which phones give most realistic sound on U3

[sputnik00 0]

heya

 

am new to the forum, but am fascinated by the wealth of knowledge around here so thought i'd ask a quick qs.

 

am madly in love with my iaudio u3 but am wondering if anyone knows of any earphones/IEM/headphones that can give the most realistic reproduction of sound.

 

by realistic i mean without the type of sound one wld get if one just stuck a pair of phones into the old cd player.

 

reason i ask is coz i listen to lots of live recordings (incl some recorded in mono, the really old ones) and would like to get phones which would be faithful to the recording without any "enhancement" made on the audio player.

 

have converted some files to flac format and it improves the quality significantly even on unremarkable phones, but my little player can't carry that many flac files.

 

cheers

sputnik00

[evian_vortex 0]

err ... i'm a noob too ... but i saw on etymotic website that their ER4 is made for that purpose , what you are listening to ...

[Zephyron 0]

Get an amp, get a DT880

[sputnik00 0]

hi zephyron

 

i reckon u have a U3 too?

 

never had an amp before, does it involve major investment of $$$?

 

cheers

[aaron-xp 0]

COMY amp at about S$50 (if bought), PA2V2 about $90, anything beyond is scary.

 

Edited June 1, 2006 by aaron-xp

[sputnik00 0]

oh, i thought amps were exhorbitant. they do sound very hardcore though.

 

am afraid if i start i won't be able to stop myself from busting my pocket.

[aaron-xp 0]

Depends on your control of spending. If you have some cash to spare, you could always PM tropicalrips or squalle for a CMOY. DIYing is cheaper too, if you have the confidence to do so, that is (unlike me ).

[sputnik00 0]

control is so subjective though. i can go for years procrastinating abt buying something, but if i'm the right place at the right time, with the right price in front me, i can get it there and then.

 

abt the amp, i'll think abt it. thanks for the heads-up.

 

am slowly acquainting myself with all the terms the audiophiles here use. DIY is definately not in my repertoire for the near future. *grin*

[aaron-xp 0]

No problem, but be careful. Make sure you use what you buy, because there are some irresistable deals, in which you buy something you will not use eventually.

[sputnik00 0]

oh yes, i know that feeling.

 

i've been waiting really long to buy this one thing ...... think i still have a bit of prudence in me.

 

so what's the average profile of a person who hangs around this forum? everyone seems so knowledgable and helpful.

[aaron-xp 0]

Most are males (oops, sexist remark, but true), many unmarried, in their 20s or 30s.

 

Correct?

 

I am not in my 20s or 30s though. Still in my 10s.

[Q00 0]

Firstly, welcome to the forum!

Forrealistic production of sound is quite subjective i reckon, especially if there are many factors like your bitrate for your mp3, but if you dont want any 'enhancements' you will probably be looking for a neutral pair of headphones/iem. Off the top of my head, search the forums for:

 

DT-150's - neutral but just slightly more bassy but not in a bad way, i own a pair of these.

ety's er-6 - i think its neutral and clinical(very detailed) but u might find the bass slighty lacking but this is from memory only.

 

For amp's do a search here and try lookin for the master amp.. its quite cheap (around 200) and neutral as well.

 

Enjoy your stay mate.

[Zephyron 0]

I really like the ER6i though, and I'd use it without EQ as well.

 

Unless one is a basshead, the ER6i doesn't lack bass IMO.

[Q00 0]

hmmm.. now that u mention it.. i think what i meant is that the er6 lacks lower bass extension. bass is there, but then again, im comparing it to my dt-150 which extends very low.

[sputnik00 0]

have been using common unremarkable phones so far. but if i do take the plunge and invest in a gd pair, the ety sounds tempting.

 

from all the comments in the forum, sounds like they give a transparent and balanced sound. which probably suits my taste, coz balance doesn't always mean bass.

 

would still be one major investment though. makes my heart weak at the thought, and my pocket tremble.

 

decent phones will definately improve my listening experience with those mono recordings i have so that's one incentive.

 

correct me if i misunderstand, but once you start walking down that road (of using decent phones) there's no turning back right? .....