Best earbud match for Cowon players...?

[Azfargh]

So... I'm quite happy with my Koss Porta Pro, since is the best cost-benefit around Brazil and sturdy enough to a clumsy guy like me. But sometimes, when I'm dressing a suit to more social events, I wish to listen something when I'm on my way there (don't have a car yet) and look good with it.

Best match for a suit...? Earbuds! Low attention and easy to put in a normal pocket... but I don't enjoy sound isolation. Streets in my city requires double attention.

Here is the thing: I'm a old tiger when it's about earphones, headphones, etc etc... I'm quite aware about most of the stuff around, unfortunately, only by reviews... Brazil isn't the best place to find such things for test, like Hippo or any other more obscure product or something like.

What you guys recommend?

Budget: nothing above 200 dollars... I'm not rich, but willing to invest in quality.
Location: Brazil (but I can import!)
Category: earbuds (if possible, WITHOUT sound isolation or BAD sound isolation)
Primary location of use: All-around... mostly while commuting
Preferable SQ or Sound Signature: Vibrating bass (I don't know the right term) simulating a subwoofer effect, but vivid, great for orchestrated music
Media: Eclectic. But most of them are orchestrated music and eletronic as well.
Source: A Cowon player. Thinking about i10 or a Z2.

Thanks for your time!

[Azfargh]

UPDATE: Budget around 150 dollars...

[WalkGood]

I don't think you need to spend so much these days on good sound quality, some of the lower priced IEMs sound dam good! I tested the MEE M31s with my cowon i9 and was impressed with their bass. I think that most people who love bass with good midrange and spark in their treble reproduction would be happy with them. By now mine have been sold mine because I don't like them for use during high activity sports, although for other uses I truly enjoyed them. That said I've seen them from $21 to 35 dollars and at this price range they're hard to beat. Here's amazon pricing and a while back I did write this review. Good luck in your search and let us know what you end up buying and how you like them ...

[Azfargh]

Originally Posted by WalkGood

I don't think you need to spend so much these days on good sound quality, some of the lower priced IEMs sound dam good! I tested the MEE M31s with my cowon i9 and was impressed with their bass. I think that most people who love bass with good midrange and spark in their treble reproduction would be happy with them. By now mine have been sold mine because I don't like them for use during high activity sports, although for other uses I truly enjoyed them. That said I've seen them from $21 to 35 dollars and at this price range they're hard to beat. Here's amazon pricing and a while back I did write this review. Good luck in your search and let us know what you end up buying and how you like them ...

My good sir...! GREAT review... this one has a nice and stylish cord (looks tough too, good thing for me), nice and timid design... now the best part was:

"So are the M31s a miser’s dream for bass lovers?

I would say yes to those looking for good bass response, plenty of punch, roar and thunder in the low end without losing any serious pace in the other frequencies. They come across as lively and fun to use beating out many other contenders in the sub $50 dollar price range bringing out the miser in all bass lovers …".

My best and first contender for an nice earbud is this for now! But one of them is this one:
http://www.earphonesolutions.com/aja...eadphones.html

Do you (or anyone) have any tips about this one?

[JK98]

He said he doesn't want isolation, so that pretty much excludes IEMs. While some IEMs like the M31 and Panasonic RP-HJE450 are ported, they still isolate somewhat. For less isolation, get traditional earbuds like the Sennheiser MX880 or MX580, or Yuin PK2 or PK3. The traditional earbuds don't have such great bass though. The RPHJE450 has plenty of bass.

[WalkGood]

Originally Posted by Azfargh

My good sir...! GREAT review...

Thank you, I strive for honesty in my reviews and state if I like an IEM/headphone or not. The isolation is about medium so you should be able to hear outside street noise as long as you don't upgrade the tips to foamies or use double/triple flange tips.

Originally Posted by Azfargh

My best and first contender for an nice earbud is this for now! But one of them is this one:
http://www.earphonesolutions.com/aja...eadphones.html Do you (or anyone) have any tips about this one?

While I have not tested the a-jays you link here, I stay away from two things on any IEM I use. One - ribbon cable which they have and I don't like. Two - I hate asymmetrical cables VS even-length cables with a passion, although the ones you linked don't have them as they're ribbon cables and I have not seen asymmetrical on those yet. So even if they sounded good I'd pass, but that's just me.

Why don't I like ribbon cables? Well they're hard to wear over the ear which cuts down or eliminates cable microphonics and if worn up front, they do produce unwanted cable noise. They also do not coil up as compact as standard cable IEMs.

Originally Posted by JK98

He said he doesn't want isolation, so that pretty much excludes IEMs. ...

The m31s I suggested are medium isolation and should not be a problem for in city use as I stated above. Besides the a-jays he linked are also IEMs, so I think he wouldn't have issue with my recommendation. I based my recommendation on the sound preference he wrote in his OP and I really think for the price these would easily exceed his expectations as they do sound very good IMHO ...

[sublimit]

I thought i could add to this thread instead of making a new one since the topic is almost identical.... hope you don't mind Azfargh?

So i have a Cowon player and have always been in the bracket $120-$200 IEM's and never been in the position to experience the higher end.

it's not so much a question of portability anymore, and i would consider closed headphones if recommended. i'd like to also note that i will not be getting a portable amp.

I spoke over the phone to a guy from a shop about this topic, and my question was about the Ultimate Ears triple.fi 10 pro's being marked down from $749 to $375. I was told that they're phasing out their UE products due to them being bought out and having inferior products.

He did recommend either the Shure SE535's or the Sennheiser IE 80's, both being $399 and $444 respectively

One more thing... anyone familiar with WHSLE.BIZ? i did a search for prices on the S IE 80's and they have them for $220! pretty decent discount, and shipping is $18 to Australia, but are they reputable?

Whats more i'm wondering about closed headphones and if you need an amp to drive them, or are certain ones viable with a Cowon?


Price-range: $300-$500
Location: Australia, i have a preference to buy from http://www.minidisc.com.au/ but i'm flexible on that
Category: IEM's or even closed headphones (i don't know much about the latter and am here to learn
Primary location of use: Commuting and minor physical activity(cleaning the house, gardening, work etc)
Preferable SQ or Sound Signature: Bass is important, but in the context of quality. It doesn't have to stand out or be able to go very loud. I like the subtle-ness of bass in Jazz. likewise with the mid-range and ambient spectrum. I'd like it to go loud, but not at the sacrifice of SQ
Media: Electronic music thats not popular. I love minimal, ambient, experimental, some elements of DnB and dubstep, atmospheric music, Jazz, stuff from late 60's 70s like the Beatles and Pink Floyd, and good old Radiohead even. But my bench mark for testing out Sq would be Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada and defiantly Autechre with their sonic and lush soundscapes
Source: A Cowon J3

Thank you, and again, i hope you don't mind that we share this thread

[Azfargh]

Originally Posted by sublimit

I thought i could add to this thread instead of making a new one since the topic is almost identical.... hope you don't mind Azfargh?

So i have a Cowon player and have always been in the bracket $120-$200 IEM's and never been in the position to experience the higher end.

it's not so much a question of portability anymore, and i would consider closed headphones if recommended. i'd like to also note that i will not be getting a portable amp.

I spoke over the phone to a guy from a shop about this topic, and my question was about the Ultimate Ears triple.fi 10 pro's being marked down from $749 to $375. I was told that they're phasing out their UE products due to them being bought out and having inferior products.

He did recommend either the Shure SE535's or the Sennheiser IE 80's, both being $399 and $444 respectively

One more thing... anyone familiar with WHSLE.BIZ? i did a search for prices on the S IE 80's and they have them for $220! pretty decent discount, and shipping is $18 to Australia, but are they reputable?

Whats more i'm wondering about closed headphones and if you need an amp to drive them, or are certain ones viable with a Cowon?


Price-range: $300-$500
Location: Australia, i have a preference to buy from http://www.minidisc.com.au/ but i'm flexible on that
Category: IEM's or even closed headphones (i don't know much about the latter and am here to learn
Primary location of use: Commuting and minor physical activity(cleaning the house, gardening, work etc)
Preferable SQ or Sound Signature: Bass is important, but in the context of quality. It doesn't have to stand out or be able to go very loud. I like the subtle-ness of bass in Jazz. likewise with the mid-range and ambient spectrum. I'd like it to go loud, but not at the sacrifice of SQ
Media: Electronic music thats not popular. I love minimal, ambient, experimental, some elements of DnB and dubstep, atmospheric music, Jazz, stuff from late 60's 70s like the Beatles and Pink Floyd, and good old Radiohead even. But my bench mark for testing out Sq would be Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada and defiantly Autechre with their sonic and lush soundscapes
Source: A Cowon J3

Thank you, and again, i hope you don't mind that we share this thread

I don't mind mate... sharing is the main lesson to internet people, right?

Well... for cost-benefit with bass-driven sound and good audiophile quality, the basic: Koss Porta Pro is the pick. For considerably all-round great sound quality, also the basic Sennheiser PX 100-II... the design is quite sexy.

Now, if you are setting the bar for the medium-weight categories... the sennheiser IE 80 is already a great choice. But also I've heard well about Phonak Audeo PFE 132... says that is very accurate for instruments sounds and also delivers a nice bass... ranging from 250 US dollars.

I strongly recommend small headphones or iem... not exactly for portability, but much more for fashion aesthetics... closet headphones usually are big and only street wear match better with this kind of headphones. Believe me... having a good time looking bad by increasing the size of the head to the sides isn't the best feeling... smaller and simpler designs can match with a much larger clothing repertoire.

I have no info about closed headphones, but based on my old tests from cheap professional DJ headphones, I was able to make it work with my oldie Iriver T10 (was 5 years ago).

[Danneq]

I would definitely say Blox TM7. They blow all other earbuds out of the water. Amazingly detailed with huge soundstage and pretty good bass.

Unfortunately Blox only make them in small batches which sell out quickly. You can keep a lookout there for news: http://bloxearphone.com/

With shipping included you can get a pair for $148.

Sennheiser recently released MX985 which replaces their former high end earbud model MX980. I've got the MX980 and it's almost as good as the Blox TM7. The bass is slightly less well defined and the fit is worse, but otherwise the MX985 is a good option.

A great entry earbud is Yuin PK2. You can get it from around $50 (up 'til around $75). The sound is airy and the soundstage is expansive. They are far from bass heavy but bass is pretty well definied. The best bet is to look on Ebay for the PK2.