[Smugsie]

Hi everyone, I'm looking for a pair of earbuds (earbuds preferred, I'll take IEM's if they're the only option) as a desktop solution powered by my Objective O2. My budget is 80USD and I want them solely for listening to piano solos. Used/new doesn't matter to me.
Sennheiser HD598's were fantastic for pianos, but I'm not interested in another full sized solution.

 

[Me x3]

  Hi everyone, I'm looking for a pair of earbuds (earbuds preferred, I'll take IEM's if they're the only option) as a desktop solution powered by my Objective O2. My budget is 80USD and I want them solely for listening to piano solos. Used/new doesn't matter to me.
Sennheiser HD598's were fantastic for pianos, but I'm not interested in another full sized solution.

Check the FiiO EM3, it's very cheap and surprisingly open and balanced.

 

[Xamdou]

For your budget, maybe you can look into what Venture Electronics has to offer.
 
Asura 2.0 : Mainly for vocal but the price is just right for your budget and should do the job. Reviews : http://www.head-fi.org/products/venture-electronics-asura-2-0
 
Zen 2.0 : Almost twice your budget if bought first hand. Maybe you can try to find one used for a decent price. Personally felt that the instrumental presentation is superb. Reviews : http://www.head-fi.org/products/venture-electronics-ve-zen-v2

 

[Smugsie]

Thanks for the suggestions! I went with the VE Monks to get a preview of what the Asura or even Zen has to offer.

 

[Xamdou]

  Thanks for the suggestions! I went with the VE Monks to get a preview of what the Asura or even Zen has to offer.

Glad to hear that you're onto something 

The SQ level of Monk+ is about those of Apple's earpods but it has one of the best performance to price ratio in the market. Hope that you will eventually jump onto Zen since I am pretty sure it is what you're looking for