Ipod upgrade earphones v Naim sound

Dear Andrew,

It is not so much the headphones as the iPod that will never be a patch on th [so called] Naim sound, as the whole presentation is fundamentally different.

Also there is an issue, which you should check on, as to how contiuously the iPod will play through track changes on Opera, where these often occur during coninuous music. There is mothing more disconcerting than a few mile-seconds of silence while the player sorts itself out, with a restart at excatly the moment it left off. This hardly matters in a a symphony, with gaps in the music, but concerti and opera are often contiuous from begining to end...

Just a cautionary observation, you may wish to check.

Fredrik

I haven't used either of the models you mention - I did buy Sennheiser's noise cancelling ones and found them to be something of a terrible waste of money. At the airport the other day I picked up a pair of cheap etymotic type headphones - there was a reason they were cheap

As Fredrik suggests, the iPod is never going to come that close to what you get at home, then again, to be able to take seven hundred cds with you in albeit a reduced for, when you go away is, for my money, worth it.

As Fredrik also mentions, the gap issue is absolutely crippling and, had I known this I might have thought twice before buying. Essentially, when you come to the gap between tracks you'll get a gap of more than milliseconds - it is very annoying and very noticeable. It isn't confined to opera - it ****s up Pink Floyd's dark side of the moon too. Also some symphonies (such as the Sony Bernstein Mahler where each movement has multiple cue points). I cannot think why they haven't addressed this .

To some extent there is a way around this. When you rip tracks with iTunes you can select a group of them (say all of the first movement of a symphony with multiple cue points) and then go to Advanced-Join CD tracks. This works fine for the likes of a symphony, but is less good for opera - think Wagner and you'll get an idea of the scale of the problem - you have an hour and a half track with no cue point at all - or a bunch of gaps. There is a further way round this (whereby you can bookmark various points on each track) but it is a right royal pain in the backside. I only know how to do it for the mac, but if you want further details...... It is, however, worth investigating if there are other MP3 players that don't have this flaw. If you're not going to be playing much opera (or pink floyd) it isn't much of an issue. If you are, think twice.

regards, Tam

p.s. Fredrik - you too should have mail, assuming it hasn't gotten lost in the ether.

I have read some good comments about the Sony MDR-EX71. I think I'll try a pair of those.

I am using a 30gb Ipod - my wife has the 2gb Nano.

I have used Senheiser HD435's (quite old now), and the newer MX500's, both of which are better than the supplied Apple phones. I use a panasonic set fo the gym to cope with sweat, as they are damp proof.

I Have a mixture of encodings on the 30gb (the main reson I purchased it was HDD space), and am well happy with the sound. I have heard both older and recent creative units and the Ipod is better sounding than both. I will not purchase the in-the-ear-canal-sealing type phones due to sensitive ears re pressure etc.

andy c!

I use sennheisser px-100's which for £30 give a surprisingly good performance!

An i-pod running Apple lossless files, feeding Etymotic ER4-Ps via a line-out adaptor and a good portable amp (eg. Total Airhead) will certainly give your Naim system a run for its money (and better it in some areas). I use this combo for an hour or so most days and absolutely love it.

Before we get too sniffy about the i-pod, I'm sure I saw/heard Doug Graham playing one through a 552/500 at a Naim dem.

quote:

Originally posted by Rockingdoc:
Before we get too sniffy about the i-pod, I'm sure I saw/heard Doug Graham playing one through a 552/500 at a Naim dem.

We've done the same with a Gen 4 and 552/500 finding it, well, compressed and lacking dynamics. What you would expect really.

I enjoy my Pod, it's a different experience than listening to a "system".

Jay

My wife and I have matching 60GB Ipods (yes we're really that sad) but whereas she uses Etymotic Research ER4 MicroPro earphones, I (who can’t stand sticking things in my ear) prefer Sennhaiser PXC 300 on ear noise cancelling cans. OK they are not the last word in high fidelity, but travelling across London on a packed / noisy “Tube” I find it the best way to listen to music.

Incidentally, my Wife has just invested in one of the new Ipod “HiFi” speaker docs for the kitchen. Not bad (far better than the Bose model) but I think whoever came up with the name HiFi should be shot!

