Ok so I went through an IEM portable rig phase and did the whole somewhat ridiculous rig held together with a rubber band thing. Not to say that is not a decent way to go if you are on the go alot and a portable/transportable set up is your main thing. For me in the end it started to come down to have a great sound and having it be convenient.
The journey began with the purchase of an RSA SR71 at my first meet just days after joining headfi in late 2004. I had just picked up a pair of Grado SR80s and thought I was the man. Funny how a meet will change your views on the sound you have and alter the sound you are trying to achieve. So I purchased the amp from Ray shortly after the meet. I was perfectly happy with my grados and the sr71 but this darn site kept calling me, beckoning me to try new things. So Tyl kicks me in the pants with a killer deal on the ety 4s and an airhead amp. So I bit on the deal as the price basically gave the amp away for free.
So now I have the etys and the sr71 and damn that was a great sound mated to the RWA imod that I picked up along the way. This rig worked nice as a cigar smoking patio rig or bedroom before sleep rig when I lived with roommates.
Enter the 420 so now I get Shure 420s and plug them right into the ipod. Damn that is sweet, ok not home rig nice but the ipod>lod>amp>etys weren't as good either and honestly they were becoming a royal PITA to carry around. So after careful comparison I went minimal and to tell you the truth I think the shure 420>ipod is better sonically and almost as important for me ergonomically.
So what IEMs have I heard? I will be the first to tell you that I have not heard a boatload of IEMs but I have heard the UE super fi 5 pros waaayy tp much bass, shure 500s at the national meet in NYC and thought wow nice but again too much bass and I owned the ety 6is. Now on the full size can front I have owned just about all the top tier cans L3000s, PS1s, RS1s, HP2s, 650s, Qualias, K1000s, k701s, k340s... you get the picture.
Well the 420s give me the feel of many of the full size cans nice detail, warmth, tonal accuracy, and a decent sense of space. With the etys I loved the speed ( I am a speed freak) and detail but at the end of the day they can be a bit thin. The 500s were great but the bass had a tendency to cover up the mids to a degree that just was a deal killer for me.
Probably the best overall part of the 420s is they sound great unamped, so goodbye rubber band thing to hold that crazy stack that I toted around for about a year. Could they get a hair better with an amp well maybe but it is nowhere near the sacrifice for having to assemble the rig.
So if after carrying around your portable amp and lod and are looking for a great IEM to help you streamline your music on the go I really recommend the 420. I have used it pretty much nonstop since I got them and think they are absolutely the sweet spot of the shure line. Now one day when I have $1100 to burn I'll go with the UE10s or 11s but for now damn these sound sweet.
The journey began with the purchase of an RSA SR71 at my first meet just days after joining headfi in late 2004. I had just picked up a pair of Grado SR80s and thought I was the man. Funny how a meet will change your views on the sound you have and alter the sound you are trying to achieve. So I purchased the amp from Ray shortly after the meet. I was perfectly happy with my grados and the sr71 but this darn site kept calling me, beckoning me to try new things. So Tyl kicks me in the pants with a killer deal on the ety 4s and an airhead amp. So I bit on the deal as the price basically gave the amp away for free.
So now I have the etys and the sr71 and damn that was a great sound mated to the RWA imod that I picked up along the way. This rig worked nice as a cigar smoking patio rig or bedroom before sleep rig when I lived with roommates.
Enter the 420 so now I get Shure 420s and plug them right into the ipod. Damn that is sweet, ok not home rig nice but the ipod>lod>amp>etys weren't as good either and honestly they were becoming a royal PITA to carry around. So after careful comparison I went minimal and to tell you the truth I think the shure 420>ipod is better sonically and almost as important for me ergonomically.
So what IEMs have I heard? I will be the first to tell you that I have not heard a boatload of IEMs but I have heard the UE super fi 5 pros waaayy tp much bass, shure 500s at the national meet in NYC and thought wow nice but again too much bass and I owned the ety 6is. Now on the full size can front I have owned just about all the top tier cans L3000s, PS1s, RS1s, HP2s, 650s, Qualias, K1000s, k701s, k340s... you get the picture.
Well the 420s give me the feel of many of the full size cans nice detail, warmth, tonal accuracy, and a decent sense of space. With the etys I loved the speed ( I am a speed freak) and detail but at the end of the day they can be a bit thin. The 500s were great but the bass had a tendency to cover up the mids to a degree that just was a deal killer for me.
Probably the best overall part of the 420s is they sound great unamped, so goodbye rubber band thing to hold that crazy stack that I toted around for about a year. Could they get a hair better with an amp well maybe but it is nowhere near the sacrifice for having to assemble the rig.
So if after carrying around your portable amp and lod and are looking for a great IEM to help you streamline your music on the go I really recommend the 420. I have used it pretty much nonstop since I got them and think they are absolutely the sweet spot of the shure line. Now one day when I have $1100 to burn I'll go with the UE10s or 11s but for now damn these sound sweet.
