[Azzith]

for my bro, he says he doesnt want iems as he's to use them at work and has to be able to hear his boss while wearing them

i say max 130, but that really means anywhere from $10 to $130, just want the best sounding, best comfort etc...and again, it must not be IEM or canal phone.

the few threads i found around here for such a phone seemed recently to be talking about yuin pk2/pk3 , but yeah, i think they are a bit too cheapy looking to get for a present, and im wary of unknown brands being hyped here since getting burned with my v-moda vibes falling apart within 2 months

he's using a nano with stock earbuds atm

so any ideas? TIA

 

[NeObliviscaris]

PK3's are fantastic, they look plain, but they sound amazing! I'd recommend them over some IEMs as well!

 

[-=Germania=-]

Get the audio technica sticks.

They are in ur price range - sound great - and look sharp.

You can get them at audiocubes.com

 

[PeterDLai]

YUIN PK2 would probably be your best bet under $130 for unamped sound quality, earbud-wise.

They do come in a cute little wooden box that would be cool to wrap. It seems they hold up pretty well in the durability department as well. I would believe that they're more durable than the V-MODA Vibe.

 

[noblsheep]

seconded on the pk2.
they don't look as bad as pictures might suggest, really.

 

[kal_el_3914]

+1 pk2!
They are very stylish in a minimalist kinda way, and the sound is unreal.

 

[ClieOS]

Another +1 to PK2.

At least you see some complaint on vibes, did you see any complaint on Yuin? They have an almost 100% positive feedback here.

 

[4ki]

Pk2 if your bud likes a little more detail, but the Pk3 if he's a 'basshead'. If the latter had less bass, I'd be turned off, but that's just me.

Either choice will be fine; price difference isn't anything crazy, but it's $40 vs. $70 pk3 to pk2.

If you want to be crazy, buy the pk3, and throw in a seaber cmoy bass or penguin caffeine amp for an extra $50-70!

 

[Assorted]

The Yuin earbuds might not fit some people. The PK2s never stayed in my ears, even with the donut foams.

I thought the B&O A8 is comparable to the PK2s. The A8 sounds fresher while the PK2s have a very linear and wide soundstage with Grado-like (SR-80) signature.

 

[limathy]

+1 pk2/3
the simple look really grows on you, they're durrable unlike alot of the fragile buds - sonys etc.

sound wonderful.

 

[Capital R]

Well, considering your brother doesn't like the Yuin's, which seem to be everyone's favorite around here, I'll go ahead and suggest the Sony MDR-E888LP's at about a $60 pricepoint on audiocubes. It's a great earbud for the price especially when kramer modded. The reason I don't suggest an Audio Technica is that the ATH-CM7 is about $150 putting it outside of your pricerange. Other than those two and the Yuin's, I don't recall coming across any earbuds in particular worthy of mention except perhaps the Sennheiser MX 500 which can be had for $20 from headroom. Also, would he be opposed to an open clip-on type like the Audio Technica ATH-EM7 or EM9? Perhaps a Koss KSC75?

Whatever you decide to go with, I hoped this helped a little!