Earphones / Headphones: Where to try, what to buy?

ive been getting heavily retargeted on the polaris' for weeks, this is information i do not need

Probably going to be selling my Sonys if you’re interested. Only a couple of months old and haven’t been worn much at all.

Have you heard them? I am intrigued but I've read that they're pan flat and are essentially monitoring earphones, which my Westone's are already, so I'm assuming the sound signature is relatively similar.

They're also relatively similar in price to the RRP of my Westone's so I feel like it'd be a sideways step for me. Then it's just the jump to the Andro's. The green casing isn't helping me not want them. It's glorious. There is a site here, headphones.com, that has a 365 day return policy though so could always order a couple of pairs and have a listen...

How much? I've actually caved on some Bose because I found it in midnight blue. Go figure....

Right at the other end of the spectrum, I ordered some VE Monk Plus's following internet hype.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01J0S4AAS?pf_rd_p=330fbd82-d4fe-42e5-9c16-d4b886747c64&pf_rd_r=NE50142YSDKWBRJ7GFZ4

£10. Insanely good value. Surprisingly hard to drive though and really do benefit from an amplifier. Bass isn't that present due to the earbud design and there being no real seal, but the soundstage on these is huge for a tenner. I mainly got them to use when cycling as they let all of the sound in and am very happy with my purchase.

nah i think thats one of my issues in the UK most places dont take returns on IEMs for 'hygeine' so it just puts me off entirely

@rogan and there's no physical stockists.. so dumb.

Although interestingly, I was probably only reading about the Polaris. The Polaris 2 is apparently a very fun listen and not in any way flat.

ive ordered from an ebay shop that seems to be reputable and takes returns, the IO and going to give it a 'fuck what the internet says I want to know for myself' listen. Might try the new polaris after that if I dont like these.

I have a pair of B&O H4s and a pair of bose inears i need to sell when i settle on a new pair so i dont feel /too/ bad about the costs

£225? Been working from home recently so haven’t really used them.

I'm sorry @Roosterrun , but the difference in comfort between the Boses and Sonys is night and day for me. I bought a pair of QC35 II's 3 months ago and wear them roughly 20 hours per week, I tried a friend’s 1000XM3 out of curiosity and I hated them. The feeling of the foam against my ears was annoying immediately and I can't imagine wearing them for more than 10 minutes. I don't think my ears are particularly big or flappy either.

Sadly you can buy them new for less... Not much less but still new.

You may need to go lower if you're hoping to sell.

No worries, I’m not particularly keen to sell them as I do really like them. Just not getting the use I thought they would.

I’ve only ever worn these for an hour at most and find them very comfortable. One thing I do find is being- ahem folically challenged- is that I can feel them pressing on the top of my scalp. It’s not uncomfortable, just that I’m aware of it.

The noise cancelling and sound is better than the Bose - to my ears anyway.

I had used Bose my whole life - went to John Lewis to try on the QC-35s, the Bowers and Wilkins P7 and the Sennheisers. Sony was my favourite. Strokes/Folks etc.

Tried my mates Sonys on this morning. Padding seemed good. Not firm.

He says his biggest issue is accidental control use (with his chin) when it's around his neck. Says its really annoying when it happens.

@rogan to scratch my itch, I ordered some Fiio FA7's. At their retail, I reckon they're a steal. Same price in the UK as the U.S. at £249. Definitely worth checking out. Or the slightly cheaper FH5's.
(FA7's contain 4 balanced armature drivers, the FH5 has 3 balanced armature and 1 dynamic driver).

These FA7s aubjectively 'better' than the CA IOs IMO. Detail extraction is quite astounding. I'm hearing things my Westone's, which cost twice as much, didn't pick up. Soundstage is not huge but instrument placement is incredibly precise and direct. These are an incredibly direct pair of IEMs. Everything is just there. Instrument seperation is very impressive too. I can very clearly place a guitar, a bass and drums and none of them are bleeding into one another.

Fit and finish on the 3D printed monitor casing is very impressive and the cable is really quite astounding, too. This cable is up there with the best. The right angled 3.5mm jack is an absolute beast.

I tend to use Johann Strauss's Die Fledermaus: Overture as a test track as I know it so well. Upon listening, the instrumentation is far more lifelike than any other IEM I have used. The instrument placement here really comes to life as there's so much going on.

In other music, bass drums really kick you in the face with impact unlike any I've found from other IEMs. The thing I'm having most fun listening to are tracks with heavy string sections. Mica Levi's Children from the Jackie OST... the strings are really something to behold and I can almost feel the bow crossing the cello's right in front of me.

I'm genuinely pleasantly surprised with this purchase. These will definitely replace my Westone's, much to my surprise. They sell them in a more toned down translucent grey, but I've always wanted a pair of red and blue custom IEMs since I joined Head-Fi probably a decade ago, so the red and blue was too tempting to resist.

I started writing this after only listening to a few songs. The more I listen to the more impressed I am. My goodness, these are really impressive. Who needs CA Andromeda's when you can get these for a fifth of the price? :-) I still want them, but I definitely want them less now.

Oh, source is Pixel 3a headphone jack or computer with Dragonfly Black. Spotify and Tidal were used.

Still listening... No idea how at £249, they're outdoing a £500 pair of pro IEMs... I'm simply astounded at the detail retrieval. I'm literally sitting here shrugging. How is this possible? How have I been missing so much when using the Westone's and a pair of Shure SE425S? These are mental good for the money.

Even more notes: bass is incredibly fast. It's there, then it's gone leaving no trace. Everything just sounds so tight and well organised. Good mastering sounds wonderful. Poor mastering is painful to listen to. What an addictive listening experience. Seriously impressive not only for the price but impressive full stop.

have ordered.. should arrive tomorrow with the IOs

I've ordered a Fiio A3 to try partly based on comments on this thread - but I'm now thinking maybe I should have stumped more for one with DAC

Sounds like a dumb question, but do you actually need an amplifier? Which headphones and source? I purchased a Fiio Q1 Mk2 yesterday to replace my ageing Dragonfly. It's a very nice little unit.

So I'm using a Samsung S10 with my AKG 451 on ears. And occasionally the AKG in ears that came with the phone. I thought I'd get better all round quality with one of these amps, but a DAC might be useful for production monitoring when I'm using the USB soundcard in my mixer (quite noisy)

Yeah, I mean those are very driveable headphones so whilst they'll get louder, they don't need amplification. You will absolutely benefit from a DAC more than an amp.

meh, yeah thought so. Ta

@JB have had the FA7 and the IOs in for an hour each, and switched between for a few songs. initial thoughts i much prefer the IOs

the FA7s are FAR warmer and definitely has more 'obvious' bass but the IOs sound incredibly fun. Acoustic tracks on the IOs I have never heard anything like, re:stacks bon iver is.. moving..