[thoughtcriminal]

I'm planning a road trip tomorrow. I thought I wouldn't bring my V7 because of their size, and decided instead to go through my old earbud collection. Big mistake. My ears have been spoiled now, and the ones I once liked now sound horrific.
I'd like to find something with sound like my V7, reasonably flat sound and crisp. Something with a studio monitor like sound.
These need to be cheap, under $25 as they will be for long travels only.
I also will be using the straight out of my DAP, no amp
They can't have a band, I want them to be able to fit in my pocket easy.

I've heard of the following headphones in my price range
Koss KSC75
JVC marshmallow
Soundmagic PL-20
Soundmagic PL-30
JVC Air cushion
Sennheiser cx300 (whats the differences in the P, B, and S versions?)
Which of these has the best detailed, crisp "studio" sound?

Are there any others I should look into?
For reference, my two "best" current earbuds (not saying much)
Philips SHE5920 - sounds way to boomy. Horrifically colored. No detail at all. only advantage is the soundstage seems good for earbuds
Panasonic RP-HS6 - listenable, but barely. Sound is much flatter than the phillips. Highs are annoying and grating. Very little detail. Love the form factor though

edit: one more thing. Do any of the above have in line volume controls? if so, tell me, as I hate such circuitry. Please if you reccomend any, bear that in mind.

thanks
tc

edit: added poll

 

[FYDave]

I'm not terribly familiar with most of the ones you listed but the CX300's I owned until I accidentally snapped the whole damn cord in half one day. Oh well, I got 'em for twenty bucks so it isn't a big deal.

Anyways, I liked the CX300's. They gave me a pretty good seal and sound isolation and the SQ was pretty good considering the price.

 

[feNcheL]

I never tried the Koss 35, but own Air Cushions and PL-30 and would prefer PL-30 for detail. Senn CX300 is supposedly muddy sounding, so couldn't be bothered to try them and Marshmallows are inferior to Air Cushions unless you Kramer mod them.

 

[synaesthetic]

JBuds J2 are $25 on Amazon right now, and from what I'm hearing so far they are very good for the price. Bought a few pair for Christmas gifts, and a pair for myself, too.

 

[chinesekiwi]

KSC-75 by far really. Those voting PL-30's = silly.

 

[feNcheL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chinesekiwi /img/forum/go_quote.gif KSC-75 by far really. Those voting PL-30's = silly.

Have you ever compared both side by side? And PL-30 gives better isolation (like all IEMs).

 

[chinesekiwi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by feNcheL /img/forum/go_quote.gif Have you ever compared both side by side? And PL-30 gives better isolation (like all IEMs).

Yes, I have both. For sound quality, the Koss KSC-75 beat the SoundMagic PL-30's. KSC-75 stupidly silly good for their price.
Anyway, none of them would give you 'studio monitor' sound as all of them are tweaked towards a certain sound and none of them are neutral.

The PL-30's, although good for the price, don't beat the KSC-75 SQ wise.
The KSC-75 need burn-in though.

For sub $40, you can't beat it. Nothing can sound quality wise. Headphones, IEM's, canalphones, speakers, doesn't matter.

I really should get around to completing that sub $100 shootout since I have a few of them (see profile).

 

[chinesekiwi]

Anyway, is there really any point using a LOD for PL-30's?

 

[jant71]

I have had KSC-35, Sportapro, and KSC75. I would say the Jbuds J2 are as good with the right tips. The OP says they want a more flat response and for long travels. The SQ lost with the Koss due to the lack of isolation and the J2's more flat response would make them a better choice. I believe the OP wants more detail. I no longer have a Koss to compare directly but I would venture to say they have more detail than the Koss anyway and would preserve more of that detail with their isolation.

 

[lauinbeta]

throw out the JVC's and the cx300

 

[jageur272]

Kramer modded ksc75's definitely beat out pl30s. I don't know about J2s though.

It all comes down to isolation.

 

[feNcheL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chinesekiwi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Anyway, is there really any point using a LOD for PL-30's?

Since I wanted to use an amp with them for a bit of increased bass, I had to use an LOD in order to keep floor noise as low as possible. The combined floor noise of an iPod + LDM+ is not to be underestimated.

 

[Nailzs]

I'm really shocked how good the Jbuds J2 Premium are for the price. The only thing I have "high end" to compare the them is the UE Super.fi 5 EB and to my ears the Jbuds are much better. With a good source the detail is amazing.

 

[chinesekiwi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nailzs /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm really shocked how good the Jbuds J2 Premium are for the price. The only thing I have "high end" to compare the them is the UE Super.fi 5 EB and to my ears the Jbuds are much better. With a good source the detail is amazing.

How are they better?
I'm quite skeptical of this statement.

 

[jageur272]

I got my hands on one of my friend's J2's and they're nice for the price. They are a bit muddy, as they haven't been burned in yet, but the bass is a bit lacking. I seriously doubt they are more detailed than the UE's though. My opinion is that the J2's are like the ER6i's younger brother. Very analytic. Of course, I only had about 2 hours with them, can't say anything with much finality.

I'd say if you want isolation as well as pretty good SQ, get the J2's. I still feel that the KSC75's are better sounding headphones.