[Penta]

Hello. I'm in a very tight budget and in a country where huge taxes are applied over everything I import. I'm looking for >20$ phones good for a wide variety of music and the HA FX40 and KSC75 are the most recomended ones around here. I cannot decide which one is the best for me since I can't find any direct comparison thread.
 
other details:
-I'm using a Xonar DGX 5.1
-The less leaked sound the better
-Durability is a strong point
-I'm fine with any type of phone
 
Can someone help me decide? Other suggestions are also welcome, though a huge ammount of phones aren't shipped to my country, like the HSS-F420 and FX101.

 

[pbui44]

I was going to pick the ksc-75, but you said less sound leakage is priority, so the jvc fx40 looks like the best bet.

 

[Penta]

Is the quality difference too big or I can go for a FX40 without second thougts?
EDIT
I just noticed the Meelectronics are also in my budget range and shipping. They weren't showing up before.

 

[pbui44]

The KSC-75s have better overall imaging as a clip-on, but the JVC FX-40 has clearer lows, mids, and highs as an iem and will not spout as much sound as the koss clip-ons. As for meelectronics, unless you are talking about the a161p (at least $60), the jvcs will have better sound quality.

 

[MelloWatic]

Some comments on the fx40
 
With the stock tips, the sound space is wide considering the low price of the fx40. Bass sounds tight but the stock tips makes the high sounds harsh. So I guess one way to tame the highs would be to change the eartips to one with a narrower bore. This however, will muffle the bass to a certain extent.
 
 
On the vocals:
 
The fx40 has a very noticeable V-Shaped sound signature and singers' voice are rather recessed. Hearing female singers reminds me of sandpaper, their voice are thin and edgy. The edginess is due to the bright high bleeding over into the mids, causing most of the female singers to sound sibilant. The same problem applies to male singers singing in a higher key. Male singing in a lower key still suffers from the thin vocal presentation of the fx40. 
 
Vocals overall lacks fullness and isn't natural sounding. Those who likes their vocals lush and clear, whether in ballads or pop songs,  would be quite disappointed with the fx40(like me

).
 
Bass and treble can sound pretty nice on the fx40. The vocals, however, just doesn't cut it for me.

 

[MelloWatic]

Bottomline: Avoid JVC fx40 if voice quality matters to you.

 

[Penta]

I was about to buy the FX40 when I noticed Philips sells their headphones without the absurd taxes of other brands (I need to pay 50$ for the FX40). Due to this, I have a new option, but I can't really find much about it on this site.
How is the SHO8801 compared to the FX40? They're actually cheaper here (around 40$).

 

[pbui44]

Huh, forgot to post about this. The sho8801 is the Philips/O'Neill the Snug on-ear cans, which will probably have better imaging than the fx40s, though the fx40s might have better bass/treble extentions. The sho8801 are probably more comfortable, too.

 

[Penta]

So, after days looking everywhere for more more stores and better deals, I've found myself with a bigger budget. I also found good places to buy Superlux headphones (they were extremelly well hidden). Considering the reviews these babies received here, I think I'll buy a HD681 at the start of the next month. There are other models (HD651 and HD661), but I'm guesing the HD681 are the better ones for varied, clear sounding music, correct?
Thanks for the all the help in this thread.
EDIT--
My god, I've hit jackpot. There's also Superluxes HD381 (all models) selling for incredible prices. I have no idea which one to buy.

 

[Penta]

Bump