[Zorander]

Let me start by saying that I don't own any portable gears (apart from a bulky 5-year-old Creative Nomad Jukebox) and see no future for one since I drive to work. However, I am itching to try out an IEM and am pretty sure I can find a decent use for it both in the office - while juggling incoming phone calls - and on my occasional plane travels - something like once a year. Given the circumstances (and my really curious state about IEMs), what sort of budget would you recommend? I wouldn't mind spending quite a bit if the sound makes them a long-term keeper. I am tempted at the current special offerings from Westone (UM1 & UM2).

My preference lies in the likes of Sennheiser's smooth, warm sound, with piano, orchestral, soundtracks and a good dose of j-anime theme songs thrown into the fray. Does this help narrow down the possibilities?

Cheers and thanks in advance!

 

[Bones13]

I too love the 650 sound, but I think it will be hard to match with and IEM, due to the sound quality of the 650 being due in large part to the open enclosure, and spacing from the drivers to the ears. (lets the sound actually interact with your ears just like real music does)

For a low cost start I really like my Ety ER6i for walking, and working out. You wont get the bass, but they are light, comfortable, and run well without an amp.

The E4c is better sounding, but less comfortable to me, and 3x the price.

Using either of the IEMs for awhile (traveling) makes me go "ahhh" when I get back to my main system though.

I will let you know about the UE-10s when they show up in a week or 2.

 

[Zorander]

I still haven't got a clear picture on 'which IEMs are most suitable for which genre', but from my limited reading here, the Westones are supposed to be most comfortable. That is one attribute that I probably demand the most, apart from sound quality. Coincidentally the current reduced offerings on the UM1/2 further interest me.

I have no problem spending on the UM1, but how about the UM2? Are they really worth three times the price of their single-driver brother?

Cheers!

 

[Spyro]

UM2's are much better than UM1's.

But the incremental difference for the price premium is probably different for everyone on this board. It all depends on how much extra cash you have laying around to spend on the upgrade. If you can afford it, no problem, it's probably a no brainer to get the premium model but if it takes you 5 months to save the extra $200 for the upgrade it may not be worth it. Just my $0.02

 

[jonnywolfet]

i have foud that the shure e5c is the most laid back of all the iem's and the westone um2 comes in pretty close too. i would suggest sticking to these if you want avoid anything too analiytical sounding (um1,e2,e3,e4) or too unbalanced (super.fi). i would suggest the um2, as they are more comfortable (for me).