[squatter88]

In the not too distant future, I will be moving to a 3rd world country for a couple of years & am rationalising many things - audio equipment being one of them.

I have over 10 years worth of ear-phones which were once attached to some form of portable audio. One of these is a Sony E-484 earphone. Also have some cheaper Sony earphones, Pro-2 (? - were cheap), Aiwa Walkman phones & no-name earphones with my MP3 player. This is not to mention Pioneer cans & Cosonic headset (with mike).

My partner has updated to Sony MDR-NX1 canal earphones which i have tried & decided that in-ear is not my scene. (I don't seem to like to hear myself eating etc.)

If I were to get some new earphones, what would be better than the E-484s ? To be honest, I only just found them at the back of my desk drawer & they have not been used for over 5 years (my error).

How do the E-484s rate these days assuming they are in good condition - which they are (except for the foams which are fallinga part) ?

 

[bobeau]

From the bits and pieces I've read on this forum these are pretty legendary buds, can't imagine the MX-500 coming close.

 

[Duncan]

How are you with VITE (Vertical In The Ear) 'phones? - The Sony MDR-A44L bests the E472 (E484 in a non ceramic housing) quite easily imo...

That being said, if it aint broke... don't fix it.

 

[squatter88]

My listening test with the E-484s & my partner's original Apple iPod earphones shows (to my un-trained ear) that the Apple ones are clearly stronger at the bottom end but are duller in the mid & upper ranges. So while I could now hear lower end stuff clearer with the iPod phones, the listening experience was overall better with the E-484s.

I also compared them with my MP3 player no-name phones. I considered the no-names better than all the other earphones I had but both the E-484s & iPod phones were better (as they ought to have been) but not by a huge amount. As for the others, they can wait for an AM radio comeback.

I should point out that my partner finds the Sony-NX1s slightly better than the iPod phones but she is a classical music fan whereas I am an unabashed throw-back & have used Ozric Tentacles as my listening benchmark.

So I have put to bed any thoughts now of bothering to buy MX-400 or MX-500s. I have now moved on to portable speakers.

I expect to be spending up to 3 months away from any non-portable audio equipment (before settling down) & while my earphone situation seems resolved in my mind, I can't imagine wanting to listen to earphones for that long.

So the speakers must be battery-operated, fit safely in a small day-pack, reasonably robust & not trashy. After looking (in a web browser) for a while, I have decided on the Creative Travelsound 200s. I am not expecting miracles but feel the need is there to fill a room with sound from time to time.

I have dismissed Altec-Lansing, JBL, Sonic Impact, Wharfedale, Monster & Sony solutions so far. Either not portable enough, not robust enough or sound trashy. But I have never heard the TravelSounds and am not sure I will even find the real thing to listen to prior to purchase.

Any more thoughts ?
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PS I use Wharfedale Active Diamond speakers on my PC. These are transportable but hardly portable (or is that ultra-portable). I used these for several years (while living internationally) to make my small radio/cassette player sound a little better in my cavernous apartment.

 

[jerryg]

Senn MX-500 isn't that good to compare with E484

 

[purk]

Senn MX-500 stands no chance against the E484. Sony MDR-E484 is definitely the best earbuds Sony ever manufactured. The sound quality of E484 can be described as very detailed, good soundstage, grain free midrange, and nice high. The bass is strong and extended very deep, imo, much deeper than the E888. I've yet to hear earbuds that sound better than the E484, and I've probably tried over 25 pairs. The E484 definitely sound more refine than the E2C and definitely on par if not better than the Sony MDR-V6 (I found the V6 to have brittle high and recessed midrange). My E484 is now my back up phones to my E5C.

Quote:

My listening test with the E-484s & my partner's original Apple iPod earphones shows (to my un-trained ear) that the Apple ones are clearly stronger at the bottom end but are duller in the mid & upper ranges. So while I could now hear lower end stuff clearer with the iPod phones, the listening experience was overall better with the E-484s.

I found that the iPod earphones to be very thin sounding. You should try listen to the E484 some more. The E484 should have no problem better the iPod buds. I also found the iPod buds to have muddy bass.

 

[squatter88]

Note the absence of my audio inventory in my sig.
But I will admit to Yamaha CD & amp gear and Altec Santana speakers (for those that remember). Plus 2 sets of Wharfedale Diamonds (PC & bedroom wall-mount).

I will re-try the E-484s - maybe even burn in again if that concept means anything after more than 5 years of non-use.

But lets face it, just about anything will be OK where I am going.