EPTI want to ditch my crap apple headphones and looking to get some nice IEM's. I loved my Shure E2C's, but am looking at the SE215's. $100 is probably the highest I'd go. Anyone have any input on the Shure's or recommend a better IEM?
Headphone enthusiast thread! - Page 156
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SixGun
United States40 Posts
I want to ditch my crap apple headphones and looking to get some nice IEM's. I loved my Shure E2C's, but am looking at the SE215's. $100 is probably the highest I'd go. Anyone have any input on the Shure's or recommend a better IEM? | ||
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CorsairHero
Canada9491 Posts
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slytown
Korea (South)1411 Posts
On February 29 2012 21:23 Umpteen wrote: I ask because I know the routing of audio between devices can be a pretty arcane process under the hood, so it seems at least POSSIBLE the soundcard is still being used in a digital capacity. The Fiio E10 is an AMP/DAC, meaning it has a headphone amplifier and soundcard in it, so it's bypassing the internals. Since it doesnt use a 3rd party mixer, windows is controlling the digital levels. Your headphones aren't the most sensitive, but at the hi-end of digital listening you want to reduce the digital faders as much as possible and use the amplifier's attenuator to increase the volume to maintain more accurate reproduction. Of course good digital mixers can accomplish the same thing. | ||
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BleaK_
Norway593 Posts
On April 02 2012 08:48 SixGun wrote: alright bros, need some audiophile insight. I want to ditch my crap apple headphones and looking to get some nice IEM's. I loved my Shure E2C's, but am looking at the SE215's. $100 is probably the highest I'd go. Anyone have any input on the Shure's or recommend a better IEM? Read up on the hifiman re0, I haven't heard them but some say they are the best buy for 100 bucks. | ||
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slytown
Korea (South)1411 Posts
On November 07 2011 08:51 iMYoonA wrote: this is going to sound weird to some people, but honestly, listening to it is what tells you whether you like it or not and think its good or not. Coming out of an audio store, I've had another listener ask me to borrow my AD700's for a quick listen, when they already owned a pair of HD800's and AKG k702's. Why? Both left him feeling like he wanted more from the sound, and thats the same kind of reaction I felt from the HD800's. On the other hand, while the AD700's are definitely worse in the quality, depth categories, the sound is more full, due to the way the drivers are implemented, resulting in a more forward sound. So whilst all the specs would indicate the AD700's are less sensitive, and produce a smaller range, some people find these "good" compared to much more expensive headphones. Having said that, of course, there is general consensus about a pair of headphones, so if you cannot find a pairs of headphones you are interested in to demo, then reading those will be a good idea. Make sure you take into account what the people mainly listen to as well though. For example, i listen to predominantly piano, classical, and female vocals (kpop) so i have headphones that are "good" for mids, highs, but lack the kind of impact (but both the k702's and e-q5 do have depth) a pair of phones like grado would give you as for getting what you paid for, this boils down to a) general consensus and b) personal feeling. Its all about cost benefit analysis: whether you believe the increase in sound quality is justified by the increase in price. Personally, i find anything over 400 is not a difference large enough to warrant spending more, but hey, people are willing to get the lcd-2's, the hd800's, the w3000x because they believe the sound is worth the price hope that answers your questions ^^^^ This should be in the OP. Too many people are not akin to the sound signatures different equipment can provide amongst audiophiles so they just buy something over $300 and hope it sounds good. For a beginner it will surely blow them away, but if you listen to a lot of music on headphones and are thinking of entering the buyers markets, read the reviews on head-fi.org and other sites. You could spend $1,500 on a Ray Samuels tube amp for your Denon D5000s but listening through a different amp with the same music, say a heavy vocal track on a Audio-GD Phoenix, it could sound so much better for you in terms of driver positioning, sound signature, ADSR, wattage, etc. Basically, there is a threshold of listening and some people may not even have the physical capacity to enter audiophile-level differentation between sounds, similiar to the threshold for wine conneisurs or foodies in terms of palate. Anyway, just wanted to reply to a good post i noticed browsing through. | ||
