[soundofpraise]

hey guys, i have been looking into head-fi.org for just a couple weeks and i am very amazed by everyone's knowledge and talent on sound and products. very impressed. im am new to to the scene and the only equipment i have are a pair of shure se425's and my iphone 5 with a pair of shure se535's on the way.
 
i am very much interested in how to make a good listen change into an absolutely detailed and mind blowing experience. im no professional in music or instruments but i do appreciate detailed sound. unfortunately, i had a slight problem to my left inner ear a while back but it has been resolved. my ears have been quite sensitive since then. a sound too high pitched tends to distort to me. does anybody have a good recomendation for an earphone or any audio equipement?
 
ever since i have the shure se425 i noticed my ears have been more sensitive. its pretty much my first time using IEMs. you know that sound u hear in your ears when you're in silence? like a slight ringing in ur ears? is the slight ringing normal? thats what i have been experiencing since using those IEMs. its nothing like a the ringing you get when a small firecracker goes off in front of ur face(example: when a grenade blows up next to you in Call of Duty).
 
Sincerely,
soundofpraise

 

[Rewkie]

Do you want a lot of bass? Little bass? Do you want new IEMs,a recommendation on an amp to improve your IEMs,or just new headphones? If you want any of those i'll need to know your budget. 

 

[soundofpraise]

Bass on my shure se425 seemed to be a little lacking(I don't know how to describe it) but everything else i was surprised with the level of detail. so maybe something with a little more bass. Im willing to go up to maybe $400 or $500. I would like an IEM or maybe an amp suitable for light traveling. I heard custom molds can improve sound but would those be contraindicated for a person with sensitive ears?

 

[Brooko]

The ringing you are hearing is likely to be tinnitus.
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinnitus
 
Be very careful with this.  It could be benign - just your ears reacting to not being used to having the IEMs.  But it could also be the result of listening too loud (most common cause) - and if prolonged, can lead to permanent damage.
 
I have permanent low level tinnitus - it never goes away - incident when I was younger.  Do some research.  If you're worried about it - go see an ENT.
 
As far as the 425's go (I had a pair) - they are quite flat - and rolled of at both ends of the spectrum.  Get either the Equaliser or EQ app for your iPhone5 - and use EQ to adjust.  Both the SE535 and SE425 react pretty well to carefully applied EQ.

 

[soundofpraise]

Thx Brooko for the advice and also the suggestion for the EQ app! I really appreciate it!

 

[Rewkie]

Oh you could get some gooooood IEMs for that. IE80s,monster tributes,those are bass heavy IEMs.

 

[Brooko]

Quote:

Thx Brooko for the advice and also the suggestion for the EQ app! I really appreciate it!

 
No problem.  Another one you could try is Accudio - I actually use it at the moment.  The paid Pro version is better than the free one.  Only issue with it is that Golden Ears idea of 'flat' seems to be slightly brighter than what I would call neutral - but if you load the 535 settings, it does have a very simple EQ where you can target set areas of the frequency spectrum.
 
It works OK on the 535s (but I love mine how they sound anyway) - and the bass boost does work nicely.
 
The best thing about Accudio Pro is taking the new 'lowly' earpods, adding foam covers, dialing in their preset EQ, and then trying some of the other headphone simulations.  I absolutely love the earpods (must be with foam covers) with the K701 simulation mode.

 

[soundofpraise]

Man you guys are awesome Brooko and Rewkie! Thanks!!!!