[libertyyne]

Long time lurker first time poster. I have owned 3 pairs of IEM's the first set was the Shure 210 ... mind blown- completely. I didn't even know what a sound stage was, and it seemed like the music was playing in my head. I lost a pair and immediately bought another. lost it again and then bought the 215. However, things never seemed the same - They just didnt sound the same. Finally the 215's cables need replacing and the cables alone cost 30 dollars 1/3 of the price so i thought i would upgrade. I mostly listen to alt-rock, prog rock, and some trip hop. Thanks in advance for the help. I suppose it might have been the difference between the balanced armature vs the 215's 
 
Things important. 
 
soundstage
noise isolation 
Good fit- I love the foam tips that expand great fit most of the time. 
replaceable cables? i go to sleep with them on and tend to ruin cables like that- so replacing them would be nice. 
great mids / vocals. 
 
im going to be using a nokia lumia 920 mostly for listening to it. 
 
thanks. 

 

[ZARIM]

The RE272, Sony EX7550, GR07, FX700 and UE TF10 Pro are highly recommened and they all offers wide soundstage, crisp clear mids, Vocals and overall very detailed sounding
 
.

 

[Zalithian]

SM3v2 if you can go a little higher.

 

[libertyyne]

Thanks for the quick reply. This might just be a dumb question but is the UE TF10 with the tripple armature provide better sound compared to the others? And i was trying to find if the cables to the GR07 were replaceable- they also peaked my intrust. 

 

[Deadlovestory]

More armature/driver numbers doesn't always means better sound quality.
 
GR07 cable is not replaceable.
 
If you like mids and vocals Shures are usually a good bet.

 

[libertyyne]

Quote:

More armature/driver numbers doesn't always means better sound quality.
 
GR07 cable is not replaceable.
 
If you like mids and vocals Shures are usually a good bet.

Sorry. Thats how shure sold the difference between its upper end IEMs. So it was stuck in my head. 

 

[libertyyne]

BTW. is this price point good enough for IEMs i want to keep for atleast 5 years or should i spend more. I used to work at an electronics store and I know that the higher end stuff usually had a 100% markup. 

 

[Zalithian]

Quote:

BTW. is this price point good enough for IEMs i want to keep for atleast 5 years or should i spend more. I used to work at an electronics store and I know that the higher end stuff usually had a 100% markup. 

 
Most IEMS won't last that long, no matter how well you take care of them, or how much you pay for them, unfortunately. If it's a problem, stick to the cheaper stuff. The good news is the big players (Shure, Westone, Sennheiser, etc) all have great warranty support for 2 years.

 

[Deadlovestory]

Quote:

BTW. is this price point good enough for IEMs i want to keep for atleast 5 years or should i spend more. I used to work at an electronics store and I know that the higher end stuff usually had a 100% markup. 

Price generally doesn't have anything to do with how long will you be able to keep an IEM. While you generally do get higher build quality as you go up the price ladder, IEM is still a frail piece of electronics with so many things that could go wrong with it, regardless of how well you take care of it or how much it costs you.
 
Personally I wouldn't bet for more than 2 years of usability; that's why chances are you won't see any IEM brand offering more than 2 years of warranty.
 
*edit*
Zalithian beaten me to it.

 

[wolfetan44]

Quote:

UE TF10 Pro
 
.

Good soundstage? All I heard was a wall of sound, no soundstage at all.

 

[Berkovajazz]

Westone 3! The best seal and isolation, very good soundstage and in all their sound is very good.

 

[outmywindow]

If you can find the EarSonics SM2 for $250, it makes a great IEM with similar characteristics to its bigger brother the SM3 (although not exactly the same obviously) and the soundstaging is pretty decently wide as well. One aspect of the SM2 that could throw someone off though is its tendency to have a "swirling" effect where the sounds of some instruments or effects seem to go around you in terms of staging. Also the SM1 has a dual balanced armature setup (single driver, but I believe it's a TWFK driver if I remember correctly) that is on eBay right now for $149.99. I've auditioned this one as well, and its fairly good in terms of soundstage and quality for the price. Either way you go, there's no wrong answer here so good luck and enjoy!

 

[libertyyne]

I know it is subjective, how is the seal? I hate the rubber tips, I do enjoy the foam tips as they tend to block ambient noise more. 

 

[proedros]

grab a pair of re-262 for 120$ and leave all those overpriced,overrated iems behind you....
 
just my 2 cents

 

[sofastreamer]

but leave bass also...