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LanTAs
United States1091 Posts
On April 02 2012 08:48 SixGun wrote: alright bros, need some audiophile insight. I want to ditch my crap apple headphones and looking to get some nice IEM's. I loved my Shure E2C's, but am looking at the SE215's. $100 is probably the highest I'd go. Anyone have any input on the Shure's or recommend a better IEM? SE215's are great  , pretty nice bass, nice mids, the highs aren't too noteworthy though, and the connection between the earphone and the wire is a bit iffy, u have to get used to it.On April 02 2012 09:17 BleaK_ wrote: Read up on the hifiman re0, I haven't heard them but some say they are the best buy for 100 bucks. The RE0's have no bass, clear highs and nice mids, but no soundstage whatsoever .__. and the wire is...... really fragile >__<. I tried both, 12 hrs on the RE0's and arouynd 100+ on the SE215's so there may be a bias here .Monster Turbines sell for around $75, though i don't really recommend them, the bass is so loud to the point where it drowns out everything .__., and the wires are just like the RE0's >__<. Comfort wise, i prefer the RE0's, they are way lighter than the SE215s, although the SE215's provide superior isolation versus the RE0's :D, so its your choice | ||
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rebdomine
6040 Posts
On April 02 2012 08:48 SixGun wrote: alright bros, need some audiophile insight. I want to ditch my crap apple headphones and looking to get some nice IEM's. I loved my Shure E2C's, but am looking at the SE215's. $100 is probably the highest I'd go. Anyone have any input on the Shure's or recommend a better IEM? Depends really. What kind of sound signature are you looking for? Or if you aren't sure yet, how about genres you listen to? | ||
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SixGun
United States40 Posts
As far as a signature I'm looking for, probably medium bass-higher bass (I do listen to a decent amount of dubstep/produce what I can as a hobby of sorts). Other than that, mostly indie rock, live shows for bands like Dave Matthews, and jazz. I should also mention that durability is kind of important since I'll be using them to go to class and walking between classes on campus. Probably wrap them up and put them in my pocket. Spending $100 or so, I'll definitely take care of them, but they will be used extensively. I have my MDR V6's for my at home stuff haha | ||
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Dacendoran
United States825 Posts
On April 02 2012 11:04 SixGun wrote: Thanks for the reply LanTAs! As far as a signature I'm looking for, probably medium bass-higher bass (I do listen to a decent amount of dubstep/produce what I can as a hobby of sorts). Other than that, mostly indie rock, live shows for bands like Dave Matthews, and jazz. I should also mention that durability is kind of important since I'll be using them to go to class and walking between classes on campus. Probably wrap them up and put them in my pocket. Spending $100 or so, I'll definitely take care of them, but they will be used extensively. I have my MDR V6's for my at home stuff haha atrio.me with rebate code CostProg50% Atrio MG7s are the most bass you're going to get out of a headphone for a reaosnable price (100$) just look up the headphones they set the standard for sub bass. | ||
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Luepert
United States1933 Posts
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Goldfish
2230 Posts
On February 26 2012 14:33 HuggyBear wrote: I can only think of the Aiaiai Tracks. http://www.amazon.com/AIAIAI-Tracks-Headphone-Microphone-Black/dp/B004OFS6WG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1330234307&sr=8-2 There's also the KSC-75 if you can wear clip-ons http://www.amazon.com/Koss-KSC75-Portable-Stereophone-Headphones/dp/B0006B486K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330234461&sr=8-1 Thanks for the suggestions  . Hmm, I may get try KSC-75 (well get it as backup for when my current headphones die) for now. Not sure about Aiaiai Tracks though, I'm a bit picky and I don't like those earpads with that type of cushion >.>.Anyone know of any other types of headphones that are (repost from before): 1. They don't cover the entire ear + they're open air (I actually want to hear outside sounds if possible). Sadly it seems like every high end headphone covers the entire ear >.