In-Ears for around $100 (HF5, SE215, EPH-100, R-50) with poll

I love my Etys...

Both Etymotic ER-4PT, and a set of the MC5s.

HF5s are on my list though.

Jim

You're going to be very hard pressed to find a pair of IEM's with good soundstage especially for 100 bucks.

 

I can only vouch for the Etymotic HF5's since that is the only pair I own and I have to say that they are amazing for detail and clarity (also for their superb isolation). The IEM's have very good instrument seperation and handle fast songs very well.  However they do well with all genres that I listen to which consists of rock, pop, hip-hop, jazz, electronic, and folk.  However like all IEM's the soundstage is very narrow.  Perhaps you should invest in a pair of portable heaphones if you want a bigger soundstage.

Of those 4, I've only had the HF5, but I can vouch for the level of detail and clarity.  Bass won't be overwhelming, but can be EQ'd to be sufficient and satisfying.  Soundstage is not too wide because it tends to "put you" on the stage with the musicians, rather than out in the audience.  It is very well-built and solid feeling as well.

Clarity and soundstage: you just quoted Rock-it sounds R 50

And think about PFE 111-112-132 (all the same) for clarity, flat response and details which is probably in the badget range.

I have or have had all of thoughs and the R-50 is the best one for sound quality and soundstage along with a good build quality.  Seriously for $120 find me a better sounding IEM because you can't.  I'm all about IEM's in the $100 to $200 price range and I've had and heard many and the R-50 pretty much blows the rest out of the water.  The EPH-100 would be my 2nd choice on that list and its sounds good but the R-50 sounds quite a bit better imo.  It has better highs and mids while the EPH-100 has more bass impact but the soundstage of the R-50 is better even though the EPH-100 still has really nice soundstage.

 

Your right about the HF5 being to clinical and its bass response is by far the worst of your list.  The SE215 is the worst one of the bunch but its not a bad IEM just not as good as the others.

 

Anyone looking for a balanced sound with great clarity and a awesome soundstage along with a good bass response the R-50 is the way to go.  Really theres no bad sounding TWFK based IEM but the R-50 with its touch of warmth is both consumer and audiophile friendly imo.

 

Astro Turf is there any non Ety IEM you listen to?  The ER-4 is a great IEM for analytical listeners but every IEM on this list is better than the MC5's.

If you want something very "airy" , with lot of separation that's what the eph-100 offers, and it looks almost like open full size. However it might not be the most realistic soundstage, if you are looking for the illusion to listen something "outside". At least from a musical point of view, they hit the nail on the head I think.

They might be less convincing when watching a movie.

I don't know about these listed, I bought my wife the MC5's and I have the HF3's, and Triple FI's . . Last night I was switching through mine and comparing to my HD580's. My Triples needed allot of eq to clean the sound and clear up the sound stage. . The HF3's soundstage was equal to my 580. The instrument separation was great, it did place me center stage. I was listening to Dr Chesky's new album with these.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

Good choice because the clarity and soundstage are top notch along with a bit of warmth which really makes them very musical.

 

I feel like I'm the R-50 pimp around here because I recommend them so much but they're just so good its hard not to.

Edited by Techno Kid - 7/10/12 at 10:51am

I really do not see how this rings true. The HD580 are open backed have an enormous soundstage, that not any IEM can get even close to. I mean i have tried every IEM said to have a big soundstage, the Sony EX1000, Senn IE8, Aurisonics ASG-1 just to name a few. The HF5 is actually rather small in soundstage and does not really get out of your head.

 

Anyway on topic, i recommend the R-50 or GR07, i think the R-50 will be more up your street though.

For me it's the feeling of "congestion" that matters the more, and there's not a single hint of congestion with the yamaha eph-100.

They can compete with open headphone imho.

 

Yeah that doesn't make any sense to me at all.  I had the HF5 and its nowhere near what I'd call a large soundstage or even average really.  Its funny how people listening to the same thing can hear them so differently.