[Armage]

Hi there, I'm new here and I came since I'm not 100% happy with my phones and I'm looking for the best deal. Also I can share with you my thoughts so far. Pls forgive me as my english is not perfect.
What I'm looking for is a pair of EXTREMELY comfortable in-ear phones for listening to music with portable devices (ipods and similar). Here's what I got:
the best sounding headphones I got so far is a pair of sennheiser cx-300 II: they are a nicely balanced phones with very nice pumping bass (maybe too much at times). Recently I did a small upgrade to sennheiser cx 400 II and apparently they don't have the high pounding bass I liked in the cx 300, dunno if they need more burn in or what (bought them 3 days ago). Anyway they seems to have better overall balance and I'm quite satisfied.
Meanwhile I tried philips shq4000 (http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5002/5240002356_35124f2a63.jpg) and I really love the way they stay in place in your ears, that's another planet compared to sennheiser: you just place the arc over your ears, you drop it off and they put themselves in place, that's fantastic: no more noise from cable rubbing, when you have to talk on the phone or with other people you just put them off the ears and they stay in place around your neck, ready to be picked up and put in you ear in a second again, there's only one cable that comes out of them so there much less chance that they get entangled into something and so on... the benefits are a lot. The problem is only one and I believe u already know it: while sound quality is more than decent, they don't sound as good as sennheisers.
What I want now is just a pair that "looks and feels" EXACTLY as those philips (back headband appears mandatory to me) but that sounds better... like more hi end headphones. I didn't find anything like that over the internet. Only thing that seems to come close is Sony MDR-as50g: I don't know about the sound quality but looking at the pictures I'm quite unsure that they are as comfortable as philips shq4000.
 
any thoughts or advices? thanks

 

[Austin Morrow]

Etymotic's are really comfortable. You can make almost anything comfortable with the right size of Comply's.

 

[Armage]

I see... didnt even know about the complys... anyway that's not exactly the comfort I was looking for. I'm talking about something more than just the way they stay in your ears

 

[azncookiecutter]

Westones, Shures, Earsonics, and others too I believe. Most models have over the ear cables and bodies that sit inside the ear. If comfort is such an issue, there's also the option of going custom.

 

[Austin Morrow]

Quote:

Westones, Shures, Earsonics, and others too I believe. Most models have over the ear cables and bodies that sit inside the ear. If comfort is such an issue, there's also the option of going custom.

It depends on the price limit. Try the 1964 Ears Dual Driver if your going for customs. Only 275 bucks. 

 

[Armage]

well, i'd like to stay under the 100$... I'm not audiophile, nor I believe you can get too much from 192kbs encoded music (which is what I listen to most of the times, sometimes even 128 kbs AAC). I'm not sure that spending 200 or 300$ would be a wise choice. Eitherway that's not important, I can't spend that much.
 
I'm kind of interested in etymotic's MC5, even if they not appear exactly like what I'm looking for, based on the reviews, that could be a nice try. The thing is that my ear canal appears to be very small, even sennheiser's smallest eartips look big to me and they kind of hurt in my ears.
Anyway, even if they are not in the quality range of most of you, I suggest you to try out those philips shq4000. Sound quality is decent, the expense is small and maybe you'll understand why I fell in love with the way they stay in place, the way the cable goes down and doesn't bother you at all, and the way they can temporarily, if needed, be placed around your neck if you suddenly have to listen to something else.

 

[DaBomb77766]

I'd say away from Etys if comfort is your number one priority.  I'd say that one of the most comfortable choices in this price range is the Soundmagic PL50.

 

[Austin Morrow]

Quote:

I'd say away from Etys if comfort is your number one priority.  I'd say that one of the most comfortable choices in this price range is the Soundmagic PL50.

Really? I love Ety's. Then again, everyone has different ears.

 

[Armage]

I see. Anyway I really want to stress the fact that by comfort I don't mean just the way the iem stay inside your ears. If you take a look at shq4000 images you'll get what I mean.
It's the fact that you don't hear noise from cable rubbing (I believe this can be solved with any over-the-ear cable). The fact that when u take them off u still have them around your neck for quick use. It's that you don't feel the weight of the cable (again, another thing that is solved by over the ear cable). One difference between them and other over the ear phones is the extremely fast put-in-place. With over the ear phones you first have to place the cable over your ear and the put the phones inside your ear canal. You may say that that doesn't take that long, but philips shq4000, on the other hand, have a rigid structure that goes in place and inside your ear almost by itself. I'm afraid I can't explain the thing better, I believe that you can understand what I'm talking about only by trying them on.
I just want those iem but with better sound quality. Too bad it seems that none of that exists. Such design is commonly intended for working out and therefore sound quality doesn't seem that important in this case
I'm afraid I'll have to settle with them :| I listen to music only when I'm out: I meet people, answer phone calls, have bags with me, I use my bike. The way you can handle shq4000, put them off and on so fast and hassle free - compared to other iem - is priceless to me.

 

[DaBomb77766]

I'd say that the PL50 fits pretty much all of your criteria.  It sounds great, is practically weightless and is designed specifically to be worn over-the-ear.  When you put them on, it's like they're not there.  Microphonics are negligible and they are, again, extremely comfortable.

 

[GamBino]

Quote:

I'd say away from Etys if comfort is your number one priority.  I'd say that one of the most comfortable choices in this price range is the Soundmagic PL50.

+1 to this, I can attest that the PL50 is one of the most comfortable earphones I've ever worn. They're very lightweight and it's really easy to forget about them once they're in your ear. Etys are decent for comfort, but I'd still recommend the PL50. Or if you'd wait, SoundMagic E30 is coming out soon, I'd imagine they'll be very comfortable too, and probably what you're looking for. Not too expensive, but very comfortable.

 

[Raguvian]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0034L3G8U/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0035JKJ2W&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0CXVJJJMVDYS8CGMT5NM
 
Something like that?
 
There was some review where the reviewer said it was one of his favorite headphones due to the neckband. I haven't tried them out so I do not know how they sound or how comfortable they are.
 
Otherwise, for more conventional headphones, Phonak Perfect Bass are supposed to be very comfortable.

 

[Armage]

I already knew of those, but they are not in-ear non in-ear phones don't fit very well in my small ears. I think I'll try out those sound magic, but unless sound quality is enormously different, I'm afraid I'll have to settle with the philips and wait until manufacturers understand how that kind of shape is far more comfortable to wear and to handle, even if you are not running or jumping or doing anything so sporty.
Looks to me that manufacturers (especially for hi end iem) believe that people's lives are those you see in commercials: they listen to music when lying on a bed, staring at the ceiling all the time, or they are sitting on a comfortable chair, not moving for hours. And they do that all the time.
Of course that doesn't happen that much but apparently they don't know that.

 

[DaBomb77766]

Soundmagic is also releasing a new E30 model within a month which is supposedly quite good.  They're also releasing the E11, which is a sort of semi-in-ear clip-on style, meant specifically for jogging and working out and such.  I suggest you check soundmagic out either way, the over-ear style is quite convenient and much more portable than the style you linked to, and still retains all of the major strengths of that type.