So, to interject in the Lossless v. Lossy discussion, anyone have any good experience with IEMs? I normally use IEMs due to my piercings and the pain most headphones cause. I'm just trying to find a pair that fits my preferences.
I usually listen on a Zune HD for portable, or at my computer and through a FiiO E5 pocket amp. I also usually use Calamity Trigger from the BlazBlue soundtrack CD for testing since it has electric guitar, bass, drums, plus orchestral string and wind instruments and each has unique sections and combined sections.
I've got a pair of Shure 530's, and they have really clear mids, though the highs are a bit aggressive but not overly so. The lows are pretty pitiful though. If I flip the FiiO's EQ to bass boosting, it helps fill out the lows some. Overall they tend to lack body the soundstage feels far away. I also easily notice hiss from all my audio sources, though I'm not exactly running all that high end gear. I suppose if I ran them through a better amp I'd get better results.
I also tried a pair of Ultimate Ears TripleFi 10's, and hated those. The bass and low end was absent, the mids and highs were cold, albeit clear. I preferred the Shures over these.
My current mains are Ultimate Ears SuperFi 5 Extended Bass. These give me the lower end body I like without being punchy, and highs are pretty good but the mids get muddled. They fit nice, but also slide out over time so I have to keep refitting if I have much head movement.
Anyone have any other suggestions? Either for a different set of IEMs, or maybe a good amp (and/or USB DAC/sound card) if that'd help. I'd also take suggestions on headphones, assuming the ear pads were large enough to go entirely around my ears and industrial
My headphone experience is pretty limited to A900s (pretty good sound, though again a little bass light) and some Grados that I can't remember the model (too painful to use).