Good Inexpensive Phones

[tjohnusa]

If you want to get some great info on headphones checkout headfi.org It is a very active sight and you can find info on anything headphone and accesories,amps,cables and the like. Be forewarned that this can be a very costly sight because you won't believe the cost of some of this equipment. I have gotten by relativley cheap with only spending around $400 on 4 sets of headphones, a tube amp, portable amp and cables. My main IEM (in ear monitors) are Sure E4C and I also have Creative EP630 that I traded for a set of Senn CX300 (they sound very similar). A great feature there is the for sale forums, I have bought most of my gear used because many members buy things to check them out then get rid of it to buy something else. Happy Listening!

[CrowdAds]

[krosenqu]

Originally Posted by PureSkillz

Oh wow! This list is great! And their all so cheap too!
Has anyone bought the Koss UR20? Those look super awesome! I'm just wondering if anyone has any personal experience with those and if they'd recommend those pair of headphones.

I have these headphones. They fit great, sound pretty good (for the money), and are covered by Koss' no questions asked guarantee. I actually just sent mine in about two weeks ago and got them back this week. Except they were a brand new pair

I love Koss. But after comparing them to my Sennheiser HD-280s, the Koss' are a bit heavy on the bass and lacking in the trebel-mid range. If your used to stock headphones though, the Koss' will blow your mind. The did for me when I got them when I was 13 Just don't put on a pair of Senheisers

[tstarn08]

I'm an active head-fi.org member, and anyone looking for the best ear buds for their Sansa players for $50 just have to pick up a pair of Yuin PK3 ear buds (available at head-direct.com, and not many other places). This is a small e-tailer, so be patient. But these buds are a fantastic value, even at $50. They used to be $39, but the price went up recently.

Very hard to find high-quality sound in ear buds or canalphones under $50 in my view, and I have owned them all. Now, down to three sets of portable phones: PK3s, Altec-:Lansing im616s and Sleek SA6s.

But you can't go wrong with the Yuin buds.

[XCV]

I have not owned many pairs of IEMs, as I used to just use the crapphones that came with my player, due to a lack of financial resources. Then I got a pair of V-Moda Bass Frequency IEMs. For thirty dollars on Amazon.com, these sound nearly as good as some $100 headphones, and have decent highs and mids, with a perfectly deep and heavy bass. There is also a one year warranty. Not to mention the CNET editor's choice award that they won. You can even get them in a plethora of colors, from bright red to green and orange. I would have to say that these are the best sub-$100 phones on the market, sure to please all but the most zealous audiophiles.

[dfkt]

Originally Posted by XCV

I have not owned many pairs of IEMs, [...] I would have to say that these are the best sub-$100 phones on the market, sure to please all but the most zealous audiophiles.

Quite the bold statement... give the $57 MylarOne X3i a try sometimes.

[Jack4L]

Originally Posted by tstarn08

Very hard to find high-quality sound in ear buds or canalphones under $50 in my view, and I have owned them all.

Can get the im716s for 49$ still. Atleast on ebay, and amazon.com.

[GumbyX84]

Originally Posted by dfkt

.....................

• Koss KSC75 - Clip-on style, heavy bass, good mids and treble. One of the best sounding $10 phones available (can be modded for even better sound)

..........


(This thread is a work in progress... feel free to contribute!)

Adding new URL to KOSS mod: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/kra...-ksc75-124243/

If this was already posted, sorry

[dfkt]

Thanks GumbyX84, I fixed the link in the first post.

[cpchan]

Originally Posted by dfkt

Thanks GumbyX84, I fixed the link in the first post.

I have added this mod:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/sim...-maybe-232714/

also.

Charles

[tapeworm00]

A question...how would the Mylarone XBi work on a Cowon D2? I was thinking of buying some new headphones, and wanted to go for in-ear monitors, or maybe even some portable closed system phones (I have open ones and need to crank the volume up when jogging and walking). My budget is quite low, but with some "serious saving" I could get something up to the XBi's. I was wondering, though, if the D2 has enough energy to power up those earphones, or if I needed something lesser/else. Your advice and recommendations are quite welcome! Thanks.

[dfkt]

Originally Posted by cpchan

I have added this mod:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/sim...-maybe-232714/

also.

