[MattAdams]

Hi all,

I'm looking to upgrade my headphones from my current Sennheiser CX300's for use with an iPod touch (I know, not exactly the best source for sound quality.)

What I'm after are some sound isolating IEM's and am willing to pay up to the £225 which I have seen the Shure SE530's advertised at. From what I've read so far, these seem to have pretty much universal acclaim but what has put me off just buying them has been reading that they are likely to produce background hiss with the Touch.

So far, alternatives that I'm considering include:

Beyerdynamic DTX80 / 100
Denon AHC710 / 75
Jays Q-jays
Klipsch Image X5 / X10's / S4
Shure SE420 / 310

The reason that there's a fairly big difference in price point is that I don't want to find myself in the situation where the headphones are highlighting the limitations of the Touch (as would appear to be the case with the SE530's).

What's the general consensus on the headphones which I've mentioned above.

I realise that I should listen to them all myself but I honestly can't think of anywhere in Leeds where they would stock them, let alone have pairs for you to try.

Thanks to you all for your help.

 

[iponderous]

Welcome to Head-Fi. I find the hiss negligible and not noticeable when music is playing. The SE530 also performs very efficiently with the ipod touch and provides excellent noise attenuation. I can't comment on the other phones that you have listed.

 

[BushGuy]

Klipsch x10 have been playing very nicely with my Touch.......and are very comfortable itsy bitsy things. I had tried (for awhile) Triple Fi 10 and those are the ones I sold for lack of comfort (tho better-sounding). I'm a person who has an amp with his iPods (iModded 4th and 5th gen) and it is a pleasure to carry such a compact setup as Touch/X10.
OTOH they are too bright for my 1st gen. Shuffle(s)

 

[dAdE0H0]

Monster Turbine Pro work nicely with the ipod touch.

 

[Young Spade]

What type of music do you listen to? If we knew that we would help out more

 

[SactoMan101]

If you have the current generation iPod touch, you can use IEM's that have the built-in controllers/microphone such as the Apple Dual-Driver IEM (ADDIEM), the Klipsch Image S4i or the Etymotics hf2 for added functionality. My choice: the Klipsch Image S4i, but replace the Klipsch-supplied ear tips with the Comply Tx-100 "memory foam" medium-size ear tips or the medium size "olive" ear tips from Shure used on the Shure SE series IEM's.

 

[semisight]

The iPod touch has an exceptionally low noise floor. I never heard any hiss on my sensitive shures before, the SE530 would work fine for you (especially if you like vocals).

 

[MattAdams]

Thanks for all the replies guys.

The iPod Touch is 3rd generation and I'm currently mainly listening to Kings of Leon and the Strokes.

These headphones are primarily for use commuting so their sound isolating quality is a big priority. Based on that, I think I can probably eliminate the Beyerdynamics and the Denons (...from what info I've managed to read on the web anyway).

That would leave me with the Q-jays (£95), the various Klipsch's (£65 - £170) and the Shures (£112-£225).

I get the impression from what I've read so far that Shure make great phones but that you perhaps pay a premium for them over similar quality offerings from other manufacturers.

Basically, can anyone tell me if any of the phones that I've mentioned are more suited to the Touch than others. Which would be the most 'forgiving'.

Many thanks to all.

 

[semisight]

If the primary use is commuting, get the Shures. They have the best isolation. If you buy them for ~$500 (I think that was the original asking price), then yeah, you're paying a premium. I don't think they're all too bad a deal at about $250, especially for being a big name brand.

Your other choice for isolation would be an Etymotic ER4P/HF5.

 

[hairuko]

FWIR in order of SQ;

SE530
X10
AHC710/SE420

Also look at Sennheiser IE7/8's

 

[theKraken11]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattAdams /img/forum/go_quote.gif Jays Q-jays The reason that there's a fairly big difference in price point is that I don't want to find myself in the situation where the headphones are highlighting the limitations of the Touch (as would appear to be the case with the SE530's).

I haven't listened to the Q-Jays, but they're supposed to be very revealing of source, and unforgiving. Seems like they're not what you want.

 

[dukwei]

if having ability to skip song, pause, go back, then i suggest you check out this list...
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/c...eviews-471202/
I'm decided from this list, since i want mic/remote/earphone for my iphone.

also, check out some these "mass reviews" below. i'm a newb around here too and reading these introduced me to some really bang-for-the-buck headsets from non-big names that i would have never heard of.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/m...ogress-450407/
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/m...0-09-a-453836/
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/m...8-10-a-453836/

 

[dukwei]

if having ability to skip song, pause, go back, then i suggest you check out this list...
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/c...eviews-471202/
I'm decided from this list, since i want mic/remote/earphone for my iphone.

also, check out some these "mass reviews" below. i'm a newb around here too and reading these introduced me to some really bang-for-the-buck headsets from non-big names that i would have never heard of.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/m...ogress-450407/
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/m...0-09-a-453836/
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/m...8-10-a-453836/

 

[stonyboys]

is this your first venture into high-quality headphones? if it is, you don't need to spend that much money. my 14$ marshmallows sound perfect to me. get a headphone that would fit best and have the best comfort. You won't notice the difference in sound between a 50$ headphone and a 100$ headphone unless you been in this biz a long time.

 

[Benaiir]

I think the Triple. Fi 10's isolate very well out of all the IEM's I've tried (X10, FX300, Vmoda bass freq, PL30, CX300... I know not alot). If you can snag these for the amazon price or even $30 added I think you'd be put in a pretty good place, isolation-wise.