[tdweis]

Long story short: I just bought a pair of Phonak PFEs & they are fantastic. My only problem: they don’t isolate well (especially in NYC streets & subways!). Last night I bit on the Ety HF5 special for $99 on Amazon. However, I’ve had second thoughts since Etys are renowned for thin bass.

I’ve done extensive poking around in the forum, & have determined that, solely as an alternative to the “Ety sound”, the isolation capabilities of the following 3 phones are worth looking into in the $150-200 price range:

Sleek Audio SA6 (based on ClieOS's June 2008 review http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/r...wed+compared);
JAYS d-jays (based on ka-boom's March 16 post entitled http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/m...ghlight=d-jays) and
Future Sonics Atrio M5 (based on dkft's table)

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how these 3 compare to each other in (a) isolation and (b) overall sound quality (especially balanced PFE-like sound)? I know there are endless “isolation” threads so I’ve tried to narrow down my choices to these 3 (any other suggestions welcome). Many thanks!

 

[stew1234]

I own the er-4's but haven't heard any of the three you listed. I also own the Shure e530's and have heard a number of other IEM. From my experience the isolation has a lot more to do with the tips than the actual headphone, although the headphone is obviously a limiting factor on what type of tips you can use. The triple flange tip that comes with the er-4's gets my vote for isolation and convenience. I think foam tips offer nearly as much isolation with a bit more comfort but are sometimes a pain to be constantly taking in and out. I use the rubber tips like the ones found on the djays with my shures. They work well enough for me but don't quite offer the isolation of the triple flanges. That being said it looks like the atrio's might offer better isolation than the d-jays. They're widely used musician headphones and I would imagine isolation was certainly kept in mind when designing them. I cannot attest to the sound of the various iem's but everything I've read about the atrio's suggests they have very strong bass and a pretty even sound signature.

With that in mind as long you can fit the tips on the headphone I don't see why you wouldn't be able to mix and max certain tips on different headphones to see which you prefer. If you don't mind the more in your ear feel of the triple flanges if those fit well on an iem I think those are going to offer you the best isolation with easy insertion and removal.

 

[Caribou679]

If I were you I would look for other tips that fit your Phonak! And try them! I have no experience with the Phonak but I am pretty sure another tip could fit instead of the stock tip that comes with your iems, if it does not isolate enough from the outside.

I run my Atrios M8 with Shure yellow tips as I found those were the best for me in relation to comfort,isolation and sound quality.

With iems I think the crucial point is the quaity of the seal in your ear. When I first had the Atrios the SQ and bass level were horrible, and it lasted as long as I did not found the proper seal.

Also isolation from outside noise is very good with these ugly yellow foam tips. I do not know if they fit the PFEs.



regards,

 

[shigzeo]

for isolation the sa6 really are nearly as close as the ety. i have tried them but not long enough to give a good idea on sound or comfort. atrio are comfortable and the d-jays are too but soo small!

 

[dctokyo]

The Future Sonics Atrio M5 with Shure foamies has great isolation for me, have not used the others

 

[ka-boom]

I wish I could comment on the other choices, but the d-Jays are still a solid pick.