Well, look at that, I actually bought something I was talking about buying on the forums.
Top row: the incumbents.
Sennheiser HD280 Pro
Sennheiser HD570
AKG K81DJ
Bottom row: the challengers, in order of price
Wicked Little Buds (bought 'em on Yelp for $2.99)
Sennheiser CX300-II
iMetal iM-590
Etymotics ER-6i
Grado iGi
The purpose: to have something I can use on airplanes and public transit that
a) don't compress my head so that it hurts to exist (eg: AKG K81DJ) or otherwise hurt.
b) aren't incredibly heavy and awkward (HD280 Pro)
c) sound good with movies, TV, and music.
d) I can wear with a hat.
The plan:
Using the HD570s as my gold standard (yeah, yeah, you headphone geeks out there...), I'll compare the IEMs using an iPod and my laptop as sources. Coincidentally, those are the devices I'll be using on the plane and public transit. I'll return 3 of the sets to Headroom.
So far:
Tested the Wickeds with Pandora and an IBM netbook when I got them (yes, not the normal protocol, but...). They're pretty much junk. Sound like a boombox. Too much midbass, nothing in the treble. Surprise! Somewhat awkward to put on, but maybe I'm not used to IEMs yet.
Started testing the Grados with iPod tracks (Audioslave, Metallica, Lonesome River Band, Bela Fleck, Blues Traveler, Dire Straits, Moxy Frouvous). Here's my notes:
Midrange/upper bass a little too much. Very detailed, although they seem a bit recessed, depending on the track. Decent bass. Source dependent. No significant cord noise, decent fit w/ regular tips. Easy to put on. Possibly a little pain left ear. Not particularly sensitive. Some stuff I haven't heard before. Better w/ acoustics than electrics. Really want to like them...
Blown away by HD570s. Seriously blown away.
Next up are the iMetals. Mainly because I need to check with Headroom and see how they want me to deal with the heat sealed packages on the Etys and the Senns.
