[charliex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Palpatine /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'd get the HD 25 I II they're not noise cancelling, but they isolate well, and sound great. They're portable and can be easily driven from an iPod.

Huh? Like the ESW10s they're supraural..

 

[Itamar]

Actually I igonored from the IEMs comments because in my opinion, from pictures I saw, IEMs look pretty weird.
Sorry I didn't write that earlier.

 

[electropop]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Itamar /img/forum/go_quote.gif Actually I igonored from the IEMs comments because in my opinion, from pictures I saw, IEMs look pretty weird. Sorry I didn't write that earlier.

????????????????????????????

 

[Bohemianism]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Itamar /img/forum/go_quote.gif Actually I igonored from the IEMs comments because in my opinion, from pictures I saw, IEMs look pretty weird. Sorry I didn't write that earlier.

They just look slightly different from earbuds when they're in.

 

[Itamar]

Wow, I became really confused from all of these comments.
Look, I got about 1100$ from summer work (last summer).
I work in the summer in order to buy something that I like, in order to "treat" myself.
I don't really need to save money for emergency, my parents do their job very well.
So, when I do earn money, I want to buy a high-quality product with it, something useful.
You keep offering me 100$, 200$ headphones, and I know they are good, but I want to utilize the money for a really good product.
At first I wanted to buy a Canon Vixia HF S10 camcorder, but for some reason I forgot about it.
Now, I don't have an amp and I don't want to have one, it cancels the whole portability idea.
So, please tell me, do you know if the ATH-ESW10's work well without an amp?
And as for sound isolation- if the quality of the ATH-ESW10's is really good, I don't really care about isolation.
I mean, people call them portable headphones, so they probably have some level of isolation, am I wrong?

Edit: I found ATH-ESW10 on ebay:

Audio Technica ATH-ESW10 Headphone Headset ATH-ESW10JPN - eBay (item 300344753312 end time Oct-03-09 21:06:06 PDT)

It's pretty expensive.. I read comments of people who paid 480-500$ (before shipping),
It's probably because it's a limited edition.

 

[Gbjerke]

that is one ****ty price

 

[haloxt]

I can't find any low-priced new esw10jpn. Used you might get ~$400.

 

[TobaccoRoad]

Not all portables have good isolation. Portables like PX100 are open, which has basically 0 isolation and leaks like a mofo. But ESW10 is indeed a closed phone so it should give you some sort of isolation. From what I heard they work well without an amp. I did try ESW9 and it sounded great unamped, so I'm guessing the impedance different between the two isn't that much. But still I don't think it's smart to spend 4/500 blindly on headphones you don't know much about. Preference between audiophiles and general consumers is vast, as many of my friends prefer Bose over Sennheiser, and you might be one of these. Only thing I can suggest is buy somewhere that allows returns and exchanges.

But I'd get HFS10 if I were you

 

[kb1gra]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Itamar /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wow, I became really confused from all of these comments. Look, I got about 1100$ from summer work (last summer). I work in the summer in order to buy something that I like, in order to "treat" myself. I don't really need to save money for emergency, my parents do their job very well. So, when I do earn money, I want to buy a high-quality product with it, something useful. You keep offering me 100$, 200$ headphones, and I know they are good, but I want to utilize the money for a really good product. At first I wanted to buy a Canon Vixia HF S10 camcorder, but for some reason I forgot about it. Now, I don't have an amp and I don't want to have one, it cancels the whole portability idea. So, please tell me, do you know if the ATH-ESW10's work well without an amp? And as for sound isolation- if the quality of the ATH-ESW10's is really good, I don't really care about isolation. I mean, people call them portable headphones, so they probably have some level of isolation, am I wrong? Edit: I found ATH-ESW10 on ebay: Audio Technica ATH-ESW10 Headphone Headset ATH-ESW10JPN - eBay (item 300344753312 end time Oct-03-09 21:06:06 PDT) It's pretty expensive.. I read comments of people who paid 480-500$ (before shipping), It's probably because it's a limited edition.

People are linking you to $100-$200 headphones because that's what you're asking for! You want portable headphones that work well unamped. Anything more than that may sound WORSE because it won't be driven properly, depending on the phone. Further, a $500 headphone is not meant to be dragged around on the bus, chucked in a backpack, etc.

If you just want to spend a lot of money, that's fine, but you might be paying an awful lot for not much if you're spending $500 to listen to 128k mp3s through the headphone jack on an ipod touch with no amp.

