[kingice10]

You can also consider the Denon Line Series the AH-D1100 if you can live with weird-shaped bands or it's brother AH-D2000. There's the Audio Technica's ATH-M50 for versatility of music genre. The Senn HD-25, if you would consider lively sound without the obstrusive bass of the Denon's. The Creative Aruvana also is a good buy with the sligthty simlar sound representation as the Denon D1100.
 
Sorry, I don't like Beyer T50p or the DT1350, the latter hp's bass sounded too anemic for me considering the JH16 and FX700 as my main iems right now.
 
You can consider also the V-Moda PL1 but I haven't heard it so no comment. The Phiaton MS400, which they said mid-centric also but haven't heard so no comment. These are all some considerations.
 
Also after all the bad reviews for this headphone I find them amusing with my J3: the Marshall Majors.
 
IMO if you're considering a portable headphone, the IEMs are still the best in noise isolation and sound reproduction in terms of sound quality. I still cannot compare transparency to any other portable phones out there.

 

[gunner1905]

I was looking around in the IEM head gear section and it seems that there are a few IEMs that people here seems to go crazy for like the Sennheiser IE8, Westone UM3X, UE Triple.fi 10, Earsonics SM3. I wasn't considering an IEM, I didn't even know there were high end IEMs that cost that much, but do you guys know compared to portable headphones like the HD25 which has better SQ?

 

[gunner1905]

Quote:

You can also consider the Denon Line Series the AH-D1100 if you can live with weird-shaped bands or it's brother AH-D2000. There's the Audio Technica's ATH-M50 for versatility of music genre. The Senn HD-25, if you would consider lively sound without the obstrusive bass of the Denon's. The Creative Aruvana also is a good buy with the sligthty simlar sound representation as the Denon D1100.
 
Sorry, I don't like Beyer T50p or the DT1350, the latter hp's bass sounded too anemic for me considering the JH16 and FX700 as my main iems right now.
 
You can consider also the V-Moda PL1 but I haven't heard it so no comment. The Phiaton MS400, which they said mid-centric also but haven't heard so no comment. These are all some considerations.
 
Also after all the bad reviews for this headphone I find them amusing with my J3: the Marshall Majors.
 
IMO if you're considering a portable headphone, the IEMs are still the best in noise isolation and sound reproduction in terms of sound quality. I still cannot compare transparency to any other portable phones out there.

There goes the beyers out of my shortlist. I kinda felt iffy about the beyers, seems all style and no substance, but thought it I might be wrong, I read some reviews about them some hate them some likes them, your post kicked them out of the running.
 
Quote:

I was looking around in the IEM head gear section and it seems that there are a few IEMs that people here seems to go crazy for like the Sennheiser IE8, Westone UM3X, UE Triple.fi 10, Earsonics SM3. I wasn't considering an IEM, I didn't even know there were high end IEMs that cost that much, but do you guys know compared to portable headphones like the HD25 which has better SQ?

As I just posted, would you say IEMs have better SQ?
 
Thanks for the suggestions
 
 

 

[meemorize]

Quote:

I was looking around in the IEM head gear section and it seems that there are a few IEMs that people here seems to go crazy for like the Sennheiser IE8, Westone UM3X, UE Triple.fi 10, Earsonics SM3. I wasn't considering an IEM, I didn't even know there were high end IEMs that cost that much, but do you guys know compared to portable headphones like the HD25 which has better SQ?

I found that in a busy environment, outside (walking around, public transport,…), IEMs usually give you better SQ due to their much better seal. So rather than the possibly great sound coming from a over the ear closed hp being somewhat diluted by surrounding noise, with IEM you basically only get the music.
 
I had tried initially walking around with my open MS1's (what a foolish idea in retrospect), then moved to the closed M50 and then ultimately decided the my IEM's (not very high end and definitely cheaper than the M50) actually give me a much better 'real-world' sound than my theoretically better cans, hence the whole IEM on the go, closed at the office, open at home thing.
Going out on a limb here I would say that in an outside environment a ~$100 IEM will give you a better sound experience than a $150-300 closed headphone, but like I said before this is due to their isolation being usually much much better (especially with the seal that comes from the Comply Foam tips).
 
On a side note in regards to your size related question earlier, I would say the M50 is about the same size as the Bose and definitely smaller than the Senns. The M50 cup size is 95mm (height) x 85mm (width) x 40mm (depth) in case that helps form a clearer picture.

 

[gunner1905]

Quote:

I found that in a busy environment, outside (walking around, public transport,…), IEMs usually give you better SQ due to their much better seal. So rather than the possibly great sound coming from a over the ear closed hp being somewhat diluted by surrounding noise, with IEM you basically only get the music.
 
