[el_diablo]

Hi! After literally reading over 50 pages of posts in the past week I've decided to join and I need your help. I'm looking for a pair of headphones for my ipod. I listen to: Dance (DJ Tiesto, Darude), Rock (Billy Talent, Alexisonfire, Metallica), Hip Hop (50 Cent, Jay-Z, T.I) and also Jazz (Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong).

First of all I would like something that would be a significant improvement over my 2006 iBuds. I guess with these genres I'd like to have a nice thumping bass without sacrificing quality. I would also like some isolation because I commute on a train daily but I would prefer to have a little noise coming in so I can tell if someone is trying to talk to me.

Sadly I am limited to the following headphones due to my location (Toronto Canada) and I only buy in-store products. In no particular order:

Sennheiser CX300 $75 (Overwhelming bass, loss of qualtiy on the upper end?)
Shure SE110 $89 (Little bass)
Shure SE210 $149 (Little Bass)
Etymotic ER6i $119 (NO bass ?)
Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 3 Studio $119 (Stick out from ears)
Bose IE Triport $99 (Mixed reviews, tips fall off?)

Can anyone with experience tell me more about these products and maybe decide which one will suit me the best? Right now I'm leaning toward the Bose IE because apparently there is a huge difference between a brand new pair (which reviews are based on) and a burnt in pair. Again, these are the only headphones available to me.

 

[SactoMan101]

Since you have an iPod (though you didn't tell me which model, though), I'd recommend getting the Sennheiser CX500 if you can get the legitimate model off eBay (that's how I got mine).

Though the treble is bit rolled off (easily fixed by applying the Treble Booster EQ setting on the iPod nano, 5/5G and classic models), the CX500 has deep, decently clear bass and very good midrange. Also, the eartips supplied work very well to provide a decent ear seal for good noise isolation and decent sound quality. I also like the fact the CX500 doesn't need high volume levels for decent sound quality, which means longer battery life, too.

 

[el_diablo]

Sorry I have an iPod nano 2G. I am also limited to the headphones that I have listed and the CX500's are about $179 where I live and are also out of my price range (I don't do online shopping).

 

[Warhawk]

I would buy the UEs from that list, you can always do the flip mod so they don't stick out so much.
These are Super fi 5's, but it's pretty much the same thing.

 

[zone555]

These aren't on your list, but I had good success with the JBL Reference 220. I bought them at the Yorkdale Apple store, but now they sell them at any Best Buy for $69 CDN.

To me they had good sound overall, and fairly deep bass that's not overwhelming. They're an open design, so you can still hear ambient sound around you, with moderate isolation since they're canal-phones.

I mostly listen to trance so I kinda know where you're coming from.

 

[Joeshmo39]

I like my SF3s but I think ER6Is might be best for you. I have heard good things. The lower end shures are generally considered pretty poor (decent sound but shoddy build). I got SF3s fur 53 dollars ONLINE so if you can overcome your fear, and you have a credit card, you could make your dollar go so much further than a brick and mortar retailer.

 

[robojack]

X2 on the SF3s.

 

[jferreir]

Not sure if this helps, but check out Contact & Links It's located near St. Patricks subway station (University and Dundas).

I spoke with a guy named Sam and he's cutting me a deal on Westone UM1s (MRSP $109 US). I'm not sure if these would be the IEMs for you (although they're very highly touted), but he does seem to have a half-decent selection of other stuff. Although I haven't been to the store yet, it seems legit and he's a Westone authorized dealer (operating under 'Siicom'). If you pay cash I'm sure you'll be able to work something out within your price range.

Good luck!

 

[mrdeadfolx]

*reads thread title* *sings* "one of these things is not like the other..."

 

[nickdawg]

I think I know which one...

 

[SiBurning]

Can't answer your actual question, but the lack of bass might be due to how you seat them. I have the etymotic 4 (not the 6) and you really need to stick those things in deep. They need to sit on the bone. Once you do that, the bass is just fine, but they're not for bass heads. The same might hold true for the others, although only the etymotic is designed in a way that you can really put them in there deep.

 

[rockbottom]

the super fi 5 EB should be good.

For around $150 you can get a hold of an SE310 or a E4 (now rebranded as SCL4) here, that should also be a good option.

Etymotic Research tend to not have as much bass, so it may not suit you.

 

[Mr_Junesequa]

If you listen to Hip Hop (50 Cent, Jay-Z, T.I) and unless you want to amp and buy shure e5's...ATRIO is the only IEM for you.

if you can rockbox your ipod and work with the higher end of the sound you should have a nice enough sound.

if someone is trying to talk to you they can tap you on the shoulder. I commute on the train...you lose sound quaity with the outside noise.

 

[Anticrash]

No Bose. Seriously, I dont want to sound like just another Bose hater but I wouldn't waste $10 on the IE triports. All my friends have them and all of my friends love them. But their only other headphone experience were iBuds, so that doesn't give them much credibility. After listening to $20 JVC Marshmellows I borrowed my friend's Bose IE Triports. I was listening to YYZ (Rush), Tom Sawyer and then The Trooper by Iron Maiden. With the Bose I could barely hear Alex Lifeson's mediocre guitar skills since the bass was SO OVERPOWERED and so muddy. Seriously, they were just a cluster**** of bass. Not even the good kind that bassheads enjoy, it was just one noted bass that was everywhere, even when not needed. I turned off the Bass EQ and tried again, but it didnt do a thing. I changed to the Trooper and with the extreme bass Bruce Dickinson's operatic voice was barely audible compared my cheap pair of JVCs.

Not Good.

P.S. My friend had been listening to those headphones for months already, so they were fairly burned in. Oh, and two weeks later he lost one of the tips so he had to change them to less comfortable, smaller tips.

 

[majurglery]

Well, I have the ER6is, and though they do lack bass quantity, The bass quality is great when its there. I wouldn't recommend them to you, because you listen to Hip-hop/R&B. I would say go with Head Direct RE2, but since you only want to buy in stores, id go with the Super.Fi 3.