|
Hi guys. I’d really appreciate two bits of advice: on some IEMs, and on amping for the new cans I’ve got my sights on. I’ve been doing a fair bit of research, including reading the nice guide linked to in the OP, but as usual when I do this I find more questions popping up and my position on everything shifting. Amping I’m looking to buy the new Shure SRH1540. These are to be paired mainly with my PC, which has an M Audio 2496 card feeding Creative Gigaworks T20 speakers. I plug my current old phones directly into the headphone socket on the speakers. I understand that I could do the same with the SRH1540 as they are a fairly sensitive phone that will run fine without an amp, but that improvement will still be seen with one. What I need to really understand here is whether to get an amp, amp+DAC or nothing at all. 1. How much is the DAC necessary with a decent sound card like the M Audio? 2. If I just use an amp, can I incorporate it with the speakers so it’s easy to switch between phones and speaker? As in Computer>Speakers>Amp>Phones? Or do the phones and speakers need to be connected separately? I don’t know what connectors headphone amps use. 3. Same as above but if there’s a DAC involved too? I assume the answer is different due to the DAC acting like a separate sound card. I was looking at one of the Fiios, either the E17 or E12 depending on whether I get the DAC or not. Not certain I need a portable one, but it would be nice to occasionally use with my Cowon. I’m open to other suggestions if there are better options out there (up to about £100 ideally). IEMs Source: A Cowon J3 with music entirely in FLAC format. Music: Pretty broad, but with an emphasis on prog and heavy blues rock (Floyd, Crimson, Mars Volta, Zappa, Zeppelin), musical theatre, and classical (orchestral and chamber works and a lots of piano music – both solo and concerto works). Piano definitely needs to sound good. I also listen to other forms of rock, jazz, folk and a bit of reggae. I rarely listen to hip hop, electronica or country, and never drum and bass. Ideal sound is probably smooth but not unexciting and is detailed throughout, with tight, punchy bass and treble that sings and sparkles nicely, but I’m open to other signatures with the right gear. I currently have a pair of Panasonic HJE900s, which are a lot fun for the rockier stuff, if a touch fatiguing at times, but not ideal for classical music. I guess I’m mainly looking to replace my other, broken pair (Ortofon E-Q7s). I loved the detail and transparency of the Ortofons, but found them just a touch too mellow. I was thinking a good upgrade on those - with some similarities but a bit more fun in the mix too - would be the Sony MDR-EX1000. I am slightly concerned about the apparent wind noise/isolation issues, though, as I use my IEMs daily while walking the dog. Maybe this can be alleviated with a different tip? I’m open to suggestions of phones with different sound signatures that might fit my needs, in any case. I’ve always been curious about the Earsonics SM3s. But there’s so much out there it’s kind of overwhelming. So, guys – your thoughts are most welcome. I know very little about amping and would appreciate any advice on that front. Similarly, more comments on the Sonys would be great (particularly on the isolation side of things) along with any other suggestions.
|
#
¿
Nov 20, 2013 12:53
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 09:45 |
|
|
Anyone got any comments on my below post, by any chance? Just need to know a bit about amping, and some comments on the isolation of the Sonys and suitability to my needs. Ordered the Shure SRH1540s - excited! OneSizeFitsAll posted:Hi guys. I’d really appreciate two bits of advice: on some IEMs, and on amping for the new cans I’ve got my sights on. I’ve been doing a fair bit of research, including reading the nice guide linked to in the OP, but as usual when I do this I find more questions popping up and my position on everything shifting.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 25, 2013 22:10
|
|
|
powderific posted:I have no knowledge about the Sony's but different tips aren't going to help with microphonics if that's the issue. There are many IEM's in that price range, maybe you should look to something that doesn't have microphonics issues instead of trying to work around them? The giant IEM comparos on Head-Fi would probably be pretty reliable on stuff like handling noise. My card only has one outputting set of phono jacks. The other output is a 15-pin D-sub connector with coaxial S/PDIF. From what I can see, DACs are USB, though? I thought maybe I could connect a USB DAC/amp like the Fiio E17 or this Epiphany. Then switch audio outputs in Windows as and when I want to change. From what you're saying though I should be able to run both without going into Windows audio settings each time I want to switch, even with a DAC? You're probably right about the tips with the Sonys - I was mainly wondering how bad the isolation truly is out of the box.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 26, 2013 00:13
|
|
|
Got you. Thanks. Sorry for the dumb questions.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 26, 2013 02:59
|
|
|
Skim Milk posted:It's inevitable I thought about the 650s before deciding to get closed back, and I ended up with the newly-released Shure SRH1540. I can't say whether they have more bass than the Sennheisers, as I haven't heard those, but I can say that they seem to have slightly greater than neutral bass (while maintaining a lot of detail and never getting overwhelming or boomy) and are considered by the few people who've heard whose opinions I've read to be of similar quality/better than the 650s. First post I found on Head Fi comparing them said: quote:1540 has more bass presence but also a bit more midrange and treble presence, so to my ears it sounds more clear, articulate and spacious than the 650, and because of this, the bass mostly sounds balanced with the rest of the spectrum. I haven't listened to another headphone in over a week....I just keep enjoying the 1540 I love mine. Great soundstage, a very fun signature which still produces an exceptional level of detail. I'd agree with the guy who mentioned FLACs by the way, assuming you're not already using a lossless format. The better the equipment, the more you should be feeding them a quality source.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 1, 2013 01:38
|
|
|
