SurefireI like both. K553 has a sharper sound, especially the treble, as a bit less bass and it's closed back. Maybe a larger soundstage as well.
HD6XX has a more vivid sound, is a bit clearer, and has an intimate soundstage and is open back
HD6XX might need an amp to be driven, like FiiO K5, but I recommend the same amp for K553 as well!
hoyamonsYes. HD6XX is not known for the biggest soundstage in the world.
Open back headphones don't really have larger soundstages, except for HD800 and a few others.
Closed back headphones don't really have large soundstages excep for a few Sennheisers, Ultrasones and a few others
IEMs generally have large soundstages except for a few. As ironic as it might sound, I'm after testing over 300 headphones... Hard to say, but this is the objective truth.
DeltaGThanks to all of you!
It seems modern IEM's win pretty much everytime: price, portability, sound stage, no need for an amp, sound quality, sound isolation, water resistance, exercise-friendly, just to name a few.
Is there a reason for getting a pair of headphone lol? XD
SurefireComfort? for example myself I hate IEMs. I owned several and I simply couldn't shake off that feeling that something is stuck in my ear. Also silicone means slippery for me so I'm pretty much limited to foam. and lastly - when they move 2mm it changes the sound completely.
is it just me?
TommyChaDepends on the user really.
My ie800 can be slippery as well, I need to wash both ears and tips sometimes for them to sit comfortably , but the sound is way too awesome.
I recently discovered that Classics 99 from Meze do a pretty job with comfort and have really nice and detailed sound, even comparable with ie800 after enough equalizing.
SurefireVery different sound signatures, but the 6xx is superior to the AKG. The entire frequency range is very connected and the ability to distinguish the difference in timbre on low frequency instruments, such as basses and kick drums, is up there with the best. Despite sounding smooth and warm, it´s really detailed and revealing. Low/low-mid transients are not "head kicking", but it´s easy to distinguish the peaks of closely spaced transients from different instruments (unlike, let´s say, the Denon AH-D2000 that rumble and softballs all transients at roughly the same (very loud!) level). It may not be as "exciting" and initially impressive as offerings from Beyerdynamics, Denon, Fostex or even AKG, but its soothing and haunting sound signature is irresistible. You should try out the HD650. Even if the 6xx isn´t available anymore, the HD650 is still worth the investment - unless you fail (few does) to fall for its charms.
SurefireBut you aren't going to use IEM in a recording studio environment. That's what these are, and why they are closed back, so they don't bleed into microphones.
TommyChayou should give a try to something like the soundmagic pl50 or an etymotic model comfort wise, ety's take a bit of getting use to but, once i trimmed the 3rd flange of the tri-flanges i was able to get use to them for long listening use, on the other hand, the pl50 with sony hybrid style tips or olives or ....well quite alot of choices fit the small nozel honestly.....i cant find most iem's comfortable due to nozel size making even smaller tips less comfortable then they should be, know quite a few people who have had the same issue, i thought it was the tips or just iems sucked...then a buddy loaned me his pl50's for a week...i ordered a set at full price (65bucks out of china), they are the most comfortable iem period, with hybrids..i fell asleep wearing them and got up more then once and started to shower to realize...i had my iem's in...(thankfully they didnt suffer any harm from minor water exposure....they are the one iem i have little to no problem recommending anybody give a try, with a bit of EQ tune to level out the mid centric sig...they are great...for the price anyway....)
i can feel you, on the "iems are a pain" but, my hf5's and my pl50's(who i gave to a friends mother so she could listen to audio books on long flights to and from china where his brother and brothers family are living for work) are quite comfortable and the sound quality...both imho are great for their price brackets...specially if you have trouble finding iem's that work for your ears....i got a thing of iem's i enjoy the sound of but cant wear for any extended time with any tips that stay in if moving around...because they either slide out or are uncomfortable...or both.... mostly both...
UnaSalusVictusPL50's look like dozens of other IEMs. They've been around for 6+ years now? What makes them different from all the other nearly identical looking/shape/build IEMs?
Rochambeauxnot many similar are as small, nore do others tend to have small nozels, they are tiny and the nozel is quite small, they also use an sba rather then dynamic driver.
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3548/3689588521_3fb1028c63.jpg?v=0
http://alexmod.do.am/_fr/0/4991808.jpeg
http://theheadphonelist.com/headphone_review/soundmagic-pl50/
they arent highend but comfort cannot be beat once you try sony hybrid style tips or comply/shure fomies.
joker(last link) reviews and compairs iem's on headfi and the linked site thats database is alot nicer then forums post links :P
as to quality, you gotta try more iem's, a great CHEAP option for phone headset is the Brainwavz Jive headset they are amazing value i gave a few sets away last xmas, and everybody is still loving them, the one cousin who didnt like them at first, due to lack of brain rattling bass, he tweaked the eq and enabled his phones bb and was impressed, they are clearier then his sony set that cost him 6x what i paid, or senns, or any of the skullcandy sets he ownes....they wont compete with the hf5 or RE0/REZERO but for the price, they are hard to kill, and have a very BA like default sig...
for higher end, look for iem's that have smaller nozels klipsch, etymotic, vsonic(their dba's are shaped similar to many klipasch/ety sets in shape and use small nozels, you may need to trim the 3rd flange on the triflange 1/2 the people i know who have tried ety triflanges(and similar) have found removal of the 3rd flange of scoring it made them much more comfortable...but ety's need deep incertion, and for some people thats hard to adapt to, took me a few days to get use to it...once i figured out the tip trim though....i can go months without using them, toss them in and, no discomfort :)
pl50's for their price bracket, and even at brackets 3+x as high, cannot be beat for comfort....i really would love to see them make a metal ver using a higher end dba driver, i would buy that for sure....again the comfort cannot be beat, i have litterlally fallen asleep in them and ended up in the shower before i realized i had them in, cannot do that with any of the other 20+ iem's i have owned...not a single one....