[Gorkle]

I'm trying to decide on a new set of earphones. I currently use Shure SE210s and I am looking to upgrade.
 
I have a few models in mind and I have listed the prices (in £, but even if you're not British you should get an idea of the relative value I'm looking at). I am looking for best 'bang for buck' above all, but I would also like a good idea of which sounds best.
 
Also any suggestions for good,[size=10pt] similarly priced earphones would be great.[/size]
 
I'm currently considering:
 
Klipsch Image S4 - £47.60
Klipsch Custom 2 - £50.71
Jays Q-Jays - £78 (sale price - seem to be £100+ everywhere else)
Denon AH-C700 - £99.99
Klipsch Image X5 - £134.95 (will stretch to these if they're really worth the extra money)
 
Would really appreciate your help guys. I'm leaning towards q-Jays but would like to hear your thoughts and experiences with each.

 

[tacomn]

there is no such thing as best earphones, depends on preferences. So what are you looking for in sound signature of a earphone. For instance if you what clarity and neutrality: reos and dbas are good. If you want more bass and fun sounding: enternas and radius ddms will be good for that.

 

[Gorkle]

I guess I just want fairly neutral, natural sounding earphones with good (but not overpowering) bass.

 

[lucozade]

 
Quote:

I'm trying to decide on a new set of earphones. I currently use Shure SE210s and I am looking to upgrade.
 
I have a few models in mind and I have listed the prices (in £, but even if you're not British you should get an idea of the relative value I'm looking at). I am looking for best 'bang for buck' above all, but I would also like a good idea of which sounds best.
 
Also any suggestions for good,[size=10pt] similarly priced earphones would be great.[/size]
 
I'm currently considering:
 
Klipsch Image S4 - £47.60
Klipsch Custom 2 - £50.71
Jays Q-Jays - £78 (sale price - seem to be £100+ everywhere else)
Denon AH-C700 - £99.99
Klipsch Image X5 - £134.95 (will stretch to these if they're really worth the extra money)
 
Would really appreciate your help guys. I'm leaning towards q-Jays but would like to hear your thoughts and experiences with each.

klipsch custom 3 £169 .00 , best bang for buck iem i have or know off , shame you do not live in the usa as they can be had for $109 
 

 

[Gorkle]

Quote:

 
klipsch custom 3 £169 .00 , best bang for buck iem i have or know off , shame you do not live in the usa as they can be had for $109 
 

That is a good price (in $). It would be well within my budget if I lived in the USA!
 
Unfortunately the customs fees on any imports over £18 (around $30) are pretty steep here.
 
Does anyone here have experience with the q-Jays? I think they're looking like the best option, but they are meant to be quite fiddly to get out, which could be a problem. 
 

 

[tacomn]

check out ijokerl review, he just posted his review of the q-jays as well as the fischer dba2. I went with the dba for there better mid range and sparkling highs.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/478568/multi-iem-review-91-iems-compared-fischer-dba-02-ath-ck90pro-phaiton-ps200-q-jays-added-07-26

 

[tacomn]

double post mistake

 

[mark2410]

if i had to guess id say the q-jays ill be hearing my set for the first time tomorrow so if you want pm me and remind me to comment

 

[Gorkle]

Thanks guys. I too will be hearing Q-Jays for the first time tomorrow! I actually found the reviews Tacomn posted earlier today and they seemed to be the ones to go for.

Mark, I would love to hear your thoughts tomorrow. We can compare!

 

[Gorkle]

Well, for anyone who's interested, I got the Q-Jays today. On a down note I think they're actually 'refurbished', as the box was already open (which probably explains the price of £78). However they didn't appear to have been used and I doubt Jays have any way of finding out if I ever need to send them back. 
 
I'm no expert on this stuff but I'm pretty impressed. I wasn't immediately blown away, but I did immediately notice a much greater clarity and wider soundstage than my Shure SE210s could produce.
 
For those who claim these have great bass out of the box, I'm afraid I tried to get them as far down my ear canals as possible and tried all the different tips (settled on foam in the end), but they still required a bit of bass boost on by Zen Vision:M for the bass to become particularly noticeable. However if you're all for a balanced sound, the bass was very clear without the boost, just not especially strong.
 
However, with the bass boost they definitely came alive. The treble is great - hi-hats and cymbals in particular ring very nicely indeed, and synth effects sound sharp. Vocals are very nice and separate from the rest of the mix. The overall sound signature is actually quite a lot better than my full-size Ultrasone Proline 650s, although they can't quite match the Ultrasone's instrument separation and bass reproduction.
 
Going back to my SE210s, they just sound muffled and narrow now. The Q-Jays have very much opened up the sound of my Zen. 

 

[mark2410]

had the Q-Jays in to today and i really rather like them.  like a lighter, dryer, brighter Custom 3

 

[redbear]

one months ago I had decided to move from SE210. I evaluate q-JAYS but it lacks bass like SH se210. At finish I choose Panasonic Rp-hje900. I miss clarity of shure, but sound is more balanced.

 

[Gorkle]

Quote:

one months ago I had decided to move from SE210. I evaluate q-JAYS but it lacks bass like SH se210. At finish I choose Panasonic Rp-hje900. I miss clarity of shure, but sound is more balanced.

If you're lacking bass, you need to choose a smaller tip (or the foam one) and make sure it's quite far into your ear canal. The bass is much fuller and wider than on the SE210s. Although, as with the SE210s, I needed a little bit of bass boost.