Help needed - earphones advice

[PIngles]

I have my 30 gig iPod on order from Apple, unfortunately it's going to be 2-3 weeks for delivery. Still, gives me a chance to get all the accessories on their way :)

I already own a Sony MD that's lasted me until now, and I purchased a pair of Sony MDR-E888SP earphones (http://www.minidisco.com/mdr-e888sp.html) a while ago, and have been happy with them since. The only issue is they're not too good with background noise.

Now to my current dilemma. I'll be using the iPod both in a relatively quiet environment, as well as whilst walking in London etc. I'm also interested in getting some great sounding earphones, and will be ripping most MP3 tracks at 256kbps if not higher -- still don't own that many CD's :-D

Anyway, I'm looking at either the Shure E2's, or the Etymotic ER4-P, and potentially the Shure E5's (they're ####ed expensive so I'd be wanting them to be extremely impressive!).

The question is therefore, has anyone used both the Sony E888's and the Shure E2's? What's the difference, as I said, I'm definitely after some great sounding earphones so unless the Shure's are significantly better sounding I'd stick with the Sony's.

Alternatively, I'm happy to pay for the Etymotic's, price is expensive but acceptable, are they much better performing than the E2's? Particularly when driven just by the iPod? I don't really want to have to get a portable headphone amp also!

Finally, the Shure E5's thrown into the mix! Since they're so expensive I was wondering what they'd be like with the iPod, although I do like the sound of Shure's relatively inexpensive replacement guarantee.

Sorry, this turned out to be a far longer message than I expected. I've been reading around for a while and had settled on the E2's, but then I was wondering whether they were a worth buying beyond the E888's, in which case, it's then the ER4-P's or Shure E5's -- harder to stomach, might have to wait a while before buying them!

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated

[dmt1]

I have the Shure E2's and love them. I asked that very question awhile back--I haven't seen anyone post who owns both the E888's and the Shure's.

If you don't need the isolation, the E888's are a good choice. If you need isolation and you're in a quiet environment and you're not going to be doing much moving around, I'd go with the Ety's. If you're going to be in an environment where you're going to be doing alot of activity, I 'd go with the Shure E2's--no cord noise whatsoever with heavy activity.

The ipod drives the Ety's and the E2's just fine without an amp. Looking at the specs of the E5's, I'd be very hesitant to buy those without purchasing an amp. No one here has posted yet on the E5's; at $500.00, it may be awhile before anyone does.

I was trying to decide between the Ety4's and the Shure E2's--I really wanted the Ety's, but bottom line, the E2's worked out better for what I wanted them for--working out in a loud gym--and for this situation, IMHO the E2's are the earphone of choice. I use Grado SR 60's at home--they're perfect in this setting, but they're not portable.

If it came down to the Ety 4 or the Shure E5, personally I'd go with the Ety's, unless an amp is no problem for you. But I seriously doubt the E5's are going to be a value--I doubt they'll sound $230 better than the Ety's, which are already up there in price...

[PIngles]

Thanks for the info. I will be using them whilst walking etc. so there will be some activity, in which case the Ety's are pretty much out?

Check this out: http://www.headphone.com/layout.php?topicID=3&subTopicID=29&productID=0040010030

It's an iPod case, designed to hold a portable amp and earphones! It's massive. Not sure I'd want that hanging around.

Aaarrrggh, I hate these kinds of decisions. I really wanna get a system together that will blast out my current hi-fi at home (why I'm looking at these earphones) as well as provide a decent experience when walking around.

I'm now wondering whether a portable amp may not be a bad purchase also, but then the expense of the E5's becomes even greater, but how bad is the chord noise of the Ety 4P's?

Shame there's no confused smiley :-D

What would be useful is if I could find a retailer here in the UK that has some kind of 30 day guarantee so I could try out the E5's and E2's and see how it goes!

[PIngles]

Ok, I'm now seriously looking at using a earphone/amp combo now...

Namely, a HeadRoom Total AirHead with Etymotic E4-S earphones. It doesn't seem overly large, definitely something that could be tucked away nicely.

This then brings me back to the issue of chord noise, and performance. Has anyone experienced this first-hand, just how noticeable is it? Is it the whole E4 range that suffers, or just the E4-Ps?

In which case, would it be better to go with the Shure E5's, accept the lacking in power for a little while and then get an amp in say 5/6 months time? Will a portable seriously cause problems, or will it just be inferior quality?

I have to say, I'd rather build it up over time, get the E5's to replace the supplied earphones, use that for a few months and then get the portable amp to really let them fly!

[jaygot]

I currently own the Sony 888s and have been happy with the sound quality of these earbuds. However, after using them for an extended period, my ears become sore (probably because the buds are so large).

I am considering purchasing the Shure e2cs, but find myself reluctant to drop another $80 on canal phones without having heard a direct comparison of the Shures and Sonys. Has anyone tried both? If so, how would you assess the sound quality / comfortability / etc. of these relative to one another?

Thanks in advance for the help!

-Jason

[MiRaCL]

Go to a local shop and try out Koss Porta Pro headphones,you'll love those,awesome sound,not to big or bulky,and! they have life time guarantee..

I say ->Koss Porta Pro<- best there is for portable audio.. cost about ?60

MiRaCL

[dmt1]

Originally posted by jaygot
I currently own the Sony 888s and have been happy with the sound quality of these earbuds. However, after using them for an extended period, my ears become sore (probably because the buds are so large).

I am considering purchasing the Shure e2cs, but find myself reluctant to drop another $80 on canal phones without having heard a direct comparison of the Shures and Sonys. Has anyone tried both? If so, how would you assess the sound quality / comfortability / etc. of these relative to one another?

Thanks in advance for the help!

-Jason

Ok, here's my take...If you are looking for comfort, or isolation, get the Shure's. You'll love them.

Now, if you're looking for something strictly for home--not portable, I'd go with Grado SR 60's, for $69.00. These are incredible, and sound better than many $200.00 sets of cans..

[stasyna]

If you dont care about a bit bigger than a blank CD-R. Ive compared them to a CD-R, total length is about 1CD-r and 2 inches in length.

get the Sony MDR-D66SL :

Ebay link to see what they look like:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3037239820&category=3274

Absolutely incredible sound. They also require very low wattage to drive them, so you can crank 3/4 and have deaf-like sound :)
They're also excellent at noise-canceling since they cup around your ear.


NOTE:

you'll have to import them from japan, and theyre 90 bucks USD. There's a smaller model of these for 45 bucks USD, not sure model, i believe its D22SL.