "can you turn up the bass?" when listening to them...umm, yeah, again.

People don't care about SQ....if it blocks out noise, and has HUGE fart bass, "it's good". Whether it be a headphone, or an earbud, or IEM....doesn't really matter.

 

[channum]

If you ask this anywhere but this board, you'd probably see the inverse of the above poll results (at least as of my posting it's over 70% in favor of headphones).

What a self-selected group of audio obsessed sound geeks will find preferable in comparison to the rest of the human population is unlikely to be the same. I don't think there's any question that at the same price points you can get better sound quality out of full size headphones. Grado SR60 versus Ultimate Ears metro.fi 2, Sennheiser 595 versus Sleek SA6, 'nuff said. However, no matter how different and how big of a sound you can get out of headphones relative to IEMs at about the same cost, the truth is that it is not just about sound quality for most people.

A lot of the posters on this board place sound quality as the number one criteria. Do the headphones need a special $3,000 amp that only powers two other models of headphones in the world? Only a matter of saving the money to get that sound. Are the headphones too large to do little more than sit nearly perfectly still in a chair? All the better to enjoy your music with. Does this headphone have a sound signature that only fits live jazz and sounds fantastic but otherwise sounds pretty weird with most everything else? Sweet, lets fire up some jazz, there's nothing wrong with its sound signature. That is not how most people's mind works.

I don't believe IEMs have an unfair advantage, but they certainly possess advantages that eliminate the question of differential sound quality for me and, judging by sales, most people. While it's not going to be a popular opinion, it's perfectly correct to look for the best sound quality you can get that works in all environments, sitting down or on the go, amped or unamped in lieu of niche use cans. In more than four years of being obsessed with music and ways to play that music, the most expensive full cans I bothered to purchase were ATH-A900, and I sold those to buy IEMs

There are times I'll grab headphones for the big, airy nature of their sound, but the bottom line is that I'd much rather be listening to IEMs (or even good earbuds) over full cans most of the time. Portability, comfort (my ears like the air), not having to worry about bothering others with leakage, clarity that doesn't take an amp and a quiet environment, etc., soundly trump any potential sound quality gains I'd get by using full cans.

 

[kjpmkjp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mypasswordis /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think Duggeh gave up.

Can you blame him? Given the great atmosphere of this forum, I don't feel like saying anything either.

All my points have already been addressed, with the main idea being that, for the price, full sized cans will (almost) always be better than their similarly priced IEM brethren. Even without extensive sourcing or arguing, it's almost an (un)written rule.