[richardu]

I recently bought some Ety ER6. Their isolation is very good. Too good. Listening at low volume, I don't hear the phone, people calling out to me, etc. All very good in the right application, but sometimes it helps to not be completely zoned out.

So what I am looking for is something as portable as IEMs, with good sound quality, but substantially less isolation than the ER6. They need to stay in place in normal moving around, but I will not be using them in the gym or similar activities. Preference given to phones with a flat response.

 

[KromaXamorK]

V-Moda Vibe???

 

[silverknit3]

If you like them, try getting a push to hear by Shure. If you don't want to go that route, sony heaphones dont really isolate well...

 

[channum]

I believe the word for Low Isolation IEMs is spelled e-a-r-b-u-d

In all seriousness, they're just not what you want to wear when you need to hear. I would love to be able to shut out the world in my own little bubble of sound, but when I'm at home with my wife or when I've been at work with music, I have (or at least should) to listen to earbuds. Even if you can technically hear outside sounds, they'll be so muffled that it's far too easy to get lost in your own world and miss, for example, your wife standing three feet behind you repeating your name because you need to change the baby, which does not earn you any brownie points for some odd reason.

 

[mwallace573]

From the sound of things, the Audio Technica ATH-CK7 would be perfect for you. To my ears they sounded better than the ER-6i (similar sound sig overall), and they provide minimal isolation, especially for canalphones. They can be had for ~$100 at Audiocubes.

AudioCubes.com - Audio-Technica ATH-CK7 Titanium Earphones - ATH-CK7 -

The only reason I got rid of mine was because of the lack of isolation.

 

[filipelli]

yeah you would need to get a bud.

I got the yuin pk2 recently for jogging, so I don't get run over and what not. They work perfectly, and have huge sound to boot.

I know you aren't going to be using these for the gym, but the yuin series rival big cans, so that might be something you want to look into. They offer the "substantial" decrease in isolation that you are looking for.

 

[younglee200]

x2 on the yuin pk2

i think they're the best low isolation IEM that you can get for the money

 

[Aimless1]

You seem to be describing a need for earbuds. I agree the Yuin PK2 or PK3 would be a good choice. Can find them both at one of our sponsers....head-direct.com.

 

[ClieOS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aimless1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif You seem to be describing a need for earbuds. I agree the Yuin PK2 or PK3 would be a good choice. Can find them both at one of our sponsers....head-direct.com.

..or the new Yuin OKs series. Pricier as they are, there is no doubt that those are the best earbuds on the market now.

 

[Navyblue]

My Sony EX82 is practically "open" with negligible isolation, I'd imagine so are the EX85 and EX90.

 

[richardu]

Thanks for all of the replies.

The general suggestion was earbuds, which I was rather reluctant to try. However after some searching on the forums, I decided I should check out the ones which came with my 4G iPod. So opened the packet (3 years old and never even opened the packet!). First try rather bright, but quite clear. Put the foam covers on and that knocked the high end down somewhat. The bass is rather weak and muddy, but not boomy at all. The mids and highs are reasonable, still a little bright, but really not too bad and fine for background music.

Just as a sanity check I pulled out all the earbuds which came with various players and compared them. Much as expected, they ranged from poor (Panasonic) to very poor (Sony) to "bee in a tin can" (iRiver).

I really don't see the point of spending the sort of money that Yuin are asking for yet another set of headphones which simply will not compete with the better phones I have at home. So when travelling somewhere I can carry larger phones, I will go that way, second choice are the ER-6, then finally the earbuds, for which the Apples are not great but acceptable.

 

[ClieOS]

Even 2nd gen iBud (which is a tweaked MX500) isn't good enough to go head to head with Yuin PK3. However, if SQ isn't high on the list, it will serve its job well.

 

[richardu]

SQ is an issue. However after reading many threads on Head-Fi the impression I get is that the Yuins while very good for an earbud will not match the performance of a reasonable IEM. So the earbud experience will always be a step down from the IEM. My conclusion is rather than spending say $79 on some PK2s, I am better saying the earbuds will not be a good experience, use the Apple buds, and put my $79 towards some high end IEMs, so that when I can do some serious listening, I enjoy things even more.

Now this is all based on what I have read on Head-Fi. If people think the Yuins can actually deliver SQ similar to reasonable IEMs then I may adjust my thoughts.

 

[Scott549]

Just FYI, in my experience, the Yuin PK2 earbud sounds FAR better than the Sennheiser CX300 IEM; they are in the same price range.

 

[filipelli]

Quote:

Originally Posted by richardu /img/forum/go_quote.gif SQ is an issue. However after reading many threads on Head-Fi the impression I get is that the Yuins while very good for an earbud will not match the performance of a reasonable IEM. So the earbud experience will always be a step down from the IEM. My conclusion is rather than spending say $79 on some PK2s, I am better saying the earbuds will not be a good experience, use the Apple buds, and put my $79 towards some high end IEMs, so that when I can do some serious listening, I enjoy things even more. Now this is all based on what I have read on Head-Fi. If people think the Yuins can actually deliver SQ similar to reasonable IEMs then I may adjust my thoughts.

I really disagree here. They are different beasts, IEM and earbuds, just like open and closed phones. The pk2 are amazing, and unless you want to spend $200 on IEMS, you won't get as close to the same sound quality in a comparable IEM (Er6i, e2c, superfi, etc). They have a huge sound, and like a lot of people have stated here, rival big cans. I don't know if we are reading the same threads, but this is the consensus I gathered, as well as experienced with my own repertoire of cans.