[bcodemz]

My VSonic GR07 just died after sitting on my desk for months and using them for the first time in months. Now I need a new earphone.
 
I'm tired of expensive IEM's now. I've had 9 pairs of IEMs in the past 6 years or so, and none of them lasted more than a year, and each of them were over $100 a pair. I didn't really like the sound of any of them. The closest out of all of them is the Hifiman RE0. I really like the sound, except the extreme lack of bass. If they had more bass, bass like my IE80 (which probably would have lasted over a year if I didn't lose it), I would have really liked it.
 
With that said, I find speakers to sound a whole lot better. Much better bass, apparent clarity (not detail), and there's proper imaging! Because of that I've used earphones a lot less than before. I don't know whether I want to spend $150-$300 on IEMs this time. Would I be better off buying a cheaper earphone, say maybe the Xiaomi Piston? I have been away from head-fi for a few years now, so I don't know what's good anymore. Any recommendations for the $150-$300 range? Any recommendation for the $50 range?
 
Thanks

 

[heatofamatch]

More than anything, I wanted to reply to say a big fat ME TOO -- I've been going down the same road: generally fed up with the diminishing returns on expensive products, and find myself going to speakers more and more...
 
The xiaomi pistons are great, mostly because they don't sound cheap or boxed-in. I have recently abandoned them but it's not for sonic reasons. If my bank account got obliterated by, say, flying Kardashian ass missiles tomorrow, I would not have a problem with them being my only earphones.

 
My latest purchase is the zero audio carbo tenore ($30-35+shipping from Japan). The search is still ongoing but it's certainly above average, arguably better-tuned than other IEMs that also use a microdriver.
 
Overhead cans are supposed to be better for imaging and etc, but IEMs will have an edge in making you think there's more clarity, and I have yet to come across a good, cheap pair that's not open-air. No xiaomi piston equivalents in the large headphone world quite yet, or perhaps we just need to scour the net a bit more...
 
If you don't need isolation, open earbuds are an excellent solution, I've got the creative aurvana air myself.