aaron-xp

Erm... Never tried the shuffle. Heard that it's rather good though.

When and where did you buy it?

It should sound real decent. It's the top of the Westone Universal IEM range. Bass should beat the CK7 by quite a bit.

It's a Koss. Supposed to be one of the best "bang-for-your-buck" audio output device () in the whole industry. It's a clip-on though. It's is said to be around the quality of a sub SGD200 headphone with the Kramer mod. Should be $49.90 at SE, though it can be gotten for much cheaper in the States (around S$20). Ask Aron if he has a test model.

Replied on other page, lest this goes completely off-topic. http://www.sgheadphones.net/index.php?showtopic=6490&st=15

Go with what you prefer. I didn't have that dilemma at that point of time mainly because I didn't really know of the CK7. Musicality is more important to me than the ability to be analytical. Price is another consideration, with the CK7 slightly cheaper. However, the gap is much closer now than in the past, so I doubt it's a very big factor. Let me increase the confusion by adding in the iM716 , which should provide some of the ER6i's analytical sound signature and perhaps a bit of the Shure signature on the bass mode. I personally think this is a rather good deal, based on what I have heard, though I've never tested it myself. Fit and comfort (in my opinion) is better on the UM1 and it's slightly more musical. Cool factor is evident in the CK7 (the aluminum body looks real cool) and it's slightly more analytical. Buy whatever you think is the one for you. A real good thread on this issue from some time ago. http://www.sgheadphones.net/index.php?showtopic=4620&hl=

Under $300 budget? E3, UM1, ER6(i), Super fi. 3, CK9 and iM716. I believe these are within your price range. (not too sure how they'll stack up with the music you play). The ER4 is another possible buy, but it's rather expensive in Singapore. Amazon stocks it in the sub-USD200 range.

They're both real friendly. There's no "need" to look for them, but it's always great to have them there, for both advice and (probably) discounts.

Erm... Let's not forget that this was made for the mass-market, which doesn't really care about smaller details such as the DRM vs UMS issue, etc.

Whether it's worth it is highly subjective. Some prefer comfort and isolation regardless of the price, which should be around $100+ to $200.

I personally like the brown... Seriously though, ipods face some of the DRM issues such as not being able to transfer tracks out (other than through some special means). The wifi-songs-sharing is rather interesting, but definitely facing too many constrains. It's sure that you should get to keep a song that you didn't buy for a long period of time. However, your self-created track will also expire in 3 days or 3 plays. This, however, is due to another limitation. How would the DAP know which is self-created and which isn't? If all CDs come with some weird DRM to identify that the tracks are "professionally-made", it'd be a horrible situation which would affect everyone else who doesn't own a Zune.

Budget? For around $250+ (not too sure about the exact price, but it's in the $200+ range), the A900 is recommended due to its go soundstaging and ability to allow you to pin-point the enemy, decent for 1st person shooter games.

It's probably a fault product, not a faulty design. (Though I must admit that Westone had a small design flaw at the part where the wire connects with the headphone jack. The loose ends of the wire just appear.)

UEs are Ultimate Ears (another brand of IEMs). Welcome though. I personally paired off the UM1 with the Zen Micro. The hiss is not really noticeable as compared to that on some PCDPs. Was a rather nice combo, till the UM1 was stolen. By the way, you're speaking to a 14 year old too.

It may not even arrive in Singapore. There's one thread on headfi which links to another article quoting one microsoft executive saying that US will be the main market and entry to the other markets may be considered.

I believe the audigy 4 isn't really well received in the headfi community. You can try the xmod at Creative's showrooms though.

Yes. The general opinion of it, however, is that the black looks sickly. I agree with that opinion. A shiny black finish would have looked far better.

I believe there is a review here. http://www.sgheadphones.net/index.php?showtopic=6325 MOD EDIT: Topic merged.

I doubt you need an amp for portable listening on such a low impedance headphone. The source should be okay, especially if you intend to upgrade to IEMs in the future.

I believe monkeygod has already done this. http://www.sgheadphones.net/index.php?showuser=2496

Own a close relative of the FC7, (HQ1700) and feel that it is too bassy. If you are going to get amps (though not sure if it is necessary, given that it has rather low impedance rating), get those which are brighter, rather than those like the PA2V2. Actually, most amps will cost almost the same or more than your headphones, and it would make more sense (in terms of how much the sound is improved) to sell your HQ1700 and buy another headphone with the money plus the money from the amp. Just my personal opinions though.

Argh... Whereas most of my classmates use stock buds... Seriously though, canalphones are becoming more popular amongst the general public, mainly due to noise isolation.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. Liked the Oppo, but decided against it because of the fact that I won't be using the DVD playback capability. So, it's the Marantz CD5001 + K601 combo for me.

I don't think it's been release yet, not too sure about that. Anyway, I doubt it'll be available in Singapore, unless Aron comes up with some deal. Otherwise, shipping from US would be the only way to get them I don't think you can get them in the second-hand market for quite some time also, given their "newness".

The one with the straight lines looks really good.