[Mr00000]

Howdy everyone,

I think the time has come for me to give an IEM an honest try. I'm looking for something to wear at work. I love the iGrados I'm using right now, but am getting more and more annoyed by my noisy work atmosphere (I work at a call center). So I am looking for an IEM that fits the following:

Isolation - this is the reason I want them
Sound quality - I don't know if I'll be able to get this, but I want something that sounds like bigger cans. Something compatable with the signature of my Senn 595s (more laid back, very balanced).
Cheap - If I could do this for less than $100 I'd really like that. I understand if there is a great reccomendation that goes over $100 (no, I'm not going to get UE 11s )

Also, please keep in mind I'll be using my Zune and Go-Vibe V6

Thanks much,

Mr_Zero

 

[schapman]

From my experience I'd have to say it's worth spending a little more and getting the UM1s.

You get a good low end response, nice detail and a good warm sound. They're also really comfortable so if you are sitting in the call center for long hours you won't even notice they're in.

They're $109 at earphonesolutions so it's not much over your budget either.

 

[LaBreaHead]

At $130 (if you win a bid from Road-Dog on eBay; they list at $199), the Future Sonics Atrio M5's come close to the "full can" effect in terms of bass and overall sound. Quite a value in an isolating IEM. You can wear them "up" (cords over the ears) or "down" (which might work well in a work environment, as they would be easy to put in and take out repeatedly if you had to interract with people, answer the phone, etc.). I recommend the Future Sonics foams, or the Comply or Shure foams, for comfort and isolation in long listening sessions.

At around $30 online, the Creative EP630 canal phones are a good value, but it seems that you are looking for a higher-end sound. You'll probably get recommendations for the Westone UM1, superfi 3, Etymotics ER6i's, and various canal phones in the $70 - $100 range.

I think you need some kind of in-ear earphones ... hope you get something that works for your situation.



__________________________
Phones (in order of purchase):
Sony MDR71, Sony MDR51, Etymotic ER6, Panasonic RP-HJ50, Shure E3C, Koss PortaPro 2, Creative EP630, Etymotic ER6i, Sennheiser PX-100, Sennheiser HD555, Future Sonics Atrio M5

 

[kichu1979]

To be honest the IEMs that are most similar to HD595 are Shure E500/SE530 in both sound signature and music presentation... scene space etc. For me they sound like IEMized HD595. These are the first universal IEMs (and I've owned UM1/UM2, Shure E5c, UE super.fi 5 pro, Etymotic ER4 and Altecs iM716) that seems to have sound similar to
the bigger cans... and less "in your head" type of presentation...

 

[Mr00000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kichu1979 /img/forum/go_quote.gif To be honest the IEMs that are most similar to HD595 are Shure E500/SE530 in both sound signature and music presentation... scene space etc. For me they sound like IEMized HD595. These are the first universal IEMs (and I've owned UM1/UM2, Shure E5c, UE super.fi 5 pro, Etymotic ER4 and Altecs iM716) that seems to have sound similar to the bigger cans... and less "in your head" type of presentation...

Ouch! It looks like those things go for a bit more than I want to spend. Anything cheaper that gets close to the Senn sound?

 

[kichu1979]

Comparing to the HD595 all single drivers IEM will definately lack of space when it comes to soundstage presentation. UM1 will be more on the mid-low size when it comes to sound signature, on the other hand ER6i wil be on the brighter. Matter of taste IMHO.

Comparing UM2 and Shure E5c... E5c being more direct... UM2 bit more space. Also E5c bit more balanced, UM2 more picky about type of the music/recording. Considering their price its better to go for E500 in that
case.

super.fi 5 Pro are somewhere in the middle when comparing E5c/UM2... but have crap ergonomic (personally I like the sound sig, disklike the ergonomics)

Now considering your target price, I would give super.fi 5 pro a try (if their ergonomics wont scare you - search for in-ear photos) and see if I like the sound signature. If not then you should have no major problems with selling them... and they will sound better than UM1/ER6i IMHO.

 

[Sanooj]

How are the Atrio m5's at isolation? i don't see any specs on their site.

 

[LaBreaHead]

"How are the Atrio m5's at isolation?"

An unscientific opinion is that they isolate much like the Shure E3's I have. Actually, so far I've been using larger foamies on the M5's than on the Shures (the body of the earphone is larger than that of the E3, although it is quite light), so maybe they isolate more. Again, this is an early, unscientific take on their isolation. For me, the real test is an airplane flight, and I haven't had them that long ... a bus/train/metro ride would be a good test, as well.

 

[Mr00000]

Thanks for the replies guys. I think I've narrowed down my choices to the Atrio M5 and the Super.Fi 5 Pro. How do you think these two will compare to my needs?

Thanks much,

Mr_Zero

 

[subfocus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sanooj /img/forum/go_quote.gif How are the Atrio m5's at isolation? i don't see any specs on their site.

I use the Atrios on a daily basis for travelling on public transport around London . They isolate pretty damn well IMO .......... on crowded buses , metro during rush hour etc..... Even on a double-decker bus full of screaming school-kids , (worth the price to me for this alone I reckon).........Never used on them on a plane , but there's a post by Warrior buried some where deep within the main Atrios thread where he rates them highly for this. Great little IEM that definitely get you close to that headphone sound ........they have a smooth ,musical presentation that has a lot of similarities with the Senn. sound signature I reckon . Well worth the price....

 

[MikoLayer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr00000 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the replies guys. I think I've narrowed down my choices to the Atrio M5 and the Super.Fi 5 Pro. How do you think these two will compare to my needs? Thanks much, Mr_Zero

I have read up on head-fi for my next IEMs and ended up with the same two candidates, e4c/e500 being out of my budget range. Atrios sure seem to get a lot of attention, and I dont really feel like going through all 31 pages long of discussion in that m5 thread.

One thing I noticed if anything, is how super.fi's were sometimes noted for their (relative) slight lack of midrange, whereas the atrios were praised for smoothness, lushness. Currently I am leaning towards the latter.

 

[Caribou679]

I support those who suggest the Atrio.
The Atrio are something else! The trick is in the seal/tip. When that is adequate , the quality of sound is very smooth and it surpasses all the IEM I used in the past.
I have no idea wich other IEM ( Shure, UE, Etymotic) more expansive $$ would compare to it. All the IEMs I had were under that quality, not over. Know what I mean?

regards,