Since you do not want isolation, why go for iems? Why not get some headphones, which will give you what you want easier?

Congratulations to both winners for their creativeness and ideas. Now we all wait for the release date.

MizMoxie would it be possible to have more than one winner, seeing as there are many good entries out there, but with scale in prize. What I mean is, winner takes a free ZO V2, first runner up a 25% off coupon and second runner up a 10% off coupon. Or something like that?

Here's my go, inspired by a popular video console reference. Your second one made me think of yoda from star wars saying: If better bass you seek, the ZO use you must.

  Quote: From what I remember, MP4nation has ONLY the black version of the PL-30, regardless of pictures. The black version is the only rubberized one as well.   Focalprice has all three versions: Black Grey/Gunmetal White

Quote: Yes, I do still own the CX300 but haven't use them since I got the RE0. IMO there is no comparison. Unbelievable amounts of bloated bass, smallish soundstage, very tame treble with no spark, bad clarity and average/slow speed. I highly recommend getting the PL-30 over the cx300...

Quote: Got them today for the same reason, backups to my RE0 and I was quite impressed that they were able to keep up with RE0 in terms of clarity.

RE0, MC5 and HJE900 are your best bet imo. HJE have the added benefit of indestructible housing and removable cables. RE0, from what people say, are prone to problems (connector breakage usually).

  Quote:   From the review I can tell that the person writing it is either a troll or stupid. Nobody legitimate (because face it or not, not all members are equal) has ever compared RE1 to any of the aforemetioned IEMs. Also the list of Head-Fi sponsors is in the first page of...

M-Audio Studiophile Q40   from joker's review:   The most striking aspect of the Q40s’ sound is the bass - specifically the depth, power, and texture of the low end, which are all superb. The Q40s can really go deep when the track calls for it and the sub-bass is felt as much as it is...

Try the Etymotic ER6i or ER4P/S. If those don't have enough isolation for you, no iem will.

There, you just described the RE0. Provided you are not a closet basshead and prefer quality over quantity. The DDM are superb, albeit with 2 caveits. One is that even OEM the price is still on the upper side of your budget. The other is fit, which from what I read is hard to achieve and nearly...

Quote: But, and someone correct me if I'm wrong, the CK10 are considered top in build quality (going as far as to be used as a reference for build quality). I imagine you will have to actually try hard to break them. Just my thoughts, I haven't even seen a CK10 up close.

May I ask why are you not considering the ATH-CK10? It immediately came to my mind when I read the word treblehead.

Quote: That could be because Headphones with a U shaped curve tend to sound better at low listening volumes, while headphones that sound flatter tend to be better at higher volumes.

6 years? That's a long time in here. Hope you reach 10. I'm mainly interested in Cyclone PR1 because from the reviews it sounds like it would fit my listening choices (although I can't complain about my RE0). But PR1 is supposed to have a really good soundstage and I don't have an iem with any...

  Quote: Look at the bottom That should give you an estimate of db in various situations.   Quote: 80db is quite low for permanent hearing damage. See link above. Also, the ear drum does not get damaged, its the sensory neurons that get damaged. If you live in Europe, there...

From your list: Hippo VB, Eterna and S4. All pretty much have what you want.   Additional iem: ViSang R03 / Brainwavz M2,   Reviews for all iems   I doubt you can find HJE900 for so cheap, but its definitely worth its usual price (120$ i believe)

I am no audiologist. The hearing levels for permanent ear damage are easy to find online, from memory anything below 100-120db is ok. For prolonged periods of listening....well you're not supposed to have prolonged periods of listening, you're supposed to take breaks to allow your ears to breath...

Panasonic HJE900 would be your best bet. Good bass, good clarity, superior housing, detachable (and therefore replaceable cables), average noise isolation (the compromise). Also, probably some simple things you could do would improve the life expectancy of your iems.

Quote: Oh, nevermind me then you got me covered.

I find that rockboxing the clip+ changes significantly the sound it puts out. You can also check how good/bad it responds to EQing.

Rawster can I ask that you compare the RE-Zero on a rockboxed clip+ and on original firmware?

You should look for IEMs with detachable cables then, like Panasonic HJE900, IE8 as mentioned above and others. The replace original cable with shorter. Of course there aren't that many out there.   PS: Why don't you wrap the excess cable around in a 8 shape and tie it with some velcro or...

My recommendations considering your info would be: Head Direct RE0 and Thinksound Rain. The RE0 might have some trouble being guided by a sansa clip, at least that's what people claim, personally I haven't had the chance yet to try it with a good amp. For the 100-150$ tier where custom X3 are...