[onyxwulf]

Hey all.  Spent the last couple weeks reading hundreds of articles here and doing some research to figure out a good setup for myself for a decent price.  I don't really want to spend over $250 yet for a higher end pair of IEMs.  

A little backstory of me.  I have a bunch of kids (earphones need to be durable), I work in an office surrounded by nerds (earphones need to be decently noise isolating) and I love EDM music (earphones need to thump a bit).  I am pretty much sticking to IEM's and have narrowed it down to 3 pairs (IE80's SE435, T20) and currently bought and am trying just one of those.   I like bass, not overwhelming but clean and hard hitting. 

Here is my current setup:

Player - Computer, Droid phone, Roku, Rotel and Kindle
Amp - Fiio Mont Blanc E12a IEM Special Edition
Amp Portable: Fiio A1 (just got today)
Headphone Primary: RHA T20
Headphone Primary 2 : Trinity Atlas (on way, bought on advice)
Headphone Secondary: V-MODA ZN
Headphone Bass: Sony MDR XB90EX
Headphone SUPER bass: JVC HA-SZ2000 (overear I know but after I heard them I couldn't take them back)

Anyway I currently really like my setup but was thinking about 2 seperate changes:

1) RHA for IE80s or Shures?  I have not heard either.  Remember I primary listen to EDM (Psy Trance, Trance, Club, House, DTrance, etc)
2) E12 for Cayin C5 or SBLS C5?

Most of the articles I read seem to point to the setup I have is pretty decent but wanted to through it out there. 

Spent around $950 for this entire setup and I feel like it gives me a good range for anything I listen too.  

RHA for movies and all around sound.
ZN's for sleeping (yes I sleep with IEMs in)
XB90's for when I want some thump on the go and strict EDM
JVC's for when I want my eyeballs to shake and a lot of good movies

Thoughts?  Changes?  Ideas?  Am I crazy?  Did I do alright from going from Sony MDR-EX51LP (they broke, I got pissed and this setup was the result of that) to this setup?

Thanks for your help!

 

[k4rstar]

Hi, welcome to Head-Fi.
 
I would recommend you also take a look at the Trinity Atlas as a solid all-rounder for your needs. It has an indestructible CNC'd aluminum build with detachable cables, very good noise isolation with the correct seal and features five tuning filters that can be swapped out for different sound signatures. Since you seem to appreciate bass but don't want it overpowering all the time I think this system may do the trick for you. The filters range from bass monster to slightly elevated to fairly neutral. They were designed with sport usage in mind, but I'm not sure if you can comfortably sleep with them in as I haven't tried that.
 
Sorry I cannot comment on the other options you were looking at.

 

[onyxwulf]

Hi, welcome to Head-Fi.

I would recommend you also take a look at the Trinity Atlas as a solid all-rounder for your needs. It has an indestructible CNC'd aluminum build with detachable cables, very good noise isolation with the correct seal and features five tuning filters that can be swapped out for different sound signatures. Since you seem to appreciate bass but don't want it overpowering all the time I think this system may do the trick for you. The filters range from bass monster to slightly elevated to fairly neutral. They were designed with sport usage in mind, but I'm not sure if you can comfortably sleep with them in as I haven't tried that.

Sorry I cannot comment on the other options you were looking at.

To replace the RHAs? Those look really nice brand and have some great reviews.

 

[k4rstar]

To replace or to complement, it's up to you. I'm still not 100% sure what you were asking in your original post, but they seemed like a decent recommendation anyway. 

 
They have some really good reviews here on Head-Fi, check them out using the search button in the top right if you haven't already.

 

[onyxwulf]

Agreed. Just bought a purple pair and used the head-on discount. $177. Will have to see how they compare. Thanks for advice.

 

[k4rstar]

Awesome, please let us know how you find them. I would have written my own full-length review had my girlfriend not taken my first pair hostage. 

 

[onyxwulf]

Anyone else have any thoughts?

 

[onyxwulf]

Would love to hear anyone else's opinion or ideas about the setup.  I am still waiting for my Trinity Atlas' to arrive, should be tomorrow.

 

[cel4145]

I have the E12. Toyed with getting the Cayin, but some people are saying it's not worth upgrading--it's not significantly better. And you have the E12a, so I'd definitely stick with it.

What you need now before getting anything else are some kickass open headphones for late at night when the kids aren't up OR for when you kind of need to have a little awareness of what's going on in the room. Open headphones just have better soundstage. So if you haven't tried any good ones yet, demo some before thinking of other upgrades.

 

[onyxwulf]

That is funny that you mention that. One of the guys in my office was saying the exact same thing about that. I have yet to do any research about the open headphones besides reading that the Sennheiser HD 600's rank high on everyone's list. Those are on my current wishlist as my starter pair, though more expensive then I wanted to start with. Any recommendations? Or threads that would help me with a good starter pair?

 

[onyxwulf]

K now reading around more and hearing everything about the Campfire Audio I am thinking about switching out the RHA for the Campfire Audio Nova's.
 
I might start another thread since I can find no comparisons between these two IEMs.
 
Anyone have thoughts?

 

[cel4145]

Watch for the K7XX to come back on Massdrop for $200. Read more about them here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/743280/the-akg-k7xx-massdrop-first-edition-thread/
You could also find a used pair on the forums for less. People love them, so you could resell them easily enough if you didn't.

Not terribly difficult to drive. Your E12a would have no problem.

 

[k4rstar]

People are just starting to receive their Nova's from pre-orders now, so there is not much point of starting another thread as there is not much to do but wait for impressions to start coming in. Keep an eye on the Campfire Audio thread http://www.head-fi.org/t/805107/campfire-audio-introducing-2-new-models-hello-andromeda-and-nova

 

[onyxwulf]

Fair enough.  Thanks.