[fooey]

Hi All,

At home I use a pair of Senheiser HD25 with the HD600 cable upgrade. I realize that there are better sounding headphones out there but these sound pretty good to me. I want to get a pair of IEMs/earphones that I can use whilst in transit and at my desk at work. I've tried several single driver IEMs in the past and none of them have impressed me - having said that though, I've usually opted for the lower end models, such as ER6i, E210....
Bought a pair of Sennheiser cx95's last week and I was expecting good things from them as the reviews are very positive but I am dissapointed with them.
What I want to know is whether the top of the range IEMs can produce sound similar to good full size headphones? I'm thinking of splashing out on a pair of Shure E530s or the Sony EX700 but would prefer not to spend the money and be dissapointed.

The IEMs i've tried in the past didn't produce enough bass even though I was able to get a good fit. With the CX95's, the bass sounds really muddy and seems to mask the rest of the frequency range. My DAP is a Sony 829.

Thanks.

 

[aaron313]

You may have to spend more for an IEM with comparable SQ to a full size headphones. I haven't invested in a portable rig, but I have the ER6. It isolates well and sounds great, but it is no match for my full size headphones with regard to bass. Never heard the Shure, but word is it's not bad

.

 

[Nocturnal310]

i have tried Shure, Sennheiser & Sony.

I find one thing common and that is the Earbuds DONT fit well.
If u have mild wax or if u move your neck..they start coming out.

and because of this lack of Proper SEAL ..the sound leaks and reduces quality.

But if u position them well inside your ears then u will hear very deep sound.

In the end i think IEMs can never replace headphones.

IEMs are like Digital portable Cameras ..

while on the other hand... Headphones are the DSLRs.. the Real thing.

 

[channum]

There are tradeoffs for every style of speaker. The airy, spacious sound you get from full cans isn't replicated by IEMs, even at the extremes of price, just like the all body feel and diffuse sound stage of decent full size speakers isn't replicated by full cans, even at the extremes of price. That said, you can still get incredible clarity and sound quality from IEMs, you just pay more for the same SQ. The question is, are you turned off by the things you can't change in an IEM (soundstage, essential IEM sound signature) or is it just that you haven't heard a dual or triple driver yet with a more full spectrum of sound?

 

[Fixcinater]

I believed you couldn't match the full size can sound with IEMs until I plugged in a borrowed set of ER4s into my Creek integrated and boosted the bass a bit. With a good source, they had the same "level" of sound, and better detail and transient response than did my Sextetts.

Plugged into my iPod, I preferred the Etys and not just due to the transportability.

 

[Rednamalas1]

I use my IEMs for isolation factor, otherwise I would wear full-size cans all the time. I have yet to find IEM equivalent of AD2000, RS1, SR325 or W5000.