I'm looking for new headphone or earphone
if price doesnt matter, which of the following perform the best, as in sound quality?
(the genre I listen is more to R&B songs and ochestral/classical music for example Vanessa Mae violin musics, Forrest Gump , Lord of The Ring, Titanic OST)
If possible, please rank the following earphone/headphone from your point of view. Thanks

[u]The List[u](arranged alphabetically, not the real ranking)
1) Altec Lansing IM716
2) Etymotic Research(ER) 4s
3) Etymotic Research(ER) 6i
4) Grado SR60
5) Koss KSC-75
6) Mylarone X3i
7) Philip SHE9500
8) Sony MDR-EX700
9) Sony MDR-EX90
10) Super-fi 5 pro

This post has been edited by penny2: Jun 11 2008, 03:58 PM

I can't say I've listened to any of those high end 'phones before, but I was doing alot of research, looking to get a good pair of IEM's for myself, and since you're more into music which has less bass compared to rock or metal music, I think IEM's like the ER4p, or the ER6i which has a more accurate sound reproduction with less bass. It may sound a little "flat" because of the lack of bass, but that's the cost of accurate sounds from iems it seems. If you want a little more bass, UE Superfi5pro's are always good for RnB and more bass-centric music, if you want an IEM. Generally, it's always a case of you get what you pay for, unless they're in the same price-range. And you can't really compare iems with headphones, apples and oranges. If you don't mind the bulkiness of headphones, they generally tend to sound better than iems for a cheaper price. I have not looked into any headphones, so I can't really comment on them though.

Just my 2c.

This post has been edited by OoiTY: Jun 7 2008, 06:16 PM

1) Etymotic Research(ER) 4s
2) Etymotic Research(ER) 6i
3) Altec Lansing IM716
4) Sony MDR-EX700
5) Sony MDR-EX90
6) Super-fi 5 pro
7) Mylarone X3i
8) Koss KSC-75
9) Philip SHE9500
10) Grado SR60

1, 2, 3 is analytical type of IEM. some prefer, some dont. if u want to enjoy music instead of monitoring music, i suggest u stay away.


4, 5, 6 is low to mid range IEM. 6 being the best among the three but some people have problem with fitting.

7 is very good budget IEM but marred by QC issue. i personally suggest u buy from yuheng/walabies in case u dont have luck with it. my X3 still working great after 3 years, even under abuse

8 is clip-on headphone. best bang for buck. but clip-on is an issue with certain people. very mod'able. try Kramer mod it for better sound.

9 no comment. never tried it before...

10 is open type headphone. better value than SR80. heard that it sound good but never tried.

from ur choice of music, i personally suggest:
iem: ety er4p
headphone: sr60 (do we have any other choice? lol)

just my 1cent

why no other choice? shure, AKG, Beyer, Yuin, etc?

Just because it is analytical doesn't mean you can't enjoy it. I love my ER6i and iM716 and enjoy them very much when I listen to them. It is a bit misleading to imply you can't enjoy an analytical SQ. However, do note that Etymotic has one of the worst soundstage of any IEM and therefore not the best for music that rely heavily on soundstage (classical, etc).

Also, I have saw several reviews (from Head-fi.org) ranking EX700 next to UE Triple.fi 10 and Shure E530, so it is by no mean a 'low to mid range IEM' (plus it costs > US$300 a pair, so it is priced as top end IEM, not low to mid class). I won't be so sure to say that SF5 is better than EX700.

Any link to describe this term? Can't find it at wikipedia. Thanks!

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/describin...lossary-220770/

Basically it's the opposite of Musical.

now oni i see this thread... searching for same thing
haiz

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Added on June 7, 2008, 11:12 pm

u still listening to Forrest Gump... ohh my god...
good one


This post has been edited by lucaswjk: Jun 7 2008, 11:12 PM

Theme from Forest Gump is a classic man. Nice!

I'm using a Crossroads MylarOne X3i with Comply Foamies. Bought from Yuheng. Nice fellar.

