I've been lurking around these forums for a few days reading up on various bang-for-buck IEMs. I'm coming from a pair of klipsch S4s, which I was satisfied with them sound-wise, although they were a bit bass-heavy, but not at all quality-wise - lost sound in the right ear on 2 pairs, the first after nearly a year, replaced on warranty, and the new set a couple months later outside of warranty.
So I'm looking for something with as good or better sound, but better build quality to replace them. After reading through ljokerl's and CLieOS' comparison threads, I'd narrowed it down to the MEElec A151, or the VSonic GR02 Bass Edition.
I live in Japan and I can get both of these for around $40 (amazon for the a151, lendmeurears for the GR02).
After a bit more browsing though, I'm seeing a lot of good things being said/hype around the new CKM500s, which are available for $50 off amazon here.
So my question is, has anyone heard all of these phones, and if so what would you recommend? Anything else thats good in a similar price range is also fine ( max $60, though prices tend to differ somewhat here). I'd like to try some BA-based phones, which is why I liked the idea of the A151s, but if the others/something else is better I'm happy with trying anything. I use a pair of sennheiser HD598s at home and love the sound, though a bit more bass would be nice in portable phones (I mainly listen to metal/rock/indie, with some classical and instrumental thrown in, and I tend to base-boost with Fiio E7 when I listen to my electronic music.)
Also, as they're for on-the-go use, decent isolation and minimal cable noise are pluses. I also prefer straight-down wearing, so are the a151s comfortable in this configuration?
Thanks for any responses!