Concerns regarding durability and practicality of wearing IEMs over ears

[cnhardwick]

Originally Posted by Sykes

I just got Meelectronics M2, ordered for $18 including shipping from the US to EU. While very low-end, their build is excellent. They really don't seem like they're going to fall apart, or the cable gets damaged easily, like in most IEMs I've seen (especially at this price).

Since durability is my no.1 concern in portable phones, I think I'll go with this company again when I'll want to move up (probably soon, the sound is nothing to write home about). Maybe M6 next time. I guess if the phones are designed to be worn over the ear, they should be pretty quick to get in and out.

The MEE M2 is not bad. The only problem I remember is where the housing and nozzle meet they came unglued. Not a big deal, nothing a drop of superglue wouldn't have fixed. That said, MEE sent me replacement when it happened so even that was not necessarily. Good customer service.

[CrowdAds]

[WalkGood]

Originally Posted by cnhardwick

... Good customer service.

I agree with you, they replaced the m16s I tested out very quick so I'd say they care about their rep with customers to keep good customer service ...

[aleex]

If anyone's interested, I settled for the Eterna. I had them in mind from the beginning, so I'm not surprised. Ordered from Frogbeats, 50 EUR + 7 EUR shipping.
Maybe a bit early to praise the store, but so far, so good. Nice site, in most cases fair prices compared to other retailers within EU and good shipping rates. They started out in June, so they haven't got a wide selection of IEMs yet, but it's still good and includes many popular ones, both older and new.


I'm a little bit worried about their size, feels like it might lead to a poor fit. I've heard some doubts about the tips, but can always get aftermarket.
Frogbeats seems to have great return policies though, should that be needed.

Thanks for all your tips, inputs and recommendations. I may chime in here once again in a couple of days to comment further on frogbeats service and perhaps a little on the IEMs too.

[WalkGood]

aleex congrats on the new IEMs, let us hear back how you like them ...

[aleex]

Well, I've had them for a while now, if anyone's interested. I've had some (expected) fit issues in my right ear, so I changed to my Xears N3i's foam(I think...?) tips, and it's a bit better. May be getting aftermarket, but this'll do for now.

If you have small/differently shaped ear canals, I'd look for alternatives as the nozzles are a bit on the large side. On the other hand, I haven't tried any aftermarket tips so it's hard to say. It's not that huge of a problem for me, but may be for others.

As for sound, I like them. This is a rookie's opinion and without A/B comparison, but I'd say N3i and Eterna are close signaturewise . SQ-wise it's hard to say as I haven't listened to my N3i for 12 weeks, but they're (at least) not worse.

Over-the-ear works great, though I only wear them like that when walking.

Overall a good purchase if you want something bassy and fun. People with small ear canals may want to look for alternatives, but apart from that, I recommend them.