Up to £50 ($80) IEMs for smartphone use

[lemon2]

[size=10pt]Hello.
I have previously posted these questions on AV Forums, but I think this forum may be more useful.[/size]

[size=10pt]I am looking to spend up to £50 ($80) for in-ear headphones for listening to MP3s and Youtube on my Samsung Galaxy S2. I will be running with them, so they need to be able to stay in the ear. I will be using the Poweramp app for equalizers.

However I would very much like to use a wireless bluetooth socket like this one:
Play.com - Buy Sony Ericsson MW600 Stereo Bluetooth Headphones online at Play.com and read reviews. Free delivery to UK and Europe!
Would this negatively affect the sound quality?

Also, would it be worth my while getting a FiiO E5 amplifier?[/size]
[size=10pt](I will ask this on your portable amp forums if necessary)
FiiO E5 Headphone Amplifier - Black: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

I would look for the shortest possible 3.5mm male-to-male cable to connect the Bluetooth socket to the Fii0 e5, which my headphones would then plug into.[/size]
 
[size=10pt]Is this setup stupid?[/size]
 
[size=10pt]So far I have been reccomended the Sennheiser cx300s or Soundmagic E10s[/size]
 
 
 

 

[lemon2]

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[lemon2]

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[StackNZ]

The bluetooth device will most definitely reduce the sound quality. Also, the bluetooth adapter will also not have a proper line out to connect the FiiO E5 with.
 
If I were, you, I'd simply use the money not spent on the E5 and the bluetooth adapter to buy better iems.
As for what IEMs, it would be helpful if you gave us an idea of what music you listen to as it gives us an idea what signature you're looking for.

 

[lemon2]

Quote:

The bluetooth device will most definitely reduce the sound quality. Also, the bluetooth adapter will also not have a proper line out to connect the FiiO E5 with.
 
If I were, you, I'd simply use the money not spent on the E5 and the bluetooth adapter to buy better iems.
As for what IEMs, it would be helpful if you gave us an idea of what music you listen to as it gives us an idea what signature you're looking for.

I didn't know that headphone sockets and line outs are different things.
Is the lack of a line out bad? And surely the phone doesn't have a line out anyway?
 
That bluetooth socket is really convenient, it would have to take a big SQ difference for me to part with it. Is there any way I can connect a portable amp to the end of the bluetooth socket to get good SQ again?
 
Music: classical, jazz, rock and modern charts music. I'm not looking for a huge bass, just an acceptable one that doesn't drown things out.
 
[size=x-small]I am strongly considering the Sennheiser cx300s or Soundmagic E10s at the moment.[/size]

 

[Costia]

no cx300 for you - they are bass heavy and do drown the rest of the music
i think you need IEMs with balanced armatures and not dynamic drivers (DBA02?)
do they have to be iems? what about koss porta pro or senn px200
maybe the original monster turbines , but they are quite bass heavy
or the RE0
did you read the thread that compares ~180 IEMs here?
 

 

[lemon2]

Quote:

no cx300 for you - they are bass heavy and do drown the rest of the music
i think you need IEMs with balanced armatures and not dynamic drivers (DBA02?)
do they have to be iems? what about koss porta pro or senn px200
maybe the original monster turbines , but they are quite bass heavy
or the RE0
did you read the thread that compares ~180 IEMs here?

 

Ok I will avoid the cx300s.
Well I used to have the Sennheiser PX100s. (that got stolen)
My current plan is to get IEMs for my phone and big cans for my PC. So yes they have to be IEMs. , b, The
I haven't seen the 180 IEM thread, is it worth trawling through? I can't actually find it.
 
The RE0s looks good, would they be ok out of my bluetooth socket? Could I use a portable amp (fiio e5?) to make up for the deficiencies of the socket? 

 
 

 

[Costia]

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/478568/multi-iem-review-188-iems-compared-dunu-dn-12-trident-dn-16-hephaes-added-8-10
 
Cant see a reason to use an amp with IEMs, it will mostly amplify the noise
I dont have any experience with bluetooth audio (i would probably lose the headphones in a week or so if they weren't wired to my phone)
I use my monster turbines, and when i need to answer a call i use the phone's built in microphone

 

[lemon2]

Quote:

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/478568/multi-iem-review-188-iems-compared-dunu-dn-12-trident-dn-16-hephaes-added-8-10
 
Cant see a reason to use an amp with IEMs, it will mostly amplify the noise
I dont have any experience with bluetooth audio (i would probably lose the headphones in a week or so if they weren't wired to my phone)
I use my monster turbines, and when i need to answer a call i use the phone's built in microphone

Thanks for the link.
The sound magic E10s don't sound like the best choice from their review.
I am now looking at Tier 2C ($60-100) in that thread.
The RE0 is very well reviewed in that thread. Perhaps the RE0 is the right one for me.
 
 
However the main purpose of this thread is to find out if I can use the bluetooth adapter and still get a good sound.
Perhaps I should ask in 'portable source material', or on a specialised mobile forum.
 
 
 

 

[scuttle]

There's no point using an external amp to drive IEMs - they're easy to drive - unless your phone amp is bad, in which you need the phone to have a lineout (to bypass the distortion your phone amp and DAC are causing) and to buy a DAC/amp - it would be a lot cheaper and more sensible to buy a new player. A Sansa Clip is ideal for running and costs less than your IEM budget.
 
Ignore the people talking about armature types: you've said nothing that indicates you have a need for one type or the other.
 
For running you want comfort, reasonable toughness, sleeves that stick to your ears like glue, low microphonics (the noise the cable causes when it moves) and a price that won't leave you crying if you sweat them to death. Unless you need a cable mic, these are probably ideal:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/553590/fx67-review-a-hidden-gem
 
They're not the ultimate in sound quality, but they're excellent bang for the buck and ideal in every other way.They're *good* at bass, but its not overwhelming and you can EQ it down to the point of anaemia if you want - it's not like you're using an IPod. You might get a bit of an improvement in SQ if you spent all of your $80, but that would depend on your personal taste and the type of music you play - for much of my music I prefer my 67s to Etymotic HF5s, and for the rest the difference isn't huge. I certainly wouldn't risk trashing the HF5s with sweat for the difference.
 

 

[scuttle]

Quote:

 
 
However the main purpose of this thread is to find out if I can use the bluetooth adapter and still get a good sound.
Perhaps I should ask in 'portable source material', or on a specialised mobile forum.
 
 
 

Bluetooth has a low bitrate. This can be overcome somewhat by compression. The form of compression used with depend on your adaptor. Decent ones definitely give enough quality to make the most of a standard MP3 player playing back low to medium bit rate files: I wouldn't worry unless you're the sort of person who plays FLACs and who uses the best possible playback hardware - which I doubt any smart phone is. I'd just a buy pair of 67s, plug them in, and see if you're happy with the sound. Or maybe even the cheaper JVC Marshmallows. You're running, not mixing an album, and sometimes gearheads can obsess with irrelevant details.
 
Whatever you buy, low microphonics and decent comfort will make more difference to your listening experience while running than likely increases in SQ!

 

[lemon2]

Scuttle, your advice on bluetooth and amps has been really really helpful. I think I will try out the bluetooth socket.
 
I understand now that IEMs don't need an amp much. I will only get one if I want to take my big cans travelling with me, but that is a thread that I will make in the portable amp forum.
 
As for IEMs, I will definitely get the JVC FX67s for running. They seem like a really good find.
 
 
I think I will also get an $80 pair for phone music. The RE0s are a strong contender at the moment, but I think I will make a new thread on this matter. This thread is too cluttered with different topics.

 

[ZARIM]

Sony EX510, RE0, S4, Apple in earphones and M2.

 

[mark2410]

Quote:

Bluetooth has a low bitrate. This can be overcome somewhat by compression. The form of compression used with depend on your adaptor. Decent ones definitely give enough quality to make the most of a standard MP3 player playing back low to medium bit rate files: I wouldn't worry unless you're the sort of person who plays FLACs and who uses the best possible playback hardware - which I doubt any smart phone is. I'd just a buy pair of 67s, plug them in, and see if you're happy with the sound. Or maybe even the cheaper JVC Marshmallows. You're running, not mixing an album, and sometimes gearheads can obsess with irrelevant details.
 
Whatever you buy, low microphonics and decent comfort will make more difference to your listening experience while running than likely increases in SQ!

well actually.....
 
 
bluetooth is not low bit rate.  A2DP has more than enough data to a 320k audio stream.  the problem is whet you have things stored in a codec bluetooth doesnt nativly suppert and the devices your using support.  it then reencodes on the fly.  not have matching equipment will still play but it may not be the best it can.  Apple for instance has a famously bad bluetooth implementation in the iphone.  i would suggest using AAC for music on your phone.
 
Ericsson invented bluetooth and they still are as good as it gets at implementing it, how well samsung have on the G2 i dont know.  the MW600 should be good enough to get you about as would anyway with £50 IEM's anyway so if you want that wireless convenience then you should be fine. 
 
 
 
NB.  yes i said should and such a lot as ive not heard either of the G2 MW600 and have no idea what heaphones your going to use. 
 
oh and dont EQ stuff, your just asking for added distortion, just get something that sounds like you want it to sound.
 

 

[scuttle]

 
"bluetooth is not low bit rate.  A2DP has more than enough data to a 320k audio stream."
 
Yes, I can understand your making that mistake. It seems natural that 320K bluetooth should automatically  be fine for playing 320K mp3. But that's wrong - it would be fine for streaming the file, but not necessarily for playing it. The reason why is obvious when you think about it - your player has a device called a DAC, hmm? And this de-compresses the mp3 file  -as well as converting to analog. The bluetooth hw will then have to digitize and re-compress the audio - in realtime. How well it will do this depends on the hardware and firmware used - the 320K bandwidth is no guarantee at all that the equality will be the same as a 320K mp3! And then of course it has to decompress at the other end, meaning that it needs its own DAC - and, obviously, amp - sitting by the ear.
 
In practice, a bluetooth adaptor is usually a cheap piece of hardware designed for low power consumption, low cost, low heat, and long battery life. These are not design priorities that lead to maximum sound quality! Think how much a high quality DAC costs. Do you really think one is included as standard in the average bluetooth dongle? If so, even the Sansa Clip is heavily overpriced - it should be about $10. And a Nano or Shuffle should be more or less free. 
 
As with PMPs, everything depends on the quality of the hardware and firmware - you can NOT take any particular bit rate as a guarantee of quality!
 
 
oh and dont EQ stuff, your just asking for added distortion, just get something that sounds like you want it to sound.
 
For practical purposes this just isn't true.