I tried and did not like the Etymotics - uncomfortable and bass shy in my ears. Koss Porta Pro's at around £45 take some beating IMO. Smooth and detailed and raved about by the guys in the Cornflake shop. They allow me to listen to my ipod for extended periods which is a result in my book.

Me too. I bought Etymotics and now wish I hadn't. You definately need to try them first because they don't suit everyone, but it seems that if they do suit you, they may be unbeatable. I've just been unlucky I guess.

One can get round the gap problem with MP3 players by first combining several separate tracks into a single large track and then compressing them using the computer, e.g., combining into Atto Primo, Atto Secondo etc.

Nick

Thanks for the warning on the "gaps" between tracks. I will have to find a way to deal / live with that as it looks as though mp3 players are here to stay.

What has struck me from what I have read about the Etymotics is the way that some people love them, others hate them. It seems to be mostly to do with the comfort of the fit in the ears. The responses here seem to be split pretty evenly as well.

Has anyone had any experience of the Shures? They seem to be recommended as not so difficult to wear and also (arguably) better sound quality.

just got some ER6i's in black. They're very good far far better than my old Senn' noise cancellers [cheaper too] which especially in flight always caused an aural sensation like my head was turning inside out. If you're getting no bass with the Etymotics it's because you haven't got them "seated" correctly in the ear.

quote:

Originally posted by j8hn:
If you're getting no bass with the Etymotics it's because you haven't got them "seated" correctly in the ear.

That's true, but that can be a nightmare if you have an irregular shaped ear canal. We are not all built the same. I have better results with the foam inserts, but it still isn't giving me the results that £100 investment should give me.

My iRiver H340 also has gaps between tracks.

However, there is an alternative firmware which can be installed (called RockBox).

This is able to play gapless with OGG files, and MP3 files created by the LAME encoder. I guess there's no fundamental reason why this shouldn't be available on all players. Hard to understand why Apple haven't implemented it on theirs.

Note, however, that RockBox for H3xx is still in Beta. It can also be installed on other platforms, some of which are well into production status (indeed up to V2.5 now, I believe).

They're even making slow progress with porting it to the iPod (including the nano in the first release), which I guess will bring this facility to those devices at some distant point in the future. See RockBox for iPod FAQ

The list of features which this alternative firmware can support is incredible. Someone is even looking to port WikiPedia on there!

cheers, Martin

Shure E3c... fantastic at cutting out background noise. I wore them on a 13 hour flight. I could listen to music and sleep with them in. I haven't been able to sleep on planes for years. They sound natural whereas my wife's much cheaper Sony in canal type are bass heavy. They also cut out background noise.

quote:

Originally posted by andrew-hemsley:

What has struck me from what I have read about the Etymotics is the way that some people love them, others hate them. It seems to be mostly to do with the comfort of the fit in the ears. The responses here seem to be split pretty evenly as well.

I, for one, love my ER4S cans driven by a Porta Corda, fed by a Cardas mini to mini cable via a SendStation Pocket Dock to bypass the iPod's volume control. I never go to the gym or board an airplane with out that set up. I have lived with the ER4S(es) for about three years now, and they are the one stable element while everything in front of them has been upgraded.

Norman

"In canal" phones are the way to go. If the Etymotics are too uncomfortable go for these Ultimate Ears
I love my Etymotics, but might well go for the UE-10 too as I am spending more time with my i-pod than my hi-fi these days

quote:

Originally posted by Rockingdoc:
"In canal" phones are the way to go. If the Etymotics are too uncomfortable go for these Ultimate Ears
I love my Etymotics, but might well go for the UE-10 too as I am spending more time with my i-pod than my hi-fi these days

I'm using mine stand alone and also via the line out to my Naim system, I'd say Im discovering and redicovering more these days, than before I had the iPod.

Like one of the previous responders, I have used the Sennheiser px-100 earphones now with the ipod for a few years. Excellent sound, great convenience for travel(they fold up into a glasses type platic case) and cheap! No reason to spend more on phones for an ipod in my opinion.

I use ER6i with an airhead for long journeys. Very good indeed!

Ultimate ears are also a good bet. They have a new 'budget' version, which may be worth a listen:
UE Superfi.3

A vote here for the Etymotic ER-4P took a while to get used to them. Fitted wrong they are tinny and dreadfull but get the seal right and wow.

Also as they cut out so much noise you can have the volume at a normal level.