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In ear Headphones

E

eli

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Apr 30, 2003
Messages
1,648
I was just curius to see if people used these types of headphones for home use. I usually see people using them with there ipods. I am using grado Sr 60's right now, and I am looking for something to use at home that sounds a bit better, I was just curius about these. I was wondering about the price Vs. performance of the in ear headphones compared to regular ones. also, do all of the in ear headphones isolate the sound?

Thanks a lot
 
They all sound a lot better than the average earbud, thanks in part to the vastly improved (passive) isolation characteristics. The entry level models from Etymotic and Shure have good price to "performance" ratios compared to other headphones in the < $100 category, especially for portable, on-the-go use. TOne thing to be aware of is that in order to get good results, you should adjust them in your ear and/or use different pads to get the perfect fit for your ear. Otherwise, the experience will be disappointing.

If you're interested in trying them, consider an entry level product like the Etymotic ER-6i or Shure E2C. I think you'll be impressed, once you find the right fit for your ear.
 
I recommend the Etymotic E6-i(I think that is the modle).

They are $99 I think, my friend got a pair and they are fantastic. I tried them on and they had good sound quality and I couldn't hear anything going on in the room. Great for an airplane I bet.

The only problem is some very rare horror stories of people getting the plastic tips lodged in their ear and having to dig them out/go to the hospital. That only happens when people are being stupid though and just yanking them out.
 
IEM (In ear monitors) are useless for at home use. Mainly because of the price, for the price for a good set of IEM's (Shure E4, etc) you can get yourself a much better headphone and amp. Overall price-to-performance ratio of IEM's is terrible compared to full size headphones.

The only use they have is great isolation and non-goofy looks for on the road. :)
 
With the same line of thought, would you also want to get open headphones since closed headphones sacrifice sound quality?
 
If you want to save some money, get Panasonic HJE50s. They're pretty good (better than the Sony EX-71s, etc) and they're about $30.
 
eiekal said:
With the same line of thought, would you also want to get open headphones since closed headphones sacrifice sound quality?
Click to expand...

For home use, for the most part, yes. There are offcourse closed headphones that'll sound just as good as great open headphones, but there are more good sounding open headphones than that there are good sounding closed headphones. A closed headphone that sounds astonishing is simply harder to make than an open one.

PigCorpse said:
If you want to save some money, get Panasonic HJE50s. They're pretty good (better than the Sony EX-71s, etc) and they're about $30.
Click to expand...

Then again the EX-71 isn't that great at all. To be more honest: it's rubbish. I've owned 3 pairs now (all died with broken cable), and the ones that lived so long to be broken in sounded terrible. Bass was too much, and too sloppy. The highs were much too shrill and sharp.
I hate to speak negatively about a very popular item because it involves so many people getting their feelings hurt, but the EX-71 is very, very bad.
 
I have the EX71's and I think they are awesome, I had those panasonics and they had very little bass. They might have made some changes to ex71's or something, cause the bass isnt muddy at all, and the cord is good (and I'm pretty rough on my headphones).
 
Naldo said:
I have the EX71's and I think they are awesome, I had those panasonics and they had very little bass. They might have made some changes to ex71's or something, cause the bass isnt muddy at all, and the cord is good (and I'm pretty rough on my headphones).
Click to expand...

Have you ever tried real IEM's? I mean Shure E4's, E5's, Super.Fi Pro's, and the like. If not, then please don't comment on it. If you have, then excuse me for expecting that you didn't. If you have and you still feel that the EX-71 are awesome, you need new ears. And I don't mean that in a flammatory way ;)

About the cord -- it seems to be a go or no go problem. About 2 out of the 3 people I've talked to with EX-71's have had them die on them, the rest never had trouble with em.
 
digitalmind said:
Have you ever tried real IEM's? I mean Shure E4's, E5's, Super.Fi Pro's, and the like. If not, then please don't comment on it. If you have, then excuse me for expecting that you didn't. If you have and you still feel that the EX-71 are awesome, you need new ears. And I don't mean that in a flammatory way ;)

About the cord -- it seems to be a go or no go problem. About 2 out of the 3 people I've talked to with EX-71's have had them die on them, the rest never had trouble with em.
Click to expand...

Well, I got my EX-71's for ~$25, and the E4's are are a few hundred, so I definatly expect the shure's to sound better, if they didnt then something would be seriously wrong lol. I guess what I really meant was they sound awesome for the price.
 
thank you all very much for so many responses. So the conclusion is that In ear monitors aren't as good as regular headphones for the price?


peace
 
From what I understand, IEM(in ear monitors) are nice if you are looking for earphones that won't make you look strange when you go about and if you also want isolation. But be warned that you will be disappointed if you buy 1000 dollar custum UE-10Pro, for example, since you won't be getting 1000 dollars worth of quality sound. Some ppl can't stand having things in their ears so they go for over the ear phones.

I've been looking for some headphones myself. It's a really tough choice. Nothing seems to fit the bill perfectly. A easy to drive, no amp needed, and great value over the ear phone is the AT A900. I hear great things about this headphone but it is rather large and you might get a few looks while wearing them but they are suppose to sound great.

I'm also looking at the sennheiser hd25-1which are DJ headphones that also are easily driven. The are built tough and but have a downside that they rest ON the ear. Some ppl can wear them for 2 hours without discomfort but others can't wear them long and find them painful. These also cost around 200 dollars

If you want cheap phones with great sound quality, you can look into the ksc 35. I see alot of headphone users that have impressive high cost home headphone systems use these when they go portable. They clip on your ears which probably make them great for working out also.

I never tried any of these phones and am only relating what I read in my research. Having more choices is always good, right? But for me it will remain a choice.. have a headphone that is great and some area's and crappy in others. Why can't there be a perfect headphone that fits all criteria well? :)
 
I am using the grado SR 60's right now...they have good detail, but they don't seem to do well on lower frequencies.

Basically I am looking for something thats easy to drive, I can use at home or on the go, and that competes price wise and sound wise compared to standard headphones.

peace out
 
My advice is to keep an eye out for a used Etymotic ER-4P. They sound amazing for the average used price ($150) and are easily driven from a portable. Only problem is their lack of low bass, which can be fixed with an EQ :)
 
Some ppl may follow audio asylum or audiogon, but for cans, I go to head-fi.com

From all that I read there, I'd stick with your Grado's. I just don't see you getting a better performance IEM for your dollar than in a can. Especially if you say you want it for home use. The greatest advantage for IEM is mobile and Isolation but if you aren't looking for these, than my opinion is to stay with cans and your particular can has a large following for their small price.

Good luck
 
I would reccomend for home use saving up for an amp and full size cans, but if you are sert on IEM's, I honestly do not think for home use that my Super.fi Pro 5's can be beat for the price.

And hello fellow headfi-ers :)
 
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