[milesandcoltrane]

I currently own a Sony MDR-7506 and a Westone UM1 for my head-fi listening needs.

After 7 months with the 7506 I've found them to be too bright, cold, and "digital" sounding for me. They occasionally causing a disconcerting ring in my ears.

I really like the Westone UM1 for their warmth, but in terms of details they are sorely lacking.

I'm in desperate need of new cans or IEMs for my late-night listening needs.
I've owned the HD 25-1 before but they got lost while moving. I loved the sound on these. They gave me adequate servings of the bottom-end while not losing the details. From memory though, if I remember correctly the mid-range was a bit lost on some recordings.

I've also tried the UM2 a long time ago and really enjoyed it. Though now I suspect I might not like it as much (I recall the trebles being quite recessed on these).

I loved the sound on the HD600, the DT880 as well (except for sibilance issues, which hurt me real bad especially on Diana Krall). However I'm not in the position to get a dedicated home-only setup given space and budget constraints for a proper home amp.

For dedicated listening, my tastes pander almost exclusively towards Jazz.

I've been looking at either the Senn HD 25-1 (though its been quite a while since I've listened to them and my tastes might have changed) or low-end customs like the Unique Melody Mage (the price is wonderful, but FWIR their bright sound sig is a bit worrying for me). I wish I could get the JH13s but their just too darn expensive for me!

Budget: 500USD max!

I'd like a good bottom end, good mids and good details. Not excessively bassy and boomy. Not hot in the trebles, bright and cold. I guess balanced is a good word.

Please help me guys and girls!

 

[milesandcoltrane]

Anyone? I'd really appreciate anyone's help and opinion or advice = )

 

[brendon]

I am not the correct person to answer this. But given your $500 budget I would venture that customs will be your best bet.

Another option would be getting a Triple Fi 10 from amazon.com for about $190 and see if you like it. If you do you can reshell them (I believe Fischer does that in the US and Uniquemelody from China) to improve the isolation. Both methods will set you back by around $90 or so. So you can get customs that you like for about $280.

In your budget there are plenty of customs monitors but unfortunately since I have never heard any of them I can't say whether they are balanced or not.

There are plenty of custom manufacturers like alien ears, Livewires, JH Audio, Ultimate Ears, Unique Melody, Sleek, FreQ etc. All of them have custom monitors well within your budget.

Alien Ears and FreQ have triple driver flagship customs that are around $350 only.

 

[iponderous]

I believe that we've met before milesandcoltrane. I'd like to try and assist you on this occasion if I may. Jazz is pretty much all I listen to and having auditioned the HD25-1 when I was looking for a portable headphone, I really don't think its sound signature is well suited to jazz - too "metallic" and no soundstage to speak of from my memory. If you're still considering a portable headphone, the ATH-ESW9 would be a much nicer option in my opinion. I'd also second the above poster's recommendation of the TF10. It's my favourite universal IEM and I think it works really well with jazz.

 

[milesandcoltrane]

Brendon: Thanks a million for your comprehensive advice buddy! Since I posted the thread I've gone out to audition the high-end universal IEMs, I've also written a brief impressions thread on head-fi based on my auditions and yes! the TF10 were a firm favourite for me. Though fit and ease of insertion were a real issue for me. Sometimes I got them right, sometimes I just didn't. The customs route for the TF10 makes the most sense to me. Many thanks once again Brendon! I really appreciate your words of advice.

iponderous:

We meet again! Thank you for being so kind and gentle this time around =) Really appreciate it. Pardon my transgressions the last time around. My 'noob' status, despite the several years I've been into head-fi (on and off), has yet to wear off.

Recently I had the listen to the HD25-1 again, and I was shocked that they didn't sound as good as they did to me some years ago. I guess my ears have matured in a sense, I'm not to sure. But yes just like you said, the sound was too "metallic" especially the trebles, and the soundstage was really up in your face. I don't mind an intimate presentation but these just lacked any sense of dimension.

The ATH-ESW9 sounds like an interesting choice. I recently auditioned the ATH-ESW10JPN. The limited edition cans with beautiful wood cups. I quite liked the sound. Natural, a tad polite, clean and quite balanced. Bass was a little deficient or further back than I would've liked but otherwise a pleasant set of cans. The kicker was the price though. At about $570 I just didn't find them to be worth the price. The ESW9 might make more sense, though I do have to give them a listen. Once again muchas gracias iponderous!

At the moment though, I reckon I'm leaning more towards IEMs, given their excellent portability, I'd be able to use them more often than cans.

