[kolinpl]

Hi All,

First, thanks for this great forum. Already spent hours and hours searching and reading. Great resource.

I want to improve my portable listening experience overall on a limited budget.

Right now I'm using:

-Ipod nano, 4th Gen
-Sennheiser CX-300II headphones.

I've been getting frustrated with the quality of the sound I hear . . . sometimes I think it is the headphones limiting me but I'm not too sure what the weak link in the chain is. I ripped my CD collection recently at a stupidly low (?) bitrate - much of my collection is at a lowly 128kbps. My listening tastes are very eclectic. I listen to everything from Classical, Rock, Jazz, Country (oh yeah), orchestral stuff, you name it.

I think I am going to buy a Sansa Clip+ very soon. My CDs are on another continent so right now re-ripping at a higher bitrate isn't an option.

I'm going to buy a Sansa Clip+ soon. *Is it worth upgrading my IEMs from the CX-300II?* I'm just seeking to make reasonable improvement in the overall experience and take a solid step up in listening quality from my current setup. I can afford to spend perhaps $100-150.

I'm in Poland.

What I think is important to me now is:

-something with reasonably good isolation
-durability
-driveable directly from the clip+ without an external amplifier

Where do I begin?

At your mercy as I continue to sift through the gobs of useful information on this forum.

Best,

K

 

[ClieOS]

With most of your music at 128kbps, spending $150 on headphone at the moment doesn't seem to be the wisest thing to do. I haven't heard CX300II myself to know how it sounds, but you might want to keep your next IEM at less than $100, preferably around $50 to $80. There are plenty of good IEM in that price range, and the money you save can go to future IEM purchase when you do able to get music with better bitrate.

Welcome to HF, and sorry about your wallet!

 

[kolinpl]

Well I don't know what I'm talking about but that sounds like sound (!) advice. Maybe what I'll do is see how things sound when I get the Clip+ and take it from there. I really wasn't thinking ahead when I ripped everything at 128kbps.

Thanks for the reply and the welcome

K

 

[SactoMan101]

My answer is simple: Klipsch Image S4i, since you have a 4G iPod nano. Mind you, I'd recommend using the Comply T-100 or Tx-100 ear tips, since they provide better fit and better noise isolation (on average!) than the Klipsch-provided ear tips.

 

[yipcanjo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClieOS /img/forum/go_quote.gif With most of your music at 128kbps, spending $150 on headphone at the moment doesn't seem to be the wisest thing to do. I haven't heard CX300II myself to know how it sounds, but you might want to keep your next IEM at less than $100, preferably around $50 to $80. There are plenty of good IEM in that price range, and the money you save can go to future IEM purchase when you do able to get music with better bitrate. Welcome to HF, and sorry about your wallet!

+1 on this advice. Can you re-rip your music library at a higher bitrate? Say 256kbps or above? Maybe even lossless? Your existing headphones *might* sound better to you with higher quality music files, but better headphones aren't going to magically make low quality files sound good.

 

[Donut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by yipcanjo /img/forum/go_quote.gif +1 on this advice. Can you re-rip your music library at a higher bitrate? Say 256kbps or above? Maybe even lossless? Your existing headphones *might* sound better to you with higher quality music files, but better headphones aren't going to magically make low quality files sound good.

Actually, better headphones can make low quality files sound worse, since better headphones are typically more revealing of flaws....

 

[untrueparadox]

yeah, if you use sansa, do m4a 320k bitrate. its a much better format than the mp3, its like 2 generations of technology difference. you can use them in windows media player and itunes. and then go pick up a pair of triplefi 10's. you can still find them around for $150 or so, new or used, if you look hard enough.

 

[Gridlinked]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kolinpl /img/forum/go_quote.gif My CDs are on another continent so right now re-ripping at a higher bitrate isn't an option.

Is there anyone who can mail your CD's to you? As others have said, buying better headphones to listen to low bitrate music is only to make your music sound worse.

 

[lucozade]

yes not worth spending too much on iems till you get better music files.

 

[kolinpl]

Hi Gents,

Thanks again for the feedback. Getting my collection mailed to me isn't really an option right now . . . I'll just have to bide my time and re-rip at a higher bit rate when I'm back home again. So for now I will upgrade my player (because I have someone to 'hand me down' my iPod to, and hold tight on spending money on headphones. Glad I asked for help!

Best,

K

 

[kolinpl]

Deleted duplicate post. Sorry.

 

[SolidSnake3]

When you get your cd collection and still feel that you want an upgrade I would say the RE0 are pretty darn good. For about $80 they are a great, great IEM that for me has really shined with every genre I have throw at em.

 

[kolinpl]

Quick update:
 
I grew impatient to replace/upgrade from my CX300II's once the left channel started working only sporadically. I can't seem to figure out why that channel cuts out like it does. Anyway, I bought a pair of Denon C360s at a local store. I know there were probably better options for the price but wasn't patient enough to do the research like I usually am. The C360s don't isolate external sound as well as my Sennheisers, but are much easier to put in my ears (getting a proper fit with the ultra soft rubber on the Sennheisers was sometimes annoying) and sound great. I especially like the shorter cable, and the texture of the cord makes them less tangle prone. Looking forward to see how they sound if/when I get a chance to upgrade the quality of my ripped CD collection.
 
Thanks for the advice and for the forums.
 
K

 

[koonhua90]

First thing is, change your collection to 256kbps or 320kbps or even lossless. Most of the albums that you can download legally or illegally on the internet should be ripped in 320kbps mp3/ flac. The player should do fine, till after you get higher bitrate music and till after you change your earphones. I have not the Nano 4G but I do have the Nano 5G and it sounds fine. And how do you like the sound on CX-300?
 
Read the review of ClieOS and Ijoker. The links should be under their signature.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/450407/multiple-iem-shootout-v-3
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/478568/multi-iem-review-63-iems-compared-yuin-ok1-added-05-03

 

[Trysaeder]

Save your space and don't bother with lossless, most people here can't tell the difference between 320 and flac, and if they can it's only when listening carefully for certain details, which you certainly won't do while out. 320 should be good as most ipods are large, don't bother buying another player or you'll be sucked into the cesspool that is headfi and you'll never get out.