[cstory]

Hi Everyone, I've been a reader of the forums for a while and finally decided to sign up. Headphone wise, I don't listen a lot at home, but I do listen a fair amount at work (cubicle office area) and when I travel. I use either Grado SR-60's or Ultrasone Pro-650's in the office. For sources at work I use my laptop, Zune 80, and lately have added iPod Touch 5G and the latest iPod Nano. I kind of have different stuff loaded onto each of the devices. I like the sound from the Zune the best. I have a NuFoce Icon Mobil usb DAC/headphone amp that I sometimes use. Kind of depends on whether or not I want to fiddle with the extra connections. For travel I mainly use my Etymotic ER-6 earphones with the yellow foam plugs. I've had these for 11 years, and wouldn't consider going on a plane without them. I also have a pair of Sennheiser 580's at home and numerous stock ear buds, but at home I mostly listen to my stereo's and not through cans. I started reading about stuff thinking that I wanted to replace my ER-6's figuring that in 11 years, technology has probably improved things. I like the ER-6's but want to find something with a bit more bass. My stock Zune buds have more bass, as do the newest Apple Earpods, but the detail and treble of the ER-6's is superior. Since everyone seems to think the Ety's house sound is a bit on the lean side I decided to take a shot at the Hifiman RE-400 IEM's. I'll probably post something specifically in the RE-400 thread, but I am very dissapointed in what I am hearing from the RE-400's and they are going to go back for a refund. To me the sound is very thin, I mean no bass at all, with a severe cuped hands type of coloration that makes music sound like it's coming from the horn of an old gramephone. Tried all the different foam inserts and it made no difference. The stock Zune, Apple Earpods and particuarly the Etymotic ER-6's all sound much fuller with a more neutral, natural sound. On the plus side the detail on the RE-400's is competetive with the ER-6's, but the overall sound balance is way out of wack. Since this is so far out of line with what other people report, I wonder if my ear canals are just not compatible with the RE-400's or maybe there is something worng with them. Either way, I need to return them. Maybe I need to go back to Etymotic and check out the HF-5. Sorry for the long first post. Chuck