[Salmoneus]

So, I don't quite have the budget to go nuts with headphones, but when I decide I need something, I need it. And I need a pair of travel/portable headphones. I've owned two pairs of Shures in the past (old E2's and E3c), and the E3c crapped out on me far too soon for my liking. So I'm hesitant about Shure (though it appears they are the heartiest of the IEM manufacturers, so I'm willing to reconsider). Anyways, this post is about irony, not my search for HP.

I decided that while I wait for the Grado IEM's later this summer, it would be cool to check out some of the Yuin phones that have been getting rave reviews. So what better time to do this than now, when I am in Beijing? I found a recommended store (鼎好:海淀区海淀大街3号) and made my way to it.

Firstly, I am impressed with Sennheiser's saturation of the market. There aren't HD600's floating around or anything like that, but there were many of the lower to midrange offerings.

But when I strolled through the chaos that is the electronics shopping experience in China, I saw no Yuin products.

Zero.

Now, for something made in Shanghai, it would seem that if any market would be well-supplied, it's China's, right? The specific HP store that I had found online (and had the widest selection that I saw walking around the building) had a full range of Shure's, a good selection of UE, and even a Westone 3.

Somebody care to recommend other good places to go for HP perusing in Beijing? I might just go back and see what sort of bargains the people are willing to give on the SE530's...especially considering that there has been talk of getting the price down to $299 including shipping. That's the upper end of my range, but considering the MSRP starting point...

And sorry if this thread is in the wrong forum, this is my first one.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Salmoneus /img/forum/go_quote.gif I decided that while I wait for the Grado IEM's later this summer...

Wait, what?

 

[Hettlerr]

Grado IEM's? I haven't heard anything about these. If you have some knowledge of future Grado offerings, fill us in with the details.

 

[apatN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMarchingMule /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wait, what?

x2.
Explain.

 

[tattoou2]

Grado IEM's? Skeptical!

 

[KONAKONA]

I'll take a set of those grado IEMs.

 

[MD1032]

Since when was Grado making IEM's?

 

[Kees]

Grado IEMs were announced at the same time as the PS1000.
see here and here is the answer.

 

[ecclesand]

I remember reading about the Grado IEMs coming out because I thought to myself how painful a 325i driver would be even closer to your ear drum.

 

[moogoob]

I'm sorry to derail your thread even further, but I think "grado IEM" and my imagination produces a pair of SR-225s with glued-on funnels instead of bowl pads, terminated in silicone tips where the small part of the funnel meets your ear.

Hmm.... might work.

 

[krmathis]

Welcome to Head-Fi!

Grado IEM, that is all new to me...

 

[Zodduska]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Salmoneus /img/forum/go_quote.gif I might just go back and see what sort of bargains the people are willing to give on the SE530's...especially considering that there has been talk of getting the price down to $299 including shipping. That's the upper end of my range, but considering the MSRP starting point...

Make sure to be very careful to avoid the counterfeit Shures.

 

[Salmoneus]

Thanks, all, for the welcome. I have no problem with my thread being "derailed" by a product that I'm also very curious about. On the flipside, it is making my life difficult (do I wait and see how the Grados get reviewed, or do I take the plunge with Yuin/Shure/[Insert Other Company Here]?) I made it across the Pacific without my iPod coming here, but it would be nice to have the option going back.

As for the Grado IEM's, I only first heard about them on one of the PS1000 threads (which I then derailed a bit, since the focus there seemed to be on PS1000 shipping, and not IEM info). I got a response from Grado that they expect to ship early August. This was about 3 weeks ago, so there may be some change in the date.

My only requirements for this purchase is that the headphone be sturdy and play my music well out of a questionable source. And this thread was mostly about the experience of "So you have 8 floors of electronics...but no Chinese-made audiophile stuff? And you're based in Beijing?!"

God, it would be nice to have mirror CanJams for those of us who can't travel great distances...

 

[Uncle Erik]

Salmoneus, there's nothing stopping you from organizing a meet.

Start a thread in the Meet Forum, get a group together and find a place. It's a great way to meet people and hear new gear. A mirror CanJam would be difficult to impossible - they're a monstrous organizational effort and mos vendors are small operations. You couldn't have Tyll or Ray Sameuls in two places at the same time. But go ahead and start one if you want. Even if you get 5-10 people together at someone's house, it'll be a great time and you'll hear new gear.

And Grado IEMs? I stopped reading the PS-1000 threads so I missed that. Strange that they haven't gotten their own thread yet.

 

[stewtheking]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif And Grado IEMs? I stopped reading the PS-1000 threads so I missed that. Strange that they haven't gotten their own thread yet.

And yet, it is a strangely comforting lack of wild speculation...