radioactive28

The UE SF3 cables can be replaced. You might want to swap with someone who has a good pair to see if the problem is with the cable.

I think I've been away from the forums for too long... Is the UE1 a new model?

The EX700SL looks... eww. Is Sony's (once-)superior design department is going down? But those drivers' spec look suspiciously similar to the E888s, numbers and even the diaphragm material.

The Shure E4 is definitely sweet for vocals. E500 too. Haven't tried the SE420 yet though. Bad vocals sound reasonable, good vocals sound angelic. Your budget is at the point where people normally start considering paying a lot more to get a little improvement.

Yes. It's a slightly tighter fit, but it works.

The 6i's bass is slightly boosted and its impedance is lower - features to accommodate the iPod. (I really have to got to listen to the Mylars one day.)

Then the entry-level stuff probably applies: Etymotic ER-6 or ER-6i (personally recommended), Westone UM1 (personally dislike), and the recently popular Mylar3 (haven't tried). The ER-6/i should be able to give you the highs and clarity you want, but the ER-6 is bass-deficient compared to the UM1 (which itself is treble-deficient). Coming from dynamic headphones, you need to be aware that IEMs in general will not give you the thumping, rocking bass, but the good ones can still give you very deep bass. By the way, the Shures aren't over-rated. They adhere to the laws of diminishing returns, as do the UEs and Westones.

etymology

The loud sound you hear is a common problem with a lot of in-ear types - microphonics. IEMs like the UM1s also have this problem, but it is solved by wearing the cables over the ears. (The UM1s will be challenging to use with the cable going straight down) However, the catch with over-the-ears IEMs is that they can take longer to wear and adjust than the regular buds. Plus, they tend to stick in pretty deep and some people don't like the feeling. Do a search for heady's foam tip mod and try it - I find that having foam tends to reduce the amount of microphonics, compared to just using rubber tips. It'll retain the convenience and comfort of the Sony buds as well.

Depends on what service you're using at the post office, Western Union charges fixed amounts by tiers, I believe, whereas foreign money order charges by percentage of remitted amount. Got to ask a bit...

Think WMA lossless won't be as widely supported as FLAC or ALAC in stand-alone hardware. FLAC support isn't even all that good yet, if you consider absolute numbers.

Well, the alternative to getting completely ripped off, is to have nothing at all, or enduring the hassle of finding and arranging for another means of importing it yourself. The book is 2000yen, roughly equals SGD25. Mods, are we going OT?

You'll want something to block out noise if you're using it outdoors. This should be non-negotiable, IMO. The alternative is to blast the volume and lose your hearing earlier than you normally would. As for looks, it's completely too subjective. Try the Senn HD280, looks like it's built to last and can take a lot of crap. There's the Panasonic HTX7, looks retro with its colours and big cups, but sound isn't too good, IMHO.

The DVD: http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=KABA-1609 Both aren't out until later this month. You can try looking to Kinokuniya with the photobook's ISBN number to see if they'll do a special import for you. This is not suppose to be public, but they'll import just about any media for Japanese expats at a price, so maybe even the DVD can be gotten there.

CDJapan for the CDs and Japanese DVD (no translation). Try Ani-Play at Sunshine Plaza to see if they'll import the official translated DVD from the US. Either, it's going to cost like crazy though. She's pretty big in Japan, but locally there isn't enough appreciation for her, the profession or the series for just any CD shop to bring in related media products.

Think you should have posted in the Portables forum, but anyways... First off, get the LAME encoder and a player with decent output (Iaudio comes to mind). If you're using a flash-based player, space is limited, so you'd want to use variable bitrate at maybe -V1 or -V2. There's -V0, but it should matter little if you're listening on the go. For HDD players, 320kbps is the highest bitrate you can get, and possibly overkill. Keep in mind that higher bitrates take more space, as do WAV and FLAC, so your battery life will get affected as the hard-drive needs to spin more.

Updates? Sure: delays and more delays... The only good updates were previews by RS and others.

The 6i can take Shure/Westone's yellow foams and even complys, only it'll be slightly tighter. At least the tips won't be left in your ear Filters, I'm still stumped though... Online purchase seems to be the only option.

Thanks for the review Very nice pictures you took, yummy stuff By the way, I thought monitoring systems used nickel for heavy-duty plugs?

Uncle Wilson said to open and close my jaws a few times a while after the molding material was injected. Half-close, you could say. Funny thing is, one side fits perfectly well, but I tend to lose the seal on the other side from time to time.

I just got my UM56 from Jaben, so I'll chip in some relevant/OT bits: The molding process isn't quite so bad, but letting anything get that near to my eardrums, I had some worries, naturally. It wasn't a painful process, but having something fluid and solid at the time fill up the canal felt weird. Having the sound directed straight at the eardrum will really open up your listening experience, be they full customs or not, IMHO. My e4c on complys pointed the sound to the side of my canals and sounded comparatively muffled.

Bump. Saw a pair of e500s yesterday on the North-bound train.

web (hey, aren't some of you guys married? )

sea

slob