[Szadzik]

Team,

I have been using my Sony X Series for a month now and I am using it with the stock IEMs, which are very much praised and also with my AKG K450.

I have been listening to both of them with a lot of attention and my conclusion is that I am still missing something.

I am using 256-230KBps mp3 files and I still feel the sound is not as good as it could be. I am no expert in describing sound but both headphones don't seem to be giving me enough detail, the sound just does not feel good enough. Both phones have a nice soundstage but basically I am thinking with such a nice source and good quality files I could get some more.

I listen to all kinds of music. Starting from classical, through jazz, a bit of pop,
rock, hard rock to heavy metal.

Most of the time I listen in the office and at home, but I want something portable, since I still need to be able to travel with the equipment and be able to take it when I travel light.

Another thing is that I need the gear to be portable; having a case and all as I carry it around in a backpack that lands here and there.

In the future I think I will be also thinking about a budget portable amp like LittleDot 1+, BioScienceGeek cMOY, PA2V2, Fiio E7 etc. For now there is no confirmed line out cable for the X Series but someone found something sold in China and when it is confirmed I will want to get it and get an amp too.

My budget is pretty tight and I would not go above 200GBP, with either IEMs or headphones, but if there is something I could buy for a cheaper price I would be very happy too.

There is just one more thing. I never like IEMs because of how the are only supposed to sit in your ears without any additional support. With the Sony IEMs I have they also are held within the ears by the round base of the canal piece. I would also want to make sure that if I decide to buy IEMs they will be easy to keep in one's ears.

How would you suggest I proceed with my gear?
Should I just get an amp to make my experience with my Sony IEMs and K450 better or maybe buy new IEMs/ headphones (still some time from now an amp would be added to the set)? I am no audiophile, but having listened music for the past 15 years I have my experience and wanting for good SQ.

I have been reading around and found Sennheiser IE8s pretty interesting with their bass knob as I like a bit of bass. Not that I am a bass head, but want to feel it

.

I have not found any headphones that I would think are good for me, but am very open to suggestions.

Thank you in advance for any contributions and suggestions.
Jack

EDIT: I also looked at SE310 which look interesting, triplpefi.10 if I extend my budget a bit.

 

[Szadzik]

bump

 

[ZARIM]

The high end IEMs like E-Q7, IE7, IE8 will sound better out of X HP and they are easy to wear.

 

[mark2410]

IE8

"Not that I am a bass head, but want to feel it ."

translates as omg i want tons and tons of bass, the IE8 is the one for you

 

[Modifiedz]

""EDIT: I also looked at SE310 which look interesting, triplpefi.10 if I extend my budget a bit.""
By reading that I can tell you you will be satisfied with the Triple Fi. You can get them off Amazon for less than your budget. They do have the additional support as requested, (memory wire over ear). If you like detailed extended treble and crisp cymbals the TF-10 is it. When I need bass, and the TF10 meets those needs also.

 

[Szadzik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Modifiedz /img/forum/go_quote.gif ""EDIT: I also looked at SE310 which look interesting, triplpefi.10 if I extend my budget a bit."" By reading that I can tell you you will be satisfied with the Triple Fi. You can get them off Amazon for less than your budget. They do have the additional support as requested, (memory wire over ear). If you like detailed extended treble and crisp cymbals the TF-10 is it. When I need bass, and the TF10 meets those needs also.

I am in the UK and triple.fi10s sell for around £220, so I would actually have to stretch my budget a bit which is not such a big deal.

My question however is, is it worth paying £50 above IE8s price to get triple.fi 10s? Will sound be improved so much it justifies such expenditure?

 

[JeFFz]

Yea agree with the above that tf10 from an amazon reseller or eBay would be great for u anyway they go for about 160ish. They have the support you want from the memory wires. Treble And bass is pretty okay but they kinda lack in the lower bass

 

[Saintkeat]

no flipping way! IE8s are worth more than the triple fi any day of the year.

 

[Szadzik]

Thanks for all the advise guys!

I have been reading about triple.fis and there are two things that actually bother me about them: bass; which is not as nice as on IE8s

and their fitting. They are pretty large and I do not have big ear canals, which might mean a bit of a problem fitting them in.

There is another thing here.

I have not heard any recommendation for portable headphones here!

Is there anything portable in this price range that you can recommend?

Can I get as good or even better SQ with portable cans as with IEMs?

So far I am still leaning towards IE8s

Thanks in advance,
Jack

 

[Szadzik]

So I have been searching, researching, reading, re-reading.

Here are my findings, please let me know what you think.

Ultrasone HFI-780 Headphones
Shure SRH440
Audio Technica ATH-ES7
Audio Technica ATH-M50
Audio Technica ATH-OR7
AKG K480
Beyerdynamic DT770
Beyerdynamic DT880
M-Audio Studiophile Q40

I have looked at these and I will keep reading for the next few days and I will give my impressions here.

 

[beamthegreat]

GET THE IE8!!! NOW!

 

[Szadzik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by beamthegreat /img/forum/go_quote.gif GET THE IE8!!! NOW!

Man, I know they are great, but I am also looking into headphones.

Primarily I am interested in headphones, cause I never really liked IEMs, still do not.

EDIT: More research and I found a pair of very nice headphones ATH-ESW9A.

What do you guys think about it?

 

[dclancy]

FWIW, I love my G1a's for lightweight uber portables from Head-Direct. Just invest in an amp with high gain. FIIO is a stop gap.
Sorry to make things more complicated with a new choice!

 

[Szadzik]

Thanks for the suggestion dclancy.

Still searching and reading and taking into account portability, which is still very important here I narrowed the range to:

ATH-ES7- £90 - Not sure if these actually come close in SQ to the others I listed
ATH-ESW9A - £180 - a bit scared of the plasticky band that can break easily.
Yuin G1A - Probably unavailable in Europe.
Ultrasone HFI-780 - £130 - Unsure if I can get a shorter 1.2m cable.
ATH-M50 - £120
ATH-EW9 - £130 - Are clip-ons comfortable?

Any thoughts guys?

 

[loopfreak]

HD 25 1 is one great portable 'phone ! Its not analytic but has plenty of details, very punchy but balanced with rest of the spectrum. Bass is like lightning fast , not muddy whatsoever, little darker and in your face type of sound. They isolate unbelievable good and with good comfort(velour pads), very light 140g, small footprint. Most durable 'phone, you have to make great effort to scratch them, in one word indestructible ! Cheap cable mod (hd 600 or hd 650) does make impact on sound quality and its like 5 min job.
You should move your thread to full size for more info on other headphones !