 

[TobaccoRoad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kb1gra /img/forum/go_quote.gif People are linking you to $100-$200 headphones because that's what you're asking for! You want portable headphones that work well unamped. Anything more than that may sound WORSE because it won't be driven properly, depending on the phone. Further, a $500 headphone is not meant to be dragged around on the bus, chucked in a backpack, etc. If you just want to spend a lot of money, that's fine, but you might be paying an awful lot for not much if you're spending $500 to listen to 128k mp3s through the headphone jack on an ipod touch with no amp.

This was really what I meant to say, but didn't want to be too harsh towards OP who is new to this. Honestly, even though ESW9 can be driven unamped I bet the sound signature will be totally different from what OP expected to be. I say just get Beats by Dre like every kids out there and be done with it.

 

[ronrad]

I have esw10s that I picked up recently and use 6+ hrs per day at work, to cut background noise from coworkers etc.

I also have a pair of pxc450 Sennheisers.

First off, while I might use the ATs on a bus, I generally don't bother, because when I'm on the bus I'm cycle commuting, and just have a short stretch crossing a bridge. They do a reasonable job of cutting background noise, but the pxc450s are better. Also, the perceived sound quality deteriorates as your background noise goes up. The PXCS are quite large, and probably make you look like Princess Leia on a bus. The difference in carrying is noticeable as well, although the case size is really not much bigger than the AT hard case that I have.

I have run the ATs straight out of my Blackberry Bold, and they sound reasonably good. However, they do sound a lot better with my d10 cobra. I'm using subscription level Pandora for my source most of the time. They sound much better than the cobra with my Parasound fullon rack amp at home.

In all configurations they blow the Senns away, although the senns have a nice smooth balanced tone, and to my ears the Senns blow away the Bose which several of my coworkers have, so even with crappy sources they sound vastly better. (Most of my coworkers drive their headphones straight from laptops with mp3s). I use the Senns when I don't want to be as engaged by the music and have it for just background. Also, the Senns are a little more comfortable for longer term listening. (Although the ATs are still very good)

I carry the ATs back and forth to work every day, so they are in my laptop backpack. They do take up a moderate amount of room with the case.

At any rate, they are a very cool headphone and are portable, although the iems are clearly more portable, and will probably sound better in a truly noisy environment.

 

[ronrad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by charliex /img/forum/go_quote.gif As you can see from my signature, I own ESW10s and I just came from a head-Fi meet last week where members compared the ESW8s to ESW10s and the difference was HUGE! Here's the review from another member..."I had a chance to compare the AT-ESW9 to the AT-ESW10 cans. There IS no comparison. The 9s sound muffled, bloated and very closed in. The 10s however, are more open, and have much better detail." Theya re well worth the extra cost - and unlike the ESW9s you can be assured that they are genuine as they have NOT been counterfeited whereas fake ESW9's are everywhere.

Actually, not true at all about the fakes. I am the proud owner of both a pair of fake esw10s and real ones. I originally got sucked in by the fakes. Here is my thread on them:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/f...arning-442102/

Haven't tried ESW9s to compare, but love the 10s

 

[Itamar]

Sorry for driving you crazy guys! I am a total noob.

I reconsidered the option of buying a portable amp when I saw how small they can be.
Anyway, I don't want to spend too much money for amp, So I hope it has a taste.
What do you have to say about this one:

iBasso T4 Portable Headphone Amplifier in Grey HiFi Headphones

Probably not very good I guess, but it is so small!
And there is a smaller one, but I am not going to even look at it, it is for sure a really bad one:

FiiO E3 Headphone Amplifier in Black HiFi Headphones

Edit: let's say just for now, If you must know, that this amp (the first) will be connected to an ATH-ESW10.

 

[kb1gra]

T4 will drive ESW10s fine, assuming you can find a pair, but there are better portable amps out there, such as the D2+ from iBasso.

One thing about the ESW10JPN is that you can scratch the earcups fairly easily which while sonically fine will be kind of unattractive to look at, so remember that you're going to have to be pretty careful with these.

 

[ronrad]

Sounds like you are buying some ESW10s, congrats. BTW - with mine, and my new Ibasso D10 Cobra, there was significant improvement after listening for about 50-100 hrs. So, while they sounded great immediately, give them sometime to burn in before you make your final assessment.