Welcome to In Ear Matters!

Welcome to my first serious blog, friends and strangers.

I have always been interested in headphone, but never serious enough to actually pursue further into this rather expensive hobby. Like everyone else, I used to buy my headphones from general electronic stores that carry big brand names... that was till I finally reached a point where I started to question myself: 'Are there better options out there?' It was early 2004 when I was still in the U.S. finishing my last year of university that I joined Head-fi.org, a fast growing (still) online forum dedicated for headphone users - which later it proves to be a decision well made (well, at least I think so... after all the money I spent :) ). I joined the forum mainly to seek out more information on a pair of (back than) newly released, rather expensive in-ear-canalphone. Few weeks later I received my US$130 Shure E3c and started my personal quest of finding 'the best' canalphone, a quest that is still very much in progress, though the goal is slightly different.

To my own surprise that it is not till the last two years or so after I start to accumulate more and more knowledge that I realize that my original quest is rather flawed in a sense - Headphone is a tool for music reproduction, and a tool is only going to be good if it can get the job done. For the users, finding the so called best, most advanced, most priced, or most hyped headphone the market can offer is often not the answer they are seeking. What actually is important here is finding the right headphone to fit into the users' taste and need. Buying an over-thousand-dollars headphone that doesn't perform well outdoor is just as wasteful to an out going person as buying a low priced, cheap sounding canalphone for the home user with his/her home theater setup. In the end, it is this process of finding the right headphone for the right job with the right price that proves to be the most costly, time and money wise.

As canalphones becomes more and more popular among headphone users, I couldn't help but realize that many people are stepping into the same shoe that I once in and asking the same question that I once did, thus comes the main purpose of this blog - to share my knowledge and experience about canalphone that were once shared to me by others, and perhaps even learn something from you guys. Here you will find general knowledge and news about canalphone, plus some of my reviews and personal thought. Hopefully all of these will make it easier for you to find your own path, or at least gives you an early start.

Best Regard,
Tai (aka ClieOS)

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Update: Oct. 2014.

As part of an effort to scale down, the intention of this website will turn from being a review blog that aims to provide information into more of a personal blog for self-entertainment and note taking. I think I have spent enough time to chase down a dream and now it is time for something else. It is not a good bye per se, but it is still a change no less. As part of the change, the comment system will be shutdown immediately. Email for general / generic recommendation will no longer be answered as well.