headphones or iems.....??? which route to follow

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mukulymn

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Hello TE headfiers,
i need your suggestions
I wana know ur views on which route to follow
headphones or iems
I listen to music only @ home from my laptop

What are the benefit headphones provide, in general, over IEM
Though you need an amp to properly drive some HP which adds to the cost, is it justified over iems(universal/custom)
At last any kinda problem regarding comfort etc. tht is related only to HP users not to iems's

Thanks for sharing ur viewpoints
MUKUL
 
You already have a Fiio E7 with an RE1 ?

Then you already have a good combination. Use a little EQ in Foobar to tweak the treble and be happy. :)

If you are having a comfort issue, then you will need a headphone.

However you will need to spend a little to get the soundstage of the RE1 and the lovely midrange.
 
BF1983 said:
If you are having a comfort issue, then you will need a headphone.

However you will need to spend a little to get the soundstage of the RE1 and the lovely midrange.
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I am very delighted wth them

no comfort issue

they are very smooth and i can put them on hours

i m now in dilemma whtr to but a new hp/iem or to invest in an amp

If i go for HP/iem thn budget goes to 200$

if i go for an amp i might go for fiio e9 as i have fiio e7

1) because e7 and e9 were designed to function as one unit, e7 will have better synergy wth e9

2) LOD of e7 is not out yet

3) E9 will be arouund 100$

so little confusion
 
headphones are the way to go is potability is not concerned ( or you if you do not like too much bass( ...just suggesting cause of your budget))
headphones ( better soundstage, better mids and highs (my TF10's highs are no where near k702's currently ...well that may be due to my amp also....d1 pairs horribly with TF10), better comfert.), better instrument separation )
IEMs ( some what better bass, better isolation, portability, comparatively easy to drive ( CK10, TF10's do well with basic PMPs))

now when ever there is a talk of iem vs HP.....here comes the RE1 ( by BF1983) not that i am complaining .....just that makes me want to audition them asap

these suggestions are based on your budget ( ofcourse base of D5000/D7000 is better than any iem one can find )
 
I too listen to music only at home or in my hostel room as the case is now. Decided to invest in a good portable setup (and forget about HPs for a year or so) as it would be inconvenient with anything else. If you're certain about being at home for the foreseeable future then I'd get a pair of decent headphones. Don't think any IEM with a $200 budget would outshine the RE-1, at least not enough to make it feel like money well spent. A little over $200 and the TF10 comes into the picture, once again, after the mids on the RE-1 these will disappoint.
 
strategy said:
now when ever there is a talk of iem vs HP.....here comes the RE1 ( by BF1983) not that i am complaining .....just that makes me want to audition them asap
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If you havent yet auditioned RE1 i feel u shud give them a try
If u love tf10 Sig sound you might be disappointed
but its an amazing iem esp mids
evn though i m using it only with e7, still it sounds good

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Ritvik said:
I too listen to music only at home or in my hostel room as the case is now. Decided to invest in a good portable setup (and forget about HPs for a year or so) as it would be inconvenient with anything else. If you're certain about being at home for the foreseeable future then I'd get a pair of decent headphones. Don't think any IEM with a $200 budget would outshine the RE-1, at least not enough to make it feel like money well spent. A little over $200 and the TF10 comes into the picture, once again, after the mids on the RE-1 these will disappoint.
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Thanks for the suggestion ritvik
I really like the sound sig of RE1, though at some tracks i want better imaging ,instrument seperation, could be because they are not amp'd properly
but overall the sound is very smooth and easy going
I think i should start looking for a good amp
heard a lot about mini^3 with re1
Can someone shed some light on gud amp for re1
 
From what I read mini3 seems to be the best portable option for RE1 for under $150. Or you could choose a slightly brighter amp to compensate for darker SS of RE1.
 
but you should go for full-sized headphone if portability is not concerned!!

RE-1 might be great ...( still i am yet to audition them) ....but i bet if it can compete with AKG k702/1
 
strategy said:
but you should go for full-sized headphone if portability is not concerned!!

RE-1 might be great ...( still i am yet to audition them) ....but i bet if it can compete with AKG k702/1
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Heard tht 701/02 have a lean midrange, whts ur impression strategy regd the midrange on them
re1 are gud or not comes down to personal preference....
i really like them, more than re0
but some prefer otherwise


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Anyhow whn head direct r going to ship urs 602 & 262
looking for a review from ur side

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haraakiri said:
From what I read mini3 seems to be the best portable option for RE1 for under $150. Or you could choose a slightly brighter amp to compensate for darker SS of RE1.
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I might go to Lynx for audition of some amp setup amarbir have

After tht i will take a decision for an amp

i wish he puts fiio e9 too by November for audition

I have high hopes with e9

dont know why

may b i m impressed with e7
 
^ for K702 i have gone the fanboy route !!! i cant make myself to dislike any aspect of these great headphone.

the mids ...vocals and guitars sound perfect with k702 ....very airy and transparant IMO ...i would not call the mids lean ...it feels natural

THe K702 are very selective of the amp you use ......( so i've herd) ...thus i bought D1 which is said to have good synergy with K702 ....great so far!

only drawback would be bass Quantity ( in some recordings) ...though i 've herd the canamp( and other expensive amps ) improves on that

i hear pristine note has these on demo ...you can try it there.
 
