I've had my NE-6's for just over a month and to be honest, I'm not that impressed with these entry level IEMs. Before them I had only had Skullcandy SBs and before that Skullcandy TiTans. When I first listened to the SBs I got my "woah" reaction, my first pair of "headphones" that changed the way my music sounded. The TiTans had slightly better bass and came with no comply ear tips and now my NE-6s. I am going of memory here as the cheap SK earphones both broke, but I feel the NE-6s aren't that much better. I noticed slightly better isolation and clarity as well as everything outside of bass improved.

Anyways, I'm looking for what's next.

What's the best upgrade option from the NE-6/7s for $150 or under?

$150 and under has a lot of options. What did you like or not like about the Nuforce? Also have you read joker's thread reviewing a bunch of iem's? Most of them are under $150 so should be a good idea of what products you may want to look into.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/m...7-10-a-453836/

I've seen that thread but I'll look it over again, thanks.

By the way, I listen to mostly underground hip hop, rap, post-modern rock, acoustic, and some big beat (electro) but overall I'm pretty eclectic.

It wasn't that I didn't like anything about them, but I think I had unrealistic expectations entering the "true" IEM market. I'd like something with about the same Bass and I'd love a better sound stage, if possible for this price range.

Panasonic HJE900. Tighter bass than the nuforces (going from memory) and definitely a deeper soundstage.

Thanks for the recommendation, looking for a Canadian retailer now.