Hello fellow Klipschers ,

 After a slight break from audio I have decided to try(buy) the finest headphones and earplugs made. Last night I purchased FIVE "earplug" type units(Klipsch X-10,Image-3,Shure530,Grado GR8 and Sennheiser IE-),the UE 11 are custom so it may take a few weeks before I post my review.

 I will be also doing a comparo of full size headphones( Sennheiser HD600/650/800,Grado SR125/225/325/RS1/ PS1000, Denon AH-D5000/7000, AKG 701/702 and maybe one or two more upscale units from the known players).That will come in december. For reference I use my Headroom MAX headphone amp as well as the Grado dual 9V cell powered amp and a class A Creek unit.

 So far from the preliminary listening I can tell the in ear units offer stellar midrange reproduction at the expense of deep bass performance(save for two units that do quite well). For monitoring a few of these in ear headphones are superb,as long as the source does not contain very low frequency content.I have for refrence also five pairs of powered studio monitors from Genelec,Focal,Dynaudio,Adam and Yamaha.

 Sound cards used  are the MOTU 828mk3 and RME Fireface 400 plus I have my Creative X-Fi Fatality (general gaming card).I have also the Presonus Monitor Station and Central Station/remote (switchers for monitors,inputs).

  I will start posting next week my observations, no favoritism here ...if it sounds great I will post about it. If I can hear faults I will report. One thing is a given , all the in ears have audible limitations(these do not distract as they are near the bottom of the frequency spectrum),all range from very good to stellar in the vocal range and upper registers.Insulation contributes to the clean sound as outside noise(even in a quiet room) is reduced . I have not head the UE 11 as I said I should get these in my mitts in a few weeks,and from what i have read i am expecting a near sonic miracle (the price is clearly over a grand with the custom fitting).

  I will post a few preliminary pics shorthly...

 Testing...

I will post pics of the other headphones as i get them (on order).

Any chance to include an Image X-5 in the mix?  I'd be interested to know how it compares in the bass to the X-10 and Custom 3.  Sounds interesting.

 blsamuel,

  I will try to include the Image X-5 too just for the sake of comparison. 

 How do you like the DynaudioAcoustics speakers ?  

 Bill,

  Dynaudio Acoustics  (Dynaudio's pro division) monitors can be best described as natural,open,defined and are capable of world class image and soundstaging.With minimal coloration.  These however do not like wall proximity placement,Yamaha monitors for example can be placed closer to walls with less ill effect on performance.

  In the $1000 range the BM 5A is contender for best price performance ratio with the ADAM A5. The A5 has a more detailed tweeter (some may describe as agressive, it is not is reveals all the good and the very ugly).Both are a joy to listen to.

  These are my new PC desktop speakers.