^^ we are talking about two completely different Headphones here .....an IEM and a Full-sized headphone .

about the mid range ......if i say the mid range of image s4 is great ...that does not mean it is better than TF10's midrange ...its better than s4's ( whose mid are usually considered recessed) ...it simply means that the mids of s4 are above great compared to the iems of its league....and vice-verse ....also the amplifier also plays a great role.

lastly you cant expect to have achieved nirvana in mids with RE-1( no offence to re1....but seriously there are many headphones out there) ....you have got to try more and more headphones ...till you find one that suits you....as pune is close to mumbai go to mumbai ...to pristone note and audition the AKGs ...decide yourself! ( sure its crazy to go to mumbai just for audition ....but ive spent 30K in last 2 months on music ....thats also crazy ....this is tech(crazy)enclave.com )
 
^^ You are comparing a 16k headphone to a 4.5k earphone ? :P

Of course the AKG will be better. But IMO the RE1 when properly amped can give bigger sized cans a run for their money especially in soundstage and midrange performance. The RE1s are startingly close to my HD650s midrange performance while having maybe a notch lower resolving power. And the RE1s have a better soundstage width than the HD650. :)

Also if you move up to custom IEMs, you may find several that can compete and perhaps even beat the AKG K702 in performance. Also most IEMs dont require an amp to sound great.

If you move the top tier IEMs like the JH Audio JH-16/JH-13, they can compete with top tier cans like the HD800/T1 etc.
 
^^ exactly thats why i say" i am saving " ( .... liar ...spent it all)

saving to buy a custom iem ( jh3a combo) and hd800 and an amp good enough for them ( wih some exceptions with sm3/ck10/dba02 and canamp)
 
mukulymn said:
i listen to music only @ home from my laptop
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speakers!!!!!!! :d
lol

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strategy said:
........it simply means that the mids of s4 are above great compared to the iems of its league....and vice-verse
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mids are better to iems of its league?? i mean really.......have you heard the Re1 / M2 / Etymotics / Re0?

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strategy said:
but ive spent 30K in last 2 months on music ....thats also crazy ....this is tech(crazy)enclave.com )
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You will be surprised when you won't be able to tell the difference between the HM601 - Sflo2 when it arrives. I had difficulties telling apart from a Fuze / Sflo2 in a blind test with the same track playing at the same volume. Add EQ'ing to that and it would get next to impossible.

These hobbies are better off when done within a budget.
 
^ :P ( that "above great" must be read "above average" ....do not how i wrote that ) ....treble of s4 is weak IMO ...mids are good , bass is great ....and no re1, m2

will test the m1 ( getting it with sflo combo) ...i hear mids are same as m2.

Between Sflo and HM-602 ( 601 ??) ....hmmm...you might be right .....sflo is a great product ...but i am betting that HM-602 will be much better than the sflo

then again the HM-602 is rather new and shares the sound signature of tried and tested HM-801 which is a very good payer ....so who knows ?

BTW i wish you are right .... on the "when it arrives " part ....darn its taking too long a month and a half already!!
 
The wait makes it even more precious. Lemme prep you a bit by saying first day you will not like it at all, you will think there is nothing special about the sound quality and the UI sucks badly. You might even have difficulty getting you comp to detect it(I did with the mac).

The next day you will try all sorts of things to justify your purchase like pair it up with you gear in different permutation combination. After a few days you will realize its awesome and the sound quality is better than any other pmp.

Right up2 the point when you fly down from singapore for a head-fi meet and a few buggers make you lose a blind test between a Sflo2 and a Fuze. You start missing the bass which makes you wanna reformat the Sflo2 and go back to v2.20. :@

You know who you buggers are!!!!! :@:@
 
bennysachdev said:
you fly down from singapore for a head-fi meet and a few buggers make you lose a blind test between a Sflo2 and a Fuze. You start missing the bass which makes you wanna reformat the Sflo2 and go back to v2.20. :@
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NO frigging WAY!
 
^^ i lose my confidence in such blind tests ( or i am incompetent) ....in such case i might not be able to differentiate between HM-801 and a shuffle!
 
strategy said:
^^ i lose my confidence in such blind tests ( or i am incompetent) ....in such case i might not be able to differentiate between HM-801 and a shuffle!
Click to expand...

Then its all a placebo. You better not spend your money then. :P
 
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