I've been lurking and poking around Head-Fi for years yet I've never felt compelled to post or ask anything. But lately I've been searching for my first set of good IEMs for a budget that maxes out at around $100. I'm okay with the traditional brands as well as with stuff coming from China. Or perhaps even gently used.
What I'm used to:
At home I mostly listen through a Focusrite 2i4 USB audio recording interface that drives my Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro (250 Ohm) open-back headphones relatively okay. I use Foobar2000 with a mixture of 192k, 320k MP3 files and FLAC without equalization/dsp. I also have a pair of Sennheiser HD380 closed-back headphones but are seldom used. I used to have a pair of Sony MDR-7506 headphones from the early 2000s that I adored and made my fall in love with headphones originally but after they were destroyed, the MDR-7506 that replaced them with the red label were, to me, nowhere near the same headphone.
When I'm mobile or commuting I'm listening through an Asus Zenfone 2 android phone, Asus T100 tablet or my chunky Lenovo laptop - all without using a headphone amp or equalization/dsp. Either I lug the HD380s (wore these while walking around a museum once) or use some cheaper IEMs that I have: Sennheiser OCX 685i Adidas (purchased on a black Friday deal last year) and the Mee Electronics M6 sports in-ears.
What I want:
I would like something with a good, maybe spectacular sound stage that sounds something close to an open back style headphone like my Beyerdynamic's where I can feel the mids especially in thickly layered guitar distortion . That's probably asking too much at the price point as well as a matter of physics, I think. But I definitely prefer a more balanced sound to cover a wider range rather than just super deep bass. But if a deep bass there along with everything else in the spectrum I won't be unhappy. I'll also be flying with these. I'm not a fan of noise cancelling headphones. So I prefer in-ears.
What I listen to:
electronic/idm/glitch/ambient (Aphex Twin, Brian Eno, Dan Deacon, Tim Hecker)
indie rock/pop/shoegaze (Radiohead, Yo La Tengo, Pixies, MBV, M83)
50s/60s jazz (John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Bill Evans)
some hip-hop (the stranger the better)
on occasion, classical music (piano, chamber).
Thoughts, recommendations, solutions or am I being just unreasonably impossible at this price point?
What I'm used to:
At home I mostly listen through a Focusrite 2i4 USB audio recording interface that drives my Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro (250 Ohm) open-back headphones relatively okay. I use Foobar2000 with a mixture of 192k, 320k MP3 files and FLAC without equalization/dsp. I also have a pair of Sennheiser HD380 closed-back headphones but are seldom used. I used to have a pair of Sony MDR-7506 headphones from the early 2000s that I adored and made my fall in love with headphones originally but after they were destroyed, the MDR-7506 that replaced them with the red label were, to me, nowhere near the same headphone.
When I'm mobile or commuting I'm listening through an Asus Zenfone 2 android phone, Asus T100 tablet or my chunky Lenovo laptop - all without using a headphone amp or equalization/dsp. Either I lug the HD380s (wore these while walking around a museum once) or use some cheaper IEMs that I have: Sennheiser OCX 685i Adidas (purchased on a black Friday deal last year) and the Mee Electronics M6 sports in-ears.
What I want:
I would like something with a good, maybe spectacular sound stage that sounds something close to an open back style headphone like my Beyerdynamic's where I can feel the mids especially in thickly layered guitar distortion . That's probably asking too much at the price point as well as a matter of physics, I think. But I definitely prefer a more balanced sound to cover a wider range rather than just super deep bass. But if a deep bass there along with everything else in the spectrum I won't be unhappy. I'll also be flying with these. I'm not a fan of noise cancelling headphones. So I prefer in-ears.
What I listen to:
electronic/idm/glitch/ambient (Aphex Twin, Brian Eno, Dan Deacon, Tim Hecker)
indie rock/pop/shoegaze (Radiohead, Yo La Tengo, Pixies, MBV, M83)
50s/60s jazz (John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Bill Evans)
some hip-hop (the stranger the better)
on occasion, classical music (piano, chamber).
Thoughts, recommendations, solutions or am I being just unreasonably impossible at this price point?
