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Interesting you say that:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/r...5-09-a-383617/

Guess how much the NE-7M goes for? $50.
HA's review was done with default tips.

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I actually considered the NE-7M before I made my decision. I ruled them out for two reasons. One was because they don't work with my mp3 player; they have a specific incompatibility with the Creative Zen. Second was because in HeadphoneAddict's later review of the Westone 3, he mentioned that the X10 was his next favorite universal, so (though I don't want to speak for him) it sounded like over the long term he very much preferred the X10 to the NE-7M. The X10 also has a big plus in comfort and fit.

So, my statement stands, that I don't think I would have been happy with $50 earphones. Or at the very least, I think spending 4 times as much got me a better pair of earphones.

IEMs have advantages and disadvantages. The major attraction to me is the sound isolation and tiny size. Major disadvantages include the potential for miserable microphonics when the cables rub against your face or your clothes and the need to keep your ears really clean. Seal of the tips and tip selection is critical. On the whole, I've gotten better sound for less money with over the ear phones, but who wants to use these while walking or exercising? With IEMs, cheap dynamic drivers sound better than cheap armature drivers. However, multiple driver armature phones have sounded quite balanced--they just cost more. Only the TripleFi's have given me the base boom and extended high ends that you might expect from a good pair of speakers.

One thing you will find--the headphones make more impact on your sound than the bit rate you use to rip your music once you get to quality bit rates.

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That's like saying "man, beer sucks, I've tried Bud Lite and Michelob Ultra and they both sucked!"

That's not quite how it works. There is good beer out there and there are good IEMs; you need to try both before pronouncing judgement. Though to be honest I've been out of the universal-fit IEM game for so long that I don't really know the market anymore and probably wouldn't be the one to make educated suggestions.

Based on several of your recommendations, I ordered the Nuforce NE-7M and got them on Saturday. And they are fantastic! They sound great, just like I want them to sound, and they also look very classy and refined.

And not only does it come with three pairs of rubber tips, but it also comes with a foam pair, which was a nice addition.

Finally, I was very surprised that the music controls on the mic (play, pause, FF, reverse) work with my iPod! I wasn't expecting that. I've heard the mic works with the BB Curve, but I haven't had a chance to try that yet. Hopefully it does, but regardless, these are an excellent pair of earphones!

Thanks again!

Now that you have made your purchase, I would stay away from this place. Pretty soon you will decide that maybe their might be something better out there or they will break or your bored one day and magically a $500-1000 pair of IEMS will be teleported to your door by the UPS man and your credit card statement will never know what hit it.

Welcome to Broke-Fi!

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lol, I usually do tend to stay away so I'm not tempted by the next best thing.

The big things with IEM come down to these factors:

1) the quality of the seal. If you can't get a decent seal the sound quality falls off DRAMATICALLY, to say the least.

2) The design of the IEM itself. I'm right now listening to a pair of JVC HA-FXC50-B IEM's and much to my pleasant surprise, JVC's claims of better sound by putting the driver as close to the eartip as possible (essentially the driver sits inside the ear instead of inside an enclosure just outside the ear when you wear these IEM's) is actually true, with surprisingly clear and tight bass (it's not as deep as the Sony MDR-EX90LP's I also own, but it's not as "boomy" either). At US$29 from Amazon.com, they're quite a bargain, to way the least.

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Mind you, the higher-end IEM's do tend to like to be controlled from a decent quality portable headphone amp like the iBasso D2, so that is the reason why I've successfully resisted the temptation to buy a higher-end IEM like the Sennheiser IE7, Shure SE420/SE530, Westone 3, or Ultimate Ears Triple.fi 10.

Decent seal is very important, the way to seal may differ to everyone. For me, I can't put tips too deep inside, sound always seems muffled to me. You could always fine tune your position of tips in your ears, like tilting them to little left, the thing is even you seems to get a decent seal, the sound still may not go through ear canal directly, fine tuning help you to know