[T.F.O.A]

Hi guys,which one of these 4 is the most or more forgiving
westone 3,westone um3x,se530,ie8
the source is gonna be varied,but the lowest is gonna be 160kbps
cause i'm using um2 right now and planning to upgrade,but just don't know to go with which one,thanks

 

[mark2410]

lol, oh deary me but seeing its a valid question


use a better bit rate

 

[iriverdude]

Is that 160kps OGG or MP3?

 

[T.F.O.A]

mp3, not ogg,coz i'm using mac,well most of my collection is 192(mp3),i know not the best bitrate,but i lost the cds,and half of my collection i got it from my friend,i'm kinda lenient between westone 3 and ie8,any suggestion guys?

 

[midoo1990]

forget the ie8 because it is not forgiving at all,at least for me.the minimum bitrate to go for the ie8 is 256.i have some 192 kbps in my collection ,the well recorded from them sound like 320kbps while the badly recorded sound like a radio transmission through the ie8.if you haveyour collection at 192 and less,there is absolutly no point in getting high end IEM,westone or sennheiser.

 

[Bilavideo]

I'm partial to the UM3X.

 

[ilney]

err... no the UM3X is not very forgiving, for me. Or is it I who's not forgiving?

 

[hockeyb213]

There is really not a great reason to upgrade to a top end iem if you are not using at least 256-320kbps if not more. Most if not all of the top shelves just won't sound any better then a um2 if you are not feeding them with great recordings. Just my 2 cents.

 

[T.F.O.A]

ok,thanks guys so if it's around 256 -320 which one is more forgiving?ie8 or westone 3?

 

[hockeyb213]

once you have the right source material it is really up to preference more so then forgiving. If you read about both I am sure one will suit your likings more so then the other.

 

[3X0]

Eh.. my 3GS + IE 8 handled 192kbps CBR just fine, and 160kbps CBR was passable. I wouldn't write off the bit-rate just yet.

 

[hockeyb213]

But the thing is if he is using something lower the advantage of getting higher fidelity headphones is lessened. Just saying that if you do invest in higher end headphones you may want to make an attempt at getting high bit rate recordings.

 

[That dude]

Forgiving? I vote for the triple.fi 10s. Westones sound muddy to me, so lower bit rates will be totally unlistenable, the shures have a treble roll-off that bugs me and I've not heard the IE8 before. The UEs have a fun signature and slightly emphasized highs that should brighten up low bitrate music, but on the other hand, it may just make defects more apparent. Is there anywhere you can try before you buy?

 

[talisman42]

I enjoy some 192 kbs tracks and don't worry about the sound quality at all. I might start noticing at 160 and lower though.

 

[3X0]

The differences between the IE 8 and iM716 (highlighting the superiority of the former, on technical merit and not just on sound signature) were readily apparent on "even" 192kbps tracks. I don't believe it'll break the listening experience. It's not like an odd 160kbps track in your collection will destroy your listening session and drive you into a state of irreconcilable depression..