first change your on board sound system to an external sound card, then talk better quality, source comes first

Looking at HD 555 now, any advice?

^ i saw someone selling in garage sales..the price is ok..

Wondering whether Hifi-man Re0 is a good choice for a first time IEM experience. *newbie here*

Will be used mostly with iPhone and weak mp3 player, occasionally desktop.
Solely music.
Standard mp3 files.
I listen to almost every genre, so, no specifics.
I am willing to spend around RM500 for a nice pair of IEMs and a headphone amp.
Hopefully the IEM will work well with FiiO E11, because I plan to get that too(any personal reviews/words about the E11?).

Budget Pairing suggestions anyone?

Thanks in advance!

So ur saying the g35 will be better for me? No way im getting a sound card its already chokes with graphic cards

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Added on November 25, 2011, 2:05 pmSo ur saying the g35 will be better for me? No way im getting a sound card its already choked with graphic cards

This post has been edited by dasherzx: Nov 25 2011, 02:05 PM

tested RE-0 before, its a pair of nice dynamic earphone, and pretty balance sounding
if you pair this with a warm amp, it'll became nice warm sounding

IMO, RE0 is among the best balance earphone i've ever tried, it perhaps couldnt amuse you with its vocal and mids compare to its brother, the RE-Zero
its doing pretty good from direct ipod output, but i could say amping would benefits more

now i wish i could spend more time auditioning this baby

Unless you've external GCs, I don't see any problem.

which one is good for trance/dubstep music?,
1. Hippo Groove
2. Superlux HD381f
3. Soundmagic PL11
4. Creative EP630
5. Cube F1 Pro

Without proper amplification AKA onboard sound card, they sounded very thin, bass punch is lighter and lack control and also lack of a proper control on the speaker drivers. Basically, the timing, phase and many things sounded wrong and not in tune. (Not slow, just can't get the right timing on starting and ending of a note)

For gaming so far I found no headphone able to satisfy my needs for First Person Shooter. The sound are wayyy too off and fake. However, online games, RPG, RTS still sound fine especially when their BGM kicks in. Sound effect from those source is still fine.

Genre I'm not sure, but I find that the HD668B has the widest genre bandwidth/ very universal sounding which is able to sit next to JH16PRO. Both are my everyday use headphone. A brief sound intro. HD668B has a more foward mids, the soundstage although is available but not wide enough (Many headphone in this range fail in soundstage), I find it to be the most ideal frequency response where the amount of high, mids and bass is very balanced and at the right amount. The sound is more clinical/ studio like and very revealing of your sound system. The only complain is that I wish it has slightly more lower bass so it can vibrate more and not just giving you midbass punch.

HD681 (RED) has a more laid back sound in the mids, able to reach lower bass notes (Some people think the amount of bass on this is higher but to me I think it has the same midbass punch just only it has the ablity to hit the lower notes so it gives an impression of better bass) It is more warmer than HD668B but is not as revealing as HD668B. This headphone emphasis on treble and bass with more laid back mids and also more comfortable to wear. Besides those differences both the HD668B and HD681 are interchangeable and you won't notice it at all when you switch them unless you AB both of it at the same time. The only thing that is noticeable of HD668B is the requirement for a better amplification.

So it all boils down to whether if you want to get an amplifier or not in the future. The HD668B can scale up so well that it can benefit from a high end amp while HD681 does not have that ability to scale up to high end amp though still will improve from an amplification. If you do choose to get an amp for HD668B look for amp that can supply more current than voltage because they are current sensitive and not voltage. In other words, look for amplifier with higher Mw/ Miliwatt ratings instead of how much voltage they can suppy.

So far the only place I know that can try some of the superlux is in Intrasco in pasar road or you can give Trio a pm and see if he has any of his own unit for you to test. All his headphone are ship directly so only ask for his one, don't ask for demo unit.

If you don't mind poor look or copycat look you can go for Superlux. Better than all you have suggested. If you do compare HD201 to HD202 my suggestion is don't get HD201. Way too entry level sound. Besides HD201, you should try all to get a headphone that suits your sound signature.

That is impossible because even now I've reach JH16PRO level still does not found that thing is possible. It's just only an overexagerating of their sound system or misunderstanding of the words. The only way to hear them I think is to hear their raw files. CDs already have brought in some form of compression as well as loudness war.

