Looking for new iem's, need earphone advice...

[Heck]

My beloved Shure's crapped out...again. Loose wire or something. Second time I've had a pair of Shure's go bad after having them only 3 or 4 years. I really can't justify spending close to $100 usd for earphones that don't last longer than that.

Here's what I'm looking for:

Price range: $30 to $50 usd.
Type: In-ear, sound-isolating, closed
Use: Varied...home, backpacking, biking, etc.
Sound: Balanced. I'm not a base freak. Would like decent soundstage if possible.
Type of music: Varied. A lot of rock and heavy metal, though.
Source: Cowon S9

I'm currently considering a pair of Sennheiser CX500's for $36 through Amazon, but I'd like to know what else I should be looking at.

[CrowdAds]

[WalkGood]

Thread moved to headphone forum, read this to provide more info, check the sticky threads in headphone forum for some ideas and thread title edited to something more descriptive.

[Heck]

Thanks!

[Heck]

I edited my post to include more info. Thanks, WalkGood.

[Satellite_6]

"I'm currently considering a pair of Sennheiser CX500's for $36 through Amazon, but I'd like to know what else I should be looking at."

http://www.amazon.com/NuForce-NE-6-e...8747159&sr=8-1

These are probably better. They certainly beat the CX300's. I love them, they aren't amazing but they're good enough for me to really enjoy the music. They have a musical sound signature, they're dark but they aren't bass monsters, and they have a pretty decent soundstage. They also isolate quite well.

[cnhardwick]

Getting 3-4 years out of a pair of earphones that are used for things like biking and backpacking actually does not sound too bad. Still, I totally get not wanting to shell out that much every few years. Just a suggestion, but you might consider getting two pairs of earphones. One nice pair for around the house and one cheap pair for biking and backpacking you can replace when ever it breaks.

Anyway, since build quality seems to be a priority and you plan on using them for biking and backpacking, I think the MEElectronics M6 might be good. The over ear design keeps it in place well and reduces microphonics. Build quality is also about as good as it gets in the budget world. Two warnings though: one, many people report having a hard time getting a good seal and two, there have been several people on ABi complain about getting a pair with kinks in the cable. The price of the M6 has dropped to make way for newer models, so it be had for as little as $20 from Amazon.

[nodirectionhome]

I wouldn't bother with the cx500s - you can get better than that, I have the cx880s and never really liked their sound.

[Heck]

Thanks to everyone for the advice!

Right now, I think I'll go with the NuForce NE-6. I'll use these for outdoor activities, as these are a bit easier (financially) to replace. Eventually, I'll get another set of Shure's and just use them for home listening.

Thanks again!

[buffalowings]

another good option would be the brainwavz m1 pro for around $29.99 or their pricier brother (brainwavz m2) if you can stretch your budget