Assistance - Good SQ Mid Priced IEM's with in-line Mic

I really don't think the UE SF5 was designed for trance-type genres. It's got a good soundstage and forward midrange but rolls off slightly on either end and sounds a bit thick. The S4 is very popular though I'm not a fan. Very aggressive earphone with lots of bass and lots of treble. Can be slightly uncontrolled at very low frequencies and harsh/sibilant up top. The Monster Turbines are also fine - I like them more than the S4 though $140 is a bit much. Not the most accurate earphones, the positioning is not very precise, and treble power is lacking, but other than that they're very impressive - fast and resolving. 

Another one I'd look at is the new Thinksound TS02+mic. I think it sounds a least as good as the Turbines do but of course costs a healthy $40 less. Very warm but at the same time crisp and spacious sound.

I listen to a bit of trance, especially during my workouts, which is why my comments were more trance-specific. I think the soundstage on the TS02+ is better than that of the Turbines and at least on par with that of my Turbine Pro Golds. It's not that the Turbines don't have a soundstage but they don't do the greatest job of pinpointing instruments within that soundstage - the regular turbines especially sound a bit 'vague', if you will. I don't  think accurate positioning is as important for trance as a general sense of space so no huge disadvantage there for Turbines.

The MC3 is not one I'd use for trance. It's a very accurate earphone but it doesn't really get my foot stomping - a bit boring, if you will. Others feel differently so I decided not to comment on it initially. 

Lastly, advertised frequency range means jack, period. The problem is measurement methods, which vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. Some manufacturers, especially mainstream ones like Sony and JVC, try to maximize their advertised specifications to attract customers (who mostly know nothing about audio and think bigger numbers are better). The consumers themselves are part of the problem as they are encouraging this by indeed buying the product with the largest numbers. More specialized manufacturers know that their customers put the right amount of weight on these specs and don't try to 'fudge' the numbers. For example the frequency range on the $10 JVC Marshmallows is 8 - 23,000 Hz while the frequency range of the $450 triple-driver Audio-Technica CK100s is 20 - 18,000 Hz. 

That said, manufacturer specs can often be used to figure out how models relate within a manufacturer's range but that comes with practice and experience. 
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by vfreeze31 

Thank you for your reply, I appriciate your comments. Do you listen to similar Music?

 

Do you think the Thinksound have more of a sound stage then the Turbines? As I have read, people think the turbines have no soundstage.

 

Also, I notice you did not mention the MC3.

 

Can you also advise me, do you think advertised frequency range means little when listening to the sound quality?

Here's a pretty good list of IEMs with mics and linked reviews, although it has not been updated in a while, so doesn't include the TS02's that joker recommended. The Monster Turbine Pro Gold and Copper are also supposed to have a mic option ("ControTalk"), but not sure if that ever happened.

You can try the Meelec M11P+ as well. Not accurate IEMs, but i find them very layered and engaging, with a good amount of bass. though the soundstage is intimate, a bit small. Its a bright earphone, which should work very nicely with your preferred sound signature.

About the amount of bass and its solidness, it all depends on your definition of bass. If you find the CX300s alright, this earphone should work plenty well, as it has lesser bass but still quite a good amount. The bass is also fairly tight.

Actually i find that if you get a 3.5mm extension with a mic on it ( very much like the Sony Ericsson stock earpieces and the Samsung ones), you can really open up your choices. The only problem is the excessively long cord but a cable organiser should be able to fix it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vfreeze31 

I was wondering, do you have any recommendations, as having reviews are nice but for someone to say they thing this one is a bit better for this situation helps a lot.

If I was buying IEMs with a mic/remote as a priority right now, I'd probably spend my money on the Thinksound TS02+mic's.

I've liked the NuForce NE-7M's but agree with his statements about their high degree of coloration now that I've got a little more IEM experience, and they fail in your desire for "clear and crisp highs to really hear the melodies."  That said, the comprehensive and consistent sets of reviews offered by joker and ClieOS are considered as the best sources of information around head-fi.

I JUST got the Etymotic Research mc3 headset and once I switched over to the Comply Tx-100 ear tips , it is now my favorite IEM.  Sure, the bass is not as strong as the Klipsch Image S4i, but it is very clear and "tight," unlike the somewhat overemphasized and slightly muddy bass of the Image S4i. And midrange and treble are natural-sounding and clear, too.