[Jswho]

Hi,
I am looking for a new In-ear headphones for myself, and I am going to use them mainly for studying, and listening to music.
For previous headphones, I had HiFiMAN RE-400, and SoundMAGIC HP100. I thought RE-400 was really comfortable, and I really liked them for the small size, but it was not that durable as I expected and its cable tore after a few months use. For HP100, it has really great sound quality, but headphone was not that comfortable as it was squeezing my head after a long period of time.
 
I enjoy classics, jazz, and sometimes pop. I do prefer the neutral sound of the headphones.
The most important would be the comfort of the headphone. I would want it to be comfortable so that I would be able to wear it for hours.
I would like to be able to study and listen to music, while having a little noise cancelling (please do recommend me ANC if you want to).
So, the second most important would be sound cancelling. I do not really care whether it is active or passive noise cancelling, but I thought recharging the ANC would be bothersome.
Lastly, I would like the headphones to be less than US$250. I am a student, so I am not that high on budget.
 
Please help, and any advice is welcome!

 

[SteveHiFi]

What you call passive noise cancelling is more usually referred to as isolation - I was thinking of the Etymotic HF5 which is great for this, plus it's fairly neutral with perhaps a bit more presence in the midrange. However, depending on your ears, these may lose points with the comfort.
 
Another one I was thinking of (before you got the the budget figure at the end) was the Shure SE112, as these have superb isolation and the comfort's good too. The sound is perhaps tilted towards the bass, but only as the treble is rolled off a little. The midrange is where these ones shine for me.
 
They only cost $50 so might be worth a go. I have plenty of arguably superior IEMs, but the SE112 is always a pleaser. Be aware that these should be worn with the cable going over the back of the ear, some people don't like this method of wearing IEMs.