[sanity8me]

Hello, I am planning to buy a slimx imp-550 very soon. For some strange, personal reason I decided that my mdr-7506s look/ feel too bulky for portable use. I thought maybe I could get some nice earphones, that will, as a bonus, allow me to get very nice sound reduction from the outside world. This noise reduction is indeed a big deal for me. The earphones I am considering are the sony mdr-ex71sl's or what I've recently fallen in love with, the Shure E2c's. The E2c's seem like they're worth the price and the similar Etymotic ER-6's seem to be more or else the same thing but don't seem to be built as well as the E2c's, although they might sound a tincy bit better and cost more. That's my first plan. Basically, it's to blow around $70-90 for the E2c's.


OR...for my second plan...just stick with my mdr-7506s cause it seems like I've just been spoiled with them for 2 years now and been taking them for granted...and get the Beyer pads (my pleather pads are so old they make the earphones look ancient). I guess I may be over-reacting about their look and feel... portabality wise.

What do you guys think?

 

[sanity8me]

here's how they look with beyer pads:
http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...?threadid=1453

 

[erikzen]

The last time I was considering buying a new set of portable cans I was debating between getting the V6 and the E2. The V6 come very highly recommended by many Headfiers. In the end though, I bought the E2s and I really couldn't be happier. The build quality does seem very sturdy although I did read in a couple of threads about one or two people having trouble with one of the wires. They provide a very good level of isolation. You can hear outside noise but it is much less obtrusive than any other can I've used. The overall sound quality is good and because of the isolation I find I can listen at much lower levels and still get all the details of the music.

Since I have not tried the V6 I can not compare. From my understanding I think it would be somewhat of a lateral move, even though I can whole-heartedly recommend the E2, especially if you need some more isolation.

 

[sanity8me]

Quote:

I can whole-heartedly recommend the E2, especially if you need some more isolation

Do you recommend these over any other earphones under a similar price range like the ex7sl's?

 

[Kelvie1234]

The EX series of Sony is not very highly regarded around here..

 

[Eagle_Driver]

MDR-EXcrement. Need I say more?

I own a pair of the MDR-EXcrement70LP's, and the bass is boomy and flabby, the treble grates on my ears more than Gratos ever will

, and... for that Grand Canyon effect... HEY! WHERE ARE THE MIDS?

 

[Uncledan]

I have all ex71, Shure E2c and Sony 7506. First, you can forget about getting ex71, it sounds really bad and easy to broken. I give it to my girl friend, and she break it within a month.

When you compare E2c and 7506, in my point of view, 7506 sounds better then E2c, however, 7506 looks very ugly when you wear it outside. Shure E2c sounds OK, the good thing about Shure E2c is isolation. It can block around 70% of outside noise. Anyway, if you have money, I am STRONGLY recommend that you get Ety 4p. THAT IS ALL YOU NEED!!!

 

[strohmie]

I'll toss in my thoughts, as I've heard the EX70s, 7506s, and the Etymotic ER6s. Again, forget the EX71s (the 70s are basically the same). The 7506s are great cans, but I'm the type of person who prefers earbuds and the like for portable listening. The ER6s are similar to the E2Cs, and are great for portable use. The E2Cs supposedly have less of the microphonics associated with the Etymotics (though this is more with the ER4s), though the sound quality is supposed to be a bit better for the ER6s. The clarity of those is excellent, they just didn't fit me well. I plan to hear the E2Cs eventually, and I'd say they'd be a pretty good bet for you.

Uncledan, do you think the ER4s would be suitably driven by the portable in question? That's my one worry with your recommendation (plus the microphonics associated with the phones when used portably).

 

[Uncledan]

strohmie, you are right, Ety 4p do have microphonics problem. However, when you sit on the chair, microphonics problem will be disappear. For most of the portable CD/mp3/md player, they can give enough power for Ety 4p. Of course, if you do have portable amp, Ety 4p will sound even better.

 

[sanity8me]

uncledan, mean strohmie is right not me... I have no clue what you guys are even talking about... microphonics?

I am wondering how exactly do 7506s compare/contrast to the E2s sound wise?