I recently gave the Shure E530 a listen as well. I'll update my findings in the impressions thread I posted but briefly: The mid-range was beautiful on these. Highs were lacking (treble roll-off?) and bass was quiet deficient as well. Comfort was excellent, a far cry from the TF10. But I miss the beautiful sparkly highs that can he had with the Trips.

 

[iponderous]

^ The IE8's do nicely with jazz as well, although I still prefer the TF10. I also have the SE530 and yes, its liquid midrange is renowned, but I find it too accentuated. I prefer the other two phones over it by a considerable margin.

 

[milesandcoltrane]

Ah iponderous I was hoping to like the IE8 but when I listened to them I found them to have really uncontrolled bass that bleeds into the mid range. They were burnt-in but I'm not too sure for how long. 50-100 hours at least would be my guess because they were an audition set at the store. Does the sound really improve dramatically after 100-200 hours of burn-in like I keep reading around here.

 

[iponderous]

^ I do regard the IE8 as a bassy phone but I wouldn't describe it as uncontrolled. Yes, it does have a mid-bass hump but it doesn't get in the way of the mids to my ears. It also has lovely treble presentation, with great extension and there's not a hint of harshness. I just find it a really relaxed and engaging listen.

I don't attach any weight to the "burn-in" phenomenon. I liked the IE8 out of the box and still do. I haven't noticed any changes to the sound signature as a result of use, and I have no idea how many hours I've logged with it.

I do prefer the way the TF10 renders bass over both the IE8 and the SE530. The SE530 has a tight bass presentation that doesn't go as deep as the TF10 to my ears. Bass just sounds more realistic with the TF10 than the SE530 to me. The IE8 lacks the bass definition of both the SE530 and the TF10.

Each of these phones do different things very well, but unfortunately they don't do everything well, as I'm sure you're aware. I've been through a few earphones since unwittingly stumbling upon this forum and to date, the TF10 is the one that I favour. You've probably noticed that there's a lot of hype for the CK10 at the moment. There are some Head-Fier's who own both the CK10 and the TF10, and rate the CK10 more highly. So that's another one worth considering.

Having said that, this is such a subjective pursuit that you really have to trust your own ears. Reading and participating in these forum threads can be addictive as my post count sadly shows, and if you have obsessive tendencies then heaven help you. However, it appears that you've been in a position to audition some of these phones, which is a far more effective way of ascertaining which, phone best suits your listening preferences. Of course, if you're seriously considering going down the custom IEM route, then that's more of a leap of faith.

 

[BushGuy]

A majority of my listening is to female jazz artists.
With that caveat in mind - for $500 or less the only candidate for you is Grado RS-1/flats. Without that $ limit, I like Grado HF-2 modded to Vixen.....and for an alternative use X-Deep Darths built with current dt770/600ohm drivers. This Darth gives you a nice change-up from the up-close Grado mids.

While I sold mine - Triple-Fi 10 gave me good sound, but I opted to keep Klipsch x10 strictly for their comfort. Re re-shelling - just like the well-known Sensaphonics, JH13 etc - be prepared for the prospect that they will often have to be sent back for another fitting (and sometimes, yet again).

 

[iponderous]

^ I don't have the RS1 but I can attest that the HF2 is well suited to the kind of jazz that I like to listen to. Although I think the OP is more interested in an earphone rather than a headphone.

 

[milesandcoltrane]

Hey guys sorry for the late reply. Been busy with school, work and auditioning cans.

Been falling in love with the Audio Technica ATH-ESW10JPN lately. Been listening to them quite a fair bit lately and I'm very slowly falling into their grasp!

Though I've been really wanting to get IEMs, I keep veering back into the somewhat 'larger' more 'life-sized' and natural sound that cans provide.

The biggest problem with the ESW10JPN is that isolation isn't very fantastic. And for the price (I can get them at slightly over 500) I think their kinda - well - overpriced.

How would the ESW9 compare to the 10s? I've read some pretty split opinions on them. Some say the jump isn't as much, some say the difference is night and day. But I've almost seen a unanimous opinion that isolation is quite poor, which I would have to agree for the 10s.

BushGuy: I'd love to go with the RS1 and flats or the Darths but I'm looking for a portable solution man! I'm starting to think that I should just focus on getting IEMs then when funds allow (and when I can get to spend more time at home) get a full-sized pair of cans and amp.

 

[milesandcoltrane]

Oh yeah, a friend asked me to try the MB Quart QP450 pro. Said it was similar in tonality to the JH13!!!!! I've yet to get the time to go audition but information has been pretty scarce on these.

 

[Pianist]

For jazz, Ortofon e-Q7 is the best IEM I've heard so far.

 

[milesandcoltrane]

Whoa! That's another one I should go ahead and try! Thanks for the heads-up buddy!