Best headphones you've ever heard/used

I bought the Shure e5C -
I still have the ety ER4P.
I use a Xin mini amp with bass boost and both sound great once you get the external ear canal fit right. I found the larger foam ear buds that are made for the ety's to work best in terms of bass response. I also had custom silicone ear plugs made by an audiologist but found them too finicky to insert and somewhat uncomfortable unless positioned perfectly. The foam expands to conform to the shape of any ear and seems to get as good sound isolation.

The noise generated by the ety cord is annoying and the fact that they stick out of the ear canal makes sleeping on the side difficult for plane rides. I read a post somewhere which describes a way to get the ety cord over the auricle and use of a rubber strap similar to the Shure configuration to get rid of the cord problem?? Has anyone heard of this??

As far as sound quality, the etys have the best top end detail and clarity but at times can sound overbrite and etched(for lack of a better word). The bass is clean and well controlled with no boomy quality but still is weak compared to the Sures or over ear head phones.

In a direct head-to-head comparison (IMO), for general portable listening, the Shure e5C are fantastic but sound muffled and at times boomy compared to the Etys. However, the richness of the midband can't compare and I think is a more real to the source rendition. I will keep both and use them interchangably.

I also have a pair of Grado 80s and think thse are fantastic and combine the best featrures of both of the above canal phones. For home listening and in outdoor quiet places, nothing is better for the money!!!

anyone tried the new Qualia (Sony) Headphones?

try the grace headphone amps...I own the 901 and senn-600 and it is a beautiful thing

To reiterate what Marakanetz posted here on 7/8/04, Stax Omega beats all! For $3,000 for the headspeakers and driver, I hope so.

Agree a lot with dbk. Since my last post I purchased a Total Airhead amp and boy does it make a world of difference: also use a Cardas cable specifically designed for the IPOD-amp connection which improves things incrementally. I own the Shure 3C, EC5 and Etyomic 4NS. Btwn the Shures, E5C outperforms by a wide margin, as it should be given the price difference: soundstage, clarity, definition, treble, bass, u name it. Btwn E5C and Etyomic I feel its a matter of taste and comfort: The former certainly accentuates mid bass and warmer in tone: but resolution I think is just as good but given the mid bass bump can camaflouge things at times. Etyomic sounds more clear and a more open sound stage but can be analytical at times...and is less good in terms of just rocking out if that is what you want. I use both depending mood, music and gave my 3C's to my son. Remember one of the keys is to have recorded your music in Apple's loseless compression or non-compressed file formats such WMA or via Exact Copy. You can't correct faults at the source. One thing that was not mentioned in terms of comfort, Etyomic sticks out and cord issues are sometimes (only sometimes) as some mentioned earlier, but note the E5C is designed to be hooked into your ear from behind: wrapping around from back to to top of ear and into it: if you wear glasses then sometimes it can become a bit of a balancing act. The other full gear (?) headphones are all very good and superior in a lot of cases but are bulky and not great for travel. I would also add neither the E5C or the Etyomic models are good for say running etc if that is what you require. Shure's 3C is probably a better bet in that case (and using a smaller player such as the new Nano IPOD etc).