[AkashS04]

Thanks Chris. I am going to pick them in the evening and hope to get my expectations meet from them. Do we need to burn them for 50-60 hours before they will actually start giving expected result or they are good to go as soon as they are plugged-in.
 
With IEMs, the vacuum issue is that when they are inserted, I tend to hear my own voice very loud that if I am using mic to speak with someone, it will sound very unnatural to myself (person on other side might hear me properly and naturally). This is what I want to avoid when using IEMs and so far did not come across any such IEM. 
 
IE800 and BeoPlay H3 Best Bass Earbuds by BANG & OLUFSEN seems to be good as the article mentioned that H3s do not go directly into your ear canal – these plop in without making your ears feel naughty or violated and for IE800 they mentioned that they are Open-Ear IEMs so I am hoping that they won't create Vacuum issue at all. I am not sure if JVC T100 is the same or not but I wish I get similar sound quality from EM3 as well I know expecting $100 sound quality from $10 earbuds is too much but if they are even 20-25% better than my old apple earbuds, then I guess they will make iPod Nano 7 sounds better and I might not need to search for iPod Nano 1st Gen again (to buy again).

 

[HiFiChris]

 Thanks Chris. I am going to pick them in the evening and hope to get my expectations meet from them. Do we need to burn them for 50-60 hours before they will actually start giving expected result or they are good to go as soon as they are plugged-in.

 
I'll say it like this: some believe in burn-in with headphones and some don't. There is no scientific proof for it, but if you decide to do some burn-in, I would say just listen to the earbuds. What is actually "burning in" is our brain that adapts to the new sound signature, but I don't want to start a multiple-pages flame war, so I'll leave it at that.
 
 

  With IEMs, the vacuum issue is that when they are inserted, I tend to hear my own voice very loud that if I am using mic to speak with someone, it will sound very unnatural to myself (person on other side might hear me properly and naturally). This is what I want to avoid when using IEMs and so far did not come across any such IEM. 

 
Ahh, gotcha. That's what a proper seal is in combination with an at least average noise isolation. What you would need are weakly isolating in-ears like the DUNU Titan1 that have much less of this effect, however their signature will very likely be too treble-forward for you.
I don't have experience with the Atomic Floyd SuperDarts, but if they seal as weakly as the Titan 1, they might probably be suitable for you.

With the IE 800, you will also get this vacuum/seal and "unnatural" exterior noise.

Some models that come into my mind and that are a mixture of earbuds and in-ears are the models from Bose. They don't seal and avoid what you described and they are also super comfortable and (imho) also look very nice, however the cable quality is not the best and for the price, the sound is just sub-par when it comes to detail retrieval (most $30 IEMs and earbuds smoke the Bose buds when it comes to pure sound quality).
However, they sound just like how you like it (very forward bass, warm, rolled-off treble), and if you can give up a good price-performance ratio to the favour of comfort and a tonality you might like, there's really nothing wrong if you decide to buy them (in fact I used to own them myself some years ago and know a well-respected German fella who also has them solely for their comfort and open design for sports purpose).

 

[AkashS04]

So IE800 is not good idea at all. Right? What abt JVC T100 and B&O H3 which I mentioned as B&O does not go directly in-canal as per the article. They are available at $149 and might get them lower with some research. If I can get them to try, it will be nice to buy once I am convinced with the performance. 
 
Let's see how EM3 performs. Hope they are good and put break on my earbud search. 

 

[HiFiChris]

@AkashS04
 
Yes, I think the IE 800 will still create too much of a seal for you.

I have no idea about the JVC and B&O as I've never heard them myself and usually also don't even care for this "vacuum" issue as it is not important to me.

What I could recommend is to wait and see how you like the FiiO earbuds. Additionally, you could think of getting some lightweight on-ear headphones such as the Koss Porta Pro, KSC75 or Sennheiser PX 100II (which sounds extremely similar to the Porta Pro but is more comfortable).

 

[AkashS04]

Hi Chris,
 
I picked up EM3 yesterday from B&H. I am listening to them now. They sounds ok and surely clearer and better than by old Apple Earbus (they are broken almost now) but I was expecting more Warmness and Bass. I believe that the issue is with iPod Nano 7th Gen as even my apple earbuds were great with them. I am trying if I can buy old iPod Nao 1st Gen or New pack (if someone is selling). Also, is there anything for iPod Nano 7th Gen (like Rockbox for Nano 1st Gen) which can boost the sound quality greatly? I would like to try that before buying Nano 1st Gen.
 
Overall, EM3 is just below expectations but I guess the main issue is iPod Nano 7th as I am sure that EM3 will sound much much better with Nano 1st Gen.

 

[HiFiChris]

As I said, ear anatomy can affect the amount of warmth and bass that you get.
 
As I also said, you could use the iPod's EQ to reduce the treble to get more warmth and a perception of more bass quantity.

Additionally, I've also stated at least once that the Nano 7G does not support alternative firmwares like RockBox, but just the basic EQ in the settings.

 

[AkashS04]

I tried but Bass Booster EQ is better for that. It seems Pre Set EQs in iPod Nano 7th Gen are not good and add misery to overall sound quality. 

 

[AkashS04]

Hi Chris,
 
After listening to EM3, I found that there is no or hardly any difference between Old Apple Earbuds and EM3. I am returning them. In fact Apple Erbuds is more warm While EM3 is having some better clarity but overall apple is sounding better and soothing. Any other suggestion? VE Monk? 

 

[HiFiChris]

To me, it seems like the EM3 earbuds just don't "seal" well in your ears, hence this impression.
 
They sit quite well in my ears and create some sort of seal, that's why they are very warm and quite bassy (but again, in my ears, where they also sound a lot bassier and warmer than the origibal Apple Earbuds).
 

The Monk Plus with foam covers might do the trick (although in my ears, the EM is a lot warmer than the Monk). Also, you could try some Sony earbuds. I don't know which models they were, but it was quite a few years ago, and they were bassy and warm.
 
 
If that doesn't help, I would recommend to look into some small and lightweight on-ear headphones like the Koss Porta Pro.

 

[AkashS04]

Ok. How is Audio Technica ATH-CHX7iS. It is not exactly in-ear type so I guess that Vacuum problem can be solved. I am not sure how Bassy and Warm it is. But its driver size is 14.2 s should be good Bass I guess.

 

[HiFiChris]

I guess it might be better if you ask that question in Hawaiibadboy's thread I linked earlier.