I remember reading a while ago that some people that couldn't afford good speakers or headphones would invest in a pair of Etymotic ER-4's.
 
I think it's the same situation now, except ER-4 is (cheaper) than then, around $200, and there are new fantastic IEM's now around $150.

Quote:

zachderieu said:

What are the best ear monitors for about 150? i can go a bit up if i need to, but id prefer to be 150 or under

I'm looking so i can feel the bass, but not a super muddy, but a clear, distortion free sound, with all the ear monitors i've gotten before, the mids and highs were all horrible, and the bass was over bassy, please help.

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I am not the sort of a person who picks horses for the courses (genres), rather I try to decide based on how an IEM's signature closely matches my preferences in presentation. I'll try to recommend anyways:
 
GR07 does satisfy your requirement of non-muddy bass with good mids and highs. Technically, it is a solid performer which does not feel shy even when pitted against the best. Personally, I find it intriguing and interesting, but it never gets the love my FX700 gets. If by requiring to "feel" the bass, you need a greater quantity, GR07 may not suit you. It has, what I'd call the right amount of bass for a balanced signature - very good, but without disrupting the signature in any way - any less, it would have been considered bass light, more would have been detrimental to the balanced nature. They have good separation, good texture and a better than average sound stage (it lacks a bit of depth though). But the troubles begin in the sibilance range. They are not overly "hot", but annoying for an otherwise good IEM. Comfort wise, they are one of the better ones out there (for my ears at least).
 
As for TF10, despite their fit and comfort issues, still have a few tricks up their sleeve. Their thick bass gives a feeling that they are muddy at times. Mids are a bit recessed, but treble is very good as is sound stage (especially depth, which GR07 does not have). I have compared GR07 and TF10 in my review sometime back.
 
DBA-02 does not have the kind of bass you can "feel". They may have good quality, but the decay is too quick to present bass notes like GR07. Assuming B2 is very similar to DBA-02 (except for minor differences noted by shane55), same thing holds true for B2 as well.
 
If you place high priority on the bass (especially sub-bass), you can consider Atrio MG7. I've not heard them, so no comments.
 
As for IE7, I think it is somewhat similar to GR07, but has been described as "boring" by a few.
 
Or you can buy EX-600 and join the FOTM bandwagon . They seem to be very good IEMs, but I just can't figure out if they will satisfy your need for great bass. Quality wise, it might, but I usually don't have a clear picture about the quantity until I hear them myself.
 
PS: IMHO, The term "best" is always relative, subjective and also a moving target. Otherwise, there won't be a head-fi

Originally Posted by kiteki /img/forum/go_quote.gif

What is there left to analyze in the sub-$150 category? EX600 vs RE0?

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It's not a competition, this isn't car racing, it's not about what's under the hood and what simply driver faster. This is a very subjective hobby and therefore the best way to give someone advice is to educate them on what each competent model sounds like in detail, the way Joker does. Because every IEM is flawed you work with what the OP will compromise with and go from there. If I would have bought the GR07 or DBA02 based on what the FOTM is, I really wouldn't have pushed my satisfaction to the limit. I enjoy the HJE900, FXT90 and RE-Zero more than both and all these are actually at a lower price point, it's all about preferences. 

No, it is car-racing, everyone loves driving the ck10!!
 
...Until I read this comment "it's sound like scratching a nail along a window on a cold winter morning" LOL.

Esanthosh's post would be what recommendations should be like, not just new-toy hype.

CK10 like every iem has it's haters.