Hello guys,

Recently the cable of my ER-4TP broke, and since the warranty is void, sending them back for repair is quite expensive ($50 shipping + $50 repair) so I will attempt to repair them on my own later when I have time. But that's off the point.

I thought this might be a golden opportunity to try out headphones for a while, however I have actually never used them so I have no idea where to start looking. I will mainly use them on walks, while studying. I'm moving around a lot so I'm looking for something portable.

Budget is ~$300, I can stretch it a bit if required.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask.


Thanks in beforehand!


EDIT: After reading up on the post guidelines I would like to add some things. I listen to all kinds of music, But mainly Rock, everything psychedelic (from Pink Floyd to Tool), but I also enjoy listening to jazz, blues and swing....and my guilty pleasure, EDM sometimes.

I have no other external equipment, but that might be an option. However since they will mainly be used on the move that might cause some problems.

What are you meaning to plug them into? I'm guessing isolation is important, is this true? Is size a real problem?

Personally I prefer IEMs for mobile use (the rare times when I want to take audio on the go), because full-size cans tend to isolate less and be more bulk to carry around. But there are full-size cans that offer decent isolation and can be driven from portable devices just fine - many of them are studio monitors or DJ headphones. If it were me, I'd look for something that folds, is relatively comfortable but also provides decent isolation, and is easily driven - the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro and HD 380 Pro, and Koss DJ100 and DJ200 come to mind as examples. You can certainly get something bigger and more "hi-fi" within $300, like the Audio-Technica ATH-A900X or Koss PRO4AA, but IMO those are just too bulky for mobile use.

obobskivich said:

What are you meaning to plug them into? I'm guessing isolation is important, is this true? Is size a real problem?

Personally I prefer IEMs for mobile use (the rare times when I want to take audio on the go), because full-size cans tend to isolate less and be more bulk to carry around. But there are full-size cans that offer decent isolation and can be driven from portable devices just fine - many of them are studio monitors or DJ headphones. If it were me, I'd look for something that folds, is relatively comfortable but also provides decent isolation, and is easily driven - the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro and HD 380 Pro, and Koss DJ100 and DJ200 come to mind as examples. You can certainly get something bigger and more "hi-fi" within $300, like the Audio-Technica ATH-A900X or Koss PRO4AA, but IMO those are just too bulky for mobile use.

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I will mainly plug them into my phone, hopefully getting the oneplus 2 any day now! . Isolation is indeed important, being used with the ER-44TP which more or less isolates everything has gotten me quite spoiled. I do however realise that I want them to be to be small, or atleast "compressable" since I will be moving around with them a lot, and I don't wanna be that guy with his headphones around his neck (not that that's wrong but yeah). I suppose I need to find a good middle ground.

ghal said:

I will mainly plug them into my phone, hopefully getting the oneplus 2 any day now! :etysmile: . Isolation is indeed important, being used with the ER-44TP which more or less isolates everything has gotten me quite spoiled. I do however realise that I want them to be to be small, or atleast "compressable" since I will be moving around with them a lot, and I don't wanna be that guy with his headphones around his neck (not that that's wrong but yeah). I suppose I need to find a good middle ground.

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I don't have ER-4, but I have the Ety earplugs, and will tell you nothing I suggested approaches them for overall isolation; especially if you factor size into the equation. If that's what you're really after, I'd probably just replace them with another IEM tbh.

obobskivich said:

I don't have ER-4, but I have the Ety earplugs, and will tell you nothing I suggested approaches them for overall isolation; especially if you factor size into the equation. If that's what you're really after, I'd probably just replace them with another IEM tbh.

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Ah don't get me wrong, the Ety plugs are great, but since I'm transitioning more inte EDM the flat spectrum of the Ety is starting to loose it's charm on me hehe. I will check up on the ones you mentioned, thank you!

ghal said:

Ah don't get me wrong, the Ety plugs are great, but since I'm transitioning more inte EDM the flat spectrum of the Ety is starting to loose it's charm on me hehe. I will check up on the ones you mentioned, thank you!

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Oh there are literally tons of bass-heavy IEMs out there - my Denons fit that bill, but I don't think they're made anymore (AH-C751k if you feel like taking a shot on a blind search). There's an IEM subforum that has *lots* more information from people who spend *lots* more time with IEMs than I do. Top-of-my-head I know Monster and Sony to make some relatively EDM-friendly IEMs as well, and I'm certain there are many other options too. :etysmile:

obobskivich said:

Oh there are literally tons of bass-heavy IEMs out there - my Denons fit that bill, but I don't think they're made anymore (AH-C751k if you feel like taking a shot on a blind search). There's an IEM subforum that has *lots* more information from people who spend *lots* more time with IEMs than I do. Top-of-my-head I know Monster and Sony to make some relatively EDM-friendly IEMs as well, and I'm certain there are many other options too.

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Haha, yeah that's part of the issue - since I've never been inte headphones this is an entirely new jungle to cross through Haha ^^

ghal said:

Haha, yeah that's part of the issue - since I've never been inte headphones this is an entirely new jungle to cross through Haha ^^

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And I'm not trying to say "don't do it" - I love my fullsize cans. It's just that I don't take them out and about, largely because they're fullsize cans.

I think a studio/DJ headphone is probably the best place to start looking as they're generally more rugged than hi-fi cans, and they also generally fold (and many come with, or have available, storage/transportation cases). Also tend not to be as expensive, so it'd be something to try, see if you enjoy the listening experience and ergonomics, and then if not you haven't spent your entire budget on something you won't/can't use (and ideally you get them somewhere that will let you send them back if you're unhappy). Just a thought.

obobskivich said:

And I'm not trying to say "don't do it" - I love my fullsize cans. It's just that I don't take them out and about, largely because they're fullsize cans.

I think a studio/DJ headphone is probably the best place to start looking as they're generally more rugged than hi-fi cans, and they also generally fold (and many come with, or have available, storage/transportation cases). Also tend not to be as expensive, so it'd be something to try, see if you enjoy the listening experience and ergonomics, and then if not you haven't spent your entire budget on something you won't/can't use (and ideally you get them somewhere that will let you send them back if you're unhappy). Just a thought.

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Great advice thanks, I will keep that in mind!