I had tried initially walking around with my open MS1's (what a foolish idea in retrospect), then moved to the closed M50 and then ultimately decided the my IEM's (not very high end and definitely cheaper than the M50) actually give me a much better 'real-world' sound than my theoretically better cans, hence the whole IEM on the go, closed at the office, open at home thing.
Going out on a limb here I would say that in an outside environment a ~$100 IEM will give you a better sound experience than a $150-300 closed headphone, but like I said before this is due to their isolation being usually much much better (especially with the seal that comes from the Comply Foam tips).
 
On a side note in regards to your size related question earlier, I would say the M50 is about the same size as the Bose and definitely smaller than the Senns. The M50 cup size is 95mm (height) x 85mm (width) x 40mm (depth) in case that helps form a clearer picture.

Yeah, I'm probably going to use the headphone or IEM on the go too so that's worth considering, but I'm still thinking how long would I use it inside (if my room mate complains when I use my 595s) and how long I would use it outside. Although I'm pretty sure if I get headphones it would be between the M50s, the hd25, or the ATH-ESW9A (it just looks so good), unless anybody has any more suggestion to help me decide.
Now the between the IEMs, does anybody has any suggestion? also chime in with your recommendation whether I should choose between IEMs or headphones.
 
Thanks all
 
PS sorry for all the questions, still new to these kinds of things 
 

 

[meemorize]

I would also think about whether you're likely to be in situations where you need to take the headphone off a lot and then put them on again as this gets quite annoying with IEMs where you always need to find a good seal afterwards, not a big issue really and I might be exaggerating but it was the main reason why I choose not to wear IEMs at the office.
Whenever someone needs something I would need to take them out then plug em back in again after, something much more effortless with big cans that you can just slip down, around your neck, then back up again.
 
I forgot what your budget was but I vaguely recall up to $300 (?) so what I might suggest here, especially since you're still trying to find your sound a little bit too is buy the M50 for all indoorsy/stationary stuff home, library, work and so on and buy some ~$100 IEM + Comply Foam tips for it. 
With the M50 probably being around $150, and a good (for the price range) sub $100 IEM such as the RE-0 or RE-Zero (~$90 i think) and with the right sized foam tips ~$20 you end up within budget (~$270) and you have better sound on the go than with the M50s but a better and more comfortable sound while indoors/stationary.
Note: I can also recommend NuForce IEMs (I own the NE-7M and NE-700M) for their sound quality but lately their production quality has been a bit sloppy. While the have great service (free replacement) as an international customer the shipping costs to them started to annoy me which is why I am now looking at the RE-0/Zero's myself. If you're in the USA though this would be a non-issue really.
 
When I first started with what has slowly evolved into a headphone addiction I also tried finding a single headphone that would cover all my bases. As many will tell you this simply doesn't exist. So you're truly better equipped with 2 bespoke purchases each playing to their unique strengths.

 

[gunner1905]

Quote:

I would also think about whether you're likely to be in situations where you need to take the headphone off a lot and then put them on again as this gets quite annoying with IEMs where you always need to find a good seal afterwards, not a big issue really and I might be exaggerating but it was the main reason why I choose not to wear IEMs at the office.
Whenever someone needs something I would need to take them out then plug em back in again after, something much more effortless with big cans that you can just slip down, around your neck, then back up again.
 
I forgot what your budget was but I vaguely recall up to $300 (?) so what I might suggest here, especially since you're still trying to find your sound a little bit too is buy the M50 for all indoorsy/stationary stuff home, library, work and so on and buy some ~$100 IEM + Comply Foam tips for it. 
With the M50 probably being around $150, and a good (for the price range) sub $100 IEM such as the RE-0 or RE-Zero (~$90 i think) and with the right sized foam tips ~$20 you end up within budget (~$270) and you have better sound on the go than with the M50s but a better and more comfortable sound while indoors/stationary.
Note: I can also recommend NuForce IEMs (I own the NE-7M and NE-700M) for their sound quality but lately their production quality has been a bit sloppy. While the have great service (free replacement) as an international customer the shipping costs to them started to annoy me which is why I am now looking at the RE-0/Zero's myself. If you're in the USA though this would be a non-issue really.
 
When I first started with what has slowly evolved into a headphone addiction I also tried finding a single headphone that would cover all my bases. As many will tell you this simply doesn't exist. So you're truly better equipped with 2 bespoke purchases each playing to their unique strengths.

My budget is around $250-350 maybe $400 if something really really awesome comes up, that's a good idea to have two the fortunately I already have one right now (the 595) so that budget can go to one very good IEM or headphone.
For long stretches of listening I'll probably use my 595, those long stretches at my room I mean (if I use it in the library I'll probably get kicked out), so that mean I'll probably use these headphones or IEMs outside alone which means I probably won't have to take it on and off frequently if I get an IEM.
So yeah, do you have any opinion between the SQ of something like HD25 and high end IEMs like the IE8 or the earsonics? Also I just bought a portable amp (PA2V2) if that tips the balance for SQ the headphones or IEMs.
 
Thanks for all the suggestion, seriously, I didn't know anyone that could give me any advice about this sort of things

 

[gunner1905]

anybody have any recommendation?
 
also bump

 

[meemorize]

I have given as much advice as I can, I simply don't own any high end IEMs (my most expensive ones are just $100) but from what you say about where and how you're going to use these I would go IEM rather than portable closed can.
 
I suggest looking around the head-fi head gear section: http://www.head-fi.org/products/category/in-ear and reading some of the reviews there, then unless you can arrange an audition somehow you're just gonna have to buy some and hopefully you've picked a winner
 
Good luck.

 

[calipilot227]

For IEMs:
 
Westone 4, Shure SE535, UE TF10

 

[gunner1905]

 
Quote:

I have given as much advice as I can, I simply don't own any high end IEMs (my most expensive ones are just $100) but from what you say about where and how you're going to use these I would go IEM rather than portable closed can.
 
I suggest looking around the head-fi head gear section: http://www.head-fi.org/products/category/in-ear and reading some of the reviews there, then unless you can arrange an audition somehow you're just gonna have to buy some and hopefully you've picked a winner
 
Good luck.

no problem man, you already helped me deciding the over ear headphones I might buy (HD25 or M50) now I'm just looking whether to buy that or an IEM.
 
Thanks

 

[gunner1905]

Quote:

For IEMs:
 
Westone 4, Shure SE535, UE TF10

Wow, I looked it up and those things are expensive. Anyway, do you know the differences between them? I read the multi IEM reviews and the first two does rank high in the list (the UE one hasn't been reviewed yet), which one would you say is the best?
 
Thanks for the suggestion

 

[calipilot227]

Quote:

Wow, I looked it up and those things are expensive. Anyway, do you know the differences between them? I read the multi IEM reviews and the first two does rank high in the list (the UE one hasn't been reviewed yet), which one would you say is the best?
 
Thanks for the suggestion

I personally own the UE TF10 and the Ety ER-4P/S, but I have heard the SE535. You will probably like the SE535 the best if you're used to the 595's midrange (nobody does it better than Shure). The Triple.fi 10 has excellent bass and treble, but the midrange sounds slightly recessed at times. Furthermore, the SE535 is more comfortable and has better isolation than the TF10, especially with foamies.
 

 

[gunner1905]

Quote:

I personally own the UE TF10 and the Ety ER-4P/S, but I have heard the SE535. You will probably like the SE535 the best if you're used to the 595's midrange (nobody does it better than Shure). The Triple.fi 10 has excellent bass and treble, but the midrange sounds slightly recessed at times. Furthermore, the SE535 is more comfortable and has better isolation than the TF10, especially with foamies.
 

 
The Shure seems interesting, I do listen less to bassy music so it would fit well. Have you ever tried the Westone 4, or do you know how it sounds like compared to the shure? I saw your sig and saw that you use a HD580, I want to ask, in general would something like the Shure or Westone have less or an equal SQ to an open back headphones? I'm curious because I've never really used a high end IEM and and the price between those IEMs and an open back headphone is comparable.
 
Also, you're using 2 portable amps? How does that work?

 

[calipilot227]

Quote:

 
The Shure seems interesting, I do listen less to bassy music so it would fit well. Have you ever tried the Westone 4, or do you know how it sounds like compared to the shure? I saw your sig and saw that you use a HD580, I want to ask, in general would something like the Shure or Westone have less or an equal SQ to an open back headphones? I'm curious because I've never really used a high end IEM and and the price between those IEMs and an open back headphone is comparable.
 
Also, you're using 2 portable amps? How does that work?

First off, the Fiio L3 is an LOD, not an amp. I only use one portable amp (PA2V2). Very good for the price I paid.
 
I have not yet had the chance to hear the Westone 4, but it has been said that it is very smooth and balanced. Both the Shure and Westone IEMs have excellent sound quality, the only thing they lack compared to an open-back can is soundstage, but the same can be said for almost every IEM (except for the TF10 and IE8).
 
But really, are you going to be doing critical listening anyway in a noisy environment? Isolation is the main advantage of IEMs, and it makes up for many of their other shortcomings.