One thing about the x3i; the sound keeps getting better and better with usage. This is from my observation. It's been burnt in at nearly 500 hours now. Sounds amazing!

I just got my super.fi 5 pro. To be honest, the fitting is very bad, now still thinking to mod my shure olives to fit on it. Regarding IM716, it is best fit with shure olives, u will get a very comfortable seal. Between sf5p and 716, in my opinion, both also perform very good but sf5p bass is deeper and tighter than 716.

didnt i recommend er4p at my 1st post?

sorry, EX700 is really a good earphone but not EX70. i missed a "0"

I think there is a very attractive YUIN deal in bulk section, click toughnut siggy. Too bad i just got my sf5p, if not i sure will join...

an earbud to compliment IEM is not a bad excuse

Haha...give me some times to fill up my wallet 1st, then i'll consider. That is indeed a very attractive deal.

Yuin PK2 needs amp right?

OMG, i thought this thread is dead, suddenly got so many replies..
Thanks for your ideas. appreciate that.
You guys can suggest models of other brands, then i'll put into the list...
I like to read review, particularly those long long complete review.



hmm, i know head phone and earphone are different, just to compare in term of sounds you guys prefer, to seek opinions based on personal preferences, generally.



haha, i tried the Sony MDR-EX700 in gurney plaza last two weeks. It's using new technology, Multi Layer(ML) diagphragm, you can feel the layers of musics, just like the wave at the seaside.
Erm, other choices, can, but i know very little of them only.
I myself do not like the normal earphone, i prefer canal phones as it provide better isolation.
Full size headphones like philip HP 895 also not bad as i wore it long long time ago, quite comfortable. but not so sure about the sound quality.
Does Yuin offer in-ear phones?


OMG, the EX700 is tagged RM1099 at gurney plaza sony center, i heard from some thread in LYN saying that sony is not a professional brand in the field of earphone. dont know whether this statement still correct, or not.
The salesman said the EX700 is made of gold, but i couldnt find any article saying that the whole wire is made of gold...


Yeah, i like movie OST, and Forrest Gump OST is my favourite one.
Few tracks such as "I'm forrest...Forrest Gump", "The Crusade" and "Suite from Forrest Gump" are very very nice to listen.
I bought the CD from Tower Records, left 1 pcs only, maybe too long ade.


I'm using Mylarone X3i as well. quite satisfied also...
Other than Forrest Gump, i like Titanic OST as well. But i couldnt find ape format to download.
I heard that the "southampton" in Titanic OST is nice to test for sound quality...



erm, i'm not a bass-head actually, and too much of bass may be annoying to me.
Since i'm more into classical and ochestra music, i think the completeness of every note is what i pursue.
i know Ety ER4s has 92% accuracy stated on their website...
but there're some articles online saying that the far cheaper IM716 can perform as good as ER4p, dunno.
And my IM716 is arriving by tomorrow.
anyway, the purpose of this topic is to know which one you think is better.


arhha, that's big difference between EX700 and 70 you know?

This post has been edited by penny2: Jun 8 2008, 03:55 PM

ER4S is not easy to push , u need get an amp for it ..
if 5pro , u need to change the ES2 cable and shire clear flex , just can get nice sound from it .
EX-90 only can using in home , coz the noise canceling is bad , but the sound is not bad .
u can go try the klispch image , saw some review say that the sound is better alot !

bro, how much u got for ur ES2 cable? 'shire' clear flex? Is 'shure', rite? can that fit on ue tips?

Sony is not a professional brand in anything, especially their headphone section. I like its review so far so I'll probably getting my EX700 next time I visit Singapore, hopefully not for long. EX700 has gold plated headphone jack, and that is the only place the has gold in it. Too often salesmans pretend to know thing they have no idea with

Is Creative Xmod considered an Amp?


haha, yeah, hopefully you get it faster.
Up to this second there's no official MDR-EX700's thread right?
you get one and tell us whether it worths the thousand bucks...

PK1 needs amp. AFAIK, PK2 doesn't.