Does anyone have any experience with any of these DAC/amps? Audinst HUD-MX2 ifi iDac Fostex HP-A3 Epiphany EHP-O2D I'm looking for something to pair with my Shure SRH1540s and this is my current shortlist. I want the DAC to be my external sound card and deal with all of my computer's sound (music, games etc), so for convenience's sake I ideally want RCA out (I've included the Epiphany because I like the look of it, and if it's clearly the best choice soundwise I can deal with swapping headphones with a cable to the speakers whenever I want to swap). I also don't want something which emphasises bass much, as the Shures already have plenty of that - it's not flabby or boomy at all but any more would be too much for my taste. These all seem like decent options (although the Fostex is about to be replaced by the A4 - don't know if that will be available before Christmas, though). OneSizeFitsAll fucked around with this message at 00:14 on Dec 3, 2013 |
|
#
¿
Dec 2, 2013 17:29
|
|
|
TheRamblingSoul posted:Hey, just window shopping for new quality headphones I want to replace my ailing Audio Technica ATH-M50 headphones with. I've already recommended the Shure SRH1540 once in the short time since I got them, and I'm gonna do it again here because they fit all of your criteria. They're at the upper end of your budget but within, and they're closed backed circumaural cans with strong isolation and excellent comfort. Bass is definitely north of neutral and has a strong presence, but it manages not to overwhelm the mids or get boomy. They sound smooth yet detailed overall, and should fit the genres you mention well. If you get a chance to try some out it's definitely worth a shot.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 14, 2013 02:07
|
|
|
Khagan posted:Budget - around $400 USD Maybe consider Hifiman RE-600s (the non-balanced version of the RE-600). They have a beautiful sound with notably good mids, but generally great levels of detail, which seems to fit your requirements. They were $400 when they came out, but seem to available on Amazon now for $99, which is a superb price for them. I found the cable on mine a bit stiff, but never so much that it was problematic and in any case in the V2 this seems to have been improved upon.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 18, 2018 15:29
|
|
|
DancingShade posted:I've come to think of good headphones as those that amplify flaws in badly mastered / distorted music while making well mastered music a delight. My new speakers are kinda like this. So very transparent and bad recordings are not tarted up but by god do good recordings sound great.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 6, 2018 17:53
|
|
|
Looking for some advice, please. My portable setup is a Cowon J3 and a pair of HiFiMan RE600s, playing FLAC files. Both are great, but I've been using them for years and fancy a change/upgrade. I was looking at some of the high-end IEMs, like the Noble Kaiser Encores and a few others. Stupid prices, amplified by the fact that trying before I buy is going to be tricky. But I'm potentially open to it, if I do a ton of research. However, it also occurs to me that maybe they would sound better with a newer player (since I bought the J3 I see there are a bunch of new companies, like Astell and Kern, offering supposedly "high res" players), or maybe a newer player would even sound better with the RE600s and I should consider upgrading that before I do the 'phones. I can forsee people telling me that spending huge dough on a pair of IEMs is daft, and maybe it is and I'm open to any comment, but that aside, would something like the Nobles sound better with a newer player, or would a newer player drive the RE600s better than the Cowon? Basically, which should I upgrade first?
|
|
#
¿
Dec 26, 2021 18:07
|
|
|
Thanks for the upgrade comments - I did suspect that might be the answer but good to confirm. May I therefore ask the thread for any recommendations for a set of IEMs. Relevant info: Budget: No limit Source: Cowon J3 Isolation requirements: not a priority but the ability to use on an airplane without my ears fatiguing at all the noise would be good Preferred Tonal Balance: I really like to hear lots of detail, but dislike it when this comes with harshness. A smooth sound with touch of treble sparkle and weight in the bass but not much so that mids become lost in more vocal-heavy music - maybe a very gentle V-shape? Past Headphones: Panasonic HJE-900 - liked the exciting, dynamic sound. Disliked the lack of refinement Ortofon EQ7s - pretty much the opposite of the HJE-900. Beautifully smooth; a bit unexciting HiFiMan RE600 - I like a lot about these. Maybe soundstaging and bass punch could be improved Preferred Music: I will be listening to a good deal of prog rock on them, so detail, liveliness etc are important, but also some refinement is desirable, particularly for some of those older recordings. Also some musical theatre. Hence suggesting a gentle V-shape sound that is closer to neutral than some, so I can enjoy the mids when listening to the vocals-heavy music but enjoy the excitement of the rockier stuff also Also a bit of classical - orchestral and also solo piano I don't know how easy it is to capture the above, but as per the first field I'm not really limited by budget, so hopefully I can get close. I did have in mind to get a universal IEM, but I mayeb it's also worth considering customs at this point? When I bought my first few sets of earphones it seemed that, leaving aside the superior, bespoke fit, customs generally had better sound. Now it seems there are tons of high end universal IEMs around, so perhaps customs are not worth the bother of getting the mould right, sending back and forth etc. In terms of availability of stuff, I live in the UK, if that makes any difference to anything. I had read a few reviews of the Kaiser Noble Encores with interest, but really the choice is so overwhelming now, I barely know where to start. Someone earlier mentioned the Moondrop Blessing 2/Variations and Thieaudio Oracle so I guess I'll read about those, but I'd really welcome suggestions on how I can spoil my ears based on the above info.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 28, 2021 13:06
|
|
|
Getting my daughter an iPhone for her birthday and need some wireless/bluetooth IEMs for her. I'd like them to be decent for music, and not crap in any way as they will be a present, but don't want to break the bank as she will likely lose them within 8 seconds anyway. Maybe somewhere up to £30/40 mark. Any suggestions?
|
|
#
¿
Nov 23, 2022 16:45
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 09:45 |
|
|
qirex posted:Beats Flex go on sale a lot and are reasonably durable for kid use. Not sure about your local prices, though. If they’re too much JBL or 1more make cheap reliable wireless buds in the same style. Went for these - thanks for the suggestion. Hope she doesn't lose/destroy them too quickly!
|
|
#
¿
Nov 28, 2022 17:30
|
|