A List of Good IEMs (In Ear Monitors), Canal Phones, In-Ear Phones

[dfkt]

Originally Posted by gino_76ph

the problem (ive heard) with Sennheisers are when you walk you can hear your feet "thumping" the ground. and when you stroke or touch the cable you can hear it. got the AKG 324P but since im a "bass-ey" type of person i won't reconnemd it. im thinking of getting the Sony MDR-EX85 or the EX90 now. but any more sugestions?

The K324P are exactly the same housing as the CX300 or EP-630. They all are OEM phones made by Foster Japan. So the noise/microphonics level should be the same on all those models.

[CrowdAds]

[gino_76ph]

you know i use various EQ settings depending on the music. but i usually use my custom EQ settings and the Rock settings. because i had a Sony Walkman (and a Sony MDR-EX082 buds that came with it) before so im "dependent" on the Sony-style of sound with solid mid-high range bass and crisp treble. AKG for me doesn't provide that. any sugestions?

[gino_76ph]

a year ago i bought the Sony Walkman Video NWA-806 and it went with the MDR-EX082 earphones with it. i consider myself a Sony-type of person as the sound of it's Walkmans (paired with Sony buds) are excellent and nothing compares. fast forward to 2008 i sold my Walkman and bought the bril Samsung P2 MP3 player. didn't liked the earpphones that went with it so i bought a new pair of AKG 324P in-ear buds. the mid & long range bass especially in loud volumes regardless of EQ settings become distorted and not "solid" enough for me as i also consider myslef a bass-ey type of person. treble was fair. i bought this buds mainly because of the (surprise...surpise) reviews here and it apparently belongs to the "noise-cancelling earphones " category. opened it and tried it once it arrived thru the post and i was amazed and very impressed. very solid and clear bass and treble. cancels outside noise when your commuting to & from work (or everywhere). audio output is near 99% compared to the Walkman's and the sound holds to it's own even on full volume. believe me the P2 is my 5th mp3 player in 5 years (!)and the EX85 is my well...5th as well and i know what good sounds sounds like. forget the other. this buds does the job for you. Go Go Get It!!! you won't be disppointed. i wasn't. im happy with my EX85.

[dfkt]

Our Shure SE530 PTH review is up.

[Hodgie]

Nice 1 DKFT!!!

How do they stack up against the atrios?

[dfkt]

They're better, except for the sub-bass.

[Hodgie]

But not worth 3x the price of the Atrios??

How much would you think the Shures are actaully worth?

[WalkGood]

Originally Posted by Hodgie

But not worth 3x the price of the Atrios??

How much would you think the Shures are actaully worth?

Seeing that future sonics are selling for $179.00 and I’ve seen the se530s for $275 to $317.00, I paid the latter :/, it’s far from 3 times the price you think. And yes, they’re worth the bit extra if you’re not looking for earth shattering bass or highs that break glass … btw, excellent mids

[dfkt]

Yes, if one finds the SE530 for a reasonable price, it's a great purchase.

I updated the list in the first post of this thread... BTW, it's the 69th thread (of over 30000, atm) ever made on ABI, over 2 years old, and still going strong.

[threads]

Hey dfkt .. noticed u have updated the list. Wondering if u should link to Aardvark's CX300 user review here and ZenChick's AH-C351 review here?

[dfkt]

Great idea, Threads - glad to add them.

[Utew]

dfkt,
Thanks for your reply to my (?) in the article comments for your review of the SE530's. I've waffled so far on purchasing IEM's for numerous reasons, but these particular Shures have a certain allure, that I can't quite place my finger on. Certainly I'm not being rational here, but purchases can be like that.. Though I feel a bit better informed now. I'm also drawn to the Klipsch offerings.

Amping is out of the question, for me as it negates the portability factor, though the benefits are worth the added bulk, in certain circumstances. Quality BT wireless headphones would be my preferred buy, but the choices are marginal (at best) and limited in selection.

Again, Thx for your reply... now to ponder... ponder... ponder...

[dfkt]

The only rational things to spend money on are food, clothing, and a roof over the head, I assume... so it's all quite relative.

If you like their looks (which I don't), if you're no extreme basshead and don't need an abundance of treble quantity (but still quality), if you listen mostly to acoustic music, rock, and so on - they're certainly for you. Midrange and clarity are really exceptional on the SE530.

As I said, you could try some cheap (or not so cheap) impedance adapter, which should fix a lot of issues. Not much money spent, and a lot more portable than an amp.

Bluetooth is yesterday's (tabloid) news - Kleer is where it's at.

BTW - I might sell my SE530 soon, wink, wink.

[Utew]

Originally Posted by dfkt

The only rational things to spend money on are food, clothing, and a roof over the head, I assume... so it's all quite relative.

Bluetooth is yesterday's (tabloid) news - Kleer is where it's at.

BTW - I might sell my SE530 soon, wink, wink.

Soup kitchen, plastic trash bag attire and a park bench.. who needs that other stuff you mentioned?

I dunno, I still hold out hope for a good wireless set.. not sure Kleer can gain the momentum needed to become a standard, perhaps Ozmo/Osmosis/Osmium? Then again.. perhaps not...

You winkin' at me there buddy?
At the current time a nice new set of IEM's may get postponed in favor of a new desktop... my ancient P-4 Northwood is showing signs of strain... think I'll flip a coin...

[Aardvark]

Originally Posted by dfkt

BTW - I might sell my SE530 soon, wink, wink.

Hmm.......soooo good that you can't live without em??

so what next?

[markscreename]

I purchased my T10 to make my work day a bit more enjoyable. I work in a manufacturing plant where we are required to wear hearing protection so the ear canal style headphones seemed ideal. I first got a set of the JVC air cushions at Circuit City for about $30, sound quality was great and they remained comfortable even after 9hr days. I had no complaints with these other than a slightly short cord. Apparently it wasn't short enough and it snagged while i was mowing the lawn, breaking the connection to the left ear bud. I then purchased a set of Creative Labs EP-630's on newegg.com during a great sale for about $21 shipped. The sound quality seemed to be slightly better than the JVC's but that's where it's advantages end. Just getting them into my ear was difficult, the rubber inserts had more friction than the silicone ones provided by JVC and it hurt my ears to push them in, fortunately the inserts are interchangeable between the two brands. With either insert they do not stay in place and require adjustment about every 20 minutes to get the sound right and block out ambient noise during this adjustment I can hear a loud popping noise that makes my ears ring. I still use them for listening when I'm sitting at home but at work I still prefer the broken JVC's to the EP-630. I hope my experience can help others choose a good set of ear buds. JVC spent the time to engineer a set that contours to the ear holding them comfortably in place. The 630's just look like a modified version of the traditional ear bud headphones.

[joyounghoon]

I'm thinking about buying a IEM. But I have a $100 Budget.

And I've just seen the Control FreQ, custom IEM. They're the cheapest Custom IEM, so I'm have a few doubts. And I never heard of them, so more doubts.

I'm currently using a Koss porta pro, and is satisfied by it. I like the Bass (Although I wish there was a bit less of it. Not too much, but a bit.), and it's sound.

So, is it any good?

[dfkt]

You can read a lot about the FreQs here: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/fre...adface-283673/

If you like bass, the Control FreQ will probably be a not so ideal choice. Single armature drivers generally can't do satisfying bass.

[lgilmore23]

are the creative zen aurvana in ears any good

[babya]

Sony MDR-EX85 are fine-but Sony's are best bought only when they are on sale, to avoid inflated retail prices -that's when I bought mine.
On the other hand,
Apple's in-ear headphones are inferior to the 2006-current version of their earbuds-weak sound. not worth tracking down.