[scuttle]

Hi! I'm having to parent sit (the old guy is pretty sick) and I need a pair of IEMs with ***great*** isolation so that I

1. Can get some work done
2. Can keep out the sound of TV news played 18 hours a day
3. Don't throw the TV out of the window
4. Don't commit patricide and end up on the news

The music I'll be listening to is not terribly high bit rate WMA and MP3, so there is no point in going for great sound quality, but I do want great isolation. My first thought after flicking around Amazon was CX300s. Would I get significantly more isolation from j-jays, CX500s or whatever? Isolation, as easy re-supply of earbuds (or the "olive" style ones referred to in the Tachikoma's* convenient sticky thread) and low cost are my priorities.

(*The blue robot spider guy. I have one on my Netbook's desktop. They're cooler than rat-things or Daleks - and don't even mention Governators.)

 

[ClieOS]

Etymotic ER6i has some of the best isolation on sub$100 category.

 

[scuttle]

I'm in the UK - I should have said. ER6i's cost a lot more than $100 here unfortunately!

 

[mark2410]

well u didint say where u are (really why dont people think thats required information?)

you dont give a budget either

shure se110 maybe, klipsch custom 1 with olives on them

 

[scuttle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark2410 /img/forum/go_quote.gif well u didint say where u are

Yes, Mark, I did forget. Excellent reading skills! I don't know how deduced that from "I forgot to say that I'm in the UK."

Quote:

you dont give a budget either

I'd have thought that naming CX300's as the bottom of the range I was considering and J-Jays as the top would given a pretty good idea. It's definitely a fuzzy range: if I could lock out significantly more sound for an extra £25 I'd spend it.

 

[ljokerl]

Shure e2c supposedly isolate quite well. Not familiar with UK pricing though, but they are a bit cheaper than er6i.

 

[mark2410]

meh, be snippy then. im not the one asking for others help

 

[steviebee]

Hi scuttle -tell you what - I'll sell you my E2c, they'e in very good shape, come w/ olives (I'll fit new ones, natch) and they isolate pretty well. In fact, very well. I'll dig up an Ety pouch for em too.

Oh, & I'm in the UK too

 

[younglee200]

i have to say that shures do isolate terribly well

 

[scuttle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark2410 /img/forum/go_quote.gif meh, be snippy then. im not the one asking for others help

Whining and online rattle throwing aren't help.

But to everyone else - thanks!

 

[Zalithian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scuttle /img/forum/go_quote.gif Whining and online rattle throwing aren't help. But to everyone else - thanks!

You're the one who started acting like a brat. He simply said you forgot to mention a few important details and you get on a high horse and throw condescension in his face with oh so clever sarcasm.

I don't have a problem with it, but since you're extremely new I would probably not act all high, mighty, and innocent. Act however you'd like, but I doubt you'll find acting in such a way will benefit you in the long run here.

Not to mention, he did give you a suggestion despite your omission of necessary information.

Now, onto the task at hand. The CX series does not isolate much. If you don't care about sound then I'd probably look at the Shure SE series, lower end models. The E2C should be good too, depending on the tips used but it's been a while since I had them so I can't remember. Didn't they used to come with those yellow foamies? Those worked pretty well, I think.

 

[barleyguy]

The JVC marshmallows with the large marshmallow tips isolate quite well. The sound quality is OK (not great, but OK) with a bit of boomy bass, but they are only about $15 (10 UK pounds?) and are available off the shelf at lots of shops.

 

[AmanGeorge]

I think the Altec Lansing im616 is the cheapest IEM out there that will also have top notch isolation.

 

[scuttle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zalithian /img/forum/go_quote.gif You're the one who started acting like a brat. He simply said you forgot to mention a few important details and you get on a high horse and throw condescension in his face with oh so clever sarcasm

No, that's not what he did. Although I suppose that either love or poor social skills might blind you to the difference.

Quote:

Not to mention, he did give you a suggestion despite your omission of necessary information

You mean the necessary information in my two posts previous to his?

Quote:

Now, onto the task at hand. The CX series does not isolate much.

I'm puzzled by IEMS differing in isolation so much. Surely this is down entirely to the plugs? If so, given these are replaceable, how come there aren't independent plugs that can change isolation? It has to be the least challenging hi fi mod ever. I've adapted 3M earplugs to fit awful Koss Sparks in the past - snip 'em, freeze 'em, poke 'em with a hot needle.

???

 

[jclinton46]

Quote:

I'm puzzled by IEMS differing in isolation so much.

I am not an audio engineer nor do I play one on TV!

That said I suspect that achieving great isolation is like so many other endeavors - it takes 80% of the effort to get that last 20%. I know from personal experience that seemingly minor changes in the plug (type of foam for example) or degree of insertion make significant changes in isolation and sound quality. I'm sure the same applies to the driver housing, etc. Quite a balancing act these engineers go thru.