Little ears want big sound-the quest continues

[pInK]

I started out trying to put those good ole white Certs-sized discs in my ears. They fell out right away, but when forcibly held up to my head, seemed to sound awright. That "white earbud" cachet disappears when you're walking around with fingers jammed into your head. Looks pretty moronic, actually.

Next came a long, expensive affair with the Shure E2Cs, during which I tried all kinds of different tips, even buying them special extra soft ends in an effort to make it all good. I wanted so much to love them. I tried so hard. In the end they proved too finicky, requiring constant ear-pulling and prodding for optimum clarity and bass. (I still have them safely wound up in their hard shell case, thinking that someday my ears may change and they can be enjoyed to their fullest.)

The usual "what kind of music do you like" decisionmaking method doesn't help when there's bossa nova, Finnish heavy metal, hip hop, house, bluegrass, grunge and jazz all on one iPod. Those don't seem to have any EQ settings in common. All I know is that when I get into a car, I turn the midrange down and the bass and treble up. I like an extremely wide frequency response range and high S/N ratio.

I can describe my ideal sound best in terms of car audio components. The best, most earth-shaking, pin-drop clear sound I've ever heard came from a car equipped with an Alpine head unit, Precision Power amp, gold-tipped Monster cables, and about 16 MB Quart and Pioneer tweeters, midrange and woofers spread around with some very conservative subwoofing going on. It placed in SPL contests, and your stomach felt the punch when the drums kicked in, but wasn't muddy or overpowering in the least. You could hear every cymbal, violin and singer's breath. Full-bodied voices like Andrea Bocelli rang out strongly, while Mariah Carey sounded crystalline. I have no idea how that translates into conventional sound engineering terminology. :)

Desperate for quick, easy, good music, I remembered some old black foldable Sonys that had been lying around abandoned since the Nomad days. They looked incongruous plugged into a pink mini, but sounded pretty good for something out of a dusty drawer. Fast as fast can be, they snapped right onto my head and lay lightly outside each ear canal. Decent bass, sharp high end, but when a group of dudes started gabbing in the lunchroom, it took deafening volume to drown them out.

Time to reassess. I needed isolation, clear highs, snappy but strong bass, small tips and reasonably fast installation. Based on what I read here, I decided to try some Sony EX71s. They're coming in a few weeks. I hope this will be the end of my search for the perfect earphone!

If not, guess I'll have to just hope that Alpine comes out with some. :)

[Capital R]

Sony EX71's have shrill highs and muddy, overpowering bass, so I'm not sure if you will like them. I use Etymotic ER-6i's and Ultimate Ears super.fi 3's. The super.fi 3's have pretty small tips included, so those may work. The sound is great, much better than Shure E2C's since the Shure's have notoriously strong bass.

[pInK]

Originally posted by Capital R
Sony EX71's have shrill highs and muddy, overpowering bass, so I'm not sure if you will like them. I use Etymotic ER-6i's and Ultimate Ears super.fi 3's. The super.fi 3's have pretty small tips included, so those may work. The sound is great, much better than Shure E2C's since the Shure's have notoriously strong bass.

Thanks for answering! :) I don't like muddy thudding bass without a crisp rolloff, and the E2Cs seemed to have a lot of that to my ears even though they were what I'd consider at the top of the mid-priced range, which is why I'm still hopefully hanging on to them.

I just read about the "melting" cords on the Sonys, and always do end up with the most expensive thing available because more often than not, you get what you pay for. I try to save money and go cheap but it usually ends up in my "sell" pile.

Watch me end up with the most mega-pricey things around because my silly ears got used to an ex-boyfriend's $20,000 car stereo, hehe.

[pInK]

Update - I just got the Sony EX71s and ran a quick comparison test between all my earphones. The Sonys fit like a dream, so squishy and small. I love that about them! But the treble seemed piercing and the bass not as hard-hitting as I'd like, even when fully inserted. I played with the EQ on my mini to get more balanced sound, then tried the Shure E2Cs.

They were much harder to insert but once in, the sound was like easing into a soft leather couch after sitting in a dinette chair. Fuller and well-balanced from the start; I didn't have to tweak the EQ to make the output tolerable.

Finally I tried my old standby, Sony foldable MDR somethings. Less squeaky highs than the EX71s; less bass than the Shures.

So it turns out I love the Shure E2C sound in comparison to the Sony, and love the Sony EX71 fit in comparison to the Shure. Looking at the comparative size of the Shure driver and cord, it's easy to see why there's a difference in the sound (and fit). If only these good qualities were combined in one earphone - arrrrgh! :)

[rifleman]

I'll add my comments...

I first had the Sony EX70's, two pairs after the cable of the first set turned solid and brittle. I find the sony's have muddy sound, and mid/high end just isn't clear. Stick cotton wool in your ears for an idea of them.

Next I had Ety ER-6 phones. Brilliant clarity and you can hear every detail in the music, but the low end just isnt there. After a week I found the bass slowly appeared but not low enough and I could never feel much of the punch. Sound isolation is awesome.

Finally I went up a level and got myself some UE 5Pro's and havent turned back. They have wonderful clarity (not quite as much as the ety's on the high end but perhaps more balanced) and a very present bass, but not overpowering. Listening is pure pleasure with these. Sounds isolation is better than the sony's, but not as good as the ety's. That they give wonderful clarity over the full audio range makes them the best I've bought.

Edit: Another thing with the UE's is that they have wonderful sensitivity. My listening levels for the Etys/UEs are 7/10 and 3/10 respectively.

If you can afford that car stereo system, then the $240 for the UE's is probably not too much to ask for either.

[pInK]

Originally posted by rifleman
I'll add my comments...

I first had the Sony EX70's, two pairs after the cable of the first set turned solid and brittle. I find the sony's have muddy sound, and mid/high end just isn't clear. Stick cotton wool in your ears for an idea of them.

Next I had Ety ER-6 phones. Brilliant clarity and you can hear every detail in the music, but the low end just isnt there. After a week I found the bass slowly appeared but not low enough and I could never feel much of the punch. Sound isolation is awesome.

Finally I went up a level and got myself some UE 5Pro's and havent turned back. They have wonderful clarity (not quite as much as the ety's on the high end but perhaps more balanced) and a very present bass, but not overpowering. Listening is pure pleasure with these. Sounds isolation is better than the sony's, but not as good as the ety's. That they give wonderful clarity over the full audio range makes them the best I've bought.

Edit: Another thing with the UE's is that they have wonderful sensitivity. My listening levels for the Etys/UEs are 7/10 and 3/10 respectively.

If you can afford that car stereo system, then the $240 for the UE's is probably not too much to ask for either.

Hee hee... you guys are already convincing me to upgrade even though the Sonys are only a day or two old! I *wish* I could afford that car stereo - it belonged to (and stayed with) an ex. Right now I'm rockin' the stock Ford stereo with a Transpod. Yeaaaah baby. Full volume won't even blow out the eardrum of a hamster. You can imagine how much I enjoy that! But upgrading the car setup will have to wait.