taking a laptop and portable to Iraq and need canal headphone recommendation
Feb 25, 2006 at 10:02 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 8

velvetsteele

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I am thinking of combining the I-River U-10 Mp3 player or Creative Vision M with a nice pair of canal phones. Would the Shure E5's be a good fit or do they require an amp to drive them? I am not sure I will be able to include an amp as I do need some portability as I may be in field environment or "uncertain" environmental conditions part of the time (Army Hospital nurse).
Also, I know the U-10 lacks memory (only 1GB) but I love the look and functionality of it. Any recommendation for a player would also be appreciated!
 
Feb 25, 2006 at 11:03 PM Post #3 of 8
Good luck to you. Here are some thoughts: One thing I would want in "an uncertain situation" would be something I could use "off the grid." So I might go for an affordable flash player that used AAA or AA batteries. Now, it might be that you would have greater access to USB charging and "wall socket/mains" charging in the course of your work, in which case maybe a flash player with a built-in battery would actually make sense (maybe rechargeable AAs or AAAs will work out for you, maybe not).

To cover yourself, why not both -- one flash player with built-in battery and one that uses AAAs or AAs? That way, you'd be covered in an array of eventualities. Plus, if something should happen to one, you'd still have the other. I don't know if this is the time to put all your resources into one "fancy" flash player (what if it breaks, is stolen, etc.?). But that's just me.

I just work in a cubicle in an office, so my situtation is quite different ... but I always like having a solid, functional 1GB Creative flash player with me, in my pocket or briefcase. In your case, the U-10 could be something of a stretch -- if you also have the Creative Vision:M, consider something relatively simple as your supplemental player. Would you really need the video capability in your smaller-capacity player? (I admit the U-10 looks fanatastic.) Just trying to be pragmatic -- but you're the one who has to be there. (You can really splurge and get a 512MB Creative, Sandisk or other flash player as your "back-up-back-up," and then induldge yourself with both the U-10 and the new Vision:M
very_evil_smiley.gif
... you no doubt deserve it.)

As for the canal phones, be sure to take the (relatively undesirable) bundle 'phones with you as backups, in case something happens to your main pair. Or even consider taking two "good" pairs instead of just one "excellent" pair. Whatever you decide on, there will be Head-Fi'ers concerned about you (and your audio gear).
 
Feb 25, 2006 at 11:07 PM Post #4 of 8
Quote:

Originally Posted by velvetsteele
Would the Shure E5's be a good fit or do they require an amp to drive them?


I wouldn't stress not having an amp for the E5's, or pretty much any other IEM (well, maybe the Ety ER4P/S - but that's why they make the two different specifications). IEM improve with good amping, but all the ones I've tried (pretty much the entire Shure line) sounds pretty good straight out of an iPod/laptop/mp3 player.

One issue though is that the Shure E5c is very sensitive, and your laptop might not produce a very clean audio signal out of its headphone jack. But that isn't a big deal, because then you just use the included volume attenuator and raise the volume level on the laptop so it's easier to clear that noise floor.

Good luck.

-Jason
 
Feb 25, 2006 at 11:37 PM Post #6 of 8
Thanks for the replies, they were very helpful. Can you recommend a good reliable player (creative model____) that I could try that takes removable AA, AAA's?
I might also combine this with the Iriver U-10 for video. I am not sure I want to chance a hardrive based player in rough conditions so your advice is well taken!
Its good to hear that I can drive the E5's with most portable players.
 
Feb 25, 2006 at 11:58 PM Post #7 of 8
I have a 1GB Creative Zen Nano (the Zen Nano Plus has FM radio, which I didn't want). I use AAA rechargeable batteries. It also gets very good performance out of disposable high-capacity AAA's.

I have a Cowon iAudio 5 that has excellent sound. I think of the Creative Zen Nano as an everyday player -- and I use it as such. The Cowons are more special -- excellent default sound that can be endlessy tweaked if you like fooling with that stuff. The i5 uses AAAs and the G3 uses AAs (and gets excellent battery "mileage").

Both the Creatives and Cowons use easy drag and drop to swap songs in and out. No need to bother with the software.

The Sandisk (Sansa?) might use replaceable batteries .. the sound isn't all that highly rated (not necessarily bad), but Sandisk is a leader in flash memory, so prices are good.
 

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