[Da Mammoth]

Hi all,

Firstly i'd like to say hi to all here, this forum has provided me with alot of info and a few laughs along the way too! Thanks.

I have just bought a Sony NW-HD5 mp3 player and now need some beautiful loving IEMs to compliment it

I started looking at the Creatives EP-630s, then the Senn cx300s, now my quest has taken my attention to the Shures e2c or 4c's & the Super.fi 5 pro's.

I need some help in choosing a model, my listening choices are quite mixed : Rock, Classical, Soul, Dance, Electonic. Artists like: Muse, Linkin Park, Jean Michel-Jarre, Vangelis, Faithless etc.... (hope this helps)

I like my sounds to be crystal clear, bass I like to be tight & punchy, not distorted or muffled (i'm not a bass head but do like/want bass if it sounds correct), sound separation is another key decision.

Price as always is an issue but if I can whole heartedly justify a decision then i'm willing to buy them (Just cant afford top top end if you know what I mean)?

I'd love to hear your thoughts and choices. Please could you let me know also the reasons why such a choice would be good, as I really only want to buy one model and hopefully make it last!!

Please dont just limit answers to my selection above as I'm really keen to find the right model, whatever that may be?

Thanks again & thanks also for all your shared input on this forum, I hope to get to know you all better soon.

 

[darkninja67]

Welcome to the forum and sorry about your wallet.

My recommendation would be to add the Etymotic ER-6i IEMs into your mix as well. I fell back in love with my ER4Ps last night while listening to some Coldplay. The detail and air was incredible for some reason. You can get the ER6is for under $100. They are basically the baby brothers to the 4Ps.

The Ultimate Ears Super Fi 3 Studio IEMs are worth a look as well.

The Shure E2Cs? They did nothing for me personally. I am not fond of the Shure sound at all. YMMV though as with all things subjective.

 

[The_Duke_Of_Eli]

If you're really looking for nice clean sound check out the E4cs which can be picked up for say 200$. If you have the money it may not be worth spending ~80$ on ER-6is if you're going to want more later on. But the E4cs are not twice as good as the ER-6is, so you may want to see if you can't try them out first then choose whether the ~120 extra is worth it.

 

[Linda513]

I'll second Darkninja's opinion about the E2c - unless you like listening to music that sounds like its coming out of tincans.

 

[Spaceage]

Welcome to Team NW-HD5 is the King of the DAPs

I have only used the ER4P and the Super.Fi 5 Pro with my HD5, and between those two I would highly recommend the Super.Fi. Crystal clear and tight punchy bass, just like you want. I listen to primarily rock, electronic, indie and classical, and the Super.Fi perform like champs on all of them.

I'm not sure if you are going back and re-encoding CDs in ATRAC, but I would recommend it. I encode in ATRAC3 132 (which is a bit better than 192 mp3) and in ATRAC3plus 256 for my very favorite albums.

 

[Da Mammoth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spaceage Welcome to Team NW-HD5 is the King of the DAPs I'm not sure if you are going back and re-encoding CDs in ATRAC, but I would recommend it. I encode in ATRAC3 132 (which is a bit better than 192 mp3) and in ATRAC3plus 256 for my very favorite albums.

I've just re-started out after a long absence from PC's and the like so all that I rip is from scratch now, a question if I may however..... I have downloaded Sonic Stage 3.4 from Sony but it doesnt tell me if the compression rate i'm using is ATRAC3 plus or just ATRAC 3? as it has 2 different menu's and both mention both formats? any ideas?

Thanks for the info so far guys, keep it coming as much as you'd like to give. I'm thinking I should give my wallet to my wife for safe keeping!!

 

[Spaceage]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Da Mammoth I've just re-started out after a long absence from PC's and the like so all that I rip is from scratch now, a question if I may however..... I have downloaded Sonic Stage 3.4 from Sony but it doesnt tell me if the compression rate i'm using is ATRAC3 plus or just ATRAC 3? as it has 2 different menu's and both mention both formats? any ideas? Thanks for the info so far guys, keep it coming as much as you'd like to give. I'm thinking I should give my wallet to my wife for safe keeping!!

I was confused by this when I upgraded from 3.1 to 3.4. In 3.1, it listed ATRAC3plus making the jump from 64 all the way to 256 with nothing inbetween. 3.4 implies that all are ATRAC3plus except for 132kbps. It also has a recording quality setting for all bitrates except 132.

They finally improve Sonicstage dramatically and then make the encoding rates confusing

You may want to pick a few of your favorite tracks and encode them at different rates until you find the one you like. 132 is my sweet spot.

 

[Da Mammoth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spaceage You may want to pick a few of your favorite tracks and encode them at different rates until you find the one you like. 132 is my sweet spot.

Thanks for the tip, also do you use ATRAC Lossless? or just normal ATRAC3 plus?


Thanks for the warm welcome and ideas everyone.

darkninja67, I have heard good & bad about the Etymotic ER-6i's, are they comfortable? Can you get a good fit/seal? Is the bass upto scratch in terms of punch/clarity? Also is there any difference between them and the ER-6's? as I can get a relatively good deal on these also, my HD5 is black and think the white might look a bit strange? also i've seen they have tools to replace bits etc... what needs changing and how often, is it expensive to maintain? (sorry to ask so many questions but me like to get it right if possible)

what are the super fi 3's like in comparison to the e4c's or ER-6/i's?

I'm a little reluctant to part with me dosh and then find I've made the wrong choice......but cash is awaiting and me stock sony earbuds just arent doing me sounds any justice!!

 

[dura]

I have a NW-HD1, paired with Shure e4 and I absolutely love the sound of that combination (in Atrac 256kbs), detailed yet pleasant and musical.
I haven't listened to the HD5 but If I'm right in supposing the HD1 & HD5 share the same sound signature the E4 would be an excellent choice (much better then the E2/E3 I also own).

 

[Spaceage]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Da Mammoth Thanks for the tip, also do you use ATRAC Lossless? or just normal ATRAC3 plus?

Sony doesn't have a player that will play ATRAC Lossless. You can only play the lossless tracks on the PC itself. You'll notice that you have to choose a bitrate when you choose lossless. That is the bitrate that the lossless file is converted to when being transferred to a portable device.

 

[Da Mammoth]

I have received an email from EARPHONES SOLUTIONS.com with a price for the E4g's, they are gonna sell them to me for $208.94 (includes shipping to the UK)

Is this a good price and whats your experience with this supplier?

http://store.earphonesolutions.com/she4gblea.html


My other option is the super.fi 5 pro's for $258.07 from a company in Ireland (EU) (also includes shipping)
Does anyone know of a much cheaper source from the US that ships to the UK (that also has a good reputation)?

I do appreciate all the help so far, just need all 'Da Experts' on this forum to help me decide which is gonna be my final choice?