[o black]

Has anyone on this forum compared Q-Jays with the Monster Turbine, Etyomtic HF3, and the Dr. Dre Tour In-Ear?  Over the past 2 years i have tried those 3 headphones, and i have liked the monster turbine the most.  However, unfortunately also out of the 3, they were the LEAST durable headphones and it became frustrating.  I have managed to replace them 10 times at futureshop through the warantee, but after, they closed the door on me and requested i stop brining the product back to them.  As a result, i went to the Dr. Dre Tour In-Ear which i didnt like very much in audio quality due to the obviously boosted treble presence.  The Etyomtic HF3 were a different, and definately sounded more "natural" and i do enjoy music out of them, i just definately still prefered the Monster Turbine's sound signature.
 
Now i would like a high quality IEM (preferably at 200$ and under.  at the moment paying 200+ for the Q-Jays at a canadian online retailer.) but something that is more durable than the monster turbine.  The monster turbine cable near the jack is very fragile and i believe one of the wire tends to break after alot of use. The dr. Dre Tour in Ear only stopped working after the cable finally physically gave up on me, and same with the Etymotic (which leads me to believe somehow im not treating my headphones very nicely even though many people say i take care of my headphones very well.).  Anyway, the plus side of the Q-Jays is that i have a 1-year warantee of which i can replace the cable etc. through the Canadian retailer (as i live in Canada this is a huge plus).  But i would like an idea as to how the Q-Jays will sound.  also, if there are better suggestions for headphones to replace the monster turbine in the sense (even though the Etymotic Hf3 was the last IEM owned) it would be helpful.
 
Thanks in advance!

 

[RADI0HEAD]

I don't think the q-JAYS will be suitable for rough use. The strain reliefs at the phones are extremely small. Secondly, the way the cable is split into two pieces it introduces more areas for failure. If you treat them carefully though I think they are very good sounding and extremely comfortable iems. Take a look at joker's massive comparo thread to get an idea of what they are like. He described their sound perfectly. http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/478568/multi-iem-review-162-iems-compared-kozee-infinity-x1-earsonics-sm2-added-04-16

No experience with the others you mentioned.

 

[NewAKGGuy]

Cable failure is a huge problem with IEMs that see a lot of use.  Either it's truly cost prohibitive to build a cable that is durable, slim, flexible, and helps reduce microphonics, or (more likely) cable failures are an important driver of repeat sales for the business model.  I know I was a sucker for that until recently and would buy a new set of $100-$200 IEMs every time I had a cable failure and the warranty return was either expired or just too much hassle and time.  As the economy crashed for my business in particular and our heyday turned into "MAYDAY!" I started feeling ripped off by the repeated cable failures and looked for a solution.  Given your sound preferences, the one I found may work for you too:
 
Ultimate Ears Super-Fi 3, 5Pro, 5EB, or Triple-Fi 10.  Seems as if you like bass in your sound signature so try the 5EB or the 10, though the 5 Pro may work if you liked the Ety but were looking for something a little warmer.  The cables are detachable and therefore replaceable/upgradeable.  While they were pretty much all $200+ retail headphones back in the day, all can easily be had for much less than that online these days and you can either get the straight headphone replacement cable from Logitech for $20 or you can order ones from China (via eBay) that are either upgrades for $40-$100 or that come with the inline mic and remote button for $40.  Logitech is officially "out-of-stock" on their $20 cable with the mic and remote probably because they don't want people "upgrading" their older models to work with phones at such a low cost.  Given how much money I've spent on cable failures re-buying cheaper models from them, I think the permanent "out-of-stock" trick is sleazy, but as long as I can buy them from China, I'll continue to own their headphones. After that I'll switch to Westones or Shures with detachable cables.