I have previously given a positive review for the Philips SHE3590, a cheap IEM that sounds good.   I purchased the Philips SHE3595 because it looks like the SHE3590, has a microphone and it was cheap at Dick Smith's closing down sale (a major Australian retailer).   While they look similar, the SHE3595 has a rounded protrusion and doesn't fit so well as the oval protrusion on the SHE3590. The SHE3595 sounds tinny and ragged in comparison to my SHE3590 and AKG K324P IEMs. Why can't an IEM with microphone sound as good as an IEM without mic?

I bought these years ago and honestly haven't used them much. Recently, I have come to appreciate that the AKG K324P IEM headphones give a neutral, realistic sound unlike the many bass-heavy headphones that are popular today. It seems that when the bass is emphasised the mids and highs lose some clarity. Sure, it's easy enough to attenuate the bass but it's not so simple to recover whatever is missing. Good luck in finding non-basshead phones today.

The Philips SHE3590 headphones were listed on the Head-Fi Headphone Buying Guide. They are inexpensive and widely available. Most Australian electronic retailers stock them and they cost about AUD15. I bought these (in white) to replace my lost AKG IEMs (which I have since found again!).   Build quality is cheap and plastic looking. Nobody will think to steal these headphones and you won't look like Dr. Dre (Mr. N.W.A., coming Straight Outta Compton, y'all better make way) when wearing them.   I gave the SHE3590s a quick listen this evening to a...

I wanted to replace the tinny OEM headphones for my Moto G Android phone and several reviews on Head-Fi rave about the Xiaomi Piston 3 headphones. I was aware that there could be fake Xiaomi headphones on ebay and other websites. I bought mine from GearBest.com, which has been suggested by others on Head-Fi to be a reliable seller. They cost USD13.   Build quality is superb. I love the cable, however a right angle plug would be less accident prone than the straight plug. Presentation is classy but nobody is going to bother with reusing the case: it...

I was browsing through a (bogus) fire sale at Dick Smith (Australian electronics retailer) today and spotted Sennheiser MX365 ear buds (white) for AUD8.99. I bought these because I wanted ear buds, because they were inexpensive and because I trusted they were genuine Sennheiser (lots of fakes online).   Build quality is cheap but satisfactory. I like the right-angle headphone plug, it does not stick out. The foam covers are not durable (never are) and I threw them away.   I gave the Sennheiser MX365s a quick listen this evening to a variety of...