This part you are wrong. Basically even I'm using HM602 as DAC and compare to a Govibe the HM602 definitely is higher in quality. However, the changes is not really that big at all. I find that headphone give the biggest changes, then amplifier only last is DAC. Of course it is best to upgrade all together if you have the money because somehow you will still hear the lower quality from the lack of a dac for a while until you can upgrade. But again the changes the DAC makes are the smallest especially you use lower end headphones. So please get a headphone first then suffer a while then upgrade amp and lastly get a high end DAC to support your system. The lack of a DAC is just only temporary, if the lack of a headphone you just can't see the benefit of upgrading a DAC first.

So don't worry bout sound card or onboard. Straight away go for a DAC instead if your main purpose is music. The dolby effect or cretive effect or any other digital effect sounds very terrible and can't match a the natural soundstage of a proper setup. As for the G35 I do suggest get a proper headphone because in the end, once you purchase an audiophile level headphone (even entry level one) you wont even go back to those gaming or other mainstream headphone anymore. I've killed some people with my entry level audiophile quality heaphone/IEM. Now I still enjoy them as much as my higher end system.

silly me buat terbalik pula, shud be headphone then amp then dac as u said

never got the chance to try the ATH-M30.

Which Superlux model?

btw i just now came from lowyat plaza and tried some headphones.

The headphones that i tried at Viewnet(?) are :

ATH-SJ11, ATH-SJ33, ATH-T500, ATH-Pro5MK2 camo, Logitech Fatality Mk2, Creative Sound Blaster Tactic 3D Alpha and others (non-brand)

First of all my favorite is the ATH-SJ11.

The reason is the bass. The bass in ATH-SJ33 and ATH-T500 is not kicking enough and very weak/bassless (SJ11 have a little bit more bass than the Pro5MK2) and the voice produce from ATH-SJ11 is not covered by the bass which i can hear the voice very clear unlike one other headphones (cost RM200) that i tried although they have the same bass.

ATH-T500 have bigger driver but without the (heartbeat) bass its kinda useless to me. What the usage of bigger driver anyway? I just read the review of this headphone and it got good reviews but not to me http://www.head-fi.org/t/507802/new-audio-technica-ath-t500. Some say that it need to be burn and some amps to sound good

ATH-Pro5MK2 sounds very good (better than SJ-11) but it seems like its lacking something from my music... I dunno what but my music seems have some kind of distortion. (not to forget it cost RM250+ which is beyond my reach)

Btw, this only came based from my ear. I'm not a pro to judge the headphone. And i only use my phone SE-K800i to test the headphones. So the sound produce might not the best but still i can feel the differences between the headphones. Btw, i think i like to hear the heartbeat/boom bass.

This post has been edited by syazwanreno: Nov 25 2011, 11:58 PM

i still prefer ATH-Pro5MK2 though, anyhow everyone got their own taste, and following own taste is way better

its good but not within my reach.

I'm sorry for being off topic, but syazwanreno's sig is just so awesome I feel obliged to say that is one funny sig!

Any forum members know where can i buy ECCI PR401 in Malaysia?

If you are looking at heartbeat/boom bass then you can opt out superlux. Though the Superlux midbass punch does give a good heartbeat feel but not booming coz not enough low frequency enhancement. So far I only have HD668B and HD681. You can look into this site instead for more info bout other superlux range. http://www.headfonia.com/?s=superlux
There is also a comparison of SJ11 and SJ33 in this site.

T500 is a useless piece of junk. I have put it in amplifier ranging from entry level, to JDSLabs CMOY and to a high end amp. All stilll shows that this T500 is useless even when properly amp. I have not tried any other headphone you speak of yet. However my philosophy is still buy audiophile level headphone (Even cheap entry level) will be better than buying mainstream headphone where all the headphone you stated is mainstream level.

You have to be very careful in reading any reviews including head fi. Not all reviewer will take a neutral point of view. There are biasness and overhyping over a product in lots of audiophile review including head fi forum. Try to judge them by yourself.

This post has been edited by Akuma no Hana: Nov 26 2011, 03:09 AM

My Rig: Asus Essense STX
Type of usage: music movie and gaming
File format: Mp3
Music genre: love song and rocksss
Budget: 850 max
Headphone/ earphone type: Closed or Open

Hope sifu here can recommend me one that can last long thanks

^ ATH AD700/AD500/AD300/A500/A700/M50/Pro700, Shure SRH750/SRH840/SRH440, Senn HD518/HD558, Beyerdynamic DT770

im thinking of gettting SJ55+E6, or is it better getting the ES55 and skip the amp ?

Have a try on Fischer Audio FA-003. The 3D-positioning and soundstage are fantastic. i used it to play CS and Hon besides watching movie