Thanks Charles, much appreciated.

Originally Posted by tapeworm00

A question...how would the Mylarone XBi work on a Cowon D2? I was thinking of buying some new headphones, and wanted to go for in-ear monitors, or maybe even some portable closed system phones (I have open ones and need to crank the volume up when jogging and walking). My budget is quite low, but with some "serious saving" I could get something up to the XBi's. I was wondering, though, if the D2 has enough energy to power up those earphones, or if I needed something lesser/else. Your advice and recommendations are quite welcome! Thanks.

The D2 works fine with the MylarOnes. They would work on any other player as well, they're very sensitive and efficient phones. Well, FWIW, since the D2 is among the strongest amped players out there it works with most big headphones as well.

[tapeworm00]

Great, thanks a lot for the answer!

I think they'll be my next buy. I can't wait!

[JK98]

Originally Posted by dfkt

• Sennheiser MX 400 / MX 450 / MX 500 - Not much bass, good mids and treble for the price, decent soundstage. The MX-500 have inline volume control. All three come with a nice winding case.

The Sennheiser MX400 and MX500 provide plenty of bass, but are a bit treble deficient. The MX450 and MX550 are very bright and lacking in bass. I am hoping that the newer Sennheiser earphones, the MX560 and MX760 have the best of both types. I haven't seen a review of them yet. I have been using the MX400 and MX500 for a number of years, and think they are great buy at under $15. It seems like the newer models of Sennheiser earphones are continuing on a path of greater efficiency when compared to the MX400 or MX500. On low powered portables, you might wish for a bit more volume than the MX400 or MX500 can provide.

[dfkt]

Originally Posted by JK98

The Sennheiser MX400 and MX500 provide plenty of bass, but are a bit treble deficient.

I had the MX400 for almost 10 years now - they have no bass whatsoever, unless you push them really hard in your ears (and keep applying pressure).

[JK98]

Originally Posted by dfkt

I had the MX400 for almost 10 years now - they have no bass whatsoever, unless you push them really hard in your ears (and keep applying pressure).

The bass is very dependant on the fit. If the fit is too loose with any earphone, then you won't get much bass. Were you using them without the foams? The foams help tighten the fit. If the fit is too loose, then people try other foams or rubber rings around the earphones to tighten the fit. With the foams they came with, I get a pretty snug fit. I guess your ears are probably much larger than mine(mine are a bit on the small size), so the fit is probably much looser on you than it is on me.

[dfkt]

They have no bass to speak of (and definitely not "plenty" as you wrote). Doesn't matter if you use the foam or not, and my ears are on the smaller side as well. Several of my friends have the MX400/450/500 as well, and none of those earbuds have a decent amount of bass for anyone. They're just open-backed earbuds, so there isn't that much of a fit difference for people anyways, contrary to in-ear phones.

[JK98]

If you do a Google search of sennheiser MX400 reviews you will see that there are many others who agree with me that the MX400 has plenty of bass and is balanced on the warm side. The MX450 is entirely different though and has very little bass and is balanced on the bright side. Are you sure your friends weren't using an MX450 or MX550? It is wrong to lump the MX400 and MX500 together with the MX450.

The bass on the MX400 is not the same as that on a good full sized closed headphone such as the Sony V6. It does however provide plenty of bass when compared to other earphones in the same price range.

[dfkt]

Since I do the headphone reviews on here, I tend to trust my own ears.

The MX400 have no real bass. They have a hump at maybe 150-250 Hz, which is no bass, but low midrange. And you only hear that in quiet surroundings anyways - since any street noise or similar will drown out those frequencies with ease, due to their open earbud design.

The 450 and 500 don't have anything going for them either, but I was specifically talking about the MX400, since those are the ones I know best.

I don't say those Senns are bad earbuds, cause they aren't (especially considering the price), but bass is not what they're about.

[JK98]

For that price range though, which earphones provide more bass? Of course the MX400 won't provide bass like a good full sized closed headphone such as the Sony V6. When I said they provide plenty of bass I was speaking in comparison to other $25 and under earphones. I should have said so explicitly.

[dfkt]

So don't say "plenty" when there isn't. The Sony 818 have more bass, FWIW...