largeruk
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2013
- Posts
- 5
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- 0
Hi
Firstly, it's great to actually join this community. I've visited the site many times and always found both the content and the posts from members extremely helpful in halping me, as a virtual IEM virgin, navigate my way round what is for me still very new territory. I'd be extremely grateful if any of the clearly extremely knowledgeable people on here could give me the benefit of their experience and advice.
Background
I've had a pair of UE100s for about a year. These actually came with my current mobile phone (Samsung Galaxy S4) and were the first pair of 'non-standard supplied' IEMs I'd ever worn. Even I could immediately tell the difference between these and the very poor quality ones (IMHO) usually supplied with phones. I use them mostly on a commute which involves a walk (mostly not noisy) and a train ride (very noisy). I listen to mostly speech-based podcasts plus a little music (all genres from classical to folk to rock to jazz) on my commute, although if I got a higher quality pair I'd probably listen to more music. I use my phone to listen to these,
Advice Sought
I know that UE100s are very much at the bottom end of the price & quality range and I'd like to at least look into the possibly of upgrading, largely for the following reasons:-
I'm aware that most podcasts are usually of a low audio bitstream/quality and this needs to be factored into the cost/benefit possible upgrade decision. However, I would very much appreciate people's views as to what (if any) the next upgrade might be from my current UE100s given the above factors and usage. I'm not looking to spend a whole load of money (simply don't have it) but £15-£40 is about my budget. More than happy to consider well cared for secondhand if people think that's a good option.
Many many thanks to all who take the time and trouble to reply. All advice/ideas/suggestions gratefully received....
Firstly, it's great to actually join this community. I've visited the site many times and always found both the content and the posts from members extremely helpful in halping me, as a virtual IEM virgin, navigate my way round what is for me still very new territory. I'd be extremely grateful if any of the clearly extremely knowledgeable people on here could give me the benefit of their experience and advice.
Background
I've had a pair of UE100s for about a year. These actually came with my current mobile phone (Samsung Galaxy S4) and were the first pair of 'non-standard supplied' IEMs I'd ever worn. Even I could immediately tell the difference between these and the very poor quality ones (IMHO) usually supplied with phones. I use them mostly on a commute which involves a walk (mostly not noisy) and a train ride (very noisy). I listen to mostly speech-based podcasts plus a little music (all genres from classical to folk to rock to jazz) on my commute, although if I got a higher quality pair I'd probably listen to more music. I use my phone to listen to these,
Advice Sought
I know that UE100s are very much at the bottom end of the price & quality range and I'd like to at least look into the possibly of upgrading, largely for the following reasons:-
- I find the noise isolation on the UE100s really begins to struggle as soon as I'm in a noisy environment eg. on a busy street, where there's lots of traffic, noisy train ride etc. At this point I usually have to increase the volume up to, or nearly up to, maximum in order to more clearly hear - especially speech-based podcasts.
- I find the sound of UE100s very balanced (at least to my ears) but a bit muddy/woolly - apologies for the lack of technical terminology. From all I've read, it seems that better/pricier IEMs achieve greater clarity both through better techonlogy/build and greater noise isolation.
I'm aware that most podcasts are usually of a low audio bitstream/quality and this needs to be factored into the cost/benefit possible upgrade decision. However, I would very much appreciate people's views as to what (if any) the next upgrade might be from my current UE100s given the above factors and usage. I'm not looking to spend a whole load of money (simply don't have it) but £15-£40 is about my budget. More than happy to consider well cared for secondhand if people think that's a good option.
Many many thanks to all who take the time and trouble to reply. All advice/ideas/suggestions gratefully received....
