If you like the Denon sound, the 710s may be the best things in their price point. The 551s are fair, but nothing to write home about--good starter phones. Ignore the 751s, overpriced.

TF10. It has some minor annoyances (fit, recessed mids) but it does some things wonderfully (detail, the best bass BA driver I've heard) and nothing badly.

The only time 128 and lossless sounds the same to me is on a degraded source--happens all the time with old jazz and blues recording, when it was just a guy with a tape recorder taping a set. With any modern studio, however, I can A/B 196 instantly and 256 usually. At 320, it starts to get hard...

My trick is to run the IEMs with some moderately loud background noise. A busy street or a loud fan should serve. Once you have the seal right, the background should drop substantially, and on classic Turbines you should get markedly better bass response. Pink noise, is sound that has equal...

Maybe a little peroxide swab would do instead?

On eBay I tend to buy by warranty and feedback. If a seller is backing up the sale with reputation and cash, they have an incentive to avoid robbery. So far this only got me one (promptly replaced) DOA, and no thieves.

$$$: TF10 ($230) - detailed, balanced, great bass for BA drivers, and cheap for top-end phones. $$: HJE900 ($130) - Great sparkle, great bass, great look. Total all-rounders $: Altec Backbeat Titanium ($45) - For their price, they're surprisingly free of weaknesses. They show their price...

No Etys, x3, for bass. Otherwise, the 6is are seriously good phones. I just fell in love all over again with mine. I'm having a surprisingly good time with my Denon C710s. They have clearer, more present highs than the rest of their line, while the bass reminds of the field artillery of the...

Boy, that's funny.

Interesting test protocol, and I like that it's objective and relies on something measureable. Some other things I'd like to see: -repetition over a large sample -before/after tests -a control set -double-blind testing Someone mentioned analysis by batch, another good idea. Really...

If you can withstand the cable, the Custom 3 has nice sound for the price--~$160 USD in the states.   Classic Turbines--~$100 USD in the USA--are about the best for their price point if you're a bass lover, somewhat better than the Denon C710 and a hell of a lot better than the C751.  ...

Lossless at $100? That's a tough one; I would only find RE 0/1 and the Ety 6i tolerable. Turbines, maybe, Denon C710, maybe. At $150, the world opens: FX500, Custom 3, Atrios, HJE900. A big step up, every one. Save your nickels.

Matchbox?

If your price point was $100, I would have said Ety ER6 instantly. I can't vouch for the ER4, but I'd be willing to bet it would do you good.

@Red Comet: How's your EQ? I've noticed that a lot of dynamics that are tuned for treble tune hot. I've seen it in my Turbines, my MTPG, and my FX700. I guess they're trying to avoid something plain and dull and dead-sounding. (C751) If you have the ability (Rockbox?) try some cuts of a...