[LooieENG]

Okay, so my first decent pair of earphones were the CX300s, and I loved them (and bought 2 more pairs when they broke). I then got the CX500s and more recently had the CX400 IIs, so I'm a big fan of Sennheiser (well, mostly this but mostly not wanting to try anything else as I feel like you just can't go wrong with them)
 
my CX400 IIs are now busted, and a month out of warranty (unless a warranty is 2 years?) - this is my fault because they started to go quiet in one ear a few months ago but I never sent them back
 
I've been looking around and everywhere seems to be out of stock (UK), but I thought about getting some IE7s, but you need to wear them over-ear which I don't like, so then I thought about getting the IE8s, but going from £40 earphones to £200...I can't really justify it
 
I mean, I use them every day for a few hours to/from work, and at home when I'm on my laptop sometimes, and I have money saved up, and a 0% credit card I could stick them on, but I just keep thinking what if I lose them, or they get stolen, etc.. or what if I can't even tell the difference between them and the CX range? I will be using them with my phone, so what if the quality is rubbish anyway and I'm paying for something which I don't need?
 
How did you justify your first expensive(-ish for probably most of you) pair of earphones?

 

[tzm]

For me, it's deciding what I'd really like to have, then just being patient until eventually a deal comes along at a price that I can accept.  It might take several months that way though.
 
I wanted IE8s, but couldn't deal with paying $400 for them here in the US.  It took 3 months of waiting, but I caught them on a Deal of the Day at AMP3 for £119 a few months ago.
 
You'll enjoy your headphones more if you don't feel like you stuck yourself with a compromise while simultaneously feeling like you got an excellent deal on them

 

[Costia]

Started with cx300 as well
Then bought grado's sr80 and monster turbine ~100$ each
Its hard to justify the cost before listening to the headphones
But the moment i got them - i though it was well worth the the money
Don't worry, you will definitely hear a difference. 
 
I just ordered a pair of DT990 premium (175$, used pair) , still waiting for them to arrive
Only problem is to stop spending money on headphones.
 
Maybe you should go to some audio store in your area and listen to a few expensive pairs

 

[LooieENG]

thanks for the replies
 
I've had my eye out for a while, but haven't really seen anything. I've just been looking for CX400s though as they were my favourites.
 
The problem is, my CX400s are now completely busted. Only one ear gets sound, and it's so quiet on full volume on my phone I might as well not even bother using them
 
I guess I'll get some cheap ones from Argos or something in the mean time
 
Costia, funny you should mention that, I just saw the Turbines mentioned in another thread, and they look awesome, so I was considering those as well, but I've been told Monster are overpriced but I'm guessing that's just the Beats?
 
Thanks

 

[DayofCalm]

I should probably note that the IE8s are designed to be worn over-the-ear as well. If you anticipate that this would bother you, you might consider looking at another pair. Alternatively, you can switch the ears and wear them cord-down, but I find it harder to get as good of a fit this way. The over-the-ear style isn't really as cumbersome as it seems it would be, though.

That being said, I own some IE8s and can testify to their quality. If you're using them for a few hours a day, that's pretty substantial use. Like tzm said, you can typically find a good deal on headphones if you wait long enough and look hard ( http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/518656/the-iem-portable-headphones-deal-alerts-thread-post-them-all-here/1575 might be a good place to check sometimes, too). Alternatively, the For Sale section of Head-Fi often has somebody looking to trade or sell a pair; with careful checking of seller feedback, you can probably get a pair in good condition for far below retail price.

Obviously, the decision is ultimately up to you. Is it worth £200 to improve the audio quality to and from work? Like you said, the fact that you're using your phone as a source could definitely be a contributing factor. Personally, I wouldn't invest in IE8s if I were sourcing a phone with mp3s of various bit-rates. However, a cheap portable amp and line-out can easily improve this quality substantially; but then you may find that you have to spend another £50 to get what you want in this area, and the investment might end up being greater than you originally intended (such is audiophilia )

If you liked the CX400 IIs, I would consider reinvesting in those. Alternatively, the ie6 or ie7 would be options if you think you'd tolerate the over-ear style. The CX 870 and CX 880 would also be great options for better sound and great convenience. Let us know what you decide!

 

[davidcotton]

I needed some uber isolation (work related) and the various cx's 300 etc just didn't cut it.  Did the research and started with westone 2.  Then it snowballed....  It's far far easier to start spending then it is to stop sadly

 

[dura]

They sound terrific, not just on the go but also at home, where they can easily play the part of  a full range phone. But, on the bus, the isolation is rather average so you don't really hear how good they are.

 

[Costia]

I bought them on amazon's black Friday sale...
I have them for about 7 months and i had to super glue the casing and replace the plug
(I am talking about the regular turbines not copper/gold/MD)
The sound better than the cx300 to me (bass is more punchy, though probably less in quantity, and they sound more clear). 

 

[MusicalChillies]

Well Looie if you cannot justify £200 I am selling a no frills pair for £105. I presume you are in the UK with eng in your name.
They do though justify the price tag at retail.

 

[scuttle]

Using IE8s with a phone as the source will be pointless. Go to Amazon and browse the reviews of 15 to 30 pound IEMS - some are very good. IE8s make sense for top of the range sources playing high bit rate files; anything else is just silliness.

 

[ZARIM]

The Sennheiser IE8 worth the price and they sound so engaging through out the whole frequency spectrum without any drop off. The soundstage is out of head with great deep punchy bass and mids, highs are also detailed. BTW new Sony EX510 are dome type dynamic drivers IEMs and they are amazing for there price with wide soundstage, crisp detailed mids, highs and deep punchy bass(good upgrade over sennheiser IEMs).

 

[peeves]

I bought the IE8s last year. I gradually replaced my iems each year, upgrading to better ones. I started with the CX300s. But I can't go back to my CX300s. I do admit that spending $200+ on iems may be extreme but I tried to justify my purchase with IE8s by thinking that I would satisfied with them forever, that it would be the end of the line for me. Yet for some reason, I still keep coming back to head-fi.org.

 

[LooieENG]

Hi, thanks for the replies
 
I'm interested in the CX880s that were mentioned, as all I can see is the CX300 IIs and occasionally CX400 IIs (but seem to be out of stock everywhere) and I don't want to buy from Play/Amazon due to possible fakes (Play and Amazon themselves don't have any in stock)
 
On Play, I can find CX870s for £46.69 directly from Play, how are these compared to the 880s? Are they both newer models in the CX3-500 range or different?
 
At the moment, it's between CX880s and Monster Turbines maybe to have a change from Sennheiser
 
As for low quality bitrates, what I mean is, the majority of my music is all ripped to LAME -V0 VBR, with a few albums at -V2 so the quality is great, but I'm not sure if my phone will play it any differently to my laptop or my iPod (lower quality parts maybe?) - the phone is a HTC Desire Z
 
Oh, and I love all kinds of music, but the majority of my music is hip hop (mostly East Coast/Midwest so not really bass heavy like West/South), but I do have some rock and electronic music on there (maybe 90% hip hop, and 10% from pop to drum & bass
 
thanks again!

 

[LooieENG]

okay, little update (and bump to first page)
 
it's now between Sennheiser CX880, Monster Turbines and Head-Direct RE0s...
 
leaning towards the RE0s, but supposedly the Turbines have better bass (but not sure how much). I'd like to stay with Sennheiser though, plus they look the best imo (not important if the others are significantly better however)
 
thanks

 

[Costia]

the build quality of the original turbines is quite bad.
but i like how they sound with rock and some electronic music.
From the reviews here i would say the RE0 don't have much bass, if any. seen them being called "analytical"