First post. Love head-fi.org. Old man has learned a ton - thank you all.
Just purchased a pair of the MEElecronics A151 ($47.99 on Amazon). Listening to Folrence and the Machine (this moment), on Sansa Fuse v2 (no Rockbox), EQ flat,Fiio lineout cable to Nuforce Icon Mobile amp low gain setting, into the subject iem's, MEE A151's w/ Comply T100's. As best I can tell, from much reading on this site, and several others, my system is pretty basic, definitely not high cost, but not cheap either. Total system cost $225, not including the music, which is flac. Really like these iem's right out of the box compared to the MEE M11+ I was using before. Not even close to a hi-fi expert, but the music sounds and feels much more full, if that means anything or not. I can hear all the details as before, for sure, but everthing feels warmer, smoother, fuller. This is 10 mins out of the box compared to hundreds of hours on the M11+. Isolation is great with the Comply's (first time I ever used them, worth every penny - $15 for 3-sets) which may be a major factor. Will stick a set on the M11+ and confirm.
Howl is the best song on this CD, just came on, holy crap this sounds really good. "....like some child possessed, the beast howls in my veins...", what incredible vocals. Sound 1000x better on the A151's. Can only compare to M11+ (only others I've ever owned).
Okay it's been about 15 mins and I haven't typed a word. "Between Two Lungs" never sounded better. Outstanding. Best $50 bucks I've spent in years.
I have to tell you, I just purchased the 8GB Sansa Fuze last week, $80, the Icon Mobile about a month ago, also $80. Had the M11+ for a couple years playing music from my Blackberry, always flac. Got the amp to help, but wanted a player that I could dedicate to music only. BB is a work phone, e-mail, all that crap I want to get away from when Iistening to music, so I investigated players. Was never going to buy an iPod - hate the software, nothing against the hardware, other than its overprice. Don't get me wrong, I'll pay for the brand if it's worth it. I considered Cowon i9 (no dedicate line-out), and dreamed about some of the other true hi-fi DAP's I've read about, especially the Colorfly. Beautiful, though can't be sure I would be able to appreciate the sound to cost benefit. Like me, my ears are old. So, I made the decision to go cheap to start. Sansa Fuze has mixed reviews, but enough positive for me to give it a shot. Flac capability was a must and will eventually RockBox when dedidcate line-out is fully supported on v2 Fuze's.
Anyway, I now had a system worth listening to, but wasn't all that impressed. So, figured I needed better head gear, plus it was the only part of my system that wasn't new. I started looking for a better set of iem's for a moderate price. Read all the reviews and with my budget, narrowed my choices down to... HeadDirect Re-Zero, Fischer Audio Silver Bullets, Sunrise SW-Xcape and the A151's. Basically, $70 - $100 range. When I found the A151's for < $50, I took the gamble.
What a huge difference in system sound. Clearly, everyone on this site who claims head gear is the most critical system component, knows exactly what they are talking about. Sound is not even close to what it was, yet only change was the iem's. I can't compare the A151's to any of my other potential's listed above, but they blow the M11+'s away. The M11+'s (have a microphone) will now be dedicated to work as a head set for my BB phone. Waste not, want not.
Will keep listening to the A151's. If there's a signigicant change over time, I'll follow-up. Thanks to all who helped me choose this system. Love it... for now.