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...

I would try Radio Shack or Best Buy first. if the $3.99 or whatever splitter works for you, then you just learned you don't need the $20 splitter. If it doesn't, it's $3.99, no big deal.

Head Direct is selling them now? No more hustling on the FS forums, yay! Yeah, prior to this, my only choice was to go on the forum and beg and beg. I bought some Olives once, just to trade them for tips. Those were desperate times. EBay tri-flanges are too small? Did you try the large...

A careful shopper can find the TF10, or the Turbine Pro Golds at under $200. The Panasonic HJE900s are also excellent phones at well under your limit. The Ety ER-4 is in your range, and has a good rep, but I can't vouch for it.

Never had it happen, but if it did, I would try the replacement filters for the RE0 I have sitting in my drawer. I figure they're the same size. (They come with the replacement tips.)

@OP: Congratulations on your purchase, but temper your expectations; early reviews tend to skew too positive. Some of this is fanboys riding the bandwagons. Some of this is early adopters justifying the early-adopter price to themselves (or their wives). Some is just plain newness; the phones...

Young Spade: "Although there are NO prerfect phones, there are phones that do a plethora of things right and in some cases you will love everything about them... "Of course this largely comes down to the genres of music that I listen to; mainly classical and acoustic, these phones excel in...

Monster triples, long Head Direct doubles (You should have these. Aren't they working for you?) and decored Olives are usually my first attempts.

Balancing the three-legged stool of quality, price, and portability, the Fuze works best for me. And Rockbox: bonus!

I used the Monster triple-flanges when I wore them, and isolation was okay, not great. Next time I'll try my long Head Direct doubles and see how they work; they're a revelation on my TF10s.

Head-Direct is hard to match at any of their price points. The Altec Backbeat Titanium is at around the same price, but with a totally different sound. Ditto the NE-6.