[Cloud]

Hi, I am new to this community and will appreciate ur advice.
I am currently thinking of upgrading my Panasoni RP-HJE50.
Source is 3rd Gen iPod with no amp.
budget: roughly $100 USD (abt $180 SGD cause i live in singapore)

am looking at the following

Westone UM1
Shure E2C
Audio Technica ES-7
AKG K81 DJ

in terms of priority,
clarity comes first followed by isolation, then portability and lastly bass.
I listen mostly to classicals and strings. A little of pop.

I hope i am clear and will appreciate all comments

Thanz!

 

[passerby999]

welcome to the forum!

according to you taste, you may wanna consider ue sf3studio also, pretty good. or, you probably will walk out here with a pair of shure e500

 

[Cloud]

lol thank you for the welcome.
Shure E500 is way out of my budget.
while UE is not much represented in my country and thus i can't check them out.
thanz though. hehe

 

[Pumpkin72]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cloud clarity comes first followed by isolation, then portability and lastly bass.

For what I've read here, that sounds like the ER-6i. Have you considered these?

Oh, yes: welcome, sorry, wallet... you know, the usual routine

 

[Cloud]

haha yeah i get u. Listening to Grado SR-60 now and looking at buying SR-225. lol.

hmm ER-6i. i did gave them a thought. is it much better over E2C?
not much shops allow audition with IEMs due to hygiene purpose thus have to rely on reivews hehe.

 

[passerby999]

you bet they are much better than e2c!

 

[Pumpkin72]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cloud hmm ER-6i. i did gave them a thought. is it much better over E2C?

I haven't tried them, but they're supposed to meet your requirements: detailed, average comfort, though lacking a bit in the bass department. Some people prefer the shures because of the bass response, but they're not as detailed as the Etys. Search for threads on ER6i vs. E2c, you'll find lots of them.

I can't really recommend the UM1 for your iPod because, even if they're supposed to be better than the E2c in comfort and isolation, they need proper equalization to sound the best. Don't know if you can use Rockbox with your iPod, that would change the story...

 

[Cloud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pumpkin72 I can't really recommend the UM1 for your iPod because, even if they're supposed to be better than the E2c in comfort and isolation, they need proper equalization to sound the best. Don't know if you can use Rockbox with your iPod, that would change the story...

hmm okie... wat rockbox suppoed to do? i googled it and it seems tt they are working on a port to 3G version

 

[BushGuy]

While I don't directly address Cloud's immediate problem........witness my haj to IEM nirvana. It starts with ebay purchase of Etymotics er-61 for about $85.00. They provided what is normally assumed for them - wonderful clarity and detail....but like all universal-fit you spend as much of your time finding tips that do the best job in regards to their effects on sound and comfort. Despite claims to insufficient bass - they DO have bass that is aprox 12% above neutral. The perception is mitigated because of tip choice and exterior sounds..........Next added an amp to be used with the er-6i and Nano. Chose Dr. Xin's Supermini that upon introduction this last fall was available @$150.........suddenly the perception of er-6i greatly expands without touching the bassboost jumper. But, I suggest that you do want to use the crossfeed jumper more so with IEM's than headphones.........next step was to realize that the Shure grey softtips work very well if you cut-off a slight bit of the center stalk (for the er-6i you want tips to slightly overlap the front edge of the IEM - without that you will probably be feeling that edge). The only problem with the Shure "greys" is they do not isolate nearly as well as any of the flanged tips (but DO provide the most comfort [foamies are very comfortable but the material begins to irritate after the first hour of listening an does muffle the detail/clarity in the bass region]. The last step was to switch out the stock opamp in the amp to what Xin calls Solidtube opamp ($20). It gives your listening something of the "softness" of listening thru a tube amp rather than the usual solidstate amp. It works beautifully for me when using detailed IEM/headphones like the er-6i .......with some, like typical Senns it will not be as magical a combo. This has been my journey......I wonder what happens with a pair of er-4S....the other alternative to best quality sound lies in the more expensive, custom-fit ear eg. Sensaphonics...
Another individual with a home setup of Earmax Anniversary Edition amp and AudioTechnica L3000 has written that he has been using Shure E4's in combination with Supermini outfitted with the solidtube opamp and it has given him sound very close to his home rig (IMO a very good, expensive setup).

 

[Pumpkin72]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cloud hmm okie... wat rockbox suppoed to do? i googled it and it seems tt they are working on a port to 3G version

This may answer most of your questions, Rockbox is an alternative firmware developed as an open source project. They're currently working on the iPod port, but probably you could use it right now (as I do with my H120).

OK, so why did I mention Rockbox? Because of the awesome 5-band parametric EQ that was included recently. Thanks to this little marvel my UM1 sound like heaven. If you could a similar EQ, the Westones would become a very recommendable candidate; without such eq... you could feel disappointed.

OR you could make it simple and just get the right can for you and your source

. That would discard the Westones and probably the Shures, so I'd say K81 DJ for bass & versatility or ER-6i for clarity & portability.

 

[Cloud]

hmm than tts ER-6i i guess. dun really wan to go and mod my iPod or add an amp.

to BushGuy. thats audio i guess. The best never ever exist. there is always something better. Poor wallet lol.

 

[mattg3]

For 14 bucks the Phillips hs820 is a great streetphone that rivals(But does not beat) the ksc75

 

[Ypoknons]

The e2c is probably way out of its depth in this company.

 

[Cloud]

back! walked in the store and the uncle allows me to test the etys and westone. ended up with the UM1. ER6i sound bright to me and UM1 sounds better out of the iPod. Before leaving, i inquired abt MS2i price. He made me an offer i cannot resist.

and so... I walked in with the intention of buying only an IEM but i walked out with an UM1 and MS2i.


Poor wallet. i am so sorry

 

[Pumpkin72]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cloud back! walked in the store and the uncle allows me to test the etys and westone.

I wish I had a shop like that here... Congrats for those cans, and my condolences for your wallet

Now all you need is an nice amp, and Rockbox, and some expensive cables, and... then you'll want to upgrade