< (from my experience they hurt after long use due to pushing on the temple of my glasses). Here's reference image for a headphone that I used and really liked the style of (but unfortunately they're not high quality ones): + Show Spoiler + ![[image loading]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31vLEpy2vtL._SL500_AA300_.jpg) (The above is a Logitech Clearchat headset that sadly doesn't last all that long) Of course if there are headphones that cover the entire ear "but" they don't hurt while wearing glasses even after long periods of use, suggestions are also welcomed. Preferably they could somehow fit without pushing too much on the temple of glasses you're wearing. (Though again, if anyone knows of headphones where the earpads do not cover the entire ear, I'd prefer that.) 2. They last at least a year or so under daily use. Thanks again in advance for any help . | ||
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lazymej
Canada269 Posts
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xyleph
Singapore2 Posts
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DMZ
Canada51 Posts
Thanks in advance =) | ||
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CorsairHero
Canada9491 Posts
This will answer 95% of peoples questions on recommendations. | ||
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JSH
United States4109 Posts
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TRGVelocity
3 Posts
![[image loading]](http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1242&bih=683&tbm=isch&tbnid=8x_hqlCrN0R0WM:&imgrefurl=http://www.turtlebeach.com/products/xbox-gaming-headsets/ear-force-x12.aspx&docid=oUzkV1zWrWu1pM&imgurl=http://www.turtlebeach.com/Portals/0/Products/Xbox/X12/Tabs_Html/images/beauty01.jpg&w=640&h=427&ei=aId7T87RM-eaiAft07mfBA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=126&vpy=164&dur=1291&hovh=183&hovw=275&tx=180&ty=95&sig=118256499928117413027&page=1&tbnh=152&tbnw=207&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0) turtle beach x12 | ||
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kineSiS-
Korea (South)1068 Posts
On April 04 2012 08:29 TRGVelocity wrote: turtle beach x12 ;; Google, Head-Fi Dolby Headphone Gaming And learn to be enlightened. | ||
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lazymej
Canada269 Posts
Since I game (including FPS), is the only way to go internal soundcards? Will external DACs not be as good for gaming? For internal soundcards I have been looking at the Asus Xonar DX and have heard very good things about it, but it does not have a headphone amp. I understand the M50s do not require this, but down the road if I get higher impedance headphones, could I just hook the Xonar DX to an external headphone amp and would that sound good? | ||
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Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
On April 07 2012 04:08 lazymej wrote: Hey guys, I would like some advice. I've started down the road looking for better audio quality. I have a set of ATH-M50s on the way. I listen to a lot of music at my computer, but I game as well and have been using the motherboard onboard soundcard until now (which apparently sucks). Since I game (including FPS), is the only way to go internal soundcards? Will external DACs not be as good for gaming? For internal soundcards I have been looking at the Asus Xonar DX and have heard very good things about it, but it does not have a headphone amp. I understand the M50s do not require this, but down the road if I get higher impedance headphones, could I just hook the Xonar DX to an external headphone amp and would that sound good? Onboard doesn't necessarily suck. It depends on a lot of things. There's no distinction between any sound cards or audio interfaces with regards to gaming unless you're looking for EAX support for some older games or maybe think that some kind of virtual surround processing will help you out in a game (it might very well actually, if locating things by sound is important). If you want some virtual surround processing of some sort, then the external options are relatively limited since you're mostly just looking at a few Creative and Asus sound cards. The Creative ones have their proprietary CMSS-3D, while some of the Asus ones license Dolby Headphone I think. The DX does have a headphone amp, in the sense that the headphone jack is powered by some kind of electronics of reasonable audio fidelity that can drive headphones okay (or even well? I haven't seen any data or used one). It doesn't have a particularly powerful one, but the ATH-M50 doesn't need greater than typical power, so that's not an issue. | ||
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