New Portable Setup

Mansize_tissue · 12 Apr 2008 at 22:26

For a while I've been using rubber bands to attach my iPod to my Corda Move and had to use a silly mini-to-mini cable straight out of the headphone-out.

My portable setup has now had some nice additions:
- LOD connector to female mini-jack
- Cable (made a few hours ago)
- Atrio M5s (replacing my Creative EP-630s)

Okay, it isn't the best portable setup in the world and the cable isn't exactly great, but at least I don't have to worry about everything falling apart when I'm carrying the thing around!

iPod --> Custom Cable --> Corda Move --> Atrio M5

iPod --> Female LOD --> Custom Cable --> Corda Move --> Atrio M5

I'm still not too happy carrying about £370 worth of equipment around with me, but at least it sounds good!

Hxc · 12 Apr 2008 at 22:37

I swear you seem to do exactly the same as I do/want to do! A900s, living in Norwich, and now Atrio M5s!

What do the M5s sound like? I've been tempted by them so badly but I'm struggling to justify £100 on portables.

Mansize_tissue · 12 Apr 2008 at 22:52

Haha!

The M5s are really good actually. I had a difficult time choosing between these and the Etymotic ER-6is, but I'm glad I opted for the former. I think the Etys would have been way too bass-shy for the sound signature I was looking for, especially now I've listened to the M5s! I didn't realise how horribly-muddy the bass was on me EP-630s until I tried these, the low end is so much tighter and more controlled. Overall, the sound is much more balanced which is exactly what I was looking for.

I haven't been getting on well with the stock bi-flange tips, though. I think they must be too long for my ear canals as I struggle to insert them very far, and they don't provide a very good seal. In fact, with the medium flanges, my old EP-630s provide more isolation and almost rival them in sound quality, too. I was actually disappointed with them when I first tried them, but this changed when I tried the foamies. These, as you'd expect, actually gave a proper seal and allowed me to enjoy these IEMs in all their glory. They're just too much of a hassle to insert when on the move and need replacing pretty regularly.

As a temporary solution, I'm using the smallest bi-flange tips with the largest (bottom) flange folded over and slid my EP-630 tips onto them. This is a worthy compromise as, although the sound quality doesn't match that when using the foamies, inserting/removing is much easy and the isolation/comfort is better than when using the stock bi-flanges.

I have a set of Shure olives and grey soft flex tips on the way though which I'm eager to try out.

What's your current portably setup like?

Hxc · 12 Apr 2008 at 22:59

Current portable setup is non existant unfortunatly, sold it all off due to underusage, but I'm starting doing some walking/jogging the like soon so need something. Do these stay in the ears well? I hear they have a wire that bends round the ear to keep them on.

Mansize_tissue · 12 Apr 2008 at 23:04

Yeah, they have some memory plastic tubing around the wire which maintains its shape when bent. Personally, though, I prefer to wear them straight down as opposed to over the ear. How I wear them they do stay in well, and they stay in place even better when worn over the ear plus microphonics are reduced.

In fact, when deciding which IEMs to get I ruled out all those which had to be worn with their cable over the ear. Had I have considered these, I may've ended up getting something like the Westone UM1s or Super.fi 3s instead.

Do you want IEMs or canal phones, and do you have a preference regarding driver type (armature vs. dynamic)? For jogging, an IEM with an over-the-ear cable would probably be the best option as, in general, they stay in your ear better and microphonics are greatly reduced.

Hxc · 12 Apr 2008 at 23:07

Really don't mind on canal vs IEMs, but dynamic is prefered, just need to justify the large cost of M5s, and a new mp3 player to go with them!

Mansize_tissue · 12 Apr 2008 at 23:09

There's an ebayer in the US I believe who's selling the M8s for something like $160. However, if you offer $130 he should counter it and ask for $140 which makes them much more affordable. Of course you then have to factor in shipping and possible import duties.

Hxc · 12 Apr 2008 at 23:16

After shipping and import it's gonna work out about the same; and the M8s are ugly ;P

Mansize_tissue · 12 Apr 2008 at 23:29

Hxc said:
After shipping and import it's gonna work out about the same; and the M8s are ugly ;P

I wasn't too fond of the M8s either, they look a lot more tacky.