Good $20 In-Ear 'Phones

[Briankealing]

I'm looking for some good $30 in-ear 'phones, and I'm thinking of getting the JVC FX66W which I found for really cheap on Ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/JVC-HA-FX66W-Air...item3a5d9c1f22

I read around on abi though that apparently they're not very good. I'm looking for some sort of noise cancellation and the best possible sound quality for $20 in-ear 'phones. I've looked at the two lists and read around on abi but I can't seem to find the best one of the bunch (not sure if the CX300's are better).

So, are the FX66W's the best $20-ish in ear phones, or if not, what would you recommend? I'm willing to stretch my budget around, but I can't top $30.

[CrowdAds]

[etch04]

go for MEElectronics M6.one of the best in-earphone under $20.

[Briankealing]

So I did a bit of researching and apparently the new and improved version of the FX66's, known as the FX67s are a billion times better.

http://www.amazon.com/JVC-HAFX67B-Cu...3675499&sr=1-6

Really great reviews on Amazon.

http://forums.ilounge.com/ear-headph...something.html

An in-depth review of a guy who's super impressed.

I found them for $15 on ebay, which I think is quite a steal.

[IDvsEGO]

I am a big fan of the aircushions. very comfy and pretty good sound.

[lestatar]

In this price range, I have heard good stuff about:

MeElectronics

SoundMagic

JVC Marshmallows [bought my mom a pair]

If you can get em outside of Asia/EU, look at Philips. I think they make some quite nice, underrated gear across the board and they have a wide selection of lower cost IEMs/headphones.

EDIT:
Oooops, omitted VModa - some good stuff there too

[FreeZ5]

Originally Posted by Briankealing

I read around on abi though that apparently they're not very good.

Not sure where you saw that. The FX66s are not as highly recommended as some more expensive earphones but I don't recall any strongly negative reviews. I haven't tried the FX67s, but I believe that they are basically the same as the FX66s with some cosmetic changes. I don't recall anybody owning both providing a comparison.

Originally Posted by Briankealing

I'm looking for some sort of noise cancellation and the best possible sound quality for $20 in-ear 'phones.

The JVC FX-66/67 Air Cushions do not have any noise cancellation features. Perhaps you mean high isolation. I have the FX-66 Air Cushions, and do not feel that they have high isolation.

BTW, I am currently using V-Moda Vibes ($15US or less from eBay store 128headphones). According to dfkt's chart they have low isolation. I notice very little difference in isolation between the FX66s and the Vibes, but feel that the Vibes are more comfortable and a little 'brighter' sounding. However, I'm not set-up to provide good comparisons between earphones.

Steve

[FreeZ5]

Lestatar has just mentioned the JVC FX-33/34/35 Marshmallows (while I was preparing my first post). I own the FX-33 Marshmallows, and do not feel that they are as comfortable as the FX-66 Air Cushions. Difference in isolation...very little to my ears. BTW, I replaced the standard Marshmallow tips with Ultimate Ears tips (one of the recommended mods to Marshmallows is to change the tips).

Steve

[Briankealing]

First of all, thanks for the responses, guys.
Yes, I mean high-isolation (noise cancellation is super expensive, from what I've seen).

I looked at the FX67 reviews for comparisons with the 66 and 33.

On Amazon, someone said

...build a higher-fidelity version with the same fit design.
The 67 is a step in that direction. It has a slightly larger driver diaphragm than my beloved 66, providing slightly more bass response.

The guy on ilounge said:

...these are a big improvement over my HA-FX33. First, the change in driver body shape makes them actually fit securely and comfortably without frequent fiddling like with the original driver body design of the HA-FX33 & HA-FX34. They now fit like higher end IEMs that rest along the bottom of your ear cup and then slightly extend into the ear canal. Second, while they're still a bit on the bass heavy side for my tastes, the sound quality is now very good - I can listen to music on these

and

Unlike the HA-FX35 Marshmallows, that I find a little bass heavy even given the improvements to the current iteration, these are "just right" on the bass with a more or less balanced spectrum.

So I'm guessing the 67 is the way to go, then, given that it's better than the 66 and 33/34/35.

[IDvsEGO]

the aircushions trade isolation for comfort. they let in a fair amount of ambient noise. I have some marshmallows but cant speak on them since they are just in my collection to let other people borrow. I have about 10 minutes of listen time in on them.