In-ear buds, Bang for Buck

Read this from joker, and many questions will be answered. The summary cart in Post #8 will save some reading time and help you focus on a few IEM's (In-Ear Monitors). You'll probably have a few new questions as a result.

Here's an excellent description of the "lingo". (That link is also found at the top of joker's Post #1).

Look at the Table in Post #8 and pick the 5-10 top rated IEM's in your price range - let's call it $70-100 USD. Then go read those reviews and look for the differences - some are more bassy, some are more balanced, some are best with mid-range versus those with reduced mid-range ("recessed"), some are more detailed and treble-focused ("analytical").

Based on the wide range of your musical preferences, I'd bet that you'd like a more balanced sound, so the Sunrise Xcapes, Fischer Silver Bullets, Head Direct RE-ZERO, MEElectronics A151, ECCI PR401 or Brainwavz M3 would be excellent.

After being frustrated with a recent purchase of some JVC "Marshmellow" ear buds (too stuffy in my ears, felt claustrophobic), I continued my search today.  I wanted to try some Etymotic MC5 ear buds, but was unable to locate them locally (the Apple store had the other models, just not the MC5s).  So, I was a bit bummed, but did not stop persisting.  The Etymotic Web site has Best Buy listed as an authorized retailer.  However, they don't have any of the ear buds on their Web site, nor in the stores.  Instead, I picked up a pair of Klipsch Image S4 ear buds.  They were the same price (U.S. - $79.00) that the Etymotic ear buds would have cost.  My push for the Etymotic was mainly due to their good reviews (some criticism about bass, etc.) but, they do seem to have a heavy-duty kevlar reinforced cable that could stand up well over time.

Most of the music I listen to is of the same genres as you do.  I'm finding that with time, these Image S4 ear buds are really starting to open up and blossom nicely.  I just had Patricia Barber on - and, needless to say, my satisfaction on what I heard made me quite happy.  I'll keep running these a few days more and see what additional thoughts I can come up with one them.  However, so far, they're starting to lean a bit over to the "keep" side of things for me.

The UE10 are definitely a great value soundwise, but their fit is absolutely horrible...they would drive me crazy if they were my primary earphones...

If you have concerns about the durability of the Klipsch S4 ear buds, please keep in mind that they do have a 2-year replacement warranty on them.  I'm not sure what dealing with their customer service would be like, or what the turn-around times would be, but I'm sure if they cared about their name, they'd handle things smoothly.

As far as comfort goes, the S4 ear buds came with 3 different inserts for your ears.  What I noticed about these is that the inserts seem to grab quite nicely to the ear bud casing.  With previous ear buds (Sony, Sennheiser and Skull Candy), the inserts would slip on / off quite easily with a slight tug.  In some cases, this resulted in lost inserts over time.  Also, the S4 buds seem to be fitting quite easily into my ears and I don't have to crank them in or push them in too far to get a great grip - and a good, sealed fit.

I've been pushing some Norah Jones and Wynton Marsalis through them.  With Wynton Marsalis, I'm enjoying the sounds - percussion is great, the trumpet is sounding nice and the upright bass can be hear distinctively and not muddy.  With Norah Jones, the piano sounds about as realistic as it can - when it comes to headphones or ear buds.  If given a preference, I'd much rather be listening to my modified Grados through some form of amplification and pushing at least a FLAC file as the source. However, for those moments when I don't have that access, these S4 ear buds are fitting and filling in quite nicely.

Quote:

Originally Posted by a03dugga 

Hmmm, im thinking of the sw-xcape's, good SQ and comfort, comfort is important to me.

Be careful, SW-Xcape version 2 are not the same as version one.  Totally different sound to version 1.

Another option?

ViSang VS-R02 for £25

https://www.bargainpile.net/visang-vsr02-inear-hifi-earphones-p-236.html

Quote:

Originally Posted by musiclee 

I posted a similar topic

I think UE Triple Fi 10 are great bang for buck

You are joking right?  UE Triple Fi 10 cost £220.  The guy max budget is £50.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by a03dugga 

Is it a bad difference in SQ, or good?

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/537076/new-sunrise-sw-xcape-ver-2