[Maciek 89]

Hi,
I used to use iPod Photo 30GB with AKG K319 headphones. For me it sounds great, especially with track recorded on Apple Lossless format. Now I've lost either iPod and headphones so I have to buy new one.
I've decided to buy iPod Nano 8GB 6th Generation and now I'm looking for headphones.
I would buy those AKG for a second time but they had two annoying thing. Thirst, cable was too heavy with extension which I had to use. Second, volume control was quite big and always hooked button in my jacket. What's more I don't need this control. 
So, I'm looking for headphones which have similar sound guality, similar price and don't have those defect that I've mentioned. One of the most important thing is that I don't like in-ear headphones. They should be earphones (just like AKG K319)
 
Do you have any suggestions ?

 

[Maciek 89]

Anyone? 
I've read all topics about AKG K319 and the only suggest are Senheisser MX880. I also decided that I don't want only earphones anymore. It could be in-ear also but they can't isolate me because sometimes I ride a bike while listening to music and I would like to hear car's horn for example.

 

[Tacoboy]

Superlux HD-668Bs, semi-open headphones, you should still be able to hear whatever your listening to, but can still hear traffic around you.

 

[Danneq]

AKG K317 are supposed to sound the same as the K319, but they do not have the built-in volume control. I like the Yuin earbuds and own the PK3 and PK2. I would recommend the PK2, but they are more in your face than the K319...
There are a lot of new smaller brands of earbuds that are coming out. The 9Wave studio are supposed to be released soon and they are supposed to sound very good.
 
If you are willing to try open over ear headphones, there is stuff such as Koss PortaPro, Sennheiser PX100, AKG K420 and V-Jays. I would say that to my ears the V-Jays sound the best out of these four. They are unfortunately the most expensive ones. My second choice would be the AKG K420, which are not extremly detailed but very musical and gets your head bobbing in tune with the music.
 
You could read up on these headphones.

 

[Maciek 89]

That's the problem about AKG K317- some say that those are the same headphones as K319 and some dosen't. I care more about quality of sound than cable's weight so I would choose K319 while comparing to K317.
I would be really interested in Yuin or 9Wave but there is a problem that I live in Poland. There is no distributor of those brands in my country and I don't want to order that stuff abroad.
Thank's for propositions of over-ear earphones but I also need something that I can put into pocket after listenign.

 

[Danneq]

I understand your perspective. However, I live in Sweden and have bought Yuin PK2 from Ebay sellers abroad without any problem. Just pick a seller with 95% or higher approval rate and you should have no problem.
 
If you prefer o buy something from within Poland, I suppose your choices are limited to K319 again or MX880...

 

[Maciek 89]

I know that there should be no problem with buying and shipping but I will have no warranty. That is the reason why I don't want to buy abroad.
 
Some guy on polish forum recomended Nuforce NE-700X. How about those In-ear monitors ? Does sound quality much better than on K319 ? Wille they be good for blues, jazz and rock ?

 

[kanonathena]

Try ok2, supposed to be very similar sounding to 319 but with more 3d soundstage, headdirect do international shipping. But you won't get the value until you burn them in for 800 hours. me suggest you buy a second hand pair, less burn in time and cheaper.

 

[Danneq]

Sorry, I cannot comment on IEM's. I only use over ear headphones or earbuds. Perhaps you can look around here on Head Fi for reviews and opinions? Just use the search tool to look for threads containing the words "Nuforce NE-700X". Otherwise you can start a thread about the Nuforce NE-700X. Good luck!

 

[Maciek 89]

kanonathena, I would really try those headphones but they aren't available in my country.
 
Danneq, first I want to thanks for your help. To sum up your opinion the best option is Yuin PK2 but for the reason named above I have to choose between K319 and MX880 which are quite the same, right ?
 
I think that I'll try to buy used Nuforce NE-700X. I've read some really good opinion about them (I recommend review of HeadphoneAddict).
If I won't be able to buy those Nuforce for satisfying price I'm gonna buy AKG K319.

 

[Maciek 89]

I have an offer to buy Yuin PK1 for a very good price (about 60$). Because of that I have two question:
1. Is it possible that it isn't original Yuin? That it's jsut some chinesse imitation ?
2. Isn't this big impedance (150 ohms) a problem for my iPod Nano 6G ?

 

[Danneq]

Hmmm... It does sound a bit too cheap. I just looked at Ebay, and the cheapest one costs $140 (without shipping). Are they second hand or brand new?
 
Yuin is a Chinese brand, and as I understand it is not popular in China. They prefer European brands such as Sennheiser or Japanese brands such as Audio Technica. This is why there are so many fakes of these and other European and Japanese brands. Since Yuin is Chinese, it might be safer when it comes to fakes...
 
The impedance is high. I have never tried the PK1, but it seems like you have to push volume to max or buy a small headphone amp. FiiO will soon release their new FiiO E6 headphone amp. It seems to be very good (I've got the E5), and it should be more than enough to drive 150ohm headphones. The E6 will be released in September and will cost around $30.
 
The Pk1, 2 and 3 look very much alike, so I do not really know of a way to tell them apart. You might have to play detective and ask where the seller got them and stuff like that. Like I said, I have never heard of a faked Yuin earphone. But you can never be 100% sure...

 

[Maciek 89]

Thanks again for answer.
To be honest I wanted to buy them only because of the price. They look like original one http://forum.mp3store.pl/topic/80574-wstepnie-yuin-pk1/
Anyway, I wouldn't use them with headphone amp and they are already sold. 
 
Sorry for bothering.

 

[Danneq]

Yeah, it looked like the real deal. Too bad they were sold so fast. A very good price!
 
I suppose you can use them without a headphone amp, but you might need to have the volume set to max. FiiO makes great cheap headphone amps. The E5 is the same size (and has the same look) as the iPod shuffle (older generation). The newer E6 is a little bit smaller and is supposed to sound better. So I can really recommend FiiO if you decide to try out portable headphone amps.