A good landmark for the new E-earphone shops is the RoyalHost family restaurant like a Denny`s or whatever - second floor on the corner of E-earphone`s street. Sign in English, right on Chuo-dori (the big main street in Akihabara). If you can find that, you`ll be able to see the CIEM street-level shop about 30m away with its big orange sign; the main store is just around the corner, down the next side street, 4th floor.
AkXf1re, you may be thinking of the Fujiya-Avic audio shop in Nakano; it is next to Mandrake ( though there very likely is another Mandrake in Akihabara ). Fujiya-Avic has some interesting gear and their prices are sometimes better than elsewhere, but I have never once had a positive interaction with the staff there - a bunch of uninformed, grouchy old pricks, IMO.
Has anyone else met that tall, totally bilingual guy working at E-earphone? He`s so insanely polite and helpful . . . like most of the staff at E-earphone.
While I`m on it, I must recommend again Andix Audio, just a couple of streets away from the new E-earphone shops. It`s a tube shop that makes in-house headphone amps and dac-amps. My HPA-45 drives my HD800s beautifully and is quite awesome to look at as well. The president, ie, the guy who`ll make you coffee while you listen to his demo phones or your own, can actually break out decent English so don`t hesitate dropping in. He`s a real enthusiast and deserves more attention IMO.
http